"Could they be planning to track me all the way to my hideout?"
The thought flashed through Orochimaru's mind.
It seemed the only explanation for why the opponent, despite having depleted most of their spiritual form's chakra, continued to tail him.
After all, a spiritual form required chakra to maintain itself. If the last bit of chakra in the spiritual form was exhausted, it would collapse on its own.
During the Shinobi World War, Kato Dan, using the 'Spirit Transformation Technique,' was limited by this very fact. After each attack, his spiritual form had to return to his body immediately to replenish chakra.
For the opponent to take such a risk to track him sent a chill through Orochimaru: "It seems Akatsuki is getting serious this time!"
In that moment, Orochimaru's mind raced with countermeasures and contingency plans! He even decisively abandoned nearby secret bases.
Unbeknownst to him, this was all merely Ido's playful whim.
For Ido, the space-time dojutsu 'Koryugan' allowed her to draw chakra from Uchiha Shinji at any time, so she had no need to worry about her spiritual form destabilizing due to chakra depletion.
"Ugh, the maximum distance already?"
Ido, still caught up in the thrill, pouted.
The only limitation now was that, in her spiritual form, she couldn't stray more than fifty kilometers from Uchiha Shinji.
Elsewhere.
Tsunade's clash with Scorpion and Deidara, the artistic duo, was still ongoing.
But as time passed, more and more Hidden Leaf shinobi, like Shizune and Kakashi, joined the fray.
And reinforcements continued to pour in from all directions.
This was Hidden Leaf's response mechanism at work.
During the period when Akatsuki lay low, the Hidden Leaf leadership, led by the Third Hokage, had refined the village's support system. Once Akatsuki members were spotted, a vast net of countless Jonin and Chunin would instantly deploy and converge.
Moreover, since this battle was happening close to Hidden Leaf, the village's reinforcements arrived even more swiftly.
Seeing more and more Hidden Leaf squads gathering, including elite teams led by top Jonin like Might Guy and Asuma, Jikibi, observing from the shadows, couldn't help but marvel: "Huh, how did the village's response time get this fast?"
This made him quietly wary, realizing that as Akatsuki's threat grew, Hidden Leaf was shifting toward a wartime footing. If he continued to judge the village's actions based on peacetime assumptions, he'd suffer a major setback in the future.
"This show's about over. Time to go!"
Noticing that the arriving Hidden Leaf shinobi included many Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame—clans skilled in tracking—Jikibi decisively chose to retreat.
Through 'Jikibi,' he had already confirmed Uchiha Shinji's safety, so there was nothing to worry about.
As for Uchiha Shinji's performance this time, he was thoroughly impressed.
For someone so young to face off against Akatsuki's Scorpion and one of the Three Shinobi, Orochimaru, her courage alone was something to take pride in.
Not to mention, Ido had later used genjutsu to control Orochimaru, nearly making a fool of him.
Indeed.
Even if Ido had succeeded, she couldn't have killed Orochimaru.
By this point, Orochimaru had completed modifications to his body and developed the 'Cursed Seal,' which backed up his chakra. Ordinary attacks might severely injure him, but killing him outright was far from easy.
This was why Itachi hadn't pursued and finished Orochimaru after their earlier encounter.
Later, to eliminate Orochimaru once and for all, Itachi only acted after acquiring the legendary artifact, the 'Totsuka Blade.'
Yet even after being sealed by the 'Totsuka Blade,' Orochimaru was effortlessly revived by Sasuke through the 'Cursed Seal' he had left behind. This showed just how difficult it was to truly kill Orochimaru!
On the battlefield.
Scorpion and Deidara also noticed the growing number of Hidden Leaf shinobi and decisively chose to retreat.
With their ability to fly, once Scorpion and Deidara committed to escaping, it was incredibly difficult for Hidden Leaf to pin them down.
After a brief chase, Scorpion and Deidara successfully shook off their pursuers.
Watching Scorpion and Deidara fly away on a clay bird, Tsunade's face darkened with frustration.
At that moment, Shizune approached Tsunade and reported that Uchiha Shinji had been abducted by a mysterious Akatsuki member.
Tsunade's composure shattered: "Uchiha Shinji was taken!?"
"Lady Tsunade, it's my failure!"
Shizune didn't shirk responsibility.
Kakashi detailed the situation to Tsunade, emphasizing, "The opponent was not only a spiritual form but also seemed to wield a mysterious Space-Time Ninjutsu!"
Tsunade didn't blame Shizune, instead shouting, "Where's the sensory team?"
Immediately, several sensory shinobi appeared before her: "Lady Tsunade!"
With a stern face, Tsunade asked, "Have you detected any spiritual forms nearby?"
The sensory shinobi shook their heads: "Lady Tsunade, we're sorry, but we haven't sensed any spiritual forms in the area."
"They've already escaped?"
Tsunade's expression grew even grimmer.
As the former girlfriend of Kato Dan, she knew better than anyone present how troublesome spiritual forms were, let alone one wielding Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Whoosh. At that moment, an Anbu operative landed before Tsunade, reporting, "Lady Tsunade, we've found Kurama Uchiha Shinji and the missing Kurama Murakumo squad in an abandoned warehouse nearby!"
"What!?" Tsunade was stunned, grabbing the Anbu by the collar. "Say that again—what did you find?"
The surrounding shinobi all turned to the Anbu.
Swallowing hard, the Anbu nervously repeated, "We found Kurama Uchiha Shinji and the missing Kurama Murakumo squad. Aside from a few injuries, everyone is alive!"
Overjoyed, Tsunade immediately ordered, "Quick, take me there!"
"Yes!"
The Anbu promptly led the group toward the abandoned warehouse.
Soon, Hidden Leaf's forces reached the warehouse and found Uchiha Shinji tending to her parents' wounds.
Tsunade, surprised, asked, "Uchiha Shinji, how are you here?"
Uchiha Shinji stammered, "I—I was captured and brought here by Akatsuki."
In truth, she was a bit exasperated.
After swapping places with Ido via 'Koryugan,' she hadn't even had time to free her bound parents before Hidden Leaf's Anbu arrived. So, she had no choice but to pretend she, like her parents, had been captured by Akatsuki.