Ch.185 Flame Hashira!

Because they were wary of Shinji's Mangekyō Sharingan, Tsunade and her group didn't dare chase too closely. Therefore, with the boost from "Breath Techniques," Shinji quickly managed to shake off his pursuers.

After a long run, Shinji finally arrived at the border of the Land of Fire.

By now, daylight had long broken, with the sun high in the sky, and its brilliant light covering the earth.

Naruto, who Shinji had carried the entire way, also awoke at this moment. He rubbed his eyes groggily before realizing what was happening, and shouted, "You bastard! Put me down right now!"

Shinji turned his gaze to Naruto, giving him a single glance. "Annoying."

In an instant, Naruto seemed to be stunned as if struck by electricity.

He wasn't a perfect Jinchūriki at this point—the Nine-Tails, Kurama, was still sealed within his mental world. Therefore, a simple genjutsu from Shinji was enough to temporarily incapacitate him.

Just then, Shinji's pursuers once again closed the distance.

Sasuke yelled from afar, "You coward, how long are you planning on running?!"

Shinji looked back at Sasuke. "I know you're in a rush, but don't be too hasty."

"You—!"

Sasuke was momentarily at a loss for words, his face turning red.

Nara Shikaku moved up to Tsunade's side at that moment, quietly reminding her, "Lady Tsunade, he seems to be trying to lead us somewhere."

Shizune, standing nearby, said anxiously, "Any further and we'll be leaving the Land of Fire. Where is he planning to go?"

"This is the direction of the Land of Wind," Tsunade said, pausing in confusion. "If his target is the Nine-Tails within Naruto, his best option would be to immediately get rid of our pursuit, not lead us to his hiding place."

Shizune grew tense. "Could it be a trap?"

Shikaku shook his head. "There have been plenty of opportunities to set traps along the way, with no need to drag it out this long."

It should be noted that Tsunade's squad was just the vanguard meant to keep track of the Akatsuki member.

While they had set off, the Third Hokage was already organizing a follow-up reinforcement team, meaning a constant stream of reinforcements from Hidden Leaf was behind them.

As long as they didn't lose track of him, the longer they dragged it out, the more favorable it would be for Hidden Leaf.

Of course, Shinji knew this point all too well.

With the anchor point in the Land of Fire severed, the four remaining anchor points were spread all across different regions, extremely far from each other. If an action failed, there was no guarantee they'd have the time to send a second team.

Therefore, Shinji wanted to handle the anchor point in the Land of Wind by himself as quickly as possible, then free up his mobility advantage to fly, cover gaps, and oversee everything!

While they chased and fled, the two sides soon left the Land of Fire, entering the small country of the Land of Rivers, situated between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.

The Land of Rivers, like the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Hot Water, acted as a buffer zone between major nations. Thus, it had a common characteristic with other small countries: its land area was not only small, but also narrow.

As a result, traversing the Land of Rivers did not take much time.

Seeing Shinji ahead plunge directly into the desert of the Land of Wind as expected, Tsunade urged her team to speed up while ordering Shikaku, "Make sure to leave markers along the way, so the reinforcement team can catch up quickly."

Shikaku replied, "Understood."

After hesitating briefly, Tsunade added, "Also, find a way to notify Hidden Sand to have them send people to assist us."

"Hmm."

Shikaku nodded again.

Shinji didn't concern himself with Tsunade and her team behind him. He was both following the direction indicated by the "Lantern" and trying to use "Jikibi" to contact the others.

However, since he had already entered the remote Land of Wind, he couldn't contact Karin, Haku, Neji, or Yugito.

As for Deidara, like before, he remained completely out of contact.

After an entire day of running, Shinji finally arrived near the anchor point situated in the desert of the Land of Wind.

Looking at the vast stretch of yellow sand ahead, Shinji panted heavily.

Even he, after nearly a day and a night of relentless running, felt a strain on his body, so he stopped about two kilometers away from the anchor point instead of rushing forward.

While eating dry rations, he focused his thoughts.

An hour ago, he had suddenly attacked Tsunade's squad from behind, which had allowed him to momentarily shake off their pursuit.

