In the town.
"Shion, what do we do now?"
Sakura grabbed Shion's arm, completely at a loss.
She was usually a rule-abiding good girl, and coming along on Sasuke's reckless adventure had already taken all the courage she could muster. So, when she discovered Sasuke had snuck off alone last night, she instantly lost her sense of direction.
Shion, having seen her fair share of big scenes, stayed relatively calm and analyzed, "Where do you think Sasuke would go?"
Sakura blurted out, "He must have gone after Uchiha Itachi!"
Shion nodded, continuing her analysis. "Uchiha Itachi was spotted in the town before, so he might still be nearby. If Sasuke went after him last night, they could have already run into each other by now!"
"What do we do then?"
Sakura's voice rose in panic.
Shion thought for a long moment before shaking her head. "I can't think of any good ideas right now. It looks like we'll have to find Shinji!"
Sakura was stunned. "Shinji?!"
In the Land of Earth.
Whoosh, whoosh. The howling wind in his ears did nothing to quell Hiruko's anger. His defeat in the earlier genjutsu duel still gnawed at him.
Shinno, after taking a few of his specially made secret pills, looked a bit better, but his shriveled, elderly-looking body showed no signs of recovery.
This was one of the side effects of his forbidden medical technique, Physical Regeneration.
During the technique's duration, he could gain near-immortal recovery abilities. But if the damage he sustained was too great or the technique's duration ended, his body would suffer severe backlash, requiring a long period of recovery to slowly heal.
Seeing Hiruko's grim expression, Shinno said, "That Uchiha Shinji is a bit off. I suffered a huge loss at that kid's hands too!"
Hiruko snapped coldly, "Don't compare me to you!"
Shinno didn't hold back, retorting, "Didn't you come up short too? I'm starting to doubt if those eyes of yours are really Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Hiruko exploded with rage. "What did you say?!"
Shinno didn't flinch. "I'm just stating what I saw with my own eyes!"
To help Hiruko complete his ritual, Akatsuki had gone to great lengths, which indirectly affected their investment in Shinno's creation of the Zero-Tails.
Now, Hiruko's performance hadn't lived up to his boasts, and he had nearly gotten them killed earlier, so Shinno couldn't resist throwing a few jabs.
Nearby, Kurosuki Raiga, seeing the two bicker, said irritably, "We haven't even escaped the Land of Earth yet! A bunch of Hidden Leaf brats already made us look like fools. If the Five Kage catch up to us, not one of us is getting out alive!"
At that, both Hiruko and Shinno fell silent.
One had completed his ritual, and the other had created an artificial tailed beast. Both thought they could dominate, only to be crushed by a group of Hidden Leaf academy students. Their confidence had taken a serious hit.
"There are shinobi up ahead! It looks like… Hidden Sand shinobi, led by the Fourth Kazekage!"
At that moment, Ranmaru, perched on Kurosuki Raiga's back, suddenly issued a warning.
Ranmaru's Hogan, like the Hyūga clan's Byakugan, was a type of clairvoyant dojutsu, capable of long-range reconnaissance on the battlefield.
The three Akatsuki members on the fusion beast froze in unison.
At the same time they spotted the Hidden Sand shinobi, the Hidden Sand forces noticed them too. After all, the fusion beast's massive size made it impossible to miss in the sky.
Seeing the shimmering golden sand rising ahead, Kurosuki Raiga said, "It's definitely the Fourth Kazekage!"
Shinno's face darkened. "Damn it, this is trouble!"
Hiruko pondered for a moment before saying, "You two draw their attention from the air. I'll launch a surprise attack from the ground!"
On Shinji's side.
The allied forces of the Hidden Rock, Hidden Leaf, and Hidden Cloud Villages were hot on the trail of Hiruko and his group.
Meanwhile, the communication team had already relayed Hiruko's group's situation to the Hidden Sand shinobi tasked with intercepting them.
Boom, boom, boom. Suddenly, a faint rumbling echoed from the forest ahead.
Kakashi's expression darkened. "The Hidden Sand?"
The Fourth Raikage said, "Good work! As long as the Hidden Sand can hold those Akatsuki dogs, we'll wipe them out in one fell swoop!"
Kakashi wasn't as optimistic as the Raikage and turned to Yakumo and Neji nearby.
Both Yakumo and Neji shook their heads in unison. "Sorry, it's too far!"
The range of dojutsu reconnaissance was limited.
Kakashi then said, "Everyone, take note—the Hidden Sand has engaged Akatsuki. We need to pick up the pace!"
The allied forces immediately sped up, racing toward the source of the rumbling.
But before they could arrive, the sounds of battle ahead subsided.
Any shinobi with a bit of experience could sense something was wrong. At Kakashi and the Fourth Raikage's urging, the group accelerated again.
Moments later, the allied forces finally reached the battlefield.
But the scene before them was unexpected. Hiruko, Shinno, and Kurosuki Raiga—the Akatsuki members—were nowhere to be found. The battlefield was littered with the bodies and wounded of Hidden Sand shinobi, and even the Fourth Kazekage, their leader, had sustained significant injuries.
Kakashi approached the Fourth Kazekage. "Kazekage-sama, are you alright?"
The Fourth Kazekage, being treated by his village's medical shinobi, shook his head. "Just a minor injury. I'm fine."
The Fourth Raikage stepped forward, his voice booming. "Where are the Akatsuki members?"
The Fourth Kazekage, both frustrated and somewhat resentful, said, "What kind of intel did you send us? That Hiruko wields Dark Release, Swift Release, Steel Release, Storm Release, and Sharingan—five Bloodline Limits! Ordinary taijutsu and ninjutsu are completely ineffective against him. And you said he was repelled by a team of Hidden Leaf academy students?"
Clearly.
The intel previously sent to the Hidden Sand had led the Fourth Kazekage to misjudge Hiruko's group's strength. The moment they engaged, they suffered a major loss at Hiruko's hands.
Hearing the Fourth Kazekage's complaints, everyone turned to look at Shinji.
When they'd first heard that Hiruko was repelled by Shinji, a mere academy student, they too had thought Yakumo and Kurotsuchi's descriptions were exaggerated. They doubted Hiruko could possess so many Bloodline Limits or be as terrifyingly powerful as described.
Now, seeing the heavy casualties among the Hidden Sand and the injured Fourth Kazekage, they realized Hiruko might truly be a formidable threat.
Shinji said nothing, merely scanning the battlefield with his gaze, piecing together what had happened.
Judging by the traces left on the battlefield, it was likely that Hiruko had used his speed to infiltrate the Hidden Sand ranks, directly attacking the Fourth Kazekage. The Kazekage's attention had probably been focused on the sky, so caught off guard, he was injured by Hiruko.
With the Kazekage defeated, the Hidden Sand forces naturally fell into disarray. The battle lasted only a short time, allowing Hiruko and his group to easily break through the Hidden Sand's encirclement and escape.
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