From the Canopy.
"Those sword auras were from Upper Rank Two, right?"
"Why's it suddenly quiet?"
"Who won?!"
The Cloud shinobi, hidden in the dense treetops, peered at the distant battle between Upper Rank Two and the Akatsuki members.
Moments ago, the battlefield had gone eerily silent, prompting them to speculate whether the fight had concluded.
But speculation aside, no one dared venture to the battlefield to investigate just yet.
The Cloud shinobi weren't the only ones watching. Uchiha Shinji, clad in an Akatsuki hooded red-cloud cloak, leaned against a tree with arms crossed, gazing toward the battlefield.
Using his Susanoo Tomoshibi's abilities, he had transported himself, White, and Sasuke near Upper Rank Two, an intruder, to test the Type-2 aging agent's effects. Naturally, he needed to monitor the fight closely to assess the agent's potency.
His choice of White and Sasuke for this mission was deliberate.
Among his subordinates, Sasuke had immense potential. As the reincarnation of Indra Otsutsuki, once Karin successfully awakened the Rinnegan, replicating her success would give Sasuke a higher chance of awakening the Rinnegan than even Shinji himself.
A subordinate with near-guaranteed Rinnegan potential was someone Shinji wanted to nurture carefully.
However, Sasuke's prodigious talent came with arrogance, especially after awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan. He increasingly dismissed not only strangers but even his close peers.
Thus, Shinji deliberately sent Sasuke to face Upper Rank Two, both to test the aging agent's effects and to temper Sasuke's overconfidence through Kokushibo's strength.
As expected, Sasuke exposed several flaws under Upper Rank Two's ferocious assault.
Sasuke still hadn't fully grasped how taxing Susanoo Tomoshibi was on his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Seeing Sasuke's Susanoo on the verge of being breached by Upper Rank Two, Shinji's gaze sharpened, but he remained leaning against the tree, arms crossed, making no move.
Unlike the original timeline, Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan had awakened during a life-or-death duel with Shinji.
As a result, his Mangekyo dojutsu had changed.
He didn't awaken Kagutsuchi, which shapes Amaterasu, but instead Izanami no Mikoto, which distorts reality's outcomes.
In other words, Sasuke now possessed a reusable Izanagi!
The exact cost was unclear to Shinji, but it was certainly less severe than the permanent blindness of one Sharingan caused by the forbidden Izanagi.
When White successfully injected the Type-2 aging agent into Upper Rank Two, Shinji shed his earlier nonchalance, focusing intently on the battlefield.
On the Battlefield.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
Upper Rank Two's heartbeat roared like a drum!
His body began to swell rapidly, with the outermost layers of skin and muscle necrotizing in large patches, only to regenerate swiftly, repeating in a grotesque, horrifying cycle!
Sasuke, growing impatient, said, "You've seen the effect. I'm making my move!"
Without waiting for White's response, he activated his dojutsu, Amaterasu.
Whoosh!
As his gaze locked on a point, Amaterasu's black flames erupted, instantly igniting Kokushibo, still gripped tightly by Susanoo.
White had wanted to observe the agent's effects longer, but considering Upper Rank Two's terror, he let Sasuke proceed.
Having set Upper Rank Two ablaze with Amaterasu, Sasuke panted heavily, thinking, Damn, why do my eyes hurt so much?
White noticed Sasuke's distress and asked quietly, "You okay?"
"I'm fine!"
Sasuke shook his head stubbornly, but the intense pain in his eyes forced him to deactivate Susanoo.
Thud.
Kokushibo, reduced to a charred mass by Amaterasu and held by Susanoo, fell to the ground as Sasuke released his dojutsu.
"Finally dealt with him…"
Sasuke's chest heaved, looking exhausted. At his age and dojutsu power, using Susanoo and Amaterasu at high intensity had taken a heavy toll.
"Yeah."
White, staring at the motionless, charred Upper Rank Two, sighed in relief.
He knew Amaterasu's effectiveness against demons, and with the Type-2 aging agent injected, he believed Sasuke had finished Kokushibo.
"Nothing special…"
Sasuke snorted, turning to leave.
Beneath his mask, his face brimmed with pride. Though the eye pain irritated him, defeating the renowned Upper Rank Two filled him with immense satisfaction!
White frowned slightly, sensing something off. In his experience, demons disintegrated completely upon death, leaving no remains. Yet, Upper Rank Two, though burned to charcoal by Sasuke's Amaterasu, remained a solid form, not turning to ash like other demons.
Swish.
Before White could warn Sasuke, the charred Upper Rank Two sprang up. His fire-scarred, unrecognizable form resembled a demon crawling from hell, slashing at Sasuke's back with his blade.
"Watch out—"
White's warning came half a beat too late.
Sasuke spun at White's alert, but Kokushibo's Kyokokushinge was already inches away.
"You!?"
Sasuke's face still held traces of pride, his eyes' terror not yet reaching his expression.
Swish.
With a whistling sound, White saw Kokushibo pass Sasuke. Blood sprayed from Sasuke's body, and his upper half slid off at the waist.
Huff, huff.
After bisecting Sasuke, the panting Upper Rank Two turned to face White, who stood in stunned silence.
Still wreathed in Sasuke's Amaterasu flames, Kokushibo looked like a fire-bathed demon, exuding ferocious menace!
White murmured, "S-Sasuke…"
Kokushibo raised Kyokokushinge, pointing it at White. "You're next!"
"Hey, you damn demon, you've pissed me off!"
Suddenly, Sasuke's voice rang out from behind Kokushibo…