Lava Release, Four-Tails

The war in the Land of Wind was not going as smoothly as anticipated.

The Leaf Ninja were indeed stronger than the Sand Hidden, but the desert environment favored the Sand Hidden Ninja's performance.

In particular, a young man named Rasa used Magnet Release to suppress a small unit of three jonin.

He possessed the ability to control the rampaging Shukaku in the desert.

Orochimaru had failed to list him as a high-level combat asset, causing the battle to fall into a stalemate.

The desert was strewn with patches of bloodstains, countless puppet fragments, and broken weapons.

"Orochimaru, you think you're qualified to kill me? Not even close."

Chiyo manipulated the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, slicing a large brown serpent in two.

Upon the severed snake body, Orochimaru appeared with a grim expression.

According to the projected combat strength, if he held Chiyo back, the Leaf Ninja could quickly overrun the Land of Wind, leaving Sunagakure unable to cover both ends.

Only...

His gaze shifted to Rasa, who was raising a waterfall of gold sand in the distance.

This strategic-level Magnet Release had an enormous impact on a large-scale battlefield.

Especially on his home turf...

"Another Magnet Release ninja, huh..."

Chiyo snorted coldly. "Little snake, since you dare to invade the Land of Wind, you must already know."

"Or rather, it was your Leaf Village that killed the Third Kazekage!"

The Third Kazekage had been missing for over three months.

Even for a Village Shadow, let alone a genin, a month of no contact would result in a death declaration.

Chiyo had long given up searching for the Third Kazekage. The reason she still fought Leaf was to select the Fourth Kazekage through war.

Orochimaru licked his lips sinisterly, sneering.

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

Sasori!

Chiyo's pupils sharply contracted, and her manipulation of the chakra threads faltered for a moment.

A top-tier puppet master of her caliber normally wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.

Shwoosh!!

Orochimaru did not miss the opening. A white rainbow shot from his mouth, severing one of Chiyo's hands!

Boom!!

Several puppets lost their control and crashed to the ground.

"Lady Chiyo!"

"Granny Chiyo!!"

"Protect Lady Chiyo!"

"Retreat! Protect Lady Chiyo and retreat!"

Seeing Chiyo injured, countless Sand Hidden ninja fought desperately to stop Orochimaru from pressing his attack.

Chiyo was the wife of the First Kazekage, a status equivalent to Mito of the Leaf Village.

Having this matriarch take command was already a sign of Sunagakure's incompetence. If she were to die on the battlefield...

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

The fearless Sand Hidden posed a considerable obstacle to Orochimaru, and even Rasa abandoned his own battlefield to advance toward this one.

Having fought Chiyo the old hag for so long, Orochimaru was heavily drained. Being surrounded would be dangerous.

In the end, the battle concluded with the Sand Hidden retreating to defend.

Unfortunately, the Leaf Ninja had no strength left to advance either, as many had been poisoned by the Sand Hidden.

"Tsunade..."

Orochimaru frowned deeply. If Tsunade were here, the two of them could definitely kill Chiyo, and he wouldn't have to worry about Chiyo's poison.

But thinking of Tsunade's problem... this battlefield covered in bloodstains.

If she were here, not being a burden would already be a blessing.

Orochimaru looked at the wreckage before him, feeling some regret.

He had underestimated the Sand Hidden. Even a broken ship has three nails left, let alone one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Rasa's appearance had prevented Leaf from achieving significant gains. What Orochimaru wanted was not such a minor victory.

He knew well what this defeat meant for the Leaf Village. He had to find a way to turn the tide.

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

It's no use for only the Sunagakure higher-ups to know about this kind of thing—the rank-and-file ninja need to be aware of it.

This trick, he learned from Danzo.

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

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

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

Above Kannabi Bridge, severed limbs and broken remains lay scattered.

Fugaku's Genjutsu skill was high, and he was currently controlling two Stone Hidden ninja to interrogate for intel.

