"Takeshi-sama, let's focus on the matter at hand. We don't know where Roshi has run off to. Shouldn't we be starting the chase?"
Kitsuchi felt helpless.
Running into this black cat was truly rotten luck. Not only was he metaphorically bleeding money, but he also had to treat the creature with kid gloves. If he didn't, who knew when the price might double? Iwagakure had already paid a fortune in compensation, the financial pressure on the village was immense.
In fact, the Daimyo had plenty of complaints.
Iwagakure had initiated the war, and the Daimyo had funded the fighting. The result was a defeat, yet the Daimyo still had to foot the bill. Now, Son Goku Jinchuriki had inexplicably defected, and the Daimyo was expected to pay 'again'...
What a mess.
As for Onoki, whom Takeshi had asked about at the very beginning, unfortunately, when Roshi defected, the Tsuchikage had chased after him in a blind rage and promptly threw out his back.
Onoki was livid.
He had briefly considered taking his anger out on Tsunade and demanding compensation, but after thinking it over carefully, he held back.
He knew how dumb that idea was.
Tsunade had strictly ordered him not to use ninjutsu for the time being. If Onoki insisted on acting out and hurt himself, could he really blame her?
Starting a medical dispute with Tsunade usually resulted in getting beaten to a pulp and then having to pay a second fee for the hospitalization.
Takeshi noticed Kitsuchi's pained expression and guessed that Iwagakure hadn't been living comfortably lately. He patted Kitsuchi's shoulder with a paw. "Stay strong. Don't give up, and you'll see the dawn... However, the payment must still be made in full. Meow, let's go!"
He leaped down, instantly entering Sage Mode.
With his five senses and perception abilities amplified, Takeshi soon picked up the lingering aura Roshi had left behind. The Jinchuriki had been very diligent in scrubbing his tracks, without Sage Mode, he would have been nearly impossible to find.
'Speaking of which... Why didn't I slap a tracking mark on Roshi back then?'
He had simply ignored the man after suppressing him with the 'Sage Art: Gate of the Great God'. If he had prepared an extra trump card back then, he could have dragged Kitsuchi directly to the target, avoiding all this trouble.
He still hadn't thought things through comprehensively enough.
"Meow~ Keep up. Wasting my time costs extra."
The black cat darted forward.
Kitsuchi was just about to answer when he saw the black cat had already sprung more than ten paces away. He immediately waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to follow.
However, the cat was too fast.
Iwagakure ninjas were not naturally known for their speed. After running for a while, only Kitsuchi could barely keep the pace. Moreover, he knew Takeshi was going easy on them, otherwise, with that exaggerated speed from before-which bordered on teleportation-he wouldn't have stood a chance of catching up.
"Takeshi-sama, the others..."
"It's fine, meow. They're useless here. Actually, you're useless too, but catching someone always requires a witness to confirm things. I don't want your Jinchuriki coming back missing an arm or a leg and you blaming me for it later."
Takeshi waited a moment, and once he noticed Kitsuchi had caught up, he immediately resumed running.
Kitsuchi followed behind, momentarily unsure how to retort.
At first glance, it sounded insulting. But thinking about it carefully, he couldn't exactly refute it.
Weren't the few of them just tagging along to be bystanders? Even Onoki had thrown his back out trying to take action. With their meager abilities, handling Roshi wouldn't be easy. If it were, they wouldn't have humbled themselves to ask Konoha for help. If Minato Namikaze were here, he might have needed their assistance with something, but with Takeshi...
Forget it.
If they joined the fray and accidentally got hit by his ninjutsu, getting injured would be the best-case scenario. If they were killed by the shockwaves from either side, they wouldn't even have a place to cry about the injustice.
'Better to let them save their energy.'
Kitsuchi ran while leaving a message using Iwagakure's secret code.
Although the other ninjas were Jonin, they couldn't compare to him in speed, let alone a powerhouse like Takeshi. Rather than continuing the chase, it was better for them to find a place to stand by.
--**--**
After chasing for a while, Takeshi sensed Roshi's aura clearly.
The guy hadn't stopped, he had been fleeing the whole time.
Obviously, Roshi understood very well what his fate would be if he were dragged back, so he didn't rest for even a moment. But the problem was, Roshi didn't really know where to go.
The treatment of a Missing-nin in the Five Great Villages was grim. As a Jinchuriki, he was in even more danger, he was a prize in the eyes of almost every village. Therefore, he could only stick to remote mountain paths.
These places were sparsely populated, so the probability of encountering ninjas was much lower.
"I've cleaned up my tracks. They shouldn't be able to find me here." Roshi let out a breath of relief.
He had erased all traces along the way. He had been keeping a close watch on his rear, and Kitsuchi and the others had vanished from his sensory range a long time ago.
However.
Suddenly, a presence burst into his sensory range.
'What?' Roshi was startled, then immediately bolted. He surged his chakra, even drawing on the power of the Tailed Beast to accelerate, but he soon discovered that the enemy behind him was even faster.
He had barely covered any distance, yet the pursuer was closing in at lightning speed.
Only after that presence did Kitsuchi appear on his radar.
Only two?
Roshi froze for a split second, then quickened his pace.
If it were anyone else, he might have thought the opponent was brain-dead, turned around, slapped them down, and continued running. But Kitsuchi was following, and yet there were still only two of them. This showed absolute confidence.
