Considering the Nine-Tails, a critical factor in reviving the Ten-Tails, Shinji had no choice but to seek cooperation with Orochimaru. This was why he had previously handed Orochimaru over to Hidden Leaf for custody—otherwise, coercing Orochimaru would not have been an easy task.
With a shift in thought, Shinji devised a plan.
The next day, everything proceeded as usual.
In the morning, Shinji, as usual, appeared at the massive venue, activating Takamagahara for the thousand-plus Hidden Leaf shinobi gathered early in the hall.
Afterward, he returned to the Hidden Leaf Police Force headquarters and assigned Haku and Karin a mission to patrol the village's perimeter for security.
Since the Hidden Leaf Police Force was responsible for village security, Shinji, as its captain, had the authority to issue such tasks.
After providing Haku and Karin an excuse to leave the village, Shinji discreetly created a blood clone, while his true self began patrolling the village with Mumei.
As soon as they hit the streets, Shinji became the center of attention.
This was not only due to Takamagahara but also because of the Hidden Leaf Police Force captain's uniform he wore.
For so many years, the Police Force uniform bearing the Uchiha clan's fan emblem had not been seen on the streets of Hidden Leaf—until now.
At that moment, Mumei whispered, "Shinji, it seems someone is following us!"
"No need to worry!"
Shinji smiled.
He and Mumei, as a team, were patrolling the village openly under the Police Force's name to draw the attention of the village's leadership and the various factions lurking in the shadows, thereby covering for his blood clone, Haku, and Karin as they left the village.
The presence Mumei had just detected was an Anbu sent by the village's higher-ups to monitor him.
After deliberately wandering around the village for a while, Shinji and Mumei arrived at a private room on the second floor of a barbecue restaurant.
Glancing out the window, Shinji noticed that among those monitoring him was a member of the Hyuga clan. He promptly abandoned his plan to use Red Dragon in the private room and said to Mumei, "See that tree across the street?"
Mumei looked over. "Yes, what about it?"
Shinji chuckled. "There's a guy hiding in the canopy watching us. Go check him out under the authority of the Police Force!"
Being watched had already made Mumei uneasy, so upon hearing Shinji's orders, she immediately flickered forward, darting toward the tree across the street.
As expected, before Mumei even reached it, there was a rustle in the tree's canopy.
Seizing the opportunity, Shinji shifted his position, moving away from the window to a blind spot in the private room, and activated Red Dragon.
Swish.
In an instant, he swapped places with the blood clone that had quietly slipped out of the village earlier.
At that moment, an Anbu hiding in another tree, monitoring Shinji, frowned slightly and spoke into the communicator at his neck. "This is One. I've lost sight of the target! Two, Three, can you directly observe the target?"
"Two has lost the target!"
"Three has lost the target as well!"
Hearing the responses through his earpiece, the Anbu codenamed One sensed something was off. He glanced at the Hyuga clansman assigned by the village to assist in monitoring Shinji and noticed the Hyuga was arguing with one of Shinji's subordinates, no longer in position.
His extensive surveillance experience told him something was likely wrong, so he considered getting closer—despite the risks—to confirm whether Shinji was still in the barbecue restaurant.
Just then, a voice crackled through his earpiece. "Two has spotted the target. The target is still in the private room, no abnormalities."
"Three has spotted the target as well."
One quickly looked toward the second-floor private room of the barbecue restaurant and saw Shinji's figure reappear by the window.
His instincts told him something was amiss, but after observing for a while, he found no flaws. Besides, Shinji had only been out of their sight for a brief moment. Based on his experience, even a Mangekyo Uchiha couldn't do much in such a short time.
Guess I was overthinking it,One muttered to himself before speaking into the communicator. "Eye has been exposed. Two, Three, stay sharp and don't miss any details!"
The Eye he referred to was, of course, the Hyuga clansman, who was now helplessly explaining to Mumei that he was just passing by.
…
Outside Hidden Leaf Village.
Having swapped places with his blood clone, Shinji instantly arrived at the clone's location.
After cautiously scanning his surroundings to confirm it was safe, he donned the red-cloud cloak and mask of A while using Jikibi to contact Haku and Karin.
Since they were on a mission outside the village without the cover of crowds, surveillance or tracking was difficult. Additionally, the village's focus was still on Shinji, so there weren't many Anbu following Haku and Karin, and they were quickly shaken off.
After contacting Haku and Karin, Shinji, in his capacity as Leader A, ordered Karin to search for suspicious individuals hiding near the village.
Since Orochimaru's subordinates were planning to rescue him, they would likely be hiding near the village. Ordinary people might struggle to find them, but with Karin's Kagura Shingan, it wouldn't be difficult if she took the time.
Before long, Karin made a discovery.
Her Kagura Shingan detected multiple powerful chakra signatures in a remote forest about forty miles from the village.
In such a secluded location, even if a Hidden Leaf patrol passed by, their skill level wouldn't be high.
For Karin to describe the chakra signatures as powerful was no small matter—it would require at least Jonin-level chakra.
The presence of several Jonin-level individuals gathered in a remote forest was clearly abnormal, so Karin reported the situation to Shinji.
Upon receiving the intelligence, Shinji didn't act alone as usual. Instead, he instructed Karin and Haku to provide support nearby before heading toward the forest.
Moments later, Shinji arrived at the forest.
There's the smell of blood.
He sniffed the air.
The Koryugan's sensitivity to blood told him that a slaughter had occurred in this forest not long ago, and the number of dead was far more than just one or two.
At that moment, Karin, through Jikibi, provided a more precise location.
Whoosh.
Shinji darted forward and discovered a cave. Three figures emerged from it to meet him.
Undoubtedly, these three were Kabuto Yakushi, Jūgo, and Guren, who had been hiding there.
"A!?" Guren froze, then exclaimed, "How did you find us?"