After taking out Iwa's hidden sentries, it could only mean one thing—
Iwagakure's main camp was close.
And although Feiyu had killed the sentries before they could send a signal, the fact that they'd gone silent was itself a warning sign to Iwa.
At that very moment, inside the Iwa forward command tent, a tall, burly shinobi sat frowning as he listened to a scout's report:
"So… Mitsui's team hasn't responded for over half an hour?
Looks like Konoha's reaction speed is beyond what we expected. They've already sent a high-level shinobi this far, and this quickly."
"High-level shinobi? Hah. You're giving those Konoha brats too much credit."
The one speaking sat beside the commander, wearing purple clothing and chest armor. His crimson hair was pulled back in a short, bundled topknot, and a thick red beard framed his disdainful expression.
Despite his tone, no one else in the tent argued with him.
Even the commander, Iwa jōnin Kurotsuchi's father—Kitsuchi (黄土)—could only force a wry smile.
"Elder Rōshi, for you, maybe. Aside from Orochimaru, the rest of Konoha's troops may well be small fry in your eyes…
But if you move openly right now, both Suna and Konoha will fix their gaze on us."
As he spoke, Kitsuchi rubbed his temples, a throbbing headache building behind his eyes.
He was the son of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, and even he couldn't help silently complaining in his heart:
Great. Dad doesn't get along with this Jinchūriki, so he just threw this living calamity onto my front line.
Why is it my luck that's this awful?
Jinchūriki were living safety valves for the Tailed Beasts—and also their village's ultimate weapons.
In principle, unless it was time for a final battle, they shouldn't even be on the field.
Otherwise, with their terrifying area-of-effect power, one casual Tailed Beast Bomb at a main camp or a village was enough to wipe out thousands. If all five great villages started using them that way, the ninja world would be bombed into rubble in no time.
And this front? This was just a supporting battlefield, meant to harass and pin down Konoha's forces. They absolutely did not need a Jinchūriki-level "final weapon" here.
The red-bearded shinobi—Rōshi (老紫)—snorted lightly, his gaze filled with contempt.
"Kitsuchi, you seem to have misunderstood something.
Even without using the Tailed Beast's power, this old man is still a shinobi who has personally forged his own kekkei genkai."
"As long as I only use Lava Release and don't tap into Son Gokū's chakra, what can Konoha possibly detect?"
Kitsuchi's headache intensified.
Why is this Jinchūriki so battle-hungry?
We're here to pin them down, pin them down—not to open a boss raid!
But Rōshi's seniority outweighed his own, and he couldn't press him too hard.
And conveniently, a strong Konoha infiltrator had appeared near camp.
He might as well throw that problem at Rōshi.
"In that case, Elder, how about this:
You go and remove the Konoha scout who's probing our position.
For an entire squad to be wiped out without sending a signal, their opponent is likely a jōnin-level team at the very least."
"A jōnin squad, hm?
Sounds like a decent warm-up."
"We'll send a sensory team to accompany you as well, Elder. Otherwise, it may be somewhat difficult to locate them."
"Fine. Leave the fighting to me. You handle the rest."
After wiping out the hidden sentries, Feiyu continued moving forward.
Along the way, he picked off two more Iwa squads, and finally, from the crest of a hill, he could just make out the faint outline of Iwa's main camp in the distance.
"Found it. So this is Iwa's nest in the Land of Rivers.
Mission accomplished at last."
"Is that so?
In that case, you can go ahead and die now."
A cold voice sounded at his ear.
Feiyu didn't look surprised. He simply turned his head.
"So Iwa's sent a pursuit unit after me, huh?
But this headcount's a bit stingy, isn't it?
Just you three, and you think that's enough to deal with me?"
The man at the front—Rōshi—gave a low, chilly chuckle and stepped forward.
"Three? Why would I need three people?
Just me alone is more than enough to keep you from leaving here alive."
"I didn't expect the one sneaking around our camp would be a lone Konoha ninja.
And this young, at that. You must be one of Konoha's promising new generation…
Shame you're going to die young today."
Feiyu didn't answer.
The soul of Hatake Sakumo slipped into him, melding seamlessly.
The short blade in his hand blossomed with a hazy, pale sheen, and that clear, razor-edged sword light flashed into Rōshi's eyes.
With absolutely no warning—
Uchiha Feiyu exploded into motion and slashed.
Rōshi, who'd still been talking a moment earlier, suddenly felt a spasm of primal fear in his chest. His face tensed, and he hurriedly retreated, scorching Lava Release chakra gushing out from his body like molten magma, almost instantly forming a layer of magma armor around him.
There was a crisp metallic clang.
Feiyu lightly flicked his blade, and a fine bead of blood on the edge burst into a faint red mist.
Across from him, Rōshi clutched his face, hand shaking slightly. Slowly, he moved his palm away.
A bloody wound ran from the left side of his forehead, cutting across the bridge of his nose and ending at the right corner of his mouth. Torn flesh visibly twitched and pulsed as blood trickled down his chin.
"Elder Rōshi! Are you alright?!"
The two Iwa-nin behind him stared in horror, their eyes fixed on their injured "monster" of an ally.
None of them had imagined that this Jinchūriki would be seriously injured in a single exchange.
"I'm fine…"
Rōshi's voice was low and heavy.
"I merely underestimated that brat.
I didn't expect someone so young to have already crossed that line…
Go back. Bring reinforcements.
No matter what, we absolutely cannot allow this boy to leave alive."
As he spoke, the Lava Release chakra around him surged like a living tide, gradually taking on the outline of a Tailed-Beast-like cloak.
Feiyu exhaled softly.
"His reaction really is fast.
If he'd been even a little slower, that would've finished it."
He sounded more regretful than surprised.
The instant he saw the man, Feiyu had already recognized him as Iwa's Four-Tails Jinchūriki, Rōshi.
So despite the casual tone, he'd actually raised his guard to the maximum from the very first moment, hoping to land a decisive first-strike kill while his opponent still underestimated him.
Hatake Sakumo, as a high-speed type similar to the Yellow Flash, was a nightmare to fragile targets—but against tanks like Jinchūriki, breaking through their defense was a problem.
Once a Tailed Beast Cloak fully manifested, even if White Fang's sword style was pushed to its limit, it might end up being nothing more than glorified scratching.
That was exactly why Feiyu had gambled on an initial one-hit kill.
Unfortunately, this time, the gamble didn't pay off.
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto