Jinchuriki

After discovering Iwagakure's outpost, it meant their main camp was not far away.

Moreover, Uchiha Feiyu had directly eliminated the outpost. Though they had not managed to send out a signal, the removal of the outpost itself was effectively a warning to Iwagakure.

At Iwagakure's camp command post, a tall ninja frowned as he listened to the intelligence ninja's report below.

"Is that so? Mitsui and the others have gone over half an hour without responding... It seems Konoha reacted faster than we expected. They sent experts over here so quickly."

"What experts...? Kitsuchi, you think too highly of those Konoha Ninja. We all know Orochimaru is the only formidable one on this front. The rest can be dealt with easily!"

The speaker was a ninja seated beside the commander, Kitsuchi, dressed in purple.

He wore a chestplate ninja tool, while his red hair was tied into a small ponytail behind him. With a thick red beard and a thoroughly dismissive expression, he looked utterly unconcerned.

Yet none of the ninjas in the camp refuted his words. Even Commander Kitsuchi could only smile wryly.

"Senior Roshi, to you, the other ninjas besides Orochimaru truly are just small fry. But if you make a move now, both the Sand Shinobi and Konoha will likely turn their attention toward us."

As he spoke, Kitsuchi lightly rubbed his forehead. As the Third Tsuchikage's son, he could not help but feel resentful.

His relationship with this Jinchuriki is terrible, so he dumped this troublesome old man onto this front. Why am I so unlucky?

As a safeguard containing the power of a Tailed Beast, a Jinchuriki was also a ninja village's ultimate weapon. In theory, they would never take the battlefield unless it was time for the true final battle.

Otherwise, with a Jinchuriki's terrifying large-scale destructive power, a sudden Tailed Beast Ball fired at a camp or ninja village could cause horrific devastation. If everyone resorted to that tactic, the Five Great Ninja Villages would be blown to pieces.

This was merely a secondary battlefield meant to tie down the enemy. There was no need for an ultimate weapon like a Jinchuriki!

The ninja named Roshi gave a soft snort, his face filled with disdain.

"Kitsuchi, it seems you have misunderstood something. Even without using the Tailed Beast's power, this old man is still a ninja who independently synthesized a Kekkei Genkai."

"As long as I only use Lava Release and not Tailed Beast Chakra, what could Konoha possibly notice?"

Kitsuchi felt an even greater headache coming on. Why was this Jinchuriki so battle-hungry? Their side was only here to tie down the enemy—tie them down!

Still, Roshi was a generation his senior, so Kitsuchi could not suppress him too forcefully. Fortunately, a fairly capable Konoha Ninja had appeared near the camp. He could use him to occupy Roshi.

With that in mind, Kitsuchi spoke.

"In that case, Senior, you can first eliminate the Konoha scout who infiltrated this area. For an entire squad to be wiped out without even sending a signal, the enemy should at least be a Jonin Squad."

"A Jonin Squad? Looks like I can finally stretch my muscles!"

"Oh, and send a team of Sensory Ninjas with Senior as well. Otherwise, finding the enemy may be troublesome."

"Fine. Leave the fighting to me. You arrange everything else!"

After eliminating Iwagakure's outposts, Uchiha Feiyu took out two more Iwagakure squads in succession. At last, from a hillside, he vaguely spotted the distant Iwagakure camp.

"Found it. This is Iwagakure's base in the Land of Rivers. The mission is finally complete."

"Is that so? Since your mission is complete, then you can die now, right?"

A cold voice sounded by his ear. Uchiha Feiyu was not surprised as he turned his head.

"A pursuit team sent by Iwagakure? But aren't there too few of you? The three of you think you can cause me trouble?"

Roshi, standing at the front, sneered and slowly spoke.

"Why would three people be necessary? I alone am more than enough to ensure you cannot escape!"

"I truly did not expect there to be only one Konoha Ninja scouting our camp, and one so young at that. You must be one of Konoha's new generation of geniuses. What a pity that today, you will perish here!"

Uchiha Feiyu said nothing more. Hatake Sakumo's soul descended into him and merged with his body. A hazy white glow enveloped the short blade in his hand, and its clear blade light flashed into Roshi's eyes.

Without any warning, Uchiha Feiyu suddenly struck with his blade!

Roshi, who had been speaking only moments before, showed a flicker of terror in his eyes. He rapidly retreated as scorching Lava Release Chakra erupted from his body like magma, nearly forming a shell of molten rock around him.

With a crisp sound, Uchiha Feiyu lightly flicked his blade. A tiny bead of blood on its edge dispersed into a small cloud of Blood Mist.

Roshi, across from him, covered his face before slowly lowering his hand. A bloody gash ran across his face, starting from his left forehead, cutting over the bridge of his nose, and ending at the corner of his right mouth. The exposed flesh still twitched slowly.

"Lord Roshi, are you all right?!"

The two Iwagakure Ninja behind him stared at Roshi's wound in horror. They had never expected that the monstrous Jinchuriki would suffer such an injury in a single exchange.

"I'm fine... I underestimated this brat. I never thought that, at such a young age, he had already crossed that line... Go back and bring more people. No matter what, we cannot let this brat return alive today!"

After Roshi spoke with a grave expression, Lava Release Chakra surged from his body, vaguely taking the shape of a Tailed Beast Cloak.

"What fast reactions. I was just a little short of finishing him off."

Uchiha Feiyu spoke with some regret. The instant he saw this man, Feiyu had recognized him as Iwagakure's Four-Tails Jinchuriki.

So although he had acted unconcerned with his words, Uchiha Feiyu had been fully focused from the start, preparing to land a vicious blow while his opponent was off guard.

Hatake Sakumo was a high-speed ninja of the same type as the Yellow Flash. He could massacre ordinary fragile ninjas, but against a tough and durable opponent like a Jinchuriki, he could easily fail to break through their defenses.

Naturally, Uchiha Feiyu, who had now largely inherited Hatake Sakumo's fighting style, shared the same weakness.

Once a Jinchuriki revealed a Tailed Beast form, even if he pushed the White Fang Sword Style to its limits, he would ultimately only be scratching an itch.

That was why Uchiha Feiyu had wanted to kill his opponent on their first encounter, before the man understood his abilities. Unfortunately, he had ultimately failed.