Jin-Woo and Jiraiya walk among rocky zones, the mist hanging thick, cutting off vision in the distance.
JIN-WOO walks in silence. His eyes are half-closed, thoughtful. Suddenly, he stops.
Kaisel, the shadow dragon, materializes behind him in absolute silence, eyes glowing in a purplish hue.
JIN-WOO(staring straight ahead)— ...Did Kaisel sense something?
Kaisel only nods.Through the shared vision, Jin-Woo sees the night sky over a desert... and two hooded figures.Gaara's unconscious body being carried like a trophy.
The system flashes discreetly in the corner of his vision:
"Target identified: 2 Akatsuki members. Distance: 2,300 km""Shadow exchange permission: available."
JIN-WOO (turning to Jiraiya):— Wait here. I'll be back soon.— I found a lead.
JIRAIYA (slightly surprised, but calm):— Hmph... the way you say it, sounds like you're heading to the market.
Jin-Woo just gives a faint smile, then activates the exchange with his distant shadow.His body dissolves into black smoke, being pulled like a vortex into the void.
DESERT NIGHT – MOMENTS LATER
Sasori and Deidara move across the desert under a starry sky. Deidara carries Gaara on a clay bird.
SASORI:— We'll stop soon. Tobi already prepared the area.
DEIDARA:— Nice... soon, eternal art will bloom. Unh!
But suddenly...
The oppressive silence of the desert is ripped apart by a shadow that materializes out of nowhere. Jin-Woo appears among dunes, eyes half-closed, analyzing the area.
Up ahead, Deidara and Sasori notice something strange.
Deidara (turning, surprised):— Hm? What's that?— An intruder? At this hour?
Sasori (cold, calculating):— I don't recognize that chakra... or rather, it's not chakra.
Jin-Woo steps forward, his dark aura pulsing. He doesn't speak immediately. He simply observes the two Akatsuki members, Gaara's fallen body, and the empty sky.
JIN-WOO (calm, firm):— This boy... he has a lot of chakra.— You're taking him because he's valuable, right?
Deidara (raising an eyebrow):— So what if we are?— Gonna stop us? Hahaha. What a joke.
JIN-WOO (ignoring the sarcasm):— I don't care about him.— But I want to know where the masked one is.
Deidara's laughter stops. Sasori frowns.
SASORI:— What do you want with him?
JIN-WOO:— He might have the answers I seek.— And you're going to tell me where he is.
DEIDARA (laughing loudly):— Hahahaha! You're nuts!— Think you can interrogate the Akatsuki? Alone?
JIN-WOO (looking at the ground, cold):— Alone?
Jin-Woo's shadow expands beneath him. A black vortex opens, and from within emerge the Six Shadow Paths — the former bodies of Pain, now with soulless black eyes, and blue flames seeping from their expressionless faces.
JIN-WOO (staring at them):— I'll rip the truth out... even if I have to grind you into dust.
DEIDARA (nervous):— What kind of jutsu is that?!— They... don't have chakra... but they're like... living puppets!
SASORI (dark tone):— This... isn't ninjutsu.— This is something else.
Jin-Woo moves forward with a crack in the ground. His shadow soldiers take positions, forming a circle. The air becomes heavy, the desert silent — the real battle begins.
Kaisel's shadow hovers over a rocky hill on the outskirts of the village, alongside Jiraiya. Both are outside the urban zone of the Rain Village, silently observing the dark sky.
JIRAIYA crosses his arms and stares into the void.
JIRAIYA (thinking):This kid... travels through shadows as if it were space-time. And he still hasn't revealed who he really is. But... if he's after the Akatsuki, I can't leave him alone for long.
Kaisel, still as a demonic statue, remains alert. His eyes shine like spectral beacons, directly connected to Jin-Woo in the desert.
The cold moon of the desert reflects in Jin-Woo's sharp eyes, as he surveys the battlefield like a silent general. His Six Shadow Paths glide forward with precision, forming an offensive formation.
Sasori steps back. His eyes linger on one of the faces.
SASORI (tense):— ...Those faces...— I know this one. This... was the Deva Path... Pain?
DEIDARA (narrowing his eyes):— That's impossible.— Nagato is with us. Or was...— But these guys... look identical!
SASORI (low voice):— No chakra.— This isn't Edo Tensei.— This is something else... even worse.
The battle begins.
The Shadow Deva Path raises its hand, and an invisible force violently pushes Deidara back with a brutal gravitational shock. Sand flies in spirals.
Deidara (flying on his bird):— Tch... wanna play?— KATSU!
He throws explosive clay, which the Paths dodge with superhuman jumps, some exploding partially, only to regenerate in the shadows.
Sasori summons his Third Kazekage puppet, which fires a wave of magnetized iron. One of the Paths is pierced — but doesn't stop. No pain. No hesitation.
SASORI (frustrated):— Puppets don't feel pain...— But this is different.— They... ignore logic.
DEIDARA (while retreating):— That guy's just watching!— Who the hell are you, huh?!
JIN-WOO (calm, arms crossed):— Just watching data collection.— So far... you're disappointing.
Two Paths advance like beasts. One throws a Sasori puppet to the ground, splitting it in two. Another grabs Deidara's bird mid-air and detonates it along with him — only for the shadows to emerge from the explosion, intact.
Deidara (bleeding, scared):— They... don't die!
SASORI (looking at Jin-Woo):— Who controls those bodies?— What kind of monster are you?
Jin-Woo doesn't answer.
Deidara tries to grab Gaara.
DEIDARA (shouting to Sasori):— RETREAT!
SASORI (reluctantly):— Tch... this isn't over yet.
Both flee with what strength they have left, leaving Gaara behind. Jin-Woo doesn't pursue them.
JIN-WOO (in a low voice):— No need to chase.— My shadows already follow them...— Every step, every word... will be mine.
He turns to Gaara, lying on the ground, and slowly walks toward him.
A few meters away, still in the desert, is Zetsu who saw Jin-Woo's fight against Deidara.
Black Zetsu:— So... he moved Pain's bodies... as if they were his.
White Zetsu:— And did you see? They had no chakra. None!— That... that's not Edo Tensei... that's... something else.
Black Zetsu:— A power that manipulates death... no seal, no offering, no spiritual bond.— That surpasses any technique in our world.
White Zetsu:— And that Sand kid... he'll die soon. But that's not what matters, right?
Black Zetsu:— No.— This new player...— He wants the masked one.— And from what I've seen, he won't stop until he finds him.
Zetsu vanishes again, disappearing as if he was never there.
Zetsu (fading voice):— Tobi needs to know... now.