Chapter 41 — Chiyo: How Can He Be So Strong?!
After reading his own panel information, Su Li took out the straw man from his backpack.
"This Substitute Straw Man…"
The moment Su Li grabbed the straw dummy, information about the item automatically entered his mind.
[Substitute Straw Man: After recognizing its master by a drop of blood, it can block one fatal attack on behalf of its owner.]
"It's such a simple description… but simple doesn't mean useless."
Su Li smiled with satisfaction.
This was definitely a rare treasure!
Although it was hard for Su Li to die with his current strength—dying didn't mean he couldn't die.Maybe one day he'd go too far and get himself killed in some random accident?
Now that he had the Substitute Straw Man, things were different.It was like gaining an extra life!
Without further thought, Su Li bit his fingertip and let a drop of blood fall onto the straw figure.
Hum…
The eyes of the Substitute Straw Man glowed a strange red, and its mouth curled into an eerie smile, letting out a chilling "hee hee hee" laughter.Then, it slowly melted into Su Li's palm and disappeared.
"Alright, the prize is drawn. Time to visit those Sand Shinobi."
Su Li composed himself and looked toward the Sand Shinobi's location.He was determined to win them over.
However, Su Li could still clearly distinguish between priorities.Even if he cooperated with the Sand Shinobi, he wouldn't hand over manga with overly powerful abilities.
At most, he would let them learn Breathing Techniques, Haki, or use ordinary Zanpakutō.
If they wanted to gain stronger powers—like captain-level Zanpakutō, Conqueror's Haki, top-tier Teigu, or Dragon Slayer Magic—they would first need to pass his screening.
Only those whom Su Li deemed trustworthy would be granted such power, and even then, it would be strictly controlled to prevent leaks.
As for acquiring cheat-level abilities like Kekkei Tōta?
"Sorry, not possible."
Unless Su Li had absolute certainty—such as through a master-slave contract that ensured complete loyalty—he would never allow such exaggerated powers to spread.
Meanwhile, on the other side—
"You mean, after reading those comics, you suddenly obtained that fan and this giant robot out of thin air?"
Chiyo frowned deeply.
Temari and Kankurō stood before her like well-behaved children, not daring to speak too much, merely nodding in agreement.
They knew how unbelievable their story sounded.But it was the truth.
They didn't understand it either.
"Where are the comics? Let me see them."
Chiyo couldn't believe their words, but she also couldn't explain how these two items had appeared.The only clue was the manga.
After hearing this, Temari and Kankurō obediently handed over the comics.
After a brief look, Chiyo realized that the giant fan and the Destiny Gundam were indeed from these two comics.
According to Temari and Kankurō, she had also read the same manga.Then why hadn't a fan or robot appeared for her?
"Baki, take a look too," Chiyo said, handing the manga to him.
Baki flipped through the pages, equally puzzled.
Of course, nothing happened.
As they pondered, a voice interrupted them—
"Don't bother trying. That was an opportunity I gave those two youngsters. It's not compatible with you."
A figure suddenly appeared.
It was Su Li, materializing out of light.
His sudden appearance startled everyone.Chiyo and the others immediately became alert; they hadn't sensed any disturbance beforehand.
"Time-space ninjutsu?!"
Chiyo's brows furrowed.
"No. I'm just elementalized," Su Li replied calmly.
He had no intention of explaining what elementalization meant.
"First time meeting, Sand Shinobi. I'm Konoha's current acting Hokage—Su Li."
"You're Konoha's acting Hokage?"
Chiyo's expression tightened.Although Su Li refused to reveal his abilities, she caught the key detail in his introduction.
Su Li?
She had never heard of such a name.
As an elder of the Sand Village—and a long-time rival of Konoha—Chiyo was familiar with every major powerhouse from the Leaf.Yet she had never once heard of a shinobi named Su Li.
How could such an unknown person suddenly become Konoha's acting Hokage?And what did he mean by "opportunity"?
Chiyo had countless questions she wanted to ask.
"Elder Chiyo, standing under the sun must be uncomfortable for someone of your age. Please, have a seat so we can talk properly."
Su Li smiled faintly and snapped his fingers.
In an instant, the surrounding temperature dropped sharply.Ice crystals formed out of thin air, spreading rapidly and encasing the area—including the nearly twenty-meter-tall Destiny Gundam—until they stood inside a magnificent ice palace.
Two seats of ice appeared before Su Li and Chiyo.
Surprisingly, though the chairs were made entirely of ice, they emitted no cold. When Chiyo sat, she couldn't feel even a trace of chill.
This level of control meant Su Li's mastery of energy was truly incredible.Only someone who could completely contain and balance cold energy could create such a phenomenon.
"An impressive ice-style ninjutsu…"
Chiyo's pupils contracted, alarm bells ringing in her mind.
She hadn't even seen him perform any hand seals—yet with a simple snap of his fingers, he had conjured such a massive jutsu in the middle of the desert.
Even though she had never heard of Su Li before, nor witnessed his power firsthand—
At this moment, Chiyo recognized him as one of the strongest men she had ever encountered.
Perhaps even—
The strongest.