Shinji glanced at Kurotsuchi, about to say something, but seeing her earnest gaze, he wisely kept quiet.
His eyes shifted back to the battlefield.
His concerns differed from the others.
The Hegemon of Terror was currently devouring the Demon Slayer world, and once it finished, the shinobi world would be next.
Thus, while the Akatsuki's plan to revive the Ten-Tails would unleash chaos in the shinobi world, from a broader perspective, the Ten-Tails' revival—or rather, the emergence of a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki—was the most effective way to elevate the shinobi world's strength.
From this angle, Shinji actually hoped the Akatsuki would succeed.
While others worried about Moryo and Shinno capturing the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Shinji was concerned they might fail.
"Those two idiots—capturing a Jinchuriki shouldn't cause this much trouble!"
Shinji shook his head helplessly.
Just then, a Hidden Stone communications ninja shouted, "Lady Kurotsuchi, we've contacted the Hidden Cloud's reinforcements!"
Kurotsuchi's spirits lifted. "Where are they? Who's leading?"
The ninja replied quickly, "It's the Raikage himself, and they're nearby, heading our way!"
"Perfect!"
Kurotsuchi clenched her fist.
The Raikage's arrival was a reassuring boost. Compared to a jonin like Kakashi, a Kage's presence was far more inspiring!
Hearing the Hidden Cloud was approaching, led by the Raikage, Shinji frowned.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.
Explosions echoed again, signaling that the battle ahead had erupted.
Kakashi's skill was undeniable. With his Mangekyo Sharingan, even a Kage could fall to him if careless.
However, like his teacher, the Fourth Hokage, he wasn't adept at handling large-scale monsters.
And the demon Moryo was exactly the type of enemy he struggled against!
Fortunately, Kakashi had Asuma, Kurenai, and a team of jonin and special jonin to support him, so a quick defeat wasn't likely.
"Damn it, this never ends!"
Moryo complained loudly while battling the Leaf forces.
Shinno, surrounded by the Anbu team, shouted, "Don't get tangled up with these Leaf ninja—we need to break through!"
Moryo replied, "Same old plan—I'll hold them off, you go!"
"Got it!"
Shinno nodded.
With that, Moryo, back in human form, unleashed his power, reverting to his fearsome demonic state. His writhing tentacles swept through the battlefield, quickly dominating it.
Seizing the chance, Shinno vanished with the unconscious Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
Two Anbu tried to pursue, but Moryo's tentacles struck them out of the air, sending them crashing to the ground, their fates unknown.
On the ridge.
Those left behind immediately noticed the shift on the battlefield.
In his fully unleashed state, Moryo could easily control a wide area. His tentacles were swift and ferocious, their casual sweeps rivaling A-rank ninjutsu.
Neither ninjutsu nor explosive tags from the jonin team could harm him, allowing Moryo to create an opening for Shinno to escape.
Shinno's speed was astonishing—he vanished with the Five-Tails Jinchuriki in a blink, prompting even Yakumo and Neji to exclaim, "So fast!"
As Shinno was about to escape with the Jinchuriki, Haku leaned toward Shinji and whispered, "Shinji, should we intercept him?"
Karin also looked to Shinji, awaiting his orders.
Shinji had no intention of intervening. If they delayed Shinno now, the Raikage's arrival could spell his doom.
Whoosh.
But before Shinji could respond, Yakumo darted toward the fleeing Shinno.
Kimimaro and Neji exchanged a glance and followed.
"Yakumo, don't act on your own!"
Shizune, overseeing the medical team, cried out in alarm, but Yakumo, Kimimaro, and Neji were already dozens of meters away.
Realizing it was too late to stop them, Shinji called to Haku and Karin and followed suit.
Seeing Shinji move, Kurotsuchi quickly rallied the nearby Hidden Stone ninja to join them.
After a chase, Yakumo's team cornered Shinno in a forest dozens of miles away.
Facing Kimimaro and Neji, Shinno smirked. "You brats again? I let you go last time, and now you're back to die!"
Kimimaro and Neji's faces darkened.
The last time they pursued Sasuke, who had been abducted, they'd clashed with Shinno, and that crushing defeat still haunted them.
Yakumo ignored Shinno's taunt. "Put down the Jinchuriki!"
Shinno sneered, "Just you three brats?"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
At that moment, Shinji's team and Kurotsuchi's Hidden Stone ninja arrived, surrounding Shinno in the center.
Kurotsuchi's expression was cold. "Not just them—us too! Hand over our village's Jinchuriki now, or you'll regret it!"
Seeing himself surrounded, Shinno casually tossed the unconscious Five-Tails Jinchuriki to the ground, then stretched his body. "Kids these days sure talk big! Fine, I've been looking for a chance to test my experiment's results. Since you're begging to die, I'll use you as test subjects!"
With that, a terrifying surge of chakra erupted from his body.
"What… how?!"
Yakumo gasped.
Not just her—Neji, with his Byakugan, was equally shocked. "Is… is he a Jinchuriki too?"
Undoubtedly, with the Akatsuki and Moryo's full support, Shinno's plan to create an artificial Tailed Beast had succeeded.
And he had become the first Jinchuriki of the "Zero-Tail"!
Unleashing the Zero-Tail's chakra, Shinno's already muscular frame swelled further, becoming even more imposing. Black chakra, almost tangible, swirled around him.
"How is this possible?!"
"Are all Akatsuki members this terrifying?"
"We're done for!"
The Hidden Stone ninja with Kurotsuchi were struck with fear and panic!
They had thought the Leaf's jonin holding off Moryo would make it easy to intercept Shinno and rescue the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
They hadn't expected Shinno, known as a spy, to conceal such horrifying power.
"Hahaha, it's not over yet! Scared already? Open your eyes and see—this is my true strength! Eight Gates Release, open!"
Laughing maniacally, Shinno, already in Zero-Tail Chakra Mode, activated the Eight Gates!