Shinno's sudden retreat caught everyone but Shinji off guard. By the time he grabbed the Five-Tails Jinchuriki and fled into the distant forest, the others snapped back to reality.
Yet, instead of acting immediately, they all turned to Shinji.
Undoubtedly, Shinji's decisive victory had cemented his authority in their eyes, so even the Hidden Stone ninja instinctively awaited his orders.
Shinji's expression remained cold, accentuated by the crimson three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes, perfectly embodying the Uchiha clan's signature arrogance.
This made the others hesitant to speak up, even though they felt pursuit should begin immediately.
Shinji wasn't just posing for effect.
Watching the direction Shinno fled, he silently calculated the speed of Shinno's recovery. He wanted to let Shinno escape with the Five-Tails Jinchuriki to ensure the Akatsuki's success, but he couldn't make it too obvious.
Thus, before their clash, he had already assessed Shinno's forbidden medical technique, "Body Regeneration."
"Nine seconds… ten seconds… eleven seconds… That's about right. The acupuncture points I blocked and damaged should be about fifty to sixty percent recovered by now!"
After gauging Shinno's condition, Shinji waved his hand. "Pursue!"
Without question or hesitation, every ninja, including those from the Hidden Stone, nodded silently and followed Shinji.
"He's getting faster!"
Yakumo, observing ahead with her Koryugan, suddenly exclaimed.
Neji, also tracking the fleeing Shinno with his Byakugan, nodded. "Yes, his body seems to have recovered, and his speed keeps increasing!"
"How is that possible?"
"He was so badly injured—is he a monster?"
"Damn it, he played us!"
The Hidden Stone ninja were both shocked and skeptical.
They had witnessed Shinji's fight with Shinno—whether it was the initial "Rasenshuriken" or the subsequent taijutsu duel, Shinji had dealt Shinno heavy blows.
Yet, in just a few minutes, Shinno had recovered again, leaving them stunned!
Shinji's expression remained unchanged.
With his knowledge of the human body and expertise in medical ninjutsu, he was certain Shinno's so-called "Body Regeneration" had limits.
He deduced that while Shinno appeared recovered, his combat ability was significantly diminished. Shinji even suspected Shinno could no longer activate the "Eight Gates Release" in his current state.
Thus, he deliberately slowed the pursuit, not chasing too aggressively!
His restraint didn't raise suspicions among the team. After seeing Shinno's recovery, cautious pacing was a natural quality for a leader.
Many even felt reassured by Shinji's lack of recklessness.
At that moment, Yakumo's face lit up. "It's the Hidden Cloud! Their reinforcements have arrived and intercepted Shinno ahead!"
The group was instantly invigorated.
Everyone knew the Hidden Cloud's reinforcements were led by the Fourth Raikage himself. Though the Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud often clashed, the Stone ninja admired the Raikage's strength. To them, with the Raikage involved, Shinno was doomed!
Shinji frowned slightly.
Beyond his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he wielded "Susanoo Tomoshibi," controlling three pairs of eyes: Karin's Rinnegan, Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyo, and a pair of Ketsuryugan.
The Sharingan and Ketsuryugan were illusion-based, lacking clairvoyant abilities.
While the Rinnegan was versatile and powerful, it wasn't a clairvoyant eye like the Koryugan, Byakugan, or Hogan. Thus, Shinji couldn't foresee the situation ahead, and hearing that the Hidden Cloud had intercepted Shinno made him restless.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.
Soon, a series of explosions echoed from ahead, signaling that battle had erupted!
"This…"
Moments later, Yakumo, still observing, froze.
Neji, with his Byakugan, also looked puzzled.
Kurotsuchi quickly asked, "What's happening up there? Has Raikage-sama rescued our village's Jinchuriki?"
Yakumo shook her head. "The Hidden Cloud's interception was broken through!"
"How is that possible?!"
Not just Kurotsuchi—the Hidden Stone ninja gasped in disbelief.
Yakumo explained, "I didn't see the Raikage among the Hidden Cloud reinforcements ahead!"
The Hidden Stone ninja exchanged looks.
Soon, Shinji's group reached the site where the Hidden Cloud had tried to intercept Shinno.
Though the battle was brief, the scene was gruesome, with three or four mangled Hidden Cloud ninja bodies scattered across the ground.
The remaining Hidden Cloud ninja were silently bandaging their wounds.
Kurotsuchi's gaze quickly fell on Darui, and she hurried forward. "Darui, where's Raikage-sama?"
Darui, tending to his wounds, replied, "The commotion at the other battlefield was too big, so Raikage-sama went to support them."
"This…"
Kurotsuchi was momentarily speechless.
Undoubtedly, the intense clash between Moryo and Kakashi's group had drawn the Raikage's attention, prompting him to head to that battlefield personally, leaving Darui with two squads to support Kurotsuchi's side.
This arrangement wasn't unreasonable.
Previously, Shinno was just a spy, not a top-tier Akatsuki member, so neither the Raikage nor Darui had taken him seriously.
They hadn't anticipated that Shinno, now the "Zero-Tail" Jinchuriki, had undergone a qualitative leap in strength.
Before, Shinno was merely a jonin skilled in medical ninjutsu, who had secretly learned the "Eight Gates Release" but lacked combat prowess. Now, he was a different beast, with destructive power surpassing ordinary elite jonin, reaching Kage-level.
Caught off guard, Darui and his team suffered heavily in their brief clash. If Shinno hadn't been wary of Shinji behind him, they might've been wiped out.
Darui glanced at Kurotsuchi and the others, standing up. "That guy's strength is completely different from the intelligence! Even if we could defeat him, the casualties would be heavy. I've sent someone to notify Raikage-sama. You'd better not act rashly—wait for him to arrive!"
To Darui's surprise, no one agreed with him.
All eyes turned to Shinji, awaiting the decision of the one who had defeated Shinno one-on-one.