Feeling the weight of everyone's gazes, Shinji didn't hesitate. He said calmly, "We pursue!"
With that, he took the lead, chasing in the direction Shinno had fled.
The group responded in unison, quickly following.
Darui paused, visibly surprised.
He knew Shinji, of course. At the Leaf's academy exam, he'd been present, and through Hidden Cloud intelligence, he learned Shinji had recently defeated Yakumo, Sasuke, Kimimaro, Neji, and other prodigies, becoming the First Chair of the Hidden Leaf Academy.
But he couldn't understand why even Kurotsuchi and the Hidden Stone ninja followed Shinji's orders.
Though puzzled, Darui wasn't about to show weakness. Besides, he wasn't ready to let Shinno's attack on him slide. So, he led his remaining Hidden Cloud ninja to join the pursuit, catching up with the main group.
Drawing alongside Kurotsuchi, Darui whispered, "Why are you all following the Leaf's lead?"
Kurotsuchi briefly recounted what had happened.
Darui didn't pay much attention to their rendezvous with the Leaf reinforcements or being forced to confront Moryo. But when Kurotsuchi described Shinno opening the "Eight Gates Release," defeating Yakumo, Kimimaro, and Neji, only to be beaten one-on-one by Shinji, Darui's expression darkened, filled with disbelief. "Shinno was defeated by Shinji alone?"
Kurotsuchi nodded lightly. "Why else do you think he fled?"
Darui froze, recalling Shinno's panicked demeanor during their encounter.
Then it clicked. "You're saying Shinno was already heavily injured?"
Kurotsuchi glanced at him, smirking. "Useless."
Darui, usually carefree, felt a mix of shame and irritation.
He finally understood why no one heeded his suggestion earlier, instead looking to Uchiha Shinji. The Shinno who injured him was already wounded, while Shinji had defeated a full-strength Shinno using the "Eight Gates Release."
Realizing this, Darui looked at Shinji leading the group, thinking, Has the gap between us grown this wide?
At the front, Yakumo and Neji diligently provided Shinji with long-range reconnaissance.
Suddenly, Yakumo said, "He's slowing down!"
Shinji asked, "What's happening?"
Yakumo shook her head. "I'm not sure, but it looks like something's wrong with his body, so his speed dropped."
Neji added, "His chakra's weakening too!"
Shinji's eyes sharpened, guessing most of the reason.
It was likely that the duration of Shinno's so-called "Body Regeneration" had run out, unable to suppress his injuries or maintain his chakra levels.
Medical ninjutsu had limits. Even Tsunade's "Creation Rebirth" required storing sufficient chakra in advance with the "Strength of a Hundred Seal."
The only one in the shinobi world capable of true "Body Regeneration" was likely the First Hokage, who ended the Warring States period and founded the ninja village era.
Yet even he, after the battle with Madara at the Valley of the End, died under mysterious circumstances.
Thus, Shinno's seemingly miraculous medical technique surely had restrictions or side effects.
Yakumo hesitated, then said, "He stopped?"
In this situation, even if Shinji wanted to let Shinno go, he couldn't. He cursed inwardly, Useless!
Soon, Shinji and the others caught up to Shinno.
Shinno was leaning against a tree, panting heavily, his eyes no longer cruel but filled with panic.
Compared to the muscular, powerful Shinno from before, he now looked like a frail, elderly man in his seventies or eighties, his hair white and sparse!
Seeing Shinji, Shinno's expression shifted, and he gritted his teeth. "Damn… damn it!"
Glancing at the Five-Tails Jinchuriki still in Shinno's grasp, Shinji said, "Hand over the Jinchuriki!"
Shinno pulled out a kunai, pressing it to the Jinchuriki's throat. "Don't come closer, or I'll kill him!"
"Stop!"
Kurotsuchi cried out.
With Shinno cornered and clearly in no state to resist, she didn't want to take risks when victory was assured.
Shinji feigned hesitation, not acting rashly, his mind racing.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
At that moment, sharp feathers rained down from the sky.
Shinji and the others surrounding Shinno quickly retreated, dodging the feathers.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.
The feathers embedded in the ground detonated like explosive tags, blasting a ring around the tree Shinno leaned against!
As the smoke cleared, a massive shadow loomed overhead.
Looking up, they saw a giant bird in the sky, with two figures in Akatsuki red-cloud cloaks standing on its back.
Shinno shouted from below, "Hiruko, you bastard! Any later, and you'd be collecting my corpse!"
Undoubtedly, the two Akatsuki members who arrived were Hiruko and Kurozumi Raiga, whom Zetsu had mentioned would provide support.
Removing his conical hat, Hiruko looked down at the group, his gaze sweeping over the Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud ninja before settling on Shinji and the Leaf ninja. He replied to Shinno with a mocking tone, "Just a few brats pushed you this far? Seems your boasted 'Zero-Tail' isn't all that!"
Shinno gritted his teeth. "Quit talking nonsense! Moryo and I fought through countless battles to break out!"
"Save that for the leader!"
Hiruko chuckled.
Shinno roared, "Enough talk—get me out of here! We worked hard to capture the Five-Tails Jinchuriki. If the Hidden Stone takes him back, the leader won't let you off!"
Whoosh.
Hiruko leaped from his fused beast's back, landing lightly on the ground.
His gaze fixed on Shinji and the others. "Leaf ninja?"
Yakumo, worried Shinji might not know them, whispered, "Shinji, that's Hiruko, a rogue ninja from our village, from the same generation as Tsunade-sensei and Jiraiya-sama. He's likely very strong!"
"Tsunade's disciple?" Hiruko smiled. "So you still remember me!"