"How is this possible!?"
"What kind of technique is that?"
" 'A' is actually this strong?"
As they braced against the dust and gusts kicked up by the toppling of the massive Susanoo, everyone's eyes were filled with disbelief.
According to the village's records, the Akatsuki's "A" was merely a Mangekyo Uchiha. Compared to Hiruko, who possessed five Bloodline Limits and a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan, he held no apparent advantage.
Yet the battle had unfolded in a completely one-sided manner.
Not only the Hidden Leaf shinobi but even Neji and Kimimaro, standing behind Shinji, were momentarily stunned.
Others might not have recognized it, but having recently awakened the Tenseigan, they instantly identified the dojutsu Shinji used to counter Hiruko's Susanoo as the repulsive force of the Tenseigan!
Yakumo and Shion were visibly taken aback as well.
While everyone remained on guard, awaiting Hiruko's next move with his Susanoo, Neji suddenly exclaimed, "Not good—he's escaping!"
Nearby, Temari, pushing through her exhaustion, unleashed a Wind Release jutsu to disperse the dust on the battlefield.
As the dust cleared, everyone's eyes widened. Beneath the Susanoo, Hiruko's figure was nowhere to be seen.
Clearly, unleashing the Susanoo was merely a diversion. After Ranmaru fled, Hiruko had resolved to retreat.
Intimidated by Shinji's presence, he didn't dare flee outright, fearing Shinji would pursue and hunt him down. So, he used the Susanoo to create chaos.
"How did he do that?" Yakumo said, dumbfounded.
Neji and Kimimaro exchanged bewildered glances.
Shinji, however, wasn't too surprised. With sufficient dojutsu power, leaving a Susanoo unattended wasn't unthinkable—summoning five or even ten Susanoo at once wasn't beyond imagination.
In the original timeline's Fourth Shinobi World War, Uchiha Madara had once summoned twenty-five Susanoo against the Five Kage.
As Hiruko fled, the toppled dark-purple Susanoo began to wither, eventually dissipating before everyone's eyes.
The Hidden Leaf forces didn't relax, as while Hiruko and Ranmaru had retreated, the stronger "A," along with "F" and "G," remained on the battlefield.
Thus, the Hidden Leaf shinobi maintained their battle-ready stance!
Neji leaned close to Shinji's ear, whispering, "Leader, should we pursue? They just took the One-Tail, and the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki was likely captured as well!"
Shinji shook his head slightly.
Hiruko and Ranmaru seizing the One-Tail and Seven-Tails was precisely why he couldn't pursue.
The threat of the Hegemon loomed close, leaving him little time. He didn't want to interfere with Nagato and Obito's tail-beast collection process.
Otherwise, he'd have to handle it himself.
Compared to fighting both the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the Akatsuki simultaneously, Shinji would rather wait until the Akatsuki gathered all the tailed beasts, on the verge of reviving the Ten-Tails, and then seize them all from the Akatsuki in one fell swoop—simple and efficient.
Even if Shinji wanted to pursue, catching the fleeing Hiruko and Ranmaru wouldn't be easy.
When Hiruko and Ranmaru activated their Swift Release, their speed rivaled Shinji's when using the Twelve Palaces. The range of Almighty Pull was limited, and if they gained even a slight distance, Shinji would have little means to stop them.
Especially Ranmaru—when combining Transparency Release and Hogan Clone, even Neji's Byakugan couldn't lock onto his true body. With Shinji currently equipped only with the Rinnegan, basic tracking was challenging, let alone pursuit.
Thus, holding the upper hand in direct combat didn't equate to being able to eliminate the enemy.
Within the entire Akatsuki, aside from Obito with his Kamui, Hiruko and Ranmaru were the hardest to kill.
Others—whether Leader Nagato, Konan with her flight, Deidara, the immortal Hidan, or Kakuzu with his five hearts—paled in comparison when it came to survivability.
Glancing at Neji and Kimimaro, Shinji considered for a moment before ordering, "Mission complete. You can withdraw!"
"Leader…" Neji tried to press, wanting at least to attempt pursuing Hiruko and Ranmaru.
Shinji shook his head. "Withdraw!"
"Yes!"
Kimimaro nodded decisively.
Neji reluctantly nodded as well.
After giving orders to Neji and Kimimaro, Shinji glanced at Yakumo and Shion, then vanished with a flicker.
Once Shinji, Neji, and Kimimaro had all left, the Hidden Leaf forces finally let out a collective sigh of relief.
Kakashi hurried to Yakumo and Shion. "Are you both okay?"
"We're fine!" Yakumo and Shion shook their heads in unison.
When Hiruko's Storm Demon Dragon had descended, both had felt doomed, and even now, they were still shaken.
Temari and Kankuro approached Gaara's body, staring blankly at his gradually cooling corpse.
Seeing this, Kakashi sighed and said to Yakumo and Shion, "Your chakra is nearly depleted. Head to the shelter to take cover!"
Yakumo asked, "Kakashi-sensei, what about you?"
Yamato, Kurenai, and the other jonin all turned to Kakashi.
Having endured multiple battles, Kakashi's condition was hardly better than theirs.
Kakashi said, "I'm going to check on Naruto and Sasuke to confirm their safety!"
Kurenai offered, "I'll go with you!"
Kakashi shook his head, addressing Kurenai and the other jonin. "You're all too exhausted. Stay here to recover and ensure all the exam teams still in the Forest of Death are safely evacuated."
Kurenai nodded lightly. "Understood!"
Without another word, Kakashi vanished with a flicker.
The battle in the Forest of Death had ended in a crushing defeat for the Shinobi Alliance. The One-Tail was taken, its Jinchuriki killed, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki missing, and numerous shinobi dead or injured.
But Kakashi had no time for sorrow. The village's crisis was far from over—Moryo's Death Legion was still advancing on the Hidden Leaf, Orochimaru was controlling the First and Second with Impure World Reincarnation and targeting Sasuke, and the Akatsuki's threat lingered.
For him, the situation was far from allowing rest.
…
Elsewhere, Orochimaru quickly caught up with Naruto and Sasuke, who had escaped through the shelter's rear exit.
Just as he prepared to strike, Haku, Karin, Ryuzetsu, and Chino, who had also withdrawn through the rear exit, arrived just in time.