Thud, thud, thud.
After a dizzying exchange of blows, Sasuke leaped back, exiting the fray.
"Huff, huff…"
Panting heavily, he silently counted his blessings.
He had come within a hair's breadth of being hit by Shion's surprise kick. The thought of being struck by a supposed underdog like Shion in front of everyone sent shivers of dread through him.
"Look at that!"
"It's the Sharingan! Sasuke's activated his Sharingan…"
"And it's not just a three-tomoe Sharingan. That pattern—is that his Mangekyo Sharingan?"
After a brief silence, the sidelines erupted in gasps and exclamations.
Hearing the crowd's reactions, Sasuke's face fell as realization hit him.
To counter Shion's ambush, he had instinctively activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, relying on its superior insight to narrowly escape unscathed!
Across from him, Rock Lee beamed with excitement. "Shion, we forced out Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan!"
Shion, hands on hips, grinned smugly. "As we should!"
Sasuke's face turned ashen.
Moments ago, he had boldly declared he wouldn't need his Sharingan. Now, not only had he activated it, but he'd gone straight to the Mangekyo state. Though he hadn't used its dojutsu, the embarrassment stung.
On the sidelines, Shikamaru palmed his forehead, sighing, "This is getting ridiculous…"
Ino, beside him, was equally rattled. "First Yakumo, now Shion. At this rate, everyone around us will turn into geniuses!"
Choji quickly reassured her, "Ino, don't worry."
Ino and Shikamaru turned to him.
Munching on snacks, Choji said, "Relax, at least I won't become a genius!"
"Idiot!"
Ino and Shikamaru snapped in unison.
Elsewhere, Sakura clenched her fists. "Sasuke was definitely going easy on Shion just now!"
Naruto, arms behind his head, shook his head. "Nah, that's not it."
Sakura looked puzzled. "What's not it?"
Naruto answered honestly, "Shion's really gotten stronger. If that had been me, I might've already been taken down by her!"
"You can't compare yourself to Sasuke—"
Mid-sentence, Sakura froze.
After nearly six months of intense training with Jiraiya, Naruto was no longer the dead-last he once was. In private spars, even Sasuke, with his Mangekyo Sharingan, had to exert effort to beat him. Naruto's judgment was likely correct.
In a quieter corner, unnoticed by most, Karin and Haku were also watching the bout.
Karin remarked, "Shion's gotten stronger too, huh?"
Haku nodded, a thoughtful look crossing his face.
Noticing Haku's expression, Karin asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing…" Haku paused, then murmured, "Maybe it's just my imagination, but Shion's taijutsu just now felt a bit like a Demon Slayer's."
At the Hokage Building, a high-level meeting restricted to village elites was underway in the conference room.
An intelligence shinobi reported to the assembled leaders, "According to information from the Land of Iron, Upper Moon Two's presence has been confirmed. He's hiding in the northern snowfields of the Land of Iron. The Land of Iron suspects he's been severely injured and is hiding from something, which is why he fled to the snowfields."
Tsunade examined a map, then said, "The last sighting of Upper Moon Two was at the border of the Land of Earth and the Land of Waterfalls. His appearance now in the Land of Iron's north supports their theory—he's likely injured. As for who he's hiding from, I'd wager it's the Akatsuki!"
Jiraiya nodded slightly. "I agree with Tsunade's assessment."
Jounin like Kakashi and Shikaku also nodded, endorsing Tsunade's judgment.
Danzo's eyes flickered. "Since Upper Moon Two is injured, the Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud Villages won't let this opportunity slip, will they?"
The intelligence shinobi quickly nodded. "Yes, Danzo-sama! According to our latest reports, both the Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud have dispatched pursuit teams to the Land of Iron. This time, the Hidden Stone is led by the Third Tsuchikage himself, and the Hidden Cloud by the Fourth Raikage."
"They're clearly determined to succeed," Mito Menma remarked, his face darkening.
The mysterious veil shrouding the Upper Moon organization remained largely intact, so everyone hoped capturing Upper Moon Two would yield a breakthrough.
The Third Hokage removed the pipe from his mouth and asked the interrogation team, "Still no progress with interrogating Upper Moon Five?"
An interrogation shinobi stood and bowed. "My apologies."
Koharu Utatane spoke up, "Based on past encounters, the true core figures of the Upper Moons are only Upper Moon One and Upper Moon Two. The others are less significant. With Upper Moon Two's whereabouts now known, the Hidden Leaf cannot stand idly by."
Capturing Upper Moon Five was Tsunade's achievement, undeniable. To downplay it, the advisory council could only diminish Upper Moon Five's importance.
Indeed, aside from Upper Moon One and Upper Moon Two, the other Upper Moons had no standout feats, giving the council a pretext.
The Third Hokage, a seasoned veteran, saw through the council's intentions and turned to Tsunade.
Meeting his gaze, Tsunade nodded reluctantly. "Since the aging agent has shown results, it's a good chance to test its efficacy on Upper Moon Two. Sensei, let me handle this one!"
The Third Hokage made his decision. "You've successfully captured Upper Moon Five before, making you the best fit for this mission. But Upper Moon Two is not to be underestimated! Jiraiya, you're going too!"
Danzo and the other advisors' faces darkened, but they remained silent.
By highlighting Tsunade's prior success and assigning Jiraiya, the Third Hokage left them no room to object.
After the meeting, Kakashi, recalling Sasuke's request, visited the Hokage's office to relay it.
After hearing Kakashi's report, the Third Hokage weighed the matter and shook his head. "Sasuke's still too young, and we're facing a powerhouse like Upper Moon Two. If something goes wrong, the impact on the Hidden Leaf would be too great. Don't forget, he's currently our only Mangekyo Uchiha!"