Shinji noticed their change in attitude, but he didn't pay it much mind.
The Plague Hegemon's pollution was still on him. He needed to purge it immediately; otherwise, it could leave lasting damage if left for too long.
Keeping things brief, he instructed the Lampbearers: "A portion of the Propagation Hegemon's body has been sealed within that moon by me. Since the opponent is a Hegemon, I'm not sure how long the seal will hold. You must monitor that moon's condition at all times!"
Alice stared at Shinji with a face full of admiration, her voice respectful as she replied, "Rest assured, we will keep a close watch!"
Shinji analyzed further: "For the sake of that body part, the Propagation Hegemon might return. To guard against that, the Plague Hegemon likely won't act recklessly for now. Focus on monitoring the polluted zones and re-evaluate the pollution progress of the entire world!"
Arcane also answered in the tone of a subordinate: "Yes!"
Once the important matters were settled, Shinji said, "I took a bit of a hit clashing with the Plague Hegemon just now. I need some time to recover. I'll leave things here to you all during that time."
Without waiting for the Lampbearers' reply, Shinji opened a space-time gate and stepped through, departing.
After Shinji left, Hengo slapped himself and asked, "I'm not dreaming, am I? Everything is real? We sealed a piece of the Propagation Hegemon, and we repelled the Plague Hegemon head-on?"
The old warrior corrected him: "Not us. Akame."
"Doesn't matter!" Hengo waved a hand and laughed. "We're all on the same team!"
Arcane let out a long breath of relief: "Thank god for him."
Alice, regaining her composure, said, "We must carry out the tasks Akame assigned! The satellite remote sensing system must continue to be built, and monitoring for every polluted zone must be set up!"
Hengo turned serious: "Leave that part to me!"
The old warrior added: "I can't help with much, but I'm fine with running errands. I'll help you!"
Hengo didn't stand on ceremony: "Good!"
Alice then said to Arcane, "The Knowledge Tower has collapsed and the Storm Sorcerer Supreme has fallen. The losses from this battle are too great. The task of managing the aftermath and calming the populace can only be handled by you!"
"Mm," Arcane agreed.
The fall of a Sorcerer Supreme was an earth-shattering event in the Sixth Ring World, compounded by the collapse of the tower and the death of many mages. Only Arcane could take this on. He had to minimize the impact of the battle and mitigate the Hegemon's pollution to slow the world's erosion.
Alice said finally: "I'll use this time to recruit more help!"
As she spoke, Alice's face shone with hope. There were many Lampbearers in the circle who wanted to resist the Hegemons, but they had seen no hope before, so many had chosen self-preservation. Now things were different. Shinji's appearance gave Alice hope and the confidence to recruit other like-minded Lampbearers.
Meanwhile, Shinji did not return directly to the shinobi world. Instead, he found a secluded spot in the Sixth Ring World to rest. He didn't dare return home without first purging the Plague Hegemon's pollution.
Sitting cross-legged, Shinji took down the Lamp hanging from his waist and activated its power. Instantly, a soft light bathed him.
Hiss, hiss...
As the light shone, wisps of black smoke rose from Shinji's body, eventually vanishing in the bright glow. After a moment, the smoke stopped.
"Phew..." Shinji exhaled a breath of turbid air. He could have cleared this pollution himself, but it would have taken a long time. Using the Lamp cost some Ember, but it was fast and thorough.
After double-checking for any residual pollution, Shinji stood up and stretched. A wave of weakness washed over him—the first time he had felt this since advancing to Kekkei Mora. It showed just how taxing the battle had been.
"Compared to a Hegemon, I'm still too weak..." Shinji sighed.
In the battle against the Propagation Hegemon, he had held every advantage: the Hegemon was lured in by the God Tree's aura and invaded recklessly (timing), the Sixth Ring World with its Lampbearer was the battlefield (geography), and the help of the six Sorcerer Supremes was a massive boon (human support). Even then, he only barely sealed a portion of its body.
This meant that in a fair environment, he was absolutely no match for a Hegemon; they were clearly on different levels. If the Hegemons simply invaded by the book—slowly eroding the spatial barrier before entering—Shinji would have no chance.
Therefore, despite his victory, he felt no pride. On the contrary, the clash gave him a clearer understanding of the gap, and his thirst for power burned hotter than ever.
"I need to grow a second Chakra Fruit as soon as possible!"
With that thought, Shinji used the Lamp's power to open a spatial rift and returned to the shinobi world.
Upon his return, he went straight to Amado to ask about the progress of the technology for intercepting Otsutsuki communications. Amado shook his head, indicating there had been no progress.
Shinji thought to himself: "If I can't contact other Otsutsuki, I'll just have to make a sacrifice myself!"
In the original timeline, Momoshiki, Urashiki, and Kinshiki wouldn't arrive for over a decade. He couldn't wait that long. He had to humanly manufacture an Otsutsuki sacrifice.
Shinji's figure flashed, and he found White Zetsu: "How has he been lately? Any unusual behavior?"
White Zetsu knew exactly who he meant and replied quickly, "Leader, he is extremely disgusted with the experiments. He already has thoughts of escaping."
"He wants to escape?" Shinji paused, then said, "That's a good thing!"
Shinji didn't fear Obito going wild; he only feared Obito seeking death. Now that Obito wanted to flee, it meant his death wish was gone and he was ready to cause trouble again.