Mud Golem

"Boom!!!!!!"

"Boom--Boom--Boom--!!!"

The Chiriku shattered, thick rock layers were torn apart like crisp biscuits, and blood-red magma gushed out, quickly filling the broken pits and forming a magma lake of astonishing size.

The Four-Tails were half-crouched in the lava lake, as comfortable and pleasant as if they were taking a warm bath.

In mid-air, Katsuki was still circling around Ōnoki.

Faced with the combined attack of the Four-Tails and the Third Tsuchikage, Katsuki felt considerable pressure. It was clearly impossible to break the stalemate with swift and decisive action. The stupid monkey soaking in the lava bath was not difficult to deal with, but Ōnoki was the real problem.

The clouds in the sky were very thick.

Even after being pierced by countless magma projectiles, swept away by Dust Release, and ravaged by lightning, the sea of clouds instantly returned to its original state.

This vast sea of clouds became Ōnoki's hiding place. He was not as good at concealing his aura as his teacher, who was known as "no one," the Second Tsuchikage, but he was still very old and had extremely rich combat experience. When Katsuki struck his hiding place with lightning accuracy several times.

He then realized that the brat from the Uzumaki Clan possessed exceptional sensory abilities.

Therefore, the clones containing Chakra quietly spread throughout the sea of clouds, and as expected, the turbulent lightning hesitated.

"Konoha brats... bastards, truly bastards! Wasn't the Uzumaki Clan supposed to have been wiped out by the Mist Ninja? What a bunch of useless trash."

Ōnoki couldn't help but curse, dragging the Mist Ninja, who were thousands of miles away, into it. The sharp pain in his waist made the old man's wrinkled face shrink into a ball, and his frustrated mood was simply indescribable.

I truly understand what it means when it rains, it pours.

The crisp sound from his waist made Ōnoki's face turn as black as the bottom of a pot.

He was about to give up; his chronic back pain flared up, and alarm bells were ringing in his head. Yet, at this moment Ōnoki had no intention of backing down.

He was the Tsuchikage, how could he retreat empty-handed without achieving anything? He simply couldn't bring himself to back down like that. Moreover, more important than saving face was the Uzumaki Clan brat. He couldn't let this obstacle be cleared away here, or his southward journey would likely be fruitless.

"Hey, Tsuchikage- senpai, why did you suddenly go quiet? Did you create too many Shadow Clones and run out of Chakra?"

"... It would be better for the elderly to retire early. Why are they trying to be strong at their age?"

"Well, does it mean that such a large Iwagakure can't find a single qualified successor...?"

The sound of Katsuki mingled with the thunder, echoing clearly through the sea of clouds.

"... You brat."

Ōnoki's eyes twitched; these words pierced his heart like a knife.

Katsuki's sarcasm was entirely accurate; Ōnoki truly couldn't find a successor who satisfied him. Iwagakure had tens of thousands of ninja, many of them highly skilled, but none could earn Ōnoki's approval...

His eldest son, Otto, was originally his carefully groomed successor, but he was killed on the front lines by Konoha's White Fang.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Hundreds of magma balls shot into the sky like meteors, carrying scorching heat as they hurtled towards Katsuki.

The attacks from the Four-Tails came one after another.

"... Electric Execution."

Katsuki had to abandon her search for Ōnoki and instead deal with the Four-Tails' harassment.

This damned monkey's attack was quite troublesome. The high temperature released by the magma ball was far more threatening than the magma ball itself. A terrifying heat rushed towards me from afar, my lips instantly became dry, my eyes were dry, the air was scorching, and my body was rapidly losing moisture.

He raised his hand and summoned a large swath of lightning, knocking down all the incoming lava balls.

It was as if a rain of fire had fallen from the sky.

A crimson light fell.

"You bastard, you've really angered me."

His body was burning hot, and his exposed wrists and other parts were red and slightly stinging. His clothes were also emitting a faint smell of burning. Anger flared in Katsuki's eyes. This damned monkey made him very unhappy.

"Boom!!!"

The Thunderclap Chariot plummeted to the earth like a meteor. Less than ten meters from the ground, it dispelled the Thunder Chariot beneath its feet, instantly strengthening its body to the extreme, and slammed heavily into the ground, its feet embedding themselves into the rock.

"Come out, Mud Golem!"

With a clap of his hands, a large amount of Chakra was refined and expelled from his mouth, turning into dark brown soil that fell to his feet.

The fine soil silently seeped into the rocks, and the earth rumbled loudly. In the blink of an eye, the ground suddenly rose high, and a huge clay figure, comparable in size to a Tailed Beast, rose from the ground, carrying Katsuki standing on its head. Its majestic and fierce appearance was like that of a god or demon carved in a temple.

The Mud Golem is not a rigid, lifeless object; its dark eye sockets shimmer with a faint spiritual light, which comes from the soul that Katsuki separated and infused into it, giving the Mud Golem a human-like vitality.

"Roar--!!"

The Four-Tails pounded its chest and roared angrily as it leaped out of the lava lake and charged toward the Mud Golem.

"Whoosh..."

Green flames shot towards the Mud Golem's face, or rather, towards the Katsuki standing atop the Mud Golem's head.

This Mud Golem technique is exactly the same as the Thunderclap Chariot technique. He studied the Earth Release for a long time, combining the stable shaping ability of Earth Release with the huge kinetic energy brought by mass. He tried to infuse the Mud Golem with a soul, and as a result, he successfully created such a big guy, a huge object that can compete with the Tailed Beast.

Of course, this technique has a flaw, just like the Thunderclap Chariot: it cannot leave the Mud Golem's body. Once separated from the Mud Golem, the soul cannot be infused into it, and the doll becomes a purely inanimate object, devoid of any spirit, let alone usable in battle; it can only be used as a shield to block in front of the doll.

This means that the Thunderclap Chariot and Mud Golem Doll techniques cannot be used simultaneously; one can only switch between the two.

"Earth Release: Iron Sand Bullet Technique"

Standing atop the wooden figure, Katsuki Hand Seals, and the Mud Golem beneath her feet opened its gaping maw, within which immense Chakra brewed, refined, and transformed, instantly turning into a giant rock that spewed out.

It was as if a storm had been unleashed.

The boulder that was spat out continued to expand and grow larger under the influence of Chakra until it transformed into a colossal object, stirring up a vast airflow and creating an astonishing roar as it flew along its path.

The boulder easily dispersed the green flames, then mercilessly struck the unsuspecting Four-Tails monkey, sending it flying. The monkey took a heavy blow to the face, letting out a deafening roar before crashing back into the lava lake. (To be continued)