After assessing the situation and surveying the battlefield, the Raikage and Kakashi coordinated with the Hidden Rock Village, redeploying forces to encircle the fleeing Akatsuki members.
Undoubtedly.
As long as the enemy hadn't completely escaped the Land of Earth's borders, the Five Great Shinobi Villages would never let them go.
Moreover, according to Yakumo, Kurotsuchi, and the others, Shinno had essentially lost his combat ability, and Hiruko's condition had deteriorated after losing the genjutsu duel.
If they didn't pursue now, once Akatsuki escaped the Land of Earth, rescuing the abducted Five-Tails jinchūriki would become far more difficult.
Thus, the shinobi from each village sprang into action once more.
Shinji's student team was reorganized into the Hidden Leaf's support unit, now under Kakashi's direct command.
During this process, Shinji learned about Kakashi's team's battle with the demon Mōryō.
With the support of the Hidden Cloud's shinobi army led by the Fourth Raikage, Mōryō, besieged by Kakashi and his team, suffered heavy damage and was forced to retreat.
Since Mōryō could hardly be killed unless sealed, Kakashi and the others, after several failed attempts, could only watch as Mōryō escaped.
Later, Shinji indirectly gathered information about the encirclement plans for Shinno, Hiruko, and their group.
Because they had a flying fusion beast, ordinary shinobi would struggle to intercept them. However, the Fourth Kazekage's Hidden Sand shinobi army happened to be positioned along Hiruko's escape route. If the Fourth Kazekage could delay Hiruko, there was still a chance to catch up to them.
As for the other Akatsuki team that had abducted the Four-Tails jinchūriki in the Land of Birds, the Hidden Rock's Anbu tracking team had already picked up their trail.
Once Shinno, Hiruko, and their group were dealt with, the combined forces of the Five Great Shinobi Villages could head straight to the Land of Birds.
In the Land of Birds.
With his Sharingan activated, Sasuke questioned a Hidden Rock intelligence shinobi: "Where is Uchiha Itachi?"
The shinobi, in a dazed state, pointed in a direction: "The latest intel shows that yesterday, Akatsuki's Uchiha Itachi and Biwa Jūzō appeared in the black market of that town over there."
Sasuke turned toward the direction the Hidden Rock shinobi indicated: "I've finally found you!"
Sakura approached cautiously, whispering, "Sasuke, isn't it a bit wrong to treat a Hidden Rock shinobi like this?"
Undoubtedly.
The reason the Hidden Rock intelligence shinobi obediently shared classified information was because he was under the genjutsu of Sasuke's Sharingan.
"No time to worry about that!"
Sasuke didn't care. He had already risked sneaking out of the village—how could he bother with such concerns?
After arriving at the town mentioned by the Hidden Rock shinobi, the disguised trio of Sasuke, Sakura, and Shion checked into a local inn.
At the inn, Sakura asked, "Sasuke, what's your plan now?"
Shion also looked at Sasuke.
Sasuke thought for a moment and said, "We'll rest today and head to the town's black market tomorrow morning to investigate!"
Seeing that Sasuke wasn't acting recklessly, both Sakura and Shion breathed a sigh of relief.
The next morning, Sakura brought breakfast to Sasuke's room.
After knocking for a while with no response, Sakura had a bad feeling and shouted, "Shion, come quick!"
Shion opened her door from the other room, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "What's wrong?"
Sakura said urgently, "Sasuke doesn't seem to be in his room."
Shion, realizing something, rushed to Sasuke's door, kicked it open with a bang, and stormed inside. Seeing a note left by Sasuke on the table, she fumed, "Damn it, that guy Sasuke ran off last night!"
Crack! Hearing this, the breakfast tray in Sakura's hands slipped and crashed to the floor.
In a forest outside the town.
Two figures wearing red-cloud cloaks and bamboo hats walked slowly forward.
One of them carried not only a fearsome large blade on his back but also an unconscious shinobi.
Without a doubt.
These two figures moving through the forest were none other than Uchiha Itachi and Biwa Jūzō, who had recently broken through from the Land of Earth and entered the Land of Birds.
Suddenly, Biwa Jūzō asked, "Itachi, you deliberately went to the black market. Got some other intentions?"
Itachi shook his head, explaining, "I just wanted to confirm the Five Great Shinobi Villages' deployments."
"Is that so?"
Biwa Jūzō smirked, not pressing further.
Itachi's explanation was flawless, but as his partner, Jūzō knew Itachi wouldn't normally do such a thing. Appearing in the black market meant exposing their whereabouts.
As a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Jūzō was no stranger to scheming, so he instinctively sensed Itachi had another purpose. But since Itachi didn't want to share, Jūzō didn't bother to call it out—after all, they were partners! After walking in silence for a while, Biwa Jūzō suddenly stopped, gripping his Decapitating Carving Knife and pointing it toward a nearby tree: "Come out!"
At that moment, a figure emerged from behind the tree, gritting his teeth as he spat, "Uchiha Itachi!"
Seeing the figure, Biwa Jūzō was slightly surprised, then smirked, "Itachi, isn't this your little brother?"
"Hm."
Itachi remained calm, almost excessively so, as if the person before him was just a vaguely familiar neighbor.
Sasuke declared, "Itachi, today is the day you die!"
Biwa Jūzō glanced around, then looked at Sasuke with surprise: "Kid, you're alone?"
"I'm more than enough to take care of you both!"
As Sasuke spoke, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Tch, tch." Biwa Jūzō chuckled, turning to Itachi. "Looks like your little brother's pretty confident! Want me to handle him?"
Itachi shook his head lightly. "I'll deal with it."
"Even a kid like this found us. Looks like our whereabouts are already exposed. Hurry up and take care of it before those Hidden Rock guys catch up!" Biwa Jūzō reminded him as he stepped aside.
Itachi said, "It won't take long."
Recalling his defeat in the Land of Grass, Sasuke didn't dare underestimate his opponent this time. Even after activating his Mangekyō Sharingan, he still felt uneasy and resolutely triggered the Cursed Seal on his shoulder.
As the Cursed Seal activated, the Cursed Seal of Heaven infused with Orochimaru's chakra began to spread across Sasuke's body, visibly transforming him.
This caused Itachi to show a hint of emotion.
Seeing this, Sasuke said, "Compared to last time, I've grown several times stronger. This time, you're the one who'll lose! The blood debt of our father, mother, and the entire clan will be settled by my hands! Die, Uchiha Itachi!"