More than ten minutes earlier — Hill B
After reforming his body, Uchiha Ren looked at Rōshi, who had entered Lava Release Chakra Mode, and Kitsuchi, who stood ready nearby. His expression turned serious.
Against these two, ordinary ninjutsu would accomplish nothing except waste his chakra.
If he wanted to decide the battle quickly—
he would have to use one of his trump cards.
The flames along the blade of Zanka no Tachi gradually flowed into the sword itself, revealing the weapon's charred-black blade.
Zanka no Tachi — East: Rising Sun Blade.
"Lava Release: Undersea Needle!"
Rōshi, his entire body cloaked in molten lava, locked onto Ren's position and charged again.
His Lava Release Chakra Mode covered his body in molten rock exceeding a thousand degrees in temperature. To ordinary people, merely touching it meant severe burns—prolonged contact meant death.
In close combat, it gave him an overwhelming advantage.
And his technique Undersea Needle concentrated massive chakra into his fist, causing it to release heat several or even dozens of times hotter than the lava covering his body.
Its power was enough to melt metal and shatter steel.
Ren showed no intention of retreating.
With a reverse grip, he swung Zanka no Tachi directly toward Rōshi's incoming fist.
Rōshi froze slightly.
Before he could even process his surprise—
his fist collided with Ren's blade.
And instantly—
it felt like his hand had slammed into a red-hot branding iron.
The temperature radiating from Ren's sword was far higher than the heat condensed in his own technique.
The gap was like that between a bare hand and a furnace-heated iron rod.
"AH—! H-Hot—so hot—AAAH!!"
Rōshi screamed as he withdrew his hand and retreated rapidly, trying to widen the distance.
Ren himself was slightly surprised.
Someone capable of grabbing Zanka no Tachi's hundreds-of-thousands-degree heat barehanded without losing the arm immediately—
Rōshi was the first.
"Earth Release: Stone Bullet Technique!"
Just as Ren attempted to press his advantage, a massive stone projectile shot toward him with terrifying force.
He had no choice but to halt his pursuit and raise his blade defensively.
Boom!
The stone shattered into dust upon impact.
But the tremendous kinetic force still knocked Ren backward more than ten meters.
Looking toward Kitsuchi, who was still forming hand seals, Ren once again inwardly praised the man's combat experience.
Every attack landed precisely in the gap between Ren's movements—when his previous momentum had ended but his next had yet to begin—forcing him to take the blow head-on.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Technique!"
Kitsuchi didn't stop.
Within moments he completed another technique.
The ground beneath Ren surged violently.
A gigantic earth dragon more than ten meters long erupted upward, spiraling toward Ren in midair and snapping its jaws.
"Lava Release: Scorching River Rock Technique!"
Meanwhile, Rōshi endured the pain and fired several huge magma spheres toward Ren.
Under the influence of the Four-Tails' chakra, the burns on his hand were already rapidly healing.
"Fire Release: Flame Commandment — Fire Pillar!"
Ren spun his body.
A massive pillar of fire surged upward, intercepting both the incoming earth dragon and the magma projectiles.
Ren's gaze sharpened.
Drawing upon the flames rising from the pillar, he unleashed one of his ultimate techniques.
"Fire Release: Secret Technique — Two Hundred Thousand Degrees: Immovable Wisdom King!"
From within the towering fire pillar—
a gigantic flaming arm burst forth.
It slammed down toward Kitsuchi.
The intense heat made Kitsuchi feel as though the blood in his veins was boiling.
He wasted no time forming hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Shore Return!"
A massive stone slab several meters thick rose vertically in front of him.
But in the next instant—
it was obliterated into fragments by the flaming arm.
The attack continued without slowing, smashing directly toward Kitsuchi.
Kitsuchi's expression stiffened—
and his body shattered into chunks of stone.
"Earth Release: Earth Clone!"
The flaming arm struck the ground and remained there.
Then—
a colossal thirty-meter-tall flaming half-body giant rose from the earth.
Its brows were furrowed in fury, flames dancing like hair around its head.
It looked like a divine wrathful deity descending upon the battlefield.
However, there was one flaw.
Many areas of the figure were still indistinct—composed only of raging flames—suggesting that this form was not yet complete.
"ROOOAR!!"
The Immovable Wisdom King swung its arms and let out a thunderous roar.
Waves of scorching heat spread outward in every direction.
The temperature across Hill B rose rapidly.
Lush green trees instantly withered and yellowed under the blazing heat.
"This is bad…"
Rōshi landed beside Kitsuchi, speaking with a grave expression.
"Perhaps I should relinquish control and let the Four-Tails take over completely… entering full Tailed Beast transformation."
Now he finally understood why the Fourth Raikage A had insisted during the meeting that Uchiha Ren must be treated with extreme caution.
Kitsuchi shook his head firmly.
"No."
"The shinobi attacking Hill B are mostly Iwagakure troops."
"If you release the Four-Tails, regardless of the outcome, it will cause enormous losses for Iwagakure."
Kitsuchi knew the Four-Tails' violent temperament extremely well.
If it were unleashed—
it would rampage indiscriminately, killing friend and foe alike.
There were still over a thousand Iwa shinobi on this mountain.
If they all died at the Four-Tails' hands, he would have no way to explain it back in the village.
But Ren gave them no time to deliberate.
He controlled the Immovable Wisdom King to raise its hand—
condensing a giant fireball like a miniature sun—
and hurled it toward them.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!"
Kitsuchi rapidly formed seals and slammed his palms against the ground.
A towering rock fortress wall rose instantly.
But just like before—
it lasted only moments before the sun-like fireball obliterated it completely.
BOOOOM!!
Blazing flames erupted skyward.
The area where Kitsuchi and Rōshi stood instantly turned into a sea of fire.
The terrifying flames burned so fiercely it seemed as if even the earth itself might be reduced to ash.
"Lava Release: Granite!"
With a roar, Rōshi burst out of the inferno.
Beneath the molten layer covering his body, patches of dark purple skin appeared as he pushed his defense to its limit.
Like a falling meteor—
he slammed toward the gigantic flaming deity.
"Perfect!"
Ren's voice echoed from within the body of the Immovable Wisdom King.
He unleashed the technique he had already prepared.
"Fire Sealing Art — One-Sword Cremation!"
A gigantic flaming blade extended from the deity's hand—
piercing straight toward Rōshi.
Rōshi's body plunged directly into the flaming sword.
But before he could react—
within the flames, golden-red sealing characters suddenly appeared.
They spiraled around him, forming a sealing array that descended upon him in an instant.
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