However, he knew that Tsunade's team not only had a member of the Hyūga clan but also a powerful member of the Aburame clan, meaning they could catch up in at most fifteen minutes.

"The best approach is to bypass the anchor point ahead and let Tsunade and her group scout it for me..."

Shinji was still somewhat confident in himself. After all, he currently possessed the only Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in the shinobi world.

However, he was carrying the burden of too much responsibility. If he made a wrong move, the shinobi world could be destroyed, so he wasn't eager to take unnecessary risks himself.

Fortunately, he had traveled a mostly straight path, meaning if he circled around the anchor point, Tsunade and her group wouldn't notice and might directly rush into the anchor point area.

That way, Shinji would have a clear idea of the strength of the enemy guarding the anchor point.

As for the safety of Tsunade and her team, Shinji wasn't too concerned.

Tsunade herself was an exceptional healer, and the squad included Byakugan and Parasitic Insects for top-tier reconnaissance, along with the older generation "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio.

This lineup should be sufficient to handle an anchor point.

Having decided, Shinji began to act. He first bypassed the anchor point area in the distance and then woke Naruto up.

Regaining consciousness, Naruto threw a punch at Shinji without hesitation.

Shinji was a bit surprised—he hadn't expected Naruto to be so sharp in his reaction. Caught off guard, Naruto almost managed to shatter the mask on Shinji's face.

Grabbing Naruto's fist, Shinji said, "You truly are the number one ninja in terms of unpredictability."

"Look behind you!"

Naruto suddenly shouted, following up with a fierce headbutt aimed at Shinji.

Seeing Naruto's quick-wittedness, Shinji chuckled, sidestepping the headbutt before turning and kicking Naruto, sending him flying.

Then he walked towards Naruto step by step. "That Uchiha Sasuke guy just now, he likes to yell as much as you."

Naruto struggled to get up from the ground. "What did you do to Sasuke?!"

Shinji replied calmly, "Killed him, of course."

"W-What!?" Naruto was stunned for a moment, then his eyes turned red. "What did you say?! I'll kill you!"

In an instant, a powerful orange-red chakra burst from Naruto's body!

In the distance, Tsunade frowned, sensing the Nine-Tails chakra. "That ominous chakra again..."

She sped up, leading her squad straight into the anchor point area!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

As Tsunade's squad neared within a hundred meters of the anchor point, with several sharp sounds, countless dark figures leaped out from the desert to intercept them.

Simultaneously.

A strange gale rose around them, kicking up a blinding sandstorm!

In the blink of an eye, the entire scene grew dim as the sandstorm obscured the sky, making it seem as if day had turned to night.

"It's a trap! Everyone be careful!"

Tsunade shouted a warning while caught in the sandstorm.

However, due to the ferocity of the surrounding winds, her shout was quickly drowned out by the howling gale.

Luckily, the entire team consisted of elite shinobi who didn't need Tsunade's warning to be on guard. When the dark figures charged at them from within the sandstorm, they didn't panic but immediately retaliated.

From afar.

Shinji frowned slightly at the sudden sandstorm, muttering, "So this is how they plan to deal with it..."

He had deliberately aimed to arrive at the anchor point during the daytime, intending to use the sun's natural restraint on demons to weaken the defensive power in the anchor area.

Unexpectedly, they had devised such a method to counteract the sunlight.

Undoubtedly, the sandstorm was artificial, likely some type of Blood Demon Art that could manipulate the wind.

They were cleverly taking advantage of the desert terrain in the Land of Wind, using wind to lift the desert sand and create a "parasol" to block the sun over the anchor point.

Whoosh!

Naruto, now radiating the Nine-Tails chakra with a single tail formed, leaped towards Shinji with ferocity.

Unbothered, Shinji looked at Naruto.

Thud.

Naruto, who was filled with rage just a moment ago, suddenly froze and collapsed to the ground as if trapped in a dreamlike trance.

Shinji slowly moved forward, stepping over Naruto's unconscious body as he headed for the anchor point.

When Tsunade's squad had breached the anchor point's perimeter, Shinji had clearly seen dozens of dark figures erupt from beneath the sand.

