Lava Release, Four-Tails

The war in the Land of Wind had not gone as smoothly as expected.

Konoha's ninja were indeed stronger than Sunagakure's, but the desert environment was better suited for Sand Ninja to display their strengths.

Especially a young man named Rasa, who had suppressed a small unit with three jonin using Magnet Release.

He possessed the ability to restrain a rampaging Shukaku in the desert.

Orochimaru had failed to count him among their high-level combat forces, causing the battle to fall into a stalemate.

The desert was littered with mottled bloodstains, countless puppet fragments, and broken weapons.

"Orochimaru, you're not qualified to kill this old woman."

Chiyo controlled the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets and severed a brown serpent.

Orochimaru emerged from the broken snake's body, his expression gloomy.

According to their estimated combat strength, he was supposed to hold Chiyo back while Konoha's ninja swiftly captured the Land of Wind, leaving Sunagakure unable to tend to both ends.

But...

His gaze turned toward Rasa in the distance, who had raised a waterfall of gold dust.

This kind of strategic-level Magnet Release was simply too effective on a large-scale battlefield.

Especially on his home turf...

"Another Magnet Release ninja..."

Chiyo snorted coldly. "Little snake, since you dared attack the Land of Wind, I suppose you already knew."

"Or rather, it was Konoha that harmed the Third Kazekage!"

The Third Kazekage had been missing for over three months.

Even a genin would be presumed dead after losing contact for a month, let alone the leader of a village.

Chiyo had long given up searching for the Third Kazekage. The reason she still waged war against Konoha was to select the Fourth Kazekage amid the conflict.

Orochimaru licked the corner of his lips sinisterly and sneered.

"Old woman, according to the information we received, it was your grandson who killed the Third Kazekage."

Sasori!

Chiyo's pupils suddenly contracted, and her movements controlling the chakra threads hesitated for an instant.

A top-tier puppeteer of her caliber should never have made such a low-level mistake.

Whoosh!!

Orochimaru did not miss the opportunity. A White Rainbow shot from his mouth and severed one of Chiyo's arms!

Bang!!

Several puppets that had lost control crashed to the ground.

"Lady Chiyo!"

"Granny Chiyo!!"

"Protect Lady Chiyo!"

"Retreat! Protect Lady Chiyo as she retreats!"

Seeing Chiyo injured, countless Sand Ninja risked their lives to stop Orochimaru from continuing his attack.

Having this elder preside over the situation was already proof of Sunagakure's inadequacy. If they let her die on the battlefield too...

They would truly have no face left to call themselves ninja.

The fearless Sand Ninja caused Orochimaru considerable trouble. Even Rasa abandoned his own battlefield and advanced in this direction.

After fighting that old woman Chiyo for so long, Orochimaru had expended a great deal of strength. Being surrounded would be dangerous.

In the end, the battle concluded with Sunagakure retreating to defend its position.

Unfortunately, Konoha's ninja no longer had the strength to press forward either. Many had been poisoned by Sunagakure.

"Tsunade..."

Orochimaru frowned deeply. If Tsunade had been here, the two of them could definitely have killed Chiyo, and he would not have needed to divide his attention to guard against Chiyo's poison.

But when he thought of Tsunade's issue... this battlefield covered in blood.

If she had been here, it would have been good enough if she did not hold them back.

Orochimaru looked at the wreckage before him, feeling somewhat annoyed.

He had still underestimated Sunagakure. Even a rotten ship had three nails left in it, much less one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Rasa's appearance had prevented Konoha from achieving much, but Orochimaru did not want such a minor victory.

He knew all too well what losing this war would mean for Konoha. They had to find a way to turn the situation around.

Orochimaru decided to personally infiltrate Sunagakure to gather more information about Chiyo and Rasa. He also planned to spread the news that Sasori of the Red Sands had assassinated the Third Kazekage.

It was useless for only Sunagakure's upper ranks to know about this. The ordinary ninja needed to know as well.

He had learned that trick from Danzo.

If he had the chance, he wanted to assassinate that Magnet Release ninja!

After cleaning up the battlefield, Orochimaru quietly departed under the cover of night, heading toward Sunagakure.

Meanwhile, on another battlefield along Konoha's western front.

Dismembered limbs and corpses lay scattered across Kannabi Bridge.

