Fufeng's Defeat

Fufeng stretched out his legs and clamped Ōnoki's head between them.

She then spun him around forcefully, slamming Ōnoki into the ground, and then stomped on him with all her might, each step landing on Ōnoki's head.

The Fufeng was strong, and in no time, Ōnoki's head was embedded in the ground.

Just as Fufeng was about to deliver the final blow to Ōnoki, she suddenly noticed something, her expression changed drastically, and she immediately dodged in another direction.

The next second, a white light flashed past the spot where she had just been standing.

The Ōnoki on the ground also turned into soil and rocks that tumbled down.

"Damn it, the Earth Clone, was it at that time?"

Fufeng rolled around once, his hands quickly forming hand seals, and he unleashed Ninjutsu towards the source of the white light. "Earth Release: Mud Master!"

He also had some guesses about when Ōnoki would use Earth Clone.

It must have been right when I activated the Earth Style Wall that I momentarily lost sight of my target.

The mudslide rolled in, surging towards the direction of Ōnoki.

"Earth Release: Hardening Technique"

Ōnoki neither dodged nor avoided, but used Earth Release to calm the mudslide back into normal ground.

"Hmph, brat, using Earth Release in front of me is a gross underestimation of my abilities."

As he spoke, Ōnoki summoned earth and rocks to surround himself and rushed towards Fufeng.

"As expected of the Tsuchikage, he's even more troublesome than I imagined."

Fufeng chuckled lightly, showing no emotional fluctuation despite the Earth Release being broken, his eyes fixed intently on Ōnoki's every move.

As the distance between the two sides gradually closed, Ōnoki launched the first attack.

Several pieces of earth and stone surrounding him flew off and shot towards Fufeng.

"Water Release... No, should I dodge now?"

Fufeng immediately gave up halfway through forming the hand seals, because she saw the white light flashing in Ōnoki's hand.

"Dust Release: Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique"

The earth and rocks were just a feint; Ōnoki's real purpose was to force Fufeng to engage in Ninjutsu battle, and then use Dust Release to take him away.

Although Fufeng in time, some of her hair was still affected by the Dust Release and disappeared as molecules.

"That was close. If it were me in the past, I probably would have lost part of my life."

Fufeng touched the broken ends of his hair with a hint of regret, a fierce glint in his eyes.

If she hadn't obtained Ōtsutsuki Shibai's cells and reshaped her body, her fate would have been predictable.

"I seem to have underestimated the old man a bit. Water Release: Evil Mouth!"

A torrent of water gushed from underground, swirling around once before pouring down on Ōnoki.

Ōnoki leaped into the air, dodging the impact of the water.

"Tch." Fufeng clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

She intended to use water and lightning elemental Ninjutsu to attack Ōnoki, but the short, old man in front of her was not only small and difficult to hit, but he could also fly through the air.

This is bad. Could it be that even after Fudō my life and Fuyuan's arm, I couldn't do anything to this old man, Ōnoki?

Just as Fufeng was pondering her next move, her ears suddenly twitched, and her expression changed once again.

She sensed the Dry Land Navigation of the Kitsuchi and knew that if she didn't make a choice soon, she would face a pincer attack from both sides.

Thinking of this, Fufeng didn't hesitate and immediately mobilized a large amount of Chakra within his body to unleash a wide-range Wind Release Ninjutsu: "Wind Release: Flower Scattering Super Dance!"

A massive tornado, carrying pink petals, completely covered the area where the two sides were fighting.

Ōnoki's eyes narrowed, guessing that Fufeng might try to escape, and he released Dust Release almost without hesitation.

A giant white cube completely enveloped the tornado, flashing white light, and the entire battlefield instantly returned to calm.

Fufeng and Fuyuan used the Rock Concealment Technique to escape underground and completely disappeared from Ōnoki's sight.

"Tch, the Rock Concealment Technique?"

