The mysterious figure, sent flying by Shinji's 'Almighty Push,' carved a long trench in the ground, crashing through several massive boulders before barely coming to a stop.
Disheveled, he spat out a mouthful of blood. "That move again!"
He was utterly enraged.
He had thought only the Akatsuki leader with the Sage's eyes could wield such a bizarre and domineering technique. He never imagined an ordinary masked Akatsuki member would also possess it.
Whoosh.
At that moment, Shinji used the 'Body Flicker Technique' to arrive on the battlefield.
The mysterious figure climbed to his feet, glaring coldly at Shinji. Without wasting words, he stomped the ground and lunged, swinging the bone blades on his arms.
Shinji raised his hand again!
Boom.
Another invisible repulsive force struck out of nowhere, sending the charging mysterious figure flying once more!
"What!?"
The team, who had been worried that the formidable mysterious figure might harm their leader, stood dumbfounded.
Sasuke, prideful as ever, was particularly stunned. "What… what kind of technique is this?"
Compared to the others, Karin felt slightly less shock, as she recognized the technique Shinji was using—her own Rinnegan's 'Almighty Push'!
The mysterious figure, sent flying again, looked somewhat battered, but such injuries were trivial to him. Being pierced through the heart by 'Wood Release' hadn't fazed him, let alone this level of impact.
However, being effortlessly repelled twice in a row heightened his wariness of Shinji. He began to suspect that Shinji was no ordinary Akatsuki member.
As the mysterious figure focused more attention on Shinji, Shinji subtly made a hand gesture.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In an instant, rings of light descended from the sky, enveloping the mysterious figure, binding him tightly from head to toe.
At that moment, Shion, also masked and clad in the hooded red-cloud cloak, slowly descended from the air, smugly clapping her hands.
"How is this possible!?"
The mysterious figure struggled fiercely.
But no matter how he unleashed his blood-flesh power or expanded and contracted his body, the glowing rings adjusted accordingly, binding him relentlessly.
Not only the mysterious figure but also the injured Karin, Yakumo, and the others were stunned.
None of them had expected the troublesome mysterious figure to be so easily sealed by an unfamiliar comrade after their leader intervened. All eyes turned to Shion, a single question rising in their minds: Who is he?
Shinji didn't get distracted. Confirming that the mysterious figure couldn't break free from Shion's sealing technique, he swiftly retrieved a vial of Type-4 aging agent from his shinobi tool pouch and injected it into the mysterious figure's body.
The mysterious figure sensed danger. "What is this?"
Shinji, naturally, offered no explanation. He stepped back, coldly observing the mysterious figure.
Karin and the other injured members, clutching their wounds, staggered to Shinji's side and saluted in unison. "Leader!"
The sealed mysterious figure froze, looking at Shinji with surprise.
Until that moment, he had assumed the Akatsuki leader and the shinobi world's 'Lampbearer' was Nagato, whom he had fought in the Land of Grass.
Only now, seeing these formidable Akatsuki members salute and submit to the cat-masked figure before him, did he realize that Shinji was the true leader of Akatsuki!
Shinji nodded lightly. "You all did well!"
In truth, with the mysterious figure's ghostly speed, Shion's sealing technique would have been difficult to land. This was why Shinji had held off on signaling her to act.
Only after the mysterious figure had expended energy defeating Karin and the others, focusing entirely on Shinji, did Shinji seize the opportunity to signal Shion, leading to the mysterious figure's capture.
Though the process appeared effortless, it relied heavily on the earlier efforts of Karin and the team to wear him down.
Of course, Karin and the others, lacking combat experience and blindly idolizing Shinji, didn't realize this.
At that moment, they were still quietly frustrated over their defeat, while simultaneously awed by Shinji's clean and decisive takedown of the mysterious figure!
Aaagh!
Suddenly, the mysterious figure, bound by Shion's 'Miko's Ring' sealing technique, let out a pained scream!
His body began to rot, clumps of decaying flesh falling off and hitting the ground with sizzle sounds, turning to ash.
Undoubtedly, the Type-4 aging agent was taking effect!
Shinji glanced at his injured team and ordered, "Fall back!"
Knowing their leader intended to interrogate the mysterious figure alone, Shion and the others saluted once more before retreating to tend to their wounds.
Once they were gone, Shinji stared at the mysterious figure, ravaged by the Type-4 aging agent, and asked coldly, "Why did you invade the shinobi world?"
Realizing that Shinji was the true 'Lampbearer' of the shinobi world, the mysterious figure spoke with deep regret. "I never expected you to hide so well. If I'd found you sooner, I would've…"
Shinji had no patience for his lamentations, cutting him off. "Speak! Why invade the shinobi world?"
"Heh," the mysterious figure sneered darkly. "I've lost, but don't think you'll live either. Die with me!"
"Not talking, huh?"
Shinji remained unfazed.
The mysterious figure had been worn down by Karin and the others, sealed by Shion, and now ravaged by the Type-4 aging agent. His condition was rapidly deteriorating. Shinji waited until he was sufficiently weakened, then placed a hand on the mysterious figure's head.
The mysterious figure was alarmed. "What are you—"
Before he could finish, Shinji silently activated the Rinnegan's 'Soul Extraction' dojutsu through the power of 'Susanoo Tomoshibi.'
In an instant, a spirit was drawn from the mysterious figure's body, his terrified expression frozen on his face.
Since the mysterious figure refused to speak—and what he said might be lies—Shinji saw no point in wasting words. Extracting and reading his soul's memories was far more efficient.
Huff.
Moments later, Shinji exhaled, his expression complex. "So that's how it is… Why target the shinobi world? This is just senseless calamity!"
After reading the mysterious figure's memories, Shinji finally understood everything—why the mysterious figure had taken such a massive risk to invade the shinobi world, a realm far surpassing the Demon Slayer world in energy level!
The root of it all lay with the Hegemon.