Son Goku chuckled gloatingly inside him. "Hahaha, it's that cat. The ninja beast that mastered Senjutsu. I suggest you run."
"Cat?"
Roshi ran with all his might, he felt an inexplicable chill in his heart. His speed seemed to jump up a notch.
Not only that, but Son Goku's chakra surged into his body, allowing him to quickly enter a high-level Version 2 cloak, his speed reaching an unprecedented peak.
The Goku's neither liked nor disliked Roshi, so theoretically, there was no need to help. But being caught by that black cat and dragged back to Iwagakure seemed incredibly boring. It was better to let Roshi escape, at least they could wander and see the world together.
However.
The beast soon discovered that even with the addition of his chakra, Roshi still couldn't outrun the cat.
Takeshi was getting closer.
"Meow~ Stop right there!"
Immediately afterward, a black shadow rapidly overtook Roshi. Before the man could react, he felt a massive force, heavy as a mountain, swarming over him, and then-
*Bang!*
Amidst a thunderous crash, the transformed Roshi was knocked to the ground by a tail. Sage Body, Sage Mode, coupled with Monstrous Strength and the Expansion Jutsu, the physical power was amazing. Even though Roshi was a Jinchuriki, he couldn't contend with it.
"Roar~"
With a bellow, Roshi fully transformed.
"Brat, do you think you can defeat-"
*Bang!*
Another strike. Son Goku's was whipped until his head slammed into the earth. Even worse, the black cat didn't stop, tail and claws struck one after another, giving him no chance to lift its head and counterattack.
Desperate, Goku's spewed magma from his entire body.
This was his ability. Scorching magma would burn even a Sage Body, under normal circumstances.
But in reality, most people had means to deal with it.
Just as Fire Release was strong but rarely landed a killing blow, the moment the magma sprayed out, Takeshi was encased in solid ice, his fur turning frost-white.
'Sage Art: Ice Release Chakra Mode.'
This was a research result inadvertently obtained from his recent construction projects. Its effect could only be described as icing on the cake, but Takeshi was very satisfied with the aesthetic change. Now, it was perfect for dealing with Roshi and Son Goku's Lava Release.
*Bang!*
A claw slammed down, the magma froze and shattered. Boosted by Senjutsu, the power of his Ice Release was far more terrifying than the Lava Release.
"What?" Goku began to question his existence.
Before he could process the situation, a flood spewed from Takeshi's mouth. The torrent instantly swept through the surroundings and flash-froze into an Ice Prison within a second.
Next, Goku caught a glimpse of massive Torii gates falling from the sky.
'Sage Art: Gate of the Great God.'
Kitsuchi watched from afar, feeling a wave of emotion.
No matter how many times he saw it, this scene was shocking.
It was said that Hashirama Senju was just as unbelievable back in the day, abruptly beating the Tailed Beasts into submission using Wood Release and his fists.
Decades later, history was repeating itself.
The difference was that this time, it was a cat.
"He's too strong. Letting him run wild is dangerous. As a citizen of the Land of Fire, I feel it is necessary..."
"Takeshi-sama, the price is already set."
Kitsuchi threw his emotions to the back of his mind and hurriedly cut in to prevent Takeshi from rambling.
The money had long been negotiated, damn it.
Even if it were him, at most he could raise the price slightly. It was impossible to pay something like a "Land of Fire's Forest Fire Compensation Fund," which was sheer nonsense. Besides, looking around, the forest hadn't been burned by magma,it was crushed by the massive Ice Prison and the 'Gate of the Great God', wasn't it?
Trapped inside the Ice Prison and pinned by the gates, Goku felt incredibly aggrieved. He wanted to rage, to destroy the ice, but suppressed by the 'Gate of the Great God', he couldn't move a muscle.
One couldn't blame Goku for being irritable, the black cat was simply bullying them.
Damn it, not only did he knock it down in a few hits, but afterward, he had the audacity to say, "He is too strong."
That had to be mockery!
'Let me out, I...'
"Forget it," Roshi sighed. "Going out just means getting beaten up again."
It was hopeless. He had clearly managed to escape, and clearly, the injured Onoki could do nothing about him. Yet, in the end, he lost to Takeshi, defeated with such crushing force. The most critical thing was...
His defection happened to be inextricably linked to this very cat.
"Meow? Was it negotiated?" Takeshi asked innocently.
"According to the remuneration for an S-Rank Mission. Of course, the fee for your personal intervention is higher, but other expenses are not included." Kitsuchi nodded firmly.
"Tch! Then never mind."
Takeshi answered openly but cursed inwardly. 'Damn it, no room for a price hike. I shouldn't have put in so much effort if I'd known, I should have let Kitsuchi do some of the work.'
He glanced at the bulky Son Goku, then remembered something.
In the anime, Roshi ran away because Onoki collaborated with the Akatsuki. But in this timeline, the Akatsuki had long since scattered to the winds, let alone collaborated with Onoki. So why did Roshi still have a beef with the Tsuchikage?
"Speaking of which, why did he run?"
"..."
The corner of Kitsuchi's mouth twitched.
'Good question.'
Wasn't it because you beat the Iwagakure ninjas so miserably, forcing the village to pay reparations and apologize? The villagers felt Roshi hadn't played the role a "war weapon" should have, so they took their anger out on him. As a result...
Well, the simple summary was, Roshi had lost too miserably to Takeshi before.
===============
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