Inside the Military Police Force Building.
"Sasuke's 'Susanoo' seems to have disappeared..."
"The explosions also stopped, is the battle over?"
"Who won?"
Gathered by the window, the peers discussed while looking at the street scene in the distance.
There had been no explosion sounds from the distant street for a while, and Sasuke's half-body 'Susanoo' was nowhere to be seen.
These signs undoubtedly indicated that the battle was over, or the battlefield had shifted.
Therefore, the peers were all guessing who won.
Unlike others, Shikamaru looked solemn.
He knew that with Sasuke's strength, he was most likely not a match for Orochimaru. If the battle was still ongoing, it would at least mean Sasuke hadn't lost. But if the battle was over, then Sasuke was likely in great danger.
Stealing a glance at Shinji beside him, Shikamaru was surprised to find that Shinji seemed unconcerned about the outcome of the distant battlefield, his expression as calm as ever.
"What exactly is Shinji thinking?"
Shikamaru, who was always resourceful, was also deeply confused at this moment.
In his perception, Shinji and Sasuke, the two Mangekyo Uchiha acting together, would be the safest tactic, so he didn't understand why Shinji held back his troops.
"Afraid? No, Shinji is not that kind of person!"
He shook his head secretly again.
Suddenly, a ninja appeared in the small square in front of the Military Police Force Building.
The peers by the window hurriedly looked over and found that the person was actually Tayuya, a ninja from the Hidden Sound Village who had participated in the Chunin Exams with them.
Sakura exclaimed: "She... why is she here?!"
Sakura clearly remembered that Tayuya was imprisoned in the secret prison because she had even gone with her teacher Shizune to the secret prison to treat Tayuya.
Immediately after.
Figures of Guren and Jūgo also appeared in the small square in front of the Military Police Force Building. Then the three of them stood in the small square, quietly watching the Military Police Building!
Sakura looked astonished: "How could this be? Aren't they all imprisoned in the secret prison?"
Tenten asked: "Sakura, who are they?"
After all, not all peers had the opportunity to enter the village's secret prison like Sakura, so most peers only recognized Tayuya and didn't know the identities of Guren and Jūgo.
Sakura swallowed: "They are all Orochimaru's subordinates. They were caught by the village when assisting Orochimaru to escape from prison before. Don't know why they all ran out now!"
Hearing this, Shikamaru's heart skipped a beat.
Prisoners from the village prison appearing so swaggeringly in front of the Military Police Force Building was actually enough to explain many problems.
Thinking of this, Shikamaru turned his head abruptly to look at Shinji.
Just as he predicted, Shinji remained calm.
What surprised him was that even Karin and Mumei standing beside Shinji didn't seem to have much emotional fluctuation, as if there was no one in the small square in front of the building.
Ino asked: "What do they want standing there?"
Kiba said angrily: "They should be targeting us! Damn it, I'll go out and fight them!"
Lee said busily: "I'll go with you!"
Shikamaru hurriedly stopped them and said: "Don't be reckless!"
Ino also persuaded: "Yeah, let's listen to Shinji! With him here, it should... should be fine!"
Ino's voice trembled a little, obviously lacking confidence.
Swish swish...
Just then, accompanied by two sounds of breaking wind, Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto also arrived in front of the Military Police Force Building.
The peers hiding in the office all changed their expressions drastically. The air around seemed to solidify, and fear spread rapidly on their faces.
Sakura covered her mouth, daring not to make a sound, but tears couldn't stop flowing down.
Because what Yakushi Kabuto in the small square outside was carrying in his hand was exactly the unconscious Sasuke.
"What... what do we do?!"
"Has Sasuke been defeated?"
"It's over!"
Panic and despair enveloped all peers. Finally, everyone looked at Shinji beside them in unison, treating him as the last straw.
"Indeed coming for me..."
Shinji's face darkened slightly.
Although he was not present at the two confrontations between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, and Yakushi Kabuto and Sasuke, he already knew the general results through Karin's 'Kagura Shingan'.
As the reigning Hokage at the time, the Third Hokage couldn't be dissociated from the Uchiha clan massacre, and Sasuke was the bait Shinji threw out, so he chose not to intervene in these two battles.
Now Orochimaru defeated the Third Hokage fulfilling his long-cherished wish, caught Sasuke obtaining this body with Mangekyo Sharingan, and yet still came to trouble him at this time. It meant that he was among Orochimaru's targets from the beginning.
"Who exactly is behind Orochimaru? Is it Nagato, Obito pushing? Or is the Fear Hegemon playing tricks? Or is it purely his personal insatiable greed?"
Various thoughts flashed through Shinji's mind instantly.
The reason why he delayed showing up was that he worried there were other forces pushing behind Orochimaru's attack this time, so he released Sasuke to test Orochimaru.
As expected, Orochimaru was not satisfied with solving the Third Hokage and obtaining Sasuke; even he was on Orochimaru's hunting list.
If it was Nagato, Obito, or Orochimaru's own ambition pushing secretly, Shinji didn't need to worry too much. But if it was the power infiltrated by the Fear Hegemon into the Ninja World playing tricks, then he, the 'Lamp Bearer', couldn't easily show up before being ready.
At this time, Orochimaru stepped forward, walking towards the Military Police Force Building.
Yakushi Kabuto, Jūgo, Guren, and Tayuya guarded Orochimaru's left and right, also approaching the Military Police Force Building together.
The hearts of the peers in the office were in their throats.
Seeing Sasuke captured alive and no other Hidden Leaf ninjas reinforcing around, even the dull Choji and Lee realized that the village's defense force had mostly been crushed by Orochimaru. Now they were isolated and helpless, no one could save them.
Shikamaru stared at Shinji closely: "Shinji..."
Shinji sighed lightly.
At this time, Karin beside him stepped forward and asked Shinji for instructions: "Let me go!"
While Shinji was considering, Mumei said: "Shinji, the opponent is obviously coming for you. I'll go out and deal with them all!"
Saying that, without waiting for Shinji to nod, Mumei turned and walked out of the office.
Seeing this, Karin retreated behind Shinji.
The peers in the office looked at each other in dismay. They never expected that facing the approach of Orochimaru, Yakushi Kabuto, Jūgo, Guren, and Tayuya, Shinji actually only sent out Mumei, a girl about their age!
Shikamaru exclaimed: "Shinji, are you serious?"