Naruto: Uchiha Survivor Forced to Save the Shinobi World

Shwip!

Temporarily deactivating the Susanoo Tomoshibi, Uchiha Shinji descended from the sky, landing steadily on the peak of a snowy mountain.

He looked into the distance, calculating time and distance in his mind. The cold wind howled, making his red-clouded cloak flutter.

Just then, a small black dot appeared in the distance, quickly heading towards him.

He withdrew his gaze, turned, and looked at the approaching black dot, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

There was no doubt.

The quickly approaching figure was none other than Yugito, who had destroyed a "anchor point" in the Land of Fire a few days earlier.

Originally, Shinji hadn't counted on maintaining control over Yugito.

So, after successfully severing the anchor point in the Land of Fire, the last command he gave to the about-to-go-berserk Yugito was to make her head towards the anchor point in the Land of Lightning.

His thinking at the time was simple—if it worked, great! If it didn't, Yugito had already helped sever one anchor point, which was more than enough.

As for why it was specifically the anchor point in the Land of Lightning, there was a reason for that too.

In his view, the manpower for dealing with the other anchor points was relatively sufficient. At the very least, there were people he trusted, such as Haku and Karin.

But for the anchor point in the Land of Lightning, he had assigned Kimimaro, who had no knowledge of the true situation.

Although Kimimaro had Orochimaru behind him, it was hard to say how much interest Orochimaru had in having Kimimaro join the Akatsuki, or whether he would personally intervene.

Furthermore, after the battle at the anchor point in the Land of Fire, Shinji realized that the forces from the Demon Slayer world guarding the anchor points were incredibly formidable. Without Kage-level or quasi-Kage-level strength, it would be extremely difficult to break through the guard around an anchor point.

Thus, Kimimaro's mission was undoubtedly the weakest among the five.

Swish!

Soon, Yugito arrived before Shinji, standing respectfully beside him.

Shinji checked and confirmed that Yugito was still under his genjutsu control, and couldn't help but marvel, "It seems the Sharingan's control over Tailed Beasts is even stronger than I thought..."

He had already prepared himself for the possibility of losing Yugito as a fighting force.

After all, by then, Yugito had been on the verge of going berserk, ready to break through the final restraint at any moment.

Unexpectedly, using the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan dojutsu he projected through Jikibi, he ultimately suppressed Yugito's berserk state and brought her back under control.

Upon closer thought, it wasn't entirely surprising.

Back in the day, Obito had controlled Kurama, the strongest of the Tailed Beasts, during the "Nine-Tails Attack on the Hidden Leaf," and he did it with just one Mangekyō Sharingan.

Shinji, although not having transplanted White Zetsu cells, had a complete pair of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. In terms of Yin Release chakra alone, he far surpassed Obito. Even with the drain of controlling remotely, subduing Matatabi's rampage seemed reasonable.

Regaining focus, Shinji double-checked the map.

He was still about a hundred kilometers from the anchor point in the Land of Lightning. However, he didn't plan on using the fully-formed Susanoo Tomoshibi to travel any further.

The speed of the fully-formed Susanoo Tomoshibi was undoubtedly impressive. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to reach the snowy region of the Land of Lightning from the desert of the Land of Wind in just a day or two.

But just like the speed, the consumption of the fully-formed Susanoo Tomoshibi was also ridiculously high.

The cost in terms of dojutsu power was enormous, even for the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. If the journey wasn't so long, he wouldn't have used the Susanoo Tomoshibi at all.

Currently, his eye sockets felt faintly swollen, and his vision was slightly blurry.

He knew these were symptoms of excessive dojutsu use. On top of that, he had no idea who was guarding the anchor point in the Land of Lightning, so for the sake of increasing his odds of success, he had to recover some dojutsu power as quickly as possible. Otherwise, even if he reached the anchor point, he'd only be courting death.

However, the snowy region of the Land of Lightning was different from the forests of the Land of Fire or the desert of the Land of Wind.

A hundred kilometers might take just a few hours in other places, but in this snowy region, it meant climbing countless peaks and enduring the bone-chilling cold, which made the journey several times harder than in other terrains.

