After parting with Karin, Uchiha Shinji, disguised as an Akatsuki member, secretly met with Yakumo.
"Sir!"
Upon seeing Shinji, Yakumo bowed respectfully.
Shinji waved a hand, signaling her to rise, and asked calmly, "How's the task I gave you progressing?"
Yakumo quickly retrieved a vial of agent from her ninja pouch, presenting it to Shinji with both hands. "Sir, this is the new aging agent you requested."
Shinji smiled faintly and took it.
Clearly, Shinji's purpose in meeting Yakumo was to obtain the research team's latest achievement, the Type-2 aging agent, through her.
As a team member, Shinji could have acquired the Type-2 agent himself or even synthesized it in his secret laboratory using the pharmacology unit's formula.
But to ensure his identity remained hidden, he opted to get it through Yakumo.
As Shinji took the agent, Yakumo hurriedly cautioned, "Sir, this new aging agent hasn't undergone clinical trials, so its efficacy is uncertain. Please use it with utmost care."
"I understand," Shinji nodded.
On the Other Side of the Village.
In a secluded grove, Sasuke, dressed in Akatsuki garb, asked Haku, similarly attired, "Why does the leader want us to wait here?"
Haku shook his head, replying calmly, "I'm not sure."
"Always so secretive," Sasuke muttered, frustrated at getting no answers from Haku.
Swish.
At that moment, a figure landed before them with a gust of wind, emerging slowly from the shadows.
Recognizing the newcomer, Haku and Sasuke quickly bowed. "Sir!"
It was Shinji, fresh from obtaining the Type-2 aging agent from Yakumo. He approached and tossed the vial to Haku.
Haku caught it and asked, "Sir, what is this?"
Shinji instructed, "This is an agent specifically designed for demons. You two take it and deal with 'Upper Rank Two'!"
"'Upper Rank Two'!?" Sasuke's eyes lit up, not with fear but excitement. "We don't need any agent to take on 'Upper Rank Two.' Sir, just tell me where he is, and I'll handle him now!"
Haku glanced at Sasuke helplessly before addressing Shinji, "Sir, you want us to verify the agent's effectiveness?"
Shinji smiled. "Exactly."
Haku promptly assured, "Please rest assured, we'll complete the mission!"
Shinji warned, "Your opponent is 'Upper Rank Two.' Don't underestimate him. One mistake could cost you your lives!"
"Everyone says the Upper Ranks are so great. I've been itching to test them myself! Just tell me his location!" Sasuke was brimming with eagerness, barely able to wait.
"Move out!"
Shinji snapped his fingers.
Instantly, a beam of light enveloped the three. When it faded, they had vanished.
At the Border of the Land of Earth and the Land of Waterfalls.
Swish, swish, swish.
Accompanied by a series of gusts, dark figures darted through mottled tree shadows, moving like specters through the forest.
After a while, the team of shinobi landed and began to regroup. Their attire marked them as elite Cloud shinobi.
The Cloud leader asked a subordinate, "Is this the place?"
A Cloud shinobi replied, "Yes, according to intelligence, 'Upper Rank Two' is hiding nearby."
Another added, "Hidden Rock has been hunting 'Upper Rank Two.' We need to move fast, or he might fall into their hands."
The Cloud Jonin's expression hardened.
If 'Upper Rank Two' ended up in Hidden Rock's grasp, he'd have no way to explain himself to the Fourth Raikage.
He waved a hand decisively. "Advance!"
The Cloud shinobi sprang into action, charging toward 'Upper Rank Two's' reported hideout.
But just as they neared the location, the Cloud Jonin's expression shifted, and he halted the team. "What's with this pungent smell of blood in the air?"
The other Cloud shinobi, catching the scent, grew uneasy.
The Cloud Jonin, cautious, adjusted their formation and approached 'Upper Rank Two's' hideout carefully. Upon arrival, they were met with a horrifying sight: the ground was littered with the mangled corpses of Hidden Rock shinobi.
"All… Hidden Rock shinobi?"
"So many dead?!"
"I know this guy—he's a Hidden Rock Jonin, really strong. He died here?"
"Was this all 'Upper Rank Two's' doing?"
The Cloud shinobi exchanged stunned glances.
After the Land of Grass war, the Upper Rank faction had become a pariah, hunted by various shinobi world factions.
Indeed, several demons had been captured by villages, becoming test subjects in their labs.
This led some villages to misjudge the Upper Rank demons, mistaking their evasion for weakness.
Thus, this scene unfolded.
After inspecting the ground, the Cloud Jonin said, "I'd heard Hidden Rock took a hit from 'Upper Rank Two.' I didn't expect them to lose so many this time."
A Cloud shinobi suggested, "Captain, 'Upper Rank Two's' combat strength seems unaffected by the Land of Grass war. Should we report to the village?"
The Cloud Jonin nodded repeatedly. "Since Hidden Rock didn't succeed, we don't need to rush. Report to the village and await new orders before acting!"
At that moment, unmasked footsteps echoed from the forest's depths.
"Who's there!?"
Instantly, all Cloud shinobi turned toward the sound.
Soon, 'Upper Rank Two,' clad in a haori with a long sword at his waist, emerged slowly from the darkness!
"'Upper Rank Two'!?"
"Damn, he's still here!"
"What do we do?"
Recognizing the figure, the Cloud shinobi braced as if facing a formidable foe.
Suddenly, as the Cloud shinobi and 'Upper Rank Two' stood in tense confrontation, two more sets of footsteps approached from another direction in the forest.
The group turned to see two masked figures in hooded red-cloud cloaks—Akatsuki members—stepping slowly out of the forest…