Ōnoki of Both Scales (6k)

Roshi had just stripped off his robe and was about to remove his remaining arm and head when he realized something was wrong. Was that brat Uchiha Mai messing with me?

He simply stopped bothering with concealment, put his purplish-red robe back on, and charged ahead under his subordinates' protection without looking back.

Uchiha Mai shook his head slightly at the sight. This wasn't how it went in Guo Degang's comedy routine. If only Roshi had popped his head right off.

After another few dozen kilometers of pursuit, they reached the border of the Land of Earth.

The Land of Rain, where the two sides had fought, was merely an insignificant little country in the Ninja World. An ordinary ninja could cross it in a few hours.

Once they entered the Land of Earth, everything changed.

The environment and terrain transformed in the blink of an eye. Minutes earlier, cold rain had fallen over richly colored forests; now, towering mountains and jagged rocks surrounded them.

The dramatic changes in terrain were just like the Grand Line in One Piece.

The fleeing Iwagakure ninja were clearly more familiar with this terrain and better able to adapt to it than the Konoha ninja.

After entering the Land of Earth, they actually managed to organize respectable counterattacks that briefly held up Konoha's pursuers.

Under the cover of Iwagakure's troops, Roshi gradually widened the distance between himself and Uchiha Mai, drawing farther and farther away.

By this point in the pursuit, Konoha's troops were beginning to run out of steam. Their casualties were mounting too, and they were starting to consider calling off the chase.

"Young clan leader."

Uchiha Takuya approached Uchiha Mai and asked, "Everyone's having trouble adjusting to the Land of Earth's terrain. Are we going to keep pursuing them?

"We've already