Fugaku's skill in genjutsu was formidable. At that moment, he controlled two Iwagakure ninja and interrogated them for information.

Kagami Uchiha wiped the blood from Sode no Shirayuki.

Swordsmanship was part of the Uchiha Style Ninja Body Technique, and it mainly relied on the Sharingan's perceptive abilities.

As long as he caught an enemy's opening, a short sword was more convenient for killing than a long blade.

It also suited his slashes better.

Minato had seen his desire to train, so he had left most of the subsequent waves of Iwagakure ninja for him to handle.

Uchiha improved fastest only through actual combat.

Whether it was his sense for timing or his combat intelligence, Kagami Uchiha had improved significantly.

"It seems... Iwagakure has confirmed that the Land of Fire's border defenses are weak."

Fugaku approached the group and said in a grave voice, "According to the intelligence they knew..."

"Ōnoki has ordered the Jinchuriki to set out. Their destination is here!"

Jinchuriki...

At any time, that was an immensely oppressive term.

Minato smiled gently. "They were bound to come sooner or later. Isn't that why we're stationed here?"

Everyone turned their eyes toward Kagami Uchiha.

Fugaku had already learned the contents of Orochimaru's pre-war meeting.

According to him, Minato would hold off one Jinchuriki. If a second appeared, Kagami Uchiha would handle it...

Although Kagami Uchiha had performed brilliantly these past few days, no one believed he could contend with a Jinchuriki.

The terrifying power of that Black Flash was comparable to a Tailed Beast Ball, but after using it once, Kagami Uchiha had lost the ability to keep fighting.

Faced with their silent questioning, Kagami Uchiha sheathed his sword and said indifferently, "I hope it's the Four-Tails. I'm rather interested in it."

Other than the universally compatible Kurama, the Four-Tails had the highest compatibility with Kagami Uchiha among the Tailed Beasts.

He most often used Fire and Earth Release ninjutsu, giving him the basic conditions needed to develop Lava Release.

Developing Yin Release was the most valuable, and slashing was also an expression of Yin Release.

Lava Release was powerful, but he did not have much energy to devote to developing it.

The Four-Tails would be a shortcut.

The Nine Tailed Beasts were guardians the Sage of Six Paths had left behind for the ninja world, each possessing formidable abilities.

With the right Jinchuriki, after reconciliation, a ninja could use a Tailed Beast's abilities and achieve an effect greater than one plus one.

The Nine-Tails chakra Kagami Uchiha had absorbed had helped him develop Yin Release: Day-Chasing Fierce Wolves.

If he could obtain the Four-Tails' chakra, it would greatly benefit the development of Lava Release.

Just as he was thinking this...

A wave of heat swept over them, as though a living volcano had erupted nearby.

"You Konoha bastards, what did you do to my companions?!"

The roar drew closer and closer. A crimson figure could vaguely be seen, leaving blazing flames in its wake.

"Prepare to fight. It's the Four-Tails you were hoping for, Kagami."

Minato could not keep his chakra sensory ability active at all times, so he was not overly alarmed by the newly appeared enemy.

Compared to the Four-Tails and Five-Tails they had encountered before, the Nine-Tails was far more terrifying. Minato even felt that those two Jinchuriki were in a completely different league from Kushina.

Back then, they had claimed that the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki would be needed to fight them. What a boast.

Kagami Uchiha activated his Sharingan again, mobilizing chakra as he rapidly formed hand seals.

He did not have the bad habit of waiting for someone to rush over, chatting for a moment, and only then starting the fight.

If he did not use this time to charge up a powerful move, did they think this was a turn-based game?

Screech—Screech—Screech—

Piercing cutting noises rang out continuously, making everyone turn their heads.

Fugaku especially was reminded of unpleasant memories.

Azure blades spun around Kagami Uchiha, growing faster and faster like a storm.

"Stay a little farther away from me."

The storm's range grew wider and wider, pulverizing the Iwagakure corpses on the ground and staining the azure blade stream with a hint of blood-red.

The Four-Tails' Jinchuriki had magma flowing over his entire body and immediately entered full-power mode.

Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!!

Several millstone-sized spheres of magma came crashing toward them, radiating terrifying heat.

Kagami Uchiha extended two fingers and guided them.

"Severance Release: Thousand Blade Flowing Scenery Severity."