Shinji passed by Sasuke without pausing, only tossing out a curt order as he did: "Follow me!"
Sasuke had already confirmed his wounds weren't severe, so without wasting words, he hurried after Shinji. "Sir, this time, I'll personally kill him!"
Shinji didn't respond one way or the other.
To him, Upper Moon Two was no different from any other demon, except for its utility as a test subject.
Beyond that, it held no particular significance. As long as the drug test was successful, Shinji didn't care whose hands ended Upper Moon Two's life.
Still, thinking of Sasuke's earlier performance, Shinji couldn't help but glance back at him.
"As expected of the one who ended the Fourth Shinobi World War!"
Sasuke's progress over these few days was striking.
Before, he had recklessly relied on his Mangekyo Sharingan's dojutsu when facing strong enemies. Now, he wielded ninja tools and ninjutsu with versatility, far surpassing his previous self.
Such combat talent was beyond what ordinary prodigies could match.
Retracting his gaze, Shinji looked ahead.
At some point, the blizzard had begun to subside, and visibility cleared considerably. He quickly locked onto Kokushibo's frantic figure in the distance.
"It's been twenty-five minutes, and his body still hasn't metabolized the Type-4 Aging Potion…"
Shinji continued to monitor the potion's effects. By this point, it was clear the Type-4 Aging Potion was a success.
As Upper Moon Two, Kokushibo was among the top-tier demons.
For the Type-4 Aging Potion to suppress his fleshly power for a full twenty-five minutes exceeded Shinji's expectations.
In a true battle between top-tier fighters, a single minute was enough to decide the outcome!
Even if the potion's suppression time was halved—or halved again—against the mysterious Demon King, it would still give Shinji enough time to deal with him.
"There's little point in observing further. Once Sasuke finishes him off, we can return to Hidden Leaf."
Shinji made up his mind.
In a forest at the edge of the snowy plains, Shizune gazed out at the distant snowfield. "The blizzard seems to be dying down!"
The group in the forest looked out in unison.
Undoubtedly, this group, taking shelter from the storm, was none other than the elite squad led by Tsunade, tasked with hunting Upper Moon Two.
To compete with Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud, the team had traveled relentlessly from the Land of Fire to these northern plains of the Land of Iron.
But the earlier storm had been too intense, forcing the squad to take temporary refuge in the forest.
Yakumo nodded lightly. "It's definitely calmed down a lot."
"Then let's move out!" Tsunade said, shouldering her gear.
As Tsunade rose, the rest of the squad followed suit, preparing to depart.
Soon, the team set foot on the pristine snowfield.
As they advanced, Shizune reported to Tsunade, "Lady Tsunade, according to the intelligence team's earlier message, Hidden Stone, Hidden Cloud, and the Land of Iron samurai have formed a joint force and have been hunting Upper Moon Two in these plains for days!"
Tsunade frowned slightly. "Any new updates?"
Shizune shook her head. "Not yet. The storm likely disrupted their efforts."
Tsunade glanced at Yakumo and Shino Aburame.
Yakumo quickly said, "I just used my Koryugan to scan the area, but I didn't find anything."
The vast, white expanse of the snowfield was a challenge even for dojutsu Bloodline Limit users. Even Yakumo, with her Koryugan, couldn't maintain her dojutsu for long to survey the plains.
Shino shook his head. "This environment is too harsh. My parasitic insects are heavily restricted, and their scouting and sensory range is greatly reduced. I haven't found anything either."
Jiraiya laughed heartily. "Looks like we'll have to rely on luck!"
Shinji's shadow clone, trailing the squad, stayed silent, playing the role of an inconspicuous member. Aside from Yakumo, no one else in the team was close to him, so over the past few days, no one had noticed anything off about him.
At that moment, a small black dot appeared on the snowfield ahead.
Tsunade immediately signaled the team to halt.
Yakumo activated her Koryugan, while Shino raised his hands, releasing parasitic insects from his sleeves. The others assumed defensive stances, on high alert.
"Who is it?" Tsunade asked Yakumo.
Yakumo hesitated. "It… it seems like Upper Moon Two…"
"Seems like!?" Tsunade was taken aback.
Upper Moon Two, with three pairs of eyes on his face, was unmistakable.
Yakumo quickly clarified, "It should be Upper Moon Two, but he's severely injured—half his body is gone!"
With Yakumo's confirmation, the team grew tense.
They were no strangers to demons. Losing half a body was trivial for an Upper Moon, so no one let their guard down.
"Wait, there's someone behind him!" Yakumo suddenly exclaimed.
Shino added, "My insects sensed it too. There are two chakra signatures following Upper Moon Two, and they're making my insects extremely wary!"
The team's expressions darkened.
Chakra potent enough to instill fear in Shino's parasitic insects was proof that the two figures trailing Upper Moon Two were no ordinary foes.
Soon, two distinct red figures came into view.
No need for Yakumo's Koryugan now—everyone could see that the two pursuing Upper Moon Two were Akatsuki members in their red-cloud cloaks.
"It's bad—it's 'A' and 'E'!" Shizune's face paled.
Not just Shizune—everyone recognized the two Akatsuki members' identities from their masks as they drew closer.
Tsunade weighed her options and shouted, "Everyone, don't act rashly!"
Whoosh.
Before her words fully landed, Shinji's shadow clone leaped forward, charging toward the fleeing Upper Moon Two.
Seeing Shinji rush out, Yakumo cried, "Shinji, no!"
On the other side, Sasuke, about to catch up to Upper Moon Two, was caught off guard by the sight of the Hidden Leaf squad, slowing instinctively.
When he saw Shinji's clone leap forward toward Upper Moon Two, he was startled.
He knew that despite Upper Moon Two's pitiful state, a single misstep could make one his next victim!
In that instant, Shinji's shadow clone soared into the air, hands forming seals. "Fire Release: Majestic Flame Destroyer!"
Boom.
In a flash, the entire snowfield was engulfed in Shinji's Fire Release, swallowing Upper Moon Two's frantic figure in a sea of flames.