If he traveled on foot, by the time he arrived, his dojutsu power might be slightly restored, but how much stamina would he have left?

After all, he was only eight years old!

Feeling troubled, Shinji suddenly glanced at Yugito beside him, and an idea popped into his mind.

At the anchor point in the Land of Lightning.

Staring at the figure that slowly emerged from the smoke, with "Upper Moon One" inscribed in his pupils, Kabuto's heart sank.

"Is this really necessary?"

He couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

The sight before him even made him suspect that the Akatsuki already knew Kimimaro was a spy planted by Orochimaru in the Hidden Leaf, and that this entire recruitment was a trap meant to lure Orochimaru out.

Because Kimimaro was merely a student at the Shinobi Academy.

No matter how talented or powerful his "Shikotsumyaku" was, in the end, he was just a nine-year-old child.

Did such a test require someone as powerful as Upper Moon One?

Moreover...

Sweat beaded on Kabuto's forehead.

Despite the icy environment around him, he didn't feel cold; quite the opposite, an overwhelming sense of tension gripped his heart.

He felt that this wasn't a test at all!

Kimimaro struggled to his feet.

Kabuto's medical ninjutsu was extremely proficient, and combined with Kimimaro's unique Kekkei Genkai, the grievous wounds from earlier were now manageable.

Seeing Kimimaro get up, Kabuto continued healing him while whispering, "This mission has failed. Prepare to retreat!"

Kimimaro shook his head.

Kabuto said sternly, "Give it up!"

"Haven't you noticed?" Kimimaro paused, then said coldly, "He has no intention of letting us leave."

Kabuto was about to say something more, but suddenly, Upper Moon One charged at them again, sword in hand.

Shwip!

Without any hesitation, Kimimaro swung his bone blades, facing his opponent head-on.

Clang, clang, clang...

In an instant, the sound of metal clashing rang out continuously on the snowy peak!

"Sigh!"

Letting out a sigh, Kabuto immediately used a secret technique to send a message to Orochimaru, warning him that this could be an Akatsuki trap.

Then, he bit his finger, formed hand signs, and pressed his hands to the ground: "Summoning Jutsu!"

Boom!

In a massive puff of white smoke, a large brown snake appeared, lunging straight at Upper Moon One, who was in combat with Kimimaro.

This large snake was only slightly smaller than Manda of Ryuchi Cave and was also a massive creature. Even just its movement produced thunderous sounds.

Kabuto jumped onto the snake's head.

Seeing the charging snake, Upper Moon One forced Kimimaro back with a slash, then leaped up, sword raised high, to meet the snake head-on!

"Is he insane?!"

Kabuto, standing on the snake's head, looked bewildered.

He knew Upper Moon One was strong, but confronting a giant summoned creature with sheer physical power was something he couldn't understand.

Swoosh!

With the completion of Upper Moon One's strike, a blazing, almost blinding flame ignited along the blade!

"What is this!?"

Kabuto was initially taken aback. Then, a strong sense of intuition surged within him—if he didn't move, he would die!

Following his instincts, he moved away just as Upper Moon One swung his flaming sword.

Boom!

Almost at the same moment Kabuto moved, the flaming sword slashed the snake from its brow, slicing it in two vertically!

Crash!

As the massive creature fell, its foul-smelling blood gushed out like a waterfall, staining the snowy field red.

Landing on the ground, Kabuto was dumbfounded. "How... how is this possible?!"

He knew the Upper Moon members of the Akatsuki were strong, but he didn't think they could be so overwhelmingly powerful as to kill a giant summon from Ryuchi Cave with a single slash.

You have to understand that these summoning beasts, when subjected to damage they can't withstand, will often use the method of canceling the summoning to avoid a fatal injury.

Moreover, giant summoning beasts are typically tough and have strong vitality, making it extremely difficult to kill them.

Under normal circumstances,

This brown serpent, when faced with damage that could be fatal, would immediately cancel the summoning and use space traversal to avoid lethal harm. The fact that it took a full blow like that means only one thing: it was already dead the moment it was attacked!

