Sasuke's Sharingan flickered left and right in his sockets, swaying up and down, yet he couldn't track Shinji's attacks.
Under Shinji's relentless barrage, Sasuke could only struggle to defend.
Soon, beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead as he cursed inwardly: "Damn it, damn it! How did it come to this!"
Bang.
Suddenly, Sasuke's focus wavered, and Shinji seized the moment, breaking through his guard with a fist to his stomach.
Taking the hit, Sasuke's stance crumbled, instantly putting him at a complete disadvantage.
Seeing this, Neji, who had planned to step in only at a critical moment, was forced to act early, intercepting Shinji's onslaught to cover for Sasuke.
Wham wham wham.
Another flurry of close-quarters taijutsu erupted, this time between Shinji and Neji.
Compared to Sasuke, Neji's aggression was far more restrained. His Gentle Fist was steady and balanced, making it difficult for even Shinji to break through quickly without using his Sharingan.
Growing tired of wasting energy, Shinji launched a fierce assault to push Neji back, then raised a hand to signal the end of the sparring session.
Sasuke, scrambling up from the ground in a disheveled state, stormed toward Shinji, about to protest: "Why stop—"
Shinji cut him off: "This sparring is pointless. In a real test, Yakumo, with her dojutsu Bloodline Limit, has insight far sharper than mine. With her mastery of 'Monster Strength Fist,' she's even more ferocious in taijutsu than I am. The tactic you two devised can't even handle me, let alone Yakumo."
"You—"
Sasuke was left speechless.
Neji fell silent as well.
In this spar, Shinji had played the role of Yakumo, while Sasuke and Neji teamed up for a surprise assault, aiming to take her down with a relentless combo before she could unleash her Wood Release.
"Go back and come up with a new tactic!" Shinji ordered casually, like a client dismissing a proposal, before slipping his hands into his pockets and strolling out of the forest.
Watching Shinji's retreating figure, Sasuke's face burned with frustration: "Damn it, why is Shinji's taijutsu so strong! He hasn't even awakened his Sharingan, so why can't I beat him?"
Neji spoke up: "Stop complaining. Let's rework the tactic. This one's clearly not working. The new plan needs to play to both our strengths, or taking down Yakumo in a short time will be impossible!"
Sasuke could only nod reluctantly: "Fine."
…
Outside the forest.
As Shinji sauntered out, the crowd swarmed around him.
"Shinji, how'd the sparring go?"
"Where are Sasuke and Neji?"
"Were you guys practicing some secret technique or something?"
Questions came from all directions.
"No rush, everyone. The tactic's still being worked on!" Shinji brushed off Sasuke and Neji's teammates with a single sentence, then led Haku and Karin away.
On the way back, Shinji subtly glanced at Karin behind him, then quickly looked away, thinking: The Mangekyo's dojutsu power is already this noticeable…
The stirring in Karin's eyes might fool others, but not Shinji, who was so close.
Fortunately, there were no powerful sensory shinobi nearby, or the stirring in Karin's eyes could have accidentally been exposed.
This also meant the fully depleted Mangekyo Sharingan in her eyes was recovering at an accelerating pace.
Mulling it over, Shinji turned to Haku and Karin: "I'm a bit tired today, so tonight's training is canceled. Go rest."
Karin, who was cautiously channeling Yang Release chakra into her eyes, was relieved and quickly said: "Shinji, you rest well too."
"Mm."
Shinji nodded and strode off.
Once he was out of sight, Haku turned to Karin: "What's wrong? Is it your eyes?"
Karin nodded slightly: "Yeah, they're stirring again. I'm feeling a bit dizzy, so I'll need to rest."
Haku offered: "I'll walk you back."
…
That night.
Shinji activated Jikibi and connected with Karin, asking: "How's it feeling today?"
Karin reported the recovery progress of her fully depleted Mangekyo Sharingan, then added: "Lord, I feel the recovery of this Mangekyo Sharingan is speeding up. It might not even take a month for it to fully awaken!"
"Mm."
Shinji acknowledged her.
Karin's healing constitution had once again exceeded his expectations.
His most optimistic estimate had been at least a month for the Mangekyo to recover. But now, it seemed two weeks might be enough for it to fully awaken.
This meant his subsequent plans would need to be moved up again.
With this in mind, he used Jikibi to connect with Haku, pulling both Haku and Karin's spiritual forms into the Jikibi space.
At the familiar round table, Karin and Haku's expressions sharpened.
They knew their leader only summoned their spirits to this unique space for urgent matters.
Once they were seated, Shinji spoke: "The plan is moving up. Starting tomorrow, you can pick the right moment."
"Yes!" Karin and Haku responded in unison.
The "right moment" their leader referred to was the plan they'd been briefed on: to stage an accidental injury to Karin's eyes in front of others.
Since Karin was a member of the Uzumaki clan, her identity was sensitive.
Moreover, since Jiraiya had brought her to the Hidden Leaf Village, he occasionally checked in on her. To account for this, they needed some room for error.
In other words, Haku's staged act had to genuinely injure Karin's eyes.
Only then would it hold up when Karin visited the Hidden Leaf Hospital, ensuring no suspicion if Jiraiya suddenly checked on her and found her eyes already healed, which could unravel the plan before it even began.
With this in mind, Shinji confirmed again: "Karin, has Jiraiya visited you lately?"
Karin shook her head: "Lord Jiraiya's been busy lately. It's been a while since he came to see me."
"Good."
Shinji already knew Jiraiya's focus was entirely on Naruto, seemingly working on having Yakumo use her Wood Release to assist in training Naruto to become the perfect jinchuriki.
However, Tsunade, concerned for Yakumo's safety, hadn't yet agreed.
So, Shinji decided to give things a nudge, planning to have Yakumo help Jiraiya train Naruto, keeping Jiraiya's attention on Naruto and creating an opening for Karin to merge the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
Decision made, Shinji declared: "The plan begins. This operation must have no mistakes!"
"Yes!" Karin and Haku bowed in acknowledgment.