Chapter 321: Individual Retreats
"Does he plan to keep tracking me to find my hideout?"
The thought flashed through Orochimaru's mind.
It seemed the only explanation for why his pursuer, despite having depleted most of the chakra carried by their spiritual form, continued to tail him.
A spiritual form required chakra to sustain itself. If the remaining chakra was exhausted, the spirit would collapse.
During the Shinobi World War, Kato Dan, using the 'Spiritualization Technique,' was limited by this, forced to return to his body to replenish chakra after each attack.
Yet, his pursuer was willing to risk this to track him, sending a chill through Orochimaru. "Looks like Akatsuki is getting serious this time!"
His mind raced through countermeasures and contingency plans!
He even resolved to abandon nearby secret bases.
Unbeknownst to him, this was merely Ido toying with him.
For Ido, the spatiotemporal dojutsu 'Koryu' in her Koryugan allowed her to draw chakra from Yakumo at any time, eliminating concerns about chakra depletion destabilizing her spiritual form.
"Tch, reached the maximum distance, huh?"
Ido, in high spirits, pouted.
Her only constraint was that, in her spiritual state, she couldn't stray more than fifty kilometers from Yakumo.
Elsewhere.
The clash between Tsunade and the artistic duo, Sasori and Deidara, continued.
As time passed, more Hidden Leaf shinobi, like Shizune and Kakashi, joined the fray.
Reinforcements kept arriving from all directions.
This was Hidden Leaf's response mechanism.
During Akatsuki's dormancy, the village's leadership, led by the Third Hokage, had refined its support system. Once Akatsuki members were spotted, a vast net of jonin and chunin would deploy, swiftly closing in.
The battle's proximity to Hidden Leaf made their response even swifter.
Seeing more Hidden Leaf squads converge, including elite teams led by jonin like Might Guy and Asuma, Uchiha Shinji, hidden in the shadows, was astonished. "Huh, when did the village's response get this fast?"
This heightened his vigilance, realizing that as Akatsuki's threat grew, Hidden Leaf was shifting to a wartime stance. Judging the village's actions by peacetime standards would lead to costly mistakes.
"I've seen enough of this show—it's time to go!"
Noticing trackers like Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame among the reinforcements, Shinji decisively withdrew.
Through 'Jikibi,' he had confirmed Yakumo's safety, so he had no lingering concerns.
He was very satisfied with Yakumo's performance.
At such a young age, facing Akatsuki's Sasori and Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, her courage alone was commendable.
Moreover, Ido had used genjutsu to control Orochimaru, nearly humiliating him.
Indeed.
Even if Ido had succeeded, she couldn't have killed Orochimaru.
By now, Orochimaru had modified his body and developed the 'Cursed Seal' to back up his chakra. Ordinary attacks might wound him, but killing him outright was far harder.
This was why Itachi hadn't pursued and finished Orochimaru earlier.
Later, to permanently eliminate Orochimaru, Itachi sought the legendary artifact 'Totsuka Blade' before acting.
Yet, even sealed by the 'Totsuka Blade,' Orochimaru was easily revived by Sasuke through his 'Cursed Seal.'
Killing Orochimaru was no simple feat!
On the battlefield.
Sasori and Deidara also noticed the growing number of Hidden Leaf shinobi and chose to retreat.
With their ability to fly, stopping them was nearly impossible once they committed to escaping.
After a chase, Sasori and Deidara successfully evaded Hidden Leaf's pursuers.
Watching them fly away on a clay bird, Tsunade's face darkened with frustration.
Shizune approached, reporting that Yakumo had been abducted by a mysterious Akatsuki member.
Tsunade panicked. "Yakumo was taken!?"
"Lady Tsunade, it's my failure!"
Shizune took responsibility.
Kakashi detailed the situation, emphasizing, "The opponent was not only a spiritual form but seemed to wield a mysterious spatiotemporal ninjutsu!"
Tsunade didn't blame Shizune, instead shouting, "Where's the sensory team?"
Several sensory ninjas appeared. "Lady Tsunade!"
Her face stern, she asked, "Have you detected a spiritual form nearby?"
The sensory ninjas shook their heads. "Lady Tsunade, we're sorry, but we haven't sensed any spiritual presence nearby."
"They've already escaped?"
Tsunade's expression grew grimmer.
As Kato Dan's former girlfriend, she knew better than anyone present how troublesome spiritual forms were, especially one with spatiotemporal ninjutsu.
Swish.
An Anbu landed before Tsunade, reporting, "Lady Tsunade, we found Kurama Yakumo and the missing Kurama Murakumo squad in an abandoned warehouse nearby!"
"What!?" Tsunade grabbed the Anbu's collar. "Say that again—what did you find!?"
The surrounding shinobi turned to the Anbu.
Swallowing hard, the Anbu said nervously, "We found Kurama Yakumo and the missing Kurama Murakumo squad. Aside from a few injuries, all are alive!"
Overjoyed, Tsunade ordered, "Quick, take me there!"
"Yes!"
The Anbu led the group to the warehouse.
Soon, Hidden Leaf's forces arrived and found Yakumo tending to her parents' wounds.
Tsunade, surprised, asked, "Yakumo, how are you here?"
Yakumo stammered, "I-I was captured by Akatsuki and brought here."
She was a bit exasperated.
After switching places with Ido via 'Koryu,' she hadn't had time to free her bound parents before the Anbu arrived, forcing her to pretend she, too, was an Akatsuki captive.