"The Seven-Tails jinchūriki… Takigakure actually sent him to the battlefield?! Are they insane?!"
Rōshi's face twisted in shock—this time, he truly understood the scale of the crisis.
Takigakure, ever since the First Five Kage Summit, had earned the reputation of being the strongest shinobi village beneath the Five Great Nations. Not only because of their respectable military strength, but because they possessed a trump card capable of saving them from annihilation—the Seven-Tails.
Back when the First Hokage captured eight tailed beasts and distributed them among the Great Nations to maintain balance, Sunagakure—already in possession of a tailed beast—refused the offer and instead demanded additional resources from the Land of Fire.
And thus, the Seven-Tails became the one beast no one wanted.
Takigakure seized the opportunity and paid an enormous price to buy it.
During the First Great Ninja War, because of Hashirama's influence, the nations suppressed conflict for decades. Their military power was at its peak, but no one dared deploy jinchūriki.
But this war was different.
Driven to desperation, Iwagakure had launched a Tailed Beast Ball at Konoha—
and for the first time, the true destructive power of a tailed beast appeared on the battlefield.
Takigakure seemed to have discovered an entirely new world.
The crucial problem was simple:
A jinchūriki cannot be defeated with numbers.
Konoha's annihilated battalion was already proof.
A single Tailed Beast Ball kills however many stand before it.
The only way to fight a jinchūriki was:
elite jōnin squads to restrain them,
and a sealing team to finish the job.
Rōshi understood this better than anyone.
He himself could control three tails' worth of the Four-Tails' cloak, and with that alone, over 80% of Iwagakure's ninjutsu couldn't even scratch him. Even A-rank jutsu barely felt like a tickle.
Aside from techniques with extreme penetration power—or Dust Release (Particle Style)—nothing could break his cloak.
And the deeper problem was that Iwagakure no longer had elite shinobi.
Most of the village's jōnin had been dispatched to the Suna front.
As for elite jōnin—none remained.
The sealing teams were still in the village, but the quality of their sealing techniques… was another concern entirely.
"The First Tsuchikage left behind a special construct—'Kai.'
If I remember correctly, it was created from part of the Second Tsuchikage's flesh."
The two Iwa-nin present didn't understand, but the advisor beside Rōshi instantly tensed.
"Lord Tsuchikage, that 'Kai' is indeed one of Lord First's legacies. Because it incorporates fragments of Lord Second's flesh, it can use Dust Release, and it copied many of his battle instincts. Its combat power is extremely high."
"But Lord First warned us that the doll attacks indiscriminately. Friend or foe makes no difference. Once unsealed, it will only exist briefly before turning to ash. He instructed that it must never be used unless the village faces true annihilation."
"If we release it… we may be the first casualties."
Rōshi gazed out the window.
"Something left behind is meant to be used. If Iwagakure falls, what's the point of preserving it?
Besides, even if we never use it, the seal will decay within ten years and it'll rot into useless sludge. Better to let it serve its final purpose."
"As for the risk… send it with the sealing team while still sealed. Once they reach the battlefield, they unseal it and retreat immediately."
"Lord First's technique was never completed. It can only exist for two days at most. Aside from whoever encounters it first, it won't pose much danger to the Land of Earth or the village."
The advisor understood there was no choice.
"…Understood. I'll arrange it."
Just as he exhaled, a knock sounded at the door.
"Report!"
Another Iwa-nin rushed in. Rōshi and the advisor both felt a familiar dread.
"Bad news, Lord Tsuchikage!"
"The scouts report that the Ame-nin who vanished earlier have regrouped."
"And the one who assassinated the daimyo—Hanzō of the Salamander—has reappeared.
He is the one rallying the Ame-nin."
"They are now advancing straight toward Iwagakure.
Hanzō himself is leading the charge."
Rōshi froze.
This opponent was far more terrifying than any tailed beast.
The room fell silent.
Hanzō's name haunted Iwagakure like a recurring nightmare.
He had single-handedly killed their Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, plunging the village into crisis.
He allied with Sunagakure to force Konoha's six-thousand-man force back into the Land of Fire, capturing the Three Sannin.
He shattered the Land of Fire's border with a forbidden technique, leaving thousands dead.
He humiliated the "Strongest Hokage," Hiruzen Sarutobi, not once but twice—once publicly, and once again during ceasefire negotiations, defeating him in three minutes.
Then he led Amegakure's entire army and, in a single night, broke Iwagakure's border, annihilated four thousand defenders, assassinated the daimyo, and slaughtered his entire clan.
A Demigod's record.
Compared to him, jinchūriki were simply not in the same category.
His poisonous mist ensured that anyone without breathing protection died instantly.
His forbidden techniques could erase armies—Fire Country's border was proof.
And in single combat, even Hiruzen Sarutobi was no match.
Rōshi's eyes dimmed completely.
Sending troops?
A waste of lives. One cloud of poison or one forbidden jutsu—everyone dies.
He was the strongest remaining shinobi in the village.
But if he went…
He would still be walking to his death.
Unless he released the Four-Tails completely.
But if he did that, regardless of whether Hanzō died—he certainly would.
Rōshi turned to his advisor.
"How many Heart Stones remain?"
"Two."
Then the advisor realized what Rōshi intended. "Lord Tsuchikage—you can't mean…!"
The Heart Stone, like Takigakure's "Hero Water," was a chakra-amplifying medium—though its side effects were far milder.
"Don't worry. I'll only use it to suppress the Four-Tails' chakra and achieve a temporary Version-2 transformation."
"I'll deal with Takigakure myself.
Send 'Kai' to confront Hanzō. Killing him is unlikely, but we must show him that Iwagakure still has hidden fangs. Even if it costs us everything, he must pay a price."
"He needs to reconsider before crushing us outright."
"…Understood. I'll prepare it immediately."
But before the advisor even reached the door, another Iwa-nin burst inside in a panic.
"Report!"
That word was becoming Rōshi's nightmare.
Every time it came, disaster followed.
"Bad news, Lord Tsuchikage."
Rōshi straightened his posture calmly, almost numb.
"Go ahead. Even if the sky comes crashing down, I'm no longer afraid. There can't be anything worse."
"That's… actually good to hear, my lord," the shinobi said nervously. "It's like this—there's news from the underground bounty exchange."
"Someone has been inquiring about your bounty."
"Based on the testimonies of the informants… the one asking was likely the S-rank rogue ninja from Takigakure—Kakuzu."
"And our sensory unit has detected his presence near the village.
He's extremely cautious of our barrier, so he hasn't taken action yet."
Takigakure.
An S-rank missing-nin.
At minimum—Kage-level strength.
Rōshi said nothing.
Just "…."
I'm so cooked bro.
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