"Shinji!?"
Yakumo, Sasuke, and the others froze, then their faces lit up with joy.
Hiruko's expression darkened.
Undoubtedly, the figure dropping from the sky was none other than Shinji, who had rushed to the scene!
Glancing at the exhausted Yakumo, the dojutsu-drained Sasuke, and the injured Kakashi, Shinji smiled faintly: "Need a hand?"
Yakumo instantly relaxed: "We've been waiting for you!"
Sasuke snapped: "What took you so long?!"
Naruto shouted: "Finally, we can fight back?!"
Watching Naruto, still brimming with fighting spirit after such a fierce battle, Shinji couldn't help but marvel at his combat potential, far surpassing Sasuke's.
Kakashi warned: "Shinji, don't underestimate them. Both are extremely dangerous!"
Shinji turned his gaze to Hiruko and Kurosuki Raiga.
Across the field.
Seeing the Leaf's reinforcements arriving steadily, Raiga said: "We can't drag this out. If you want to go crazy, do it on your own time. For now, complete the mission!"
Hiruko nodded: "Fine, let's grab the Nine-Tails jinchuriki first!"
After prolonged fighting, his reserves were depleted. Maintaining Susanoo was taxing, even for someone who had completed the ritual. Weighing his options, he set aside his desire to crush Shinji and focused on Naruto.
Kakashi shouted: "Everyone, protect Naruto!"
At his command, the Leaf shinobi braced as if facing a dire threat.
Sasuke, rallying his strength despite his exhaustion, positioned his Susanoo in front of Naruto.
Yakumo mustered her remaining chakra, striking a seal-forming stance.
The still-able Anbu surrounded Naruto, drawing their long blades to shield him at the center.
As the group tightened into a defensive formation, Shinji stood out starkly in the middle of the field.
While everyone expected Shinji to join the defensive circle, he instead stepped forward, slowly walking toward Hiruko and Raiga.
Yakumo cried out: "Don't be reckless, Shinji!"
Sasuke, shocked, blurted: "Shinji, that guy's Susanoo is way stronger than mine!"
Naruto glanced at Sasuke, noting his genuine urgency.
Kakashi, exasperated, thought: Why do these Uchiha always go solo? Sasuke just did, and now Shinji's doing the same!
"What's this kid up to?"
Raiga's brows furrowed.
Hiruko sneered: "I was planning to deal with you later, but since you're so eager to die, I'll oblige!"
Shinji, still walking, said calmly: "Do you know why I became First Chair?"
Hiruko's face darkened.
Raiga gripped his thunder blades Fang together, assuming a combat stance.
Shinji's composure instinctively unnerved them both.
In the distance.
The Third Hokage, clad in battle gear, led his personal Anbu squad, standing atop a tree overlooking the battlefield at the shelter's entrance.
"That's Uchiha Shinji?"
Shinji's intervention was caught by the Third, who was preparing to provide support.
The Third's Anbu also focused on the battlefield, their eyes on Shinji as he stepped toward Hiruko and Raiga.
"What's he doing?"
"Is he seriously planning to take on two Akatsuki members alone?"
"Too arrogant!"
The Anbu whispered among themselves.
Hiruko's strength was proven through stunning feats. Even the Third, no longer the feared Ninja Hero of his youth, wasn't confident he could defeat him.
Raiga, one of the Mist's Seven Swordsmen, had just proven his danger by injuring Kakashi in a single move, marking him as another formidable Akatsuki member.
Facing such opponents, Shinji's actions seemed suicidal to the onlookers!
On the battlefield.
Shinji's steps didn't falter, his tone steady: "Because I'm the strongest!"
Hiruko bristled: "Uchiha brat…"
Swish.
Before Hiruko could finish, Shinji activated the Twelve Palaces, using the Seventh Form Short Step, closing in on Hiruko's dark purple Susanoo.
"You!?"
Hiruko was startled.
Raiga and Ranmaru on his back gasped in unison: "So fast!"
Boom!
Without a word, Shinji's Spiraling Shuriken slammed into the chest of Hiruko's Susanoo, forcing it back.
Shinji turned his head, glancing at Raiga.
Raiga's heart clenched, sensing he was the next target. He immediately activated his thunder blades Fang, shouting: "Ninja Art: Armor of Lightning!"
Sizzle sizzle.
Blinding electric light enveloped Raiga, wrapping him like armor.
Shinji, using the Seventh Form Short Step again, appeared before Raiga.
His lips curved into a smirk as he struck with both hands, activating a seal-less Chidori, coating them in lightning.
Raiga's eyes twitched.
Shinji's exaggerated speed, fierce strikes, and flashy seal-less ninjutsu caught him off guard. But as an elite from the Blood Mist, he reacted swiftly despite the looming danger, swinging his dual blades to block all of Shinji's attack paths.
"Let's see if your hands are faster or my blades!"
As he swung, Raiga watched Shinji's face, trying to predict his next move.
But all he saw was Shinji's smirking lips.
"Why's he smiling? My blades are clearly faster!"
Confusion stirred in Raiga's mind.
Thump thump.
The next instant, Raiga's face paled. Something seemed to grip his heart, his blood flow freezing.
The anomaly slowed his blade swing by a fraction.
That fraction was enough. With the Twelve Palaces boosting his speed and strength to their peak, and Chidori neutralizing Raiga's Armor of Lightning, Shinji's hands moved like dragons, snatching the Fang blades from Raiga, a former Seven Swordsman, before spinning and kicking him cleanly away.
Disarming!
Subduing!
The entire sequence took a mere moment.
The battlefield fell silent!
Hiruko, fuming with rage, Raiga, sprawled on the ground staring at his empty hands, and the Leaf shinobi—all were stunned into silence.