"Asuma."
Chiriku assumed a rigid stance. As he molded his chakra, it became highly condensed, manifesting visibly around his body. Although the technique hadn't been fully unleashed yet, the ritual was primed, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
"Got it."
Asuma snapped back to reality, his gaze locking onto the threat ahead.
Just as Masahiko had warned, the power within Naruto was being released. They needed to end this battle quickly.
"Here goes!"
Asuma's hands blurred through seals. He took a deep breath and exhaled a massive cloud of gunpowder-infused ash.
Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning!
The rogue monks, having once been comrades, knew the lethality of this technique. They scrambled to evade the cloud, desperate to escape the inevitable ignition.
Simultaneously, the battlefield erupted.
Earth Style! Water Style!
Elemental ninjutsu clashed in a chaotic storm.
But the moment the enemy's Water Style surged forward, a figure descended abruptly onto the front lines.
Chiriku, maintaining his specialized stance, landed before the roaring flood. The chakra radiating from him was so potent it seemed nearly tangible. Faintly, behind him, the spectral image of the Thousand-Armed Kannon began to manifest.
As the torrent of water crashed toward him, the serene image of the Kannon transformed into a wrathful deity!
Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Invisible spirit fists pummeled the air. Tesshū, who had unleashed the Water Style, was knocked clean off his feet, flipping violently through the air before crashing into the dirt. [T/N: In the official Naruto anime (Twelve Guardian Ninja arc), only 7 of the 12 Guardians were ever named: Asuma, Chiriku, Kazuma, Kitane, Nauma, Seito, and Tōu. Tesshū is an original name given by the author to one of the previously unnamed guardians to fill out the roster (alongside "Tsubute" from the previous chapter).]
To the side, an earthen wall rose, temporarily separating the two forces.
Thunder roared!
Seito and the other two Guardian Ninja attacked in unison, attempting to shatter the Earth Style Wall.
But just then, the ground beneath them began to rumble ominously.
Under the influence of a massive chakra signature, the topography of the entire clearing began to shift rapidly. Rock formations rose from nothing, twisting and interlocking until a range of jagged peaks materialized before their eyes.
Earth Style: Terrain Transformation.
[T/N: Earth Style: Terrain Transformation (有为转变): Kazuma's large-scale battlefield reshape from the anime filler arc (Shippuden ~54–71). The Chinese name nods to the Japanese episode title Uitenpen ("Impermanence"—a Buddhist concept of constant change), fitting the dramatic terrain shift. With no official canon name, "Terrain Transformation" is a descriptive localization that prioritizes clarity and flow while staying true to the visual effect.]
In a shadowed corner of the battlefield, Kazuma slowly exhaled.
This technique consumed a massive amount of chakra. He wouldn't have used it unless absolutely necessary.
But the situation demanded it.
It wasn't just Asuma and Chiriku anymore. A Konoha ninja—Masahiko—had arrived. Furthermore, there were signs of a hidden operative, possibly from Kumogakure, and Orochimaru had apparently unsealed the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki nearby.
The chaos was spiraling out of control.
Kazuma's instincts screamed at him. The priority was no longer combat; they needed to disengage immediately and retreat to the Fire Capital.
Once they were inside the Capital, Asuma and his group wouldn't dare act recklessly. If this was indeed a Konoha conspiracy, any attack near the Daimyō would force them to bear the responsibility.
It was then that a voice cut through his thoughts.
"Earth Style: Terrain Transformation. An impressive technique. But having exhausted so much chakra, how exactly do you plan to deal with Konoha's siege?"
The voice was cold, dripping with mockery. "Or perhaps... you intend to abandon your comrades?"
Kazuma immediately shunshined forward, putting distance between himself and the voice. He spun around, steadying his stance.
Standing behind him was a figure cloaked in black robes, their face obscured by a porcelain dog mask.
"Konoha Anbu?" Kazuma narrowed his eyes.
"If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead given your current state," the black-robed man said, scanning Kazuma dismissively.
He let out a cold laugh. "Kazuma. Your ambition is vast, but your methods are painfully naive and self-righteous. You are destined to fail."
Kazuma remained silent, his hand tightening around his trench knives, silently gathering chakra.
"There was a child at the Fire Temple," the robed man continued, his tone conversational yet menacing. "He once went berserk and damaged the Iron Wall Seal. I was curious, so I looked into it. The confirmation was quite interesting..."
The man's hidden eyes bored into Kazuma. "He is your son."
Kazuma stiffened.
