Perched atop a towering tree, Shinji surveyed his surroundings.
"Hiruko, Kurosuki Raiga, Moryo, Shinno, Sasori, Deidara…"
The six Akatsuki members scattered across the village were all within his sight.
Having regained the Koryugan, Shinji once again wielded its long-range penetrative vision. Coupled with the unparalleled insight of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, almost nothing happening in the village escaped his eyes!
"I can't let them take Naruto!"
Shinji pondered, forming a plan.
Naruto was the reincarnation of Asura Otsutsuki, watched over by the Sage of the Six Paths. Shinji had to ensure Naruto's safety to avoid drawing the Sage's intervention too soon.
After all, the Ten-Tails was split by the Sage himself, and from his perspective, he likely wouldn't want to see it revived.
But Shinji had to balance this carefully.
The Akatsuki had only captured the Four-Tails and Five-Tails jinchuriki so far. If he overly depleted their forces now, causing heavy losses or intel leaks, it could hinder their efficiency in collecting tailed beasts, delaying the Ten-Tails' revival.
Tilting his head slightly, Shinji first looked toward the village gate.
Sasori was locked in fierce combat with Leaf shinobi led by the Aburame clan. Though the Leaf suffered casualties, they had at least stalled Sasori at the gate.
Shifting his gaze, Shinji turned to the breach in the outer wall.
His brow furrowed. The demon Moryo's rampant, claw-flailing chaos stirred an instinctive displeasure in him.
"Shion probably isn't ready to face Moryo yet…"
With this in mind, Shinji suppressed the urge to act.
Moryo was the dark side of the priestess, two halves of a whole. As long as the priestess lived, Moryo was immortal—even the ancient Otsutsuki branch elder, using the Tenseigan, couldn't destroy it permanently.
Even if Shinji intervened, he could only eliminate Moryo temporarily; it would revive on its own later.
As for sealing it, Shinji considered it but ultimately decided against it.
Past priestesses had sealed Moryo, only to pass the problem to future generations.
To Shinji, the true, permanent solution was for Shion to absorb Moryo, becoming a complete priestess!
Outsiders could do little in this process.
Even weakening or sealing Moryo wouldn't change the outcome—Shion had to confront the demon and her own darkness herself.
Moryo's strength didn't affect the final outcome of this fusion battle between priestess and demon.
On the contrary, only by defeating Moryo at its peak could Shion truly qualify to face her inner demons and absorb it.
This step was Shion's alone to take!
His gaze pierced through the nearby ravaged battlefield, landing on Neji and Kimimaro, locked in combat with Shinno amid swirling dust.
Both had fully unleashed their bio-exoskeletons, barely holding off Shinno in his Shock Gate state.
"Neji's giving it his all…"
Shinji shook his head.
Neji was indeed fighting with everything he had, but even with the bio-exoskeleton's boost, this was his limit.
Kimimaro, however, was clearly holding back, not yet using his Shikotsumyaku abilities.
Shinji's gaze lingered briefly on Shinno.
He was intrigued by Shinno's forbidden medical techniques. He hadn't expected Shinno to open the Eight Gates Release to the Seventh Shock Gate again so soon.
Legitimate Eight Gates practitioners like Gai or Lee needed months to recover from such exertion.
Confirming the battles at the gate and wall breach were stable for now, Shinji turned his attention to the battlefield at the shelter's entrance.
"Looks like I need to handle this first!"
His eyes sharpened.
The reincarnations of Asura and Indra Otsutsuki were both there!
If the Outer Path Statue were still sealed on the moon, if the Rinnegan hadn't emerged, if the Akatsuki weren't collecting tailed beasts, the Sage of the Six Paths might not intervene in the shinobi world. After all, past reincarnations of Asura and Indra had died before—another cycle would suffice.
But this time was different!
A single misstep could prompt the Sage to act, so Shinji had to intervene early!
As for Deidara in the sky, Shinji used Jikibi to instruct him to stay aloft, bide his time, and retreat when the chance arose.
Swish.
Decision made, Shinji didn't hesitate, vanishing in a flash.
…
At the battlefield before the shelter.
Rumble rumble.
As Hiruko's Susanoo unleashed its might, the battlefield turned to chaos, with even the shelter's entrance collapsing under the impact.
"Damn it!"
Kakashi panted heavily.
He had tried various ninjutsu against Hiruko's Susanoo, to little effect. Even his signature Lightning Blade couldn't dent it.
For now, they could only rely on Yakumo's Wood Release and Naruto's tailed-beast-enhanced Shadow Clone Jutsu to wear down Hiruko's Susanoo.
Fortunately, Hiruko's Susanoo was so conspicuous that Leaf reinforcements were steadily converging.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"
Several Anbu joined forces, casting an Earth Release technique.
Amid the trembling ground, four massive earthen walls rose, encircling Hiruko's dark purple Susanoo.
Swish.
With a gust, a cloaked Anbu landed atop a wall, rapidly forming seals: "Earth Release: Earthfall Lid!"
Instantly, a massive carved stone lid was summoned from another dimension, crashing onto Hiruko's Susanoo.
Rumble rumble.
A deafening roar swept the battlefield!
"Did it work?"
"It should've taken him out!"
As Hiruko's Susanoo was engulfed by the walls and lid, the Leaf shinobi's faces lit with hope.
Boom.
But with an earth-shaking crash, the walls and lid shattered into pieces!
Amid the deafening roar and billowing dust, Hiruko's dark purple Susanoo revealed its menacing visage.