Thanks to White Zetsu, they quickly located Shikaru's residence.
Leaving one behind to impersonate himself, Hiroki and the other five White Zetsus headed toward Shikaru's dwelling.
In terms of combat ability, Hiroki probably couldn't help much—it was mainly about supervising White Zetsu.
On their way, Hiroki couldn't help but ask the White Zetsus about their fighting strength. "Can you guys use Tsunade's Wood Release? With Wood Release, capturing a Tailed Beast would be practically guaranteed."
"We can, but we can't fully display its power," responded White Zetsu. "That's why most of the time, we just use her Monstrous Strength."
"Why? Did Tsunade's awakening of Wood Release also change her life's nature?"
The White Zetsus didn't know how to explain it—they didn't understand either, and confusion appeared on their faces as well.
"It's because they've already reached White Zetsu's limit," Kaguya explained to Hiroki.
"White Zetsus are mass-produced items; their abilities are limited and relatively weak."
"If you want them improved, they must undergo further modifications or be granted more capabilities."
"According to the classifications of ninja realms, their strength cannot surpass the Kage level."
Hiroki fell into silence, letting the words sink in.
So even Kage-level power was seen as pitifully weak in the end.
Considering that Tailed Beast chakra might erupt during the battle and attract Mist ninjas, Hiroki ordered one White Zetsu to set up a barrier outside while he and the other four entered.
Tsunade knew two barrier techniques: [Four Red Yang Formation] and [Four-Corner Sealing Barrier].
The Four Red Yang Formation required four Kage-level users to activate in unison.
The Four-Corner Sealing Barrier was a downgraded version of the Four Red Yang Formation and could be activated collectively by four Jonin-level ninjas.
Creating a few Shadow Clones would be sufficient.
At the moment they infiltrated the house, Shikaru sensed them.
"There are intruders," Shikaru said toward a certain direction.
Inside this residence, besides himself and the servants, were the ninjas sent by Genshi to monitor and protect him.
In the shadows, three Mist ninjas shared a glance. One of them nodded and left the formation to report the situation.
Continuously using Body Replacement Technique, he flickered rapidly through the trees.
When reaching the outer perimeter of the estate, suddenly a figure appeared. A fist slammed into his chest, and chakra violently erupted.
The pain made him involuntarily let out a stifled groan. The Mist ninja looked down.
Wait... can a human body crack like the ground does, forming those web-like patterns?
With such a thought in mind, blood burst from his mouth as he collapsed onto the ground, dead.
After eliminating a small underling, Hiroki and the others continued moving forward.
"Konoha's Tsunade? Yet all of you feel exactly the same to me—what's going on here?" Seeing Hiroki and the four "Tsunades" appear together, Shikaru showed an expression of confusion.
"What brings you here?" asked Shikaru.
The other two Mist ninjas no longer hid themselves and emerged behind Shikaru.
"Naturally, we're here to kill you," one of the White Zetsus beamed.
"Go inform the others in the village," Shikaru commanded the two Mist ninjas.
Without wasting words, the two Mist ninjas prepared to leave immediately.
Hiroki lunged at one of them.
"Although Hiroki isn't the main fighter, he can't just stand around doing nothing either."
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Caught completely off guard, Shikaru was struck to the ground, his internal organs twisting in pain as he spat out blood.
Seeing this, another opponent had no choice but to engage Hiroki in battle.
Meanwhile, White Zetsu's four clones clenched their fists and charged toward Shikaru.
Shikaru remained calm and unhurried.
"Water Release: Water Mirror Technique."
A mirror made of water appeared, reflecting within it four identical copies of Tsunade who immediately engaged the White Zetsu clones in combat.
The copies created by Shikaru's Water Mirror Technique could mimic their enemies' techniques perfectly — even matching their power.
"Huh, this ability feels kinda familiar," the White Zetsu clones said in surprise.
"Point Striking."
As Hiroki sealed his opponent's pressure points, he couldn't help casting a glance toward where the others were fighting.
He felt a bit speechless — wasn't this turning into nothing more than a contest of chakra endurance?
Whoever collapsed first from being unable to maintain the copy would lose.
This technique was kind of overpowered, wasn't it?
Though maintaining the Water Mirror Technique required concentration, Shikaru still managed to keep an eye on Hiroki's fight. Seeing that the Mist Ninja were clearly losing, he quickly added another jutsu.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Shot."
From Shikaru's mouth burst forth a water dragon formed from pressurized water.
Even without facing him directly, Hiroki could observe what was happening behind. Suddenly, a rapidly spinning pale blue sphere appeared around him, enveloping his body.
The rotational direction of the sphere matched the direction of the incoming attack.
It was as if the water dragon had hit a centrifugal force generated by Heavenly Spin. The water dragon skimmed along the chakra barrier, then rushed back at Shikaru at an even greater speed after making a complete circular turn.
He'd always thought the best thing about Heavenly Spin wasn't its defensive capabilities per se, but how it redirected force with minimal effort.
Slightly surprised, Shikaru barely had time to react before he leapt aside.
The Mist Ninja fighting against Hiroki looked momentarily stunned as well.
Seeing the opening, Hiroki seized the moment to unleash another Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, knocking his opponent out cold.
"Is it really that difficult to handle such a small Tailed Beast?" Kaguya muttered in disapproval.
If Tsunade herself had come, the battle would've already ended.
White Zetsu and those guys didn't have enough experience in direct confrontations. They lacked the commanding presence that Tsunade possessed. Watching them fight was like watching children play around.
Although Tsunade often annoyed her, Kaguya had to admit she respected the woman's strength.
Letting out what seemed like a sigh, Kaguya seized control of Hiroki's body once again.
With her eyes calm and expressionless, Kaguya looked at Shikaru standing behind the water mirror.
"God Vacuum Strike."
Totally unprepared for such a powerful attack, Shikaru was sent rolling dozens of meters away, letting out a stifled groan with each impact.
After finishing all this, Kaguya released Hiroki's body and departed — the entire process took less than two seconds.
"Don't let him get a chance to Tailed Beast Transform!" Hiroki shouted loudly.
Beating down a fallen enemy? That was something the White Zetsu clones needed no instruction for.
They immediately used Body Replacement Technique to appear beside Shikaru.
[Heavenly Foot of Pain.]
[Heavenly Foot of Pain.]
"..."
Back and forth in every direction, nearly ten strikes of the Heavenly Foot of Pain crashed down. Shikaru not only sustained severe injuries but was also knocked unconscious from the sheer impact. Even the ground where he had fallen had caved in significantly.
Looking at the unconscious Shikaru, Hiroki fell into deep thought.
Since he'd already taken matters into his own hands to capture the Tailed Beast, what was Akatsuki even for?
"Take him back to the Country of Hot Springs," he said.
The White Zetsu who had participated in the battle carried Shikaru away.
Hiroki eliminated the two Mist Ninja who had lost their fighting ability and placed their bodies together with the first Mist Ninja who had died. Then he lit a fire and watched as those bodies burned into ashes before returning to Terumi Mei's residence.
Initially, no one noticed anything unusual.
It wasn't until the next day, when no ninja came to report on Shikaru's usual routine, that Genshi and others began to suspect something was wrong.
Genshi sent people to investigate. They found nothing but an empty residence, with cracks and huge craters scattered across the floor—proof of how fierce the battle had been.
No one noticed at all? Genshi pressed the investigating Mist Ninja.
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