A corpse, naturally, cannot cancel the summoning voluntarily.

Not far away,

Indifferent as ever, Kimimaro also had a face full of shock at this moment.

He had been carefully observing the opponent's movements. He could confirm that the opponent did not form hand seals but still used some kind of Fire Release-like jutsu.

"Is it some kind of taijutsu? Or some kind of secret technique? Or perhaps... a Kekkei Genkai?"

A myriad of speculations emerged in his heart.

At this point, 'Upper Rank One' swung his longsword, shifting his gaze from the serpent's corpse back to Kimimaro and Kabuto.

The two of them immediately felt a chill in their hearts.

In the previous battle, Kimimaro had already fought with all his strength, not only pushing his Shikotsumyaku to its limits but also using the Eight Gates, which he had only just learned.

Had it not been for these measures, he wouldn't have been able to withstand this 'Upper Rank One,' whose taijutsu and swordsmanship were both incredibly strong.

"It looks like this time we won't make it out..."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, a wry smile appearing on his face.

The battle soon reignited.

'Upper Rank One' seemed like a battle machine without emotions; every strike was the optimal move, completely unaffected by emotions.

Even though Kimimaro and Kabuto were being pressed back, they couldn't help but be impressed by the combat style of 'Upper Rank One,' which left them in awe of this Akatsuki member.

Meanwhile,

Kimimaro, despite the injuries he sustained, had also learned a great deal from 'Upper Rank One.'

Ordinary people, when faced with the threat of death, would have their hearts overtaken by fear and would make many foolish actions. But not Kimimaro—his progress became more pronounced in the face of life and death.

Though he continued to be suppressed by 'Upper Rank One,' and though his wounds kept accumulating, his responses were worlds apart from before.

Immersed in a particular state, Kimimaro himself may not have noticed this, but Kabuto on the sidelines clearly did.

However, such improvement clearly could not make up for the huge gap in strength between them and 'Upper Rank One.'

Had it not been for the continuous depletion of 'Upper Rank One's' chakra as the battle wore on, they wouldn't have lasted this long.

Boom. Once again, Kabuto was knocked flying into the snow by 'Upper Rank One,' and suddenly furrowed his brows, "What's going on?"

Through repeated clashes, he vaguely noticed something strange about 'Upper Rank One.'

Normally, a shinobi's chakra wouldn't be at its peak right from the start, because unless they have certain secret techniques for storing chakra, shinobi generally can't maintain massive amounts of chakra for a long period.

So during battles, shinobi are constantly extracting chakra as they fight.

But 'Upper Rank One' was quite strange—he seemed to have an absurd amount of chakra visibly present when he entered the scene.

Yet, as the fight went on, his chakra visibly diminished as well.

It was as if 'Upper Rank One' wasn't refining new chakra but was simply consuming the chakra that had already existed within his body.

"If that's truly the case..."

Kabuto suddenly had an idea.

If his guess was right, then maybe he and Kimimaro still had a chance, as he could distinctly feel 'Upper Rank One's' speed and power weakening with his chakra consumption.

Swoosh! Suddenly, a sword light swept past, accompanied by a splash of blood.

Kabuto's pupils constricted as he saw 'Upper Rank One' flash behind Kimimaro, followed by a large spurt of blood from Kimimaro's body.

With his medical ninjutsu prowess, he could instantly judge that the amount of bleeding was enough to be fatal for a shinobi.

Even though Kimimaro possessed Shikotsumyaku and had a body far tougher than the average shinobi, this amount of bleeding was enough to make him lose all combat ability.

And without Kimimaro to contain 'Upper Rank One,' Kabuto knew he wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer on his own.

"Damn it..."

He sighed again, even though he had already glimpsed hope!

Just then, 'Upper Rank One,' who was approaching him, suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look into the distance.

"What's he looking at?"

Kabuto followed his gaze and saw, on a distant cliff, a figure standing!

The most eye-catching feature was that the figure was wearing Akatsuki's signature cloak—the black robe with red clouds. In the chilling wind, the cloak fluttered, and the figure stood atop the cliff, looking down upon everything like a deity!