"Tch… they still caught up?"
Uchiha Feiyu clicked his tongue as he cut down another Iwa-nin squad. Although he had shaken many pursuers, the pressure behind him hadn't disappeared.
"These damn moles—why are they chasing like they're dogs following a scent? We're almost at the edge of Konoha's forward camp, and you're still chasing me?!"
From behind came a furious shout:
"Even if you're close to the Konoha camp, so what?!"
The red-haired, bearded man leading the pursuit—Rōshi, the Four-Tails' jinchūriki—bared his teeth in a savage grin.
"Even if the entire Konoha camp marched out, they wouldn't be able to save you!"
Feiyu couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth.
This idiot… did the Four-Tails melt his brain? Does he really think a jinchūriki is invincible?
"Wow, big talk," Feiyu sneered. "Didn't realize I was being underestimated that much."
Before Rōshi could reply—
A cold voice whispered beside his ear:
"That arrogance… is quite something."
Sibilant hissing exploded through the forest.
From every direction, venomous snakes shot out like arrows. Screams followed immediately. Half of the Iwa-nin squad was bitten before they could react, bodies turning purple as they collapsed lifelessly.
"—Orochimaru! Why are YOU here?!"
"Damn it! It's a trap!"
"Konoha ninja! There are Konoha ninja everywhere!"
Panic spread through the Iwa forces as the ground suddenly heaved.
With a rumbling sound, more than a dozen Konoha shinobi erupted from underground, ambushing the scattered Iwa-nin.
They had been hidden the entire time, concealed with Earth Release just like Iwa usually did—only this time, the tactic had been used against them.
"Shit, we've been played!"
Rōshi crushed several snakes with one hand. Magma-like chakra burst from his skin, melting the swarm instantly—but even he felt a chill.
Ninja have far higher poison resistance than ordinary people.
Yet those bitten died almost instantly.
These snakes weren't normal.
They were the result of Orochimaru's newly developed breeding methods, based on the silver-scaled venom snakes Feiyu had provided him. Even the incomplete products were far deadlier than common poisonous summons.
Shouts and metal clashes filled the battlefield as combat broke into multiple pockets. Only five or six Iwa-nin remained mobile, and they were quickly overwhelmed—each facing two or three elite Konoha shinobi.
Their defensive line rapidly crumbled.
"Lava Release: Erupting Lava Bullets!"
Rōshi hurled a massive ball of molten rock toward Feiyu. Feiyu's blade flashed, splitting it apart—but molten fragments exploded outward, turning the battlefield chaotic.
A crimson, boiling chakra cloak wrapped around Rōshi. A tail of molten chakra extended behind him, radiating terrifying heat.
The chakra pressure made Feiyu's heart tighten.
"So that's the power of a tailed beast… and this is only one tail? Its chakra output is more than ten times a shadow-level ninja…"
Fortunately, Feiyu wasn't the main target.
Orochimaru slammed both hands onto the ground.
A massive purple serpent—tens of meters long—erupted from the earth.
"Manda, do NOT forget my offering!"
The enormous snake hissed impatiently, its voice echoing like thunder. Orochimaru's forehead pulsed with a vein.
"After this battle, you can eat as many Iwa-nin as you want. Just don't choke to death!"
"ROOOOAR!!"
With a furious roar, Rōshi finally stopped holding back. Lava chakra surged, forming the enormous shape of a giant ape—the Four-Tails, Son Gokū.
"You bastard, Orochimaru! You dragged me out here… to fight a tailed beast?!"
"Quit whining and fight!"
Manda didn't wait. Its massive tail swung like a battering ram, slamming into the forming tailed beast and knocking it over.
The ground exploded. Shockwaves blasted outward, forcing all nearby shinobi to scatter.
The clash between a giant summon and a tailed beast was not something ordinary ninja could intervene in. A single blow of their clash could kill dozens.
Feiyu exhaled in relief as Orochimaru successfully drew the tailed beast's attention.
Good. I can't do anything against a walking mountain of magma. I'd just be scratching paint.
His eyes swept the battlefield.
The remaining Iwa-nin were scattered and isolated, desperately struggling against Konoha's elite squads.
Feiyu grinned coldly.
"What's wrong, Iwa trash? Didn't you enjoy chasing me?"
"Since you're not chasing anymore… it's my turn."
His body blurred—lightning flickering—and he vanished.
Within moments, screams echoed through the battlefield. Feiyu appeared and disappeared unpredictably, cutting down Iwa-nin from blind angles like a ghost.
Already outnumbered and disorganized, the Iwa squads collapsed completely.
Minutes later, Feiyu pulled his blade out of the last Iwa-nin's back and collected the fleeing soul.
This reconnaissance mission had netted nearly thirty kills—half of them elite jōnin-tier. The quality was far higher than his previous hunt.
He turned to the Konoha shinobi nearby.
"So, now what? I'm not touching that tailed beast fight. If any of you have something prepared for dealing with a jinchūriki, now would be a good time to use it."
He gestured toward the not-far-off battlefield, where Manda was being hammered into the dirt by a giant molten ape.
He had personally warned Orochimaru beforehand that a jinchūriki was present.
There was no way Orochimaru came unprepared.
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