As soon as he finished speaking, Shin acted immediately, and black mist began to spread from his hands.
Though still young, Yugito showed her strength as a jinchuriki. Although not yet a perfect jinchuriki, she had gained some control over the tailed beast's power sealed inside her. It was no surprise that she dared to confront Shin, even after Hidden Cloud Village had already been devastated.
However, a monster brimming with chakra like a jinchuriki was precisely the opponent Shin could handle effortlessly, given his Wood Release, Dark-Dark Fruit power, and the Rinnegan.
As the black mist surged toward Yugito, her eyes narrowed. She was well aware of the Kurogami's dangerous dark release. Quick as a cat, she dodged Shin's attack, leaping aside with agility. While moving, she skillfully fired blue flame balls, which zipped around Shin's dark mist and attempted to strike his body.
Shin frowned slightly, then exerted force through his feet and vanished in a blur. In terms of taijutsu, he was now unmatched in the entire ninja world.
"So fast!" Yugito thought, startled, as Shin appeared right in front of her. His hand reached her face in an instant.
As the chakra inside her body started to drain rapidly, Yugito clawed at Shin's arm with her hands, tailed beast chakra shaping her nails into extended claws as she attacked. Shin stood his ground, unflinching, his armored body completely blocking her desperate attempts.
With her enormous chakra reserves, it was impossible for Shin to drain her dry in an instant, even with his Dark-Dark Fruit ability maxed out. Yet, this same resilience made it difficult for Yugito to break free. She could only feel the slow, torturous loss of her chakra.
"Damn...!" she muttered, coughing. Blue flames burst forth as her chakra surged. Shin smiled slightly. "Hoping the tailed beast can break you free? That's wishful thinking."
Black mist poured from Shin's hand, instantly enveloping Yugito and sending her into his dark space.
"Two-tails' jinchuriki… Just what I need for synthesizing the divine tree, especially after absorbing the Gedo Statue."
Of course, Shin still had to deal with Black Zetsu before that. He didn't want to risk absorbing the divine tree and ending up possessed by Kaguya.
With Yugito—the strongest remaining ninja in Hidden Cloud Village—out of the picture, Shin and his group encountered no further resistance. They walked out of Hidden Cloud Village unbothered.
"I wonder how many I killed this time… Well, no matter. I'll count each one when I charge Konoha for this job. Better yet, I'll leave it to Kakuzu; he'll ensure we get every ryo."
After they left Hidden Cloud Village Village, Shin glanced at the remaining group of rescued experimental subjects.
"Alright. Hidden Cloud Village is in chaos now. Go back to your homes, everyone."
The experimental subjects exchanged uncertain glances. Most had no homes to return to, with families lost to Hidden Cloud Village's cruel experiments or abandoned by their own villages. A few still had homes, but they were rare.
These few belonged mostly to the larger ninja villages. Among them was a magnet-style ninja from Sand Village. It was no wonder Hidden Cloud Village developed a magnet release later—they had stolen it. Most of the others were from Iwa Village, Hidden Cloud Village's long-time enemy. Hidden Cloud Village had abducted Iwa ninjas openly, without pretense. Hidden Stone Village probably did the same to Kumo ninjas in return.
A handful were lone wanderers, either rogue ninjas or civilians who had accidentally awakened their bloodline limits.
The ninjas from the major villages, or those who preferred to go home alone, thanked Shin and left. Those with no homes left to return to decided to go with him.
With half the group remaining, Shin decided to lead them to the Village of Sound. Though Orochimaru was infamous for his inhumane experiments, he would be under Shin's supervision and wouldn't dare cross the line.
Besides, since Shin had the Munch-Munch Fruit, Orochimaru focused more on theoretical research and lost interest in minor experiments.
These experimental subjects were talented individuals. Hidden Cloud Village had chosen them for a reason, and if trained well, most could reach near-Jonin levels. Together, they could provide Shin with substantial fighting power comparable to a small ninja village.
With this group as his subordinates, Shin could accomplish his goals more efficiently without needing to rely on the members of the Akatsuki, who were often arrogant and difficult to manage.
But Shin wasn't done with Hidden Cloud Village Village just yet. He asked Sara to lead the others onward as he prepared to return to Hidden Cloud Village's camp alone and retrieve Hinata's Byakugan.
Boom!
"Shameless Konoha! And that damn Kurogami! How dare you infiltrate Hidden Cloud Village, kill so many of our comrades, and even abduct our jinchuriki!"
In a rage, the Fourth Raikage smashed his fist onto the conference table, shattering it. His face was dark with fury.
Around him, the faces of other Hidden Cloud Village officials were equally grim.
Thanks to messenger animals and other methods, information spread quickly worldwide, and by the time Shin left Hidden Cloud Village, news of his attack had already reached the Raikage.
At first, the Fourth Raikage thought there must have been a mistake in the report. But after repeated confirmations, he finally accepted the devastating truth and barely restrained himself from going on a rampage.
His fury was justified. Unlike in Konoha, Shin had shown no mercy here. His assault had left thousands dead—almost half of Hidden Cloud Village's remaining forces and over 90% of their Jonin who had stayed behind.
The losses were catastrophic, worse than a ninja war for Hidden Cloud Village. While they had retained enough foot soldiers, their Jonin ranks had been decimated, leaving the village almost crippled. If the Raikage hadn't taken a third of his Jonin on this mission, they would now be weaker than even Sand Village.
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BONUS CHAPTER: 50 Powerstones achieved
For each power stones milestone—25, 50, 100, 150, and beyond—I will release a bonus chapter.
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