Kagami Uchiha wiped the blood from Sode no Shirayuki.

Swordsmanship was part of the Uchiha Style Taijutsu, relying mainly on the Sharingan's insight.

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

It also suited his slashing style better.

Minato saw his desire to train, and left most of the subsequent waves of Stone Hidden ninja for him to handle.

The Uchiha progressed fastest in actual combat.

Whether it was timing instinct or battle IQ, Kagami Uchiha had clearly improved.

"It seems... Stone Hidden has confirmed the intel that the Land of Fire's border is undefended."

Fugaku approached the group and said in a low voice, "According to the intel they have..."

"Ōnoki has already ordered the Jinchuriki to move out, and their destination is here!"

Jinchuriki...

No matter when, this was an extremely oppressive word.

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

Everyone's gaze turned to Kagami Uchiha.

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

According to his account, Minato would hold off one Jinchuriki, and if a second appeared, it would be left to Kagami Uchiha...

Although Kagami Uchiha's performance these past days had been impressive, no one thought he could contend with a Jinchuriki.

That terrifying Black Flash was comparable in power to a Tailed Beast Ball, but after using it once, Kagami Uchiha had lost the ability to continue fighting.

Facing their silent questioning, Kagami Uchiha sheathed his sword and said flatly, "I hope it's the Four-Tails. I'm more interested in it."

Aside from the universal charger Kurama, among the tailed beasts, the Four-Tails had the best compatibility with Kagami Uchiha.

The ninjutsu he used most often were Fire and Earth Release, giving him the basic conditions to develop Lava Release.

Developing Yin Release was the most valuable, and slashing was also a manifestation of Yin Release.

Lava Release was strong, but he didn't have the energy to develop it.

The Four-Tails was a shortcut.

The nine great tailed beasts were guardians left to the Ninja World by the Sage of Six Paths, each possessing powerful abilities.

With the right Jinchuriki, after reconciliation, the ninja could use the tailed beast's abilities, achieving an effect where one plus one was greater than two.

The Nine-Tails Chakra that Kagami Uchiha had absorbed helped him develop Yin Release—Sun-Chasing Fierce Wolf.

If he could obtain Four-Tails Chakra, it would greatly benefit his development of Lava Release.

Just as he was thinking this...

A wave of heat surged over, as if an active volcano had erupted nearby.

"Konoha bastards, what have you done to my partner!!"

A roar came from far to near, and a crimson figure was faintly visible, setting off blazing flames wherever it passed.

"Get ready for battle, it's the Four-Tails you were hoping for, Kagami."

Minato couldn't keep his chakra sensing active all the time, and showed little alarm at the new enemy.

Compared to the Four-Tails and Five-Tails they'd encountered before, the Nine-Tails was far more terrifying. Minato even felt these two Jinchuriki were on a completely different level from Kushina.

Back then, they'd said they'd need to bring the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to fight them—what a bunch of bragging.

Kagami Uchiha activated his Sharingan again, channeling chakra and forming hand seals rapidly.

He didn't have the bad habit of waiting for someone to charge up, exchange a few words, and then start fighting.

Not using that time to charge a big move—did they think this was a turn-based game?

Zzz—zzz—zzz—

Harsh tearing sounds rang out continuously, drawing everyone's attention.

Fugaku in particular recalled unpleasant memories.

The azure blades revolved around Kagami Uchiha, spinning faster and faster, like a storm.

"Stay a little farther from me."

The storm's range expanded, shredding the Iwagakure corpses on the ground, staining that azure blade flow with a hint of blood.

The Four-Tails Jinchuriki, magma flowing all over his body, also entered full-power mode at once.

Lava Release — Flowing Lava Rock Technique!!

Several millstone-sized magma spheres came crashing in, radiating terrifying heat.

Kagami Uchiha extended two fingers forward, guiding them.

"Cut Release — Thousand Blade Flow Scenery of Severity."