"It's a pity," the man mused. "Konoha has successfully sealed the true Nine-Tails. Why would they fear a counterfeit Jinchūriki possessing only a fraction of its chakra?"
The moment the words landed, Kazuma exploded into motion. He flickered forward, his iron claw sweeping through the air, generating four powerful blades of wind that screamed toward the target.
Wind Style: Beast Wave Gale Palm!
This was a weapon-augmented ninjutsu requiring no hand seals. It tore through space like the swipe of a massive beast, enveloping the black-robed figure.
However.
The instant the wind blades shredded the figure, the body dissolved into a splash of liquid.
Water Clone?
Kazuma spun around, swinging his iron claw blindly to cover his rear, but the figure behind him had already turned into a blur.
Whoosh!
He shunshined away to create distance, but immediately sensed a violent burst of chakra.
In the blink of an eye, a gale swept past him.
A tremendous, unstoppable force slammed into Kazuma's trench knives. He channeled chakra into his feet, using Earth Style to soften the ground beneath him to absorb the impact.
One strike.
That was all it took to drive him half-buried into the earth. In seconds, his body collapsed into a puddle of mud—a substitution.
Just as Kazuma thought he had escaped—
BOOM!
A terrifying fist wreathed in lightning pulverized the rock formation above him, intercepting his escape route with brutal precision.
Amidst the shattering stone and debris, Kazuma was forced out of his hiding spot. Desperate, he unleashed another attack.
Wind Style: Beast Wave Gale Palm!
Fueled by a massive surge of chakra, this version of the technique manifested like a dragon's claw, shredding the falling rocks and the lightning alike.
Kazuma's hands flew through seals, preparing a follow-up Wind Style.
But abruptly, the enemy vanished.
SHINK!
Kazuma stabilized his chakra flow, dispelling any potential Genjutsu, only to realize with horror that the black-robed man had physically disappeared from his field of view.
A split second later, the figure, crackling with electricity, materialized at his side. The man raised a hand, and a sharp bone spur extruded from his fingertip.
The bone projectile fired. Kazuma, caught completely off guard, couldn't dodge in time.
A sharp, stinging pain pierced him.
"Shikotsumyaku?!"
Kazuma gasped in disbelief. A split second later, an intense, throbbing agony radiated from his shoulder.
The black-robed man lowered his hand.
"That bone needle has already fused with your skeletal structure."
Seeing the lightning still dancing across the man's body, Kazuma's expression turned grim.
'This man... he must be the one who killed Tsubute!'
He tried to move. As he rotated his arm, he felt a foreign object grinding deep within his shoulder joint.
It was a tearing, piercing agony.
If it were merely pain, Kazuma could endure it. What terrified him was the loss of dexterity. His joint was no longer fluid. If he engaged in high-speed combat now, his arm would lag a fraction of a second behind his neural commands.
In a battle between masters, that fraction of a second was the difference between life and death.
"If you don't know your place, I will have no choice but to kill you," the black-robed man said, withdrawing his killing intent. He glanced toward the distance.
The commotion of their brief clash had drawn attention. Asuma was closing in fast.
Kazuma remained silent for several seconds. "I suppose... we should leave this place first. We can discuss other matters later, can we not?"
"I like sensible people," the black-robed man chuckled softly. "Now, go."
Seeing the man's fearless arrogance, a storm of shock raged within Kazuma's heart. He didn't dare resist, nor did he spare a thought for his four subordinates still fighting nearby.
He tried to deduce the man's identity.
'The Kaguya clan was exterminated some time ago...'
Moreover, this man's usage of Shikotsumyaku felt different from the savage style of the Kaguya. At the very least, in Kazuma's memory, no Kaguya clan member fought with such calculated precision.
Moments after Kazuma vanished into the shadows, Asuma Sarutobi and Yagyu Masahiko arrived on the scene.
"Who are you?"
Asuma stared at the black-robed figure standing motionless in the clearing. He noted the dog-patterned mask used by Konoha Anbu, but confusion gnawed at him.
'A Konoha ANBU?'
But if so, why did he let Kazuma escape?
Asuma tightened his grip on his trench knives, ready for anything.
Beside him, Masahiko stepped forward, acting the part of the wary reinforcement. He called out, matching Asuma's suspicion.
"Who are you?"
The black-robed figure raised his head, looking down at them with an air of supreme authority.
"This rotting world has been stagnant for too long. It requires someone to drive the change of order, to reshape everything anew."
The figure spread his arms.
"And I... I am the driver of that change."