All of them, without exception, were bloodthirsty demons!

To Shinji, it seemed Tsunade's squad had already drawn out all the enemies guarding this anchor point, allowing him to take advantage of the moment when those demons were entangled with Tsunade's group to quickly eliminate the anchor buried in the desert.

Soon, he too stepped into the sandstorm.

Following the direction indicated by the "Lantern," he raised his arm to shield himself from the wind and sand while making his way towards the anchor point.

Despite the flying sand and darkness inside the sandstorm, it wasn't completely invisible to someone with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

In fact, an environment like this even gave him an advantage as a dojutsu-bloodline shinobi.

"The anchor point should be just up ahead..."

As Shinji gradually neared the anchor point, he could faintly hear the sounds of battle coming from all directions, even amidst the howling windstorm.

Suddenly, a figure stumbled into his path.

Focusing his gaze, Shinji saw that the clumsy figure was none other than Uchiha Sasuke from Tsunade's squad.

Sasuke bore multiple wounds, and his eyes were full of fear. Behind him, a scorched demon lunged towards him, its jaws wide open.

It was clear that Sasuke, in his first battle against demons, hadn't yet adjusted to their style and had quickly been driven into a corner!

Whoosh!

As Sasuke closed his eyes, preparing for death, Shinji appeared in front of him using a Body Flicker Technique, kicking the demon away that lunged at Sasuke.

Seeing the demon fly away, Sasuke initially breathed a sigh of relief. However, upon realizing that his savior wore the red cloud cloak of the Akatsuki, his expression turned to shock.

"Hey!" Shinji sighed, muttering inwardly, "The village really brought Sasuke out here? What were they thinking, doing something so reckless?"

After complaining, Shinji glanced at Sasuke. "If you don't want to die, follow me closely!"

Sasuke hesitated.

Ignoring Sasuke, Shinji continued following the direction indicated by the "Lantern" towards the anchor point. According to the indicator, he was now only a few meters away from the anchor point.

Watching Shinji's silhouette gradually fade into the sandstorm, Sasuke hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and following.

Hearing the faint sound of footsteps behind him, Shinji stopped worrying about Sasuke, focusing entirely on locating the anchor point.

"It should be right around here..."

He pondered.

Because he had used Yugito's Tailed Beast Bomb to destroy the anchor point remotely before, he wasn't sure exactly what an anchor point looked like.

At the moment, all he could see was yellow sand, and if the anchor was an object, it was likely buried beneath the sand. He considered whether he should activate Susanoo Tomoshibi and dig down.

Boom!

Suddenly, an explosion erupted from the sandstorm in front of him!

The explosion was so sudden that it drowned out the surrounding windstorm noises. Before Shinji could react, a burst of flames rushed towards him.

Boom, boom, boom!

In a series of explosions, Shinji was struck by the sudden flames, being blown backward, along with Sasuke, straight out of the sandstorm.

The impact was akin to being hit by a train. In the blink of an eye, they were knocked back hundreds of meters, sent tumbling out of the sandstorm, much to Shinji's shock.

Barely activating Susanoo Tomoshibi to protect himself, Shinji took a good look at the flames ahead and realized that they were not any kind of ninjutsu or Blood Demon Art but a person!

To be precise, it was a swordsman in a cloak!

Shinji's eyes narrowed. "Rengoku Kyojuro!"

He had never expected that the guardian of this anchor point would be a Demon Slayer swordsman, and one known for his righteousness and kindness—the Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyojuro!

Sasuke, who had also been knocked back hundreds of meters, was now in shock and anger.

Although Shinji had shielded him from the brunt of the impact, the collision still left Sasuke dizzy.

What bothered him even more was his failure to notice his opponent.

He hadn't even reacted when struck and only barely managed to catch a glimpse of the figure now.

"Damn it! How could this happen?!"

He clutched his eyes, his face twisted in frustration.

He had thought his Three Tomoe Sharingan, while inferior to the Mangekyō Sharingan, was still a rare dojutsu in the shinobi world, enough to look down on other shinobi. But here he was, facing defeat after defeat.