Ōnoki landed on the ground, touched the smooth surface that had been disintegrated by Dust Release, and guessed how Fufeng and the others had escaped.

Having confirmed that the Fufeng had escaped far away, Ōnoki did not continue the pursuit, but instead searched for the researchers they had abducted.

Soon, he discovered the dying Kōta, along with several researchers who had collapsed beside him.

"Damn it, did I still miss it?"

Ōnoki flew anxiously to the other's side.

Just when he thought the attack was over, Kitsuchi Tu and his party, who had come to his aid, encountered a major problem.

"You're quite capable."

Kitsuchi wiped the blood from his forehead and looked at the man standing motionless not far away.

The Artificial Human Ras.

The opponent suddenly appeared and shattered the stone ship, which was as tall as a small building, with a single punch. Some ninjas were caught off guard and were caught in the collapse of the stone ship, buried under the rubble, their fate unknown.

To protect his companions, Kitsuchi was struck on the back by a hard stone slab, and his forehead was cut by the sharp edges of the rubble, causing blood to gush out continuously.

"Damn it, covering for Captain Kitsuchi!"

The two less seriously injured ninjas, unaware of Ras's true strength, stepped forward first to test his abilities.

"Wait a moment--"

Kitsuchi hurriedly tried to stop the two, but they had already rushed forward.

Left with no other option, Kitsuchi had to use Ninjutsu to cover his opponent. "Earth Release: Yomi Swamp."

The ground beneath Ras's feet immediately softened, causing him to sink into it.

Even so, Ras made no move, simply waiting quietly for the two Kunai Stone Ninja to attack him.

The two Stone Ninja attacked together, thrusting at Ras from two directions.

Then, Ras grabbed their arms and, before they could react, dragged them into the mud beneath their feet, burying their heads completely.

"Earth Release - Core of the Moving Earth"

Kitsuchi, naturally, wouldn't let Ras drown his companion like that. He quickly dispelled the Yomi Swamp and then raised the ground beneath Ras's feet.

He rushed toward the other man, his arms covered in rocks.

After entering the attack range, Kitsuchi deactivated the Core of the Moving Earth, and Ras quickly descended. This up-and-down motion caused Ras to release the two Stone Ninja he had captured.

Kitsuchi had anticipated the timing and waited until Ras had descended to a certain height before unleashing a powerful punch.

"Hmm..."

Surprisingly, it was the Kitsuchi that cried out in pain.

His swift punch missed Ras; instead, Ras kicked him in the side, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

However, Kitsuchi did not stop what he was doing and continued to punch despite the pain.

A look of surprise crossed Ras's face. The last time, the Konoha Ninja Asuma suffered this attack, he immediately collapsed to his knees in pain.

This burly man in front of them looked much stronger than the bearded one.

The two began exchanging blows.

However, Ras's expression remained unchanged; instead, Huang Tu grew increasingly terrified as the Kitsuchi.

Ras's bare hands were stronger than his arms, which covered the rocks.

Each of his blows pierced through the rock, bringing him pain.

Based on the pain, Kitsuchi estimated that his hand was probably broken at this moment.

What a joke! You should know that your Rock Fist Technique can even repel Tailed Beast.

Lacking skill in boxing, Kitsuchi then attempted to attack his opponent with his legs.

Ras had anticipated this, and their shins collided.

With a single strike, a large amount of blood splattered from the other side of the point where Kitsuchi collided with Ras, clearly indicating that Ras's attack had pierced through his leg.

Having suffered a severe leg injury, Kitsuchi's body went limp, and he collapsed to his knees.

Seeing this, Ras punched him in the head.

"Earth Release: Mountain and Rock Technique!"

Kitsuchi gritted his teeth, making no attempt to dodge, and proceeded to form hand seals on his own.

As he completed the hand seals, two semi-circular spheres rose from the ground and converged towards the location of the two people.

This is a powerful Ninjutsu that can even suppress Tailed Beast, and it is also Kitsuchi's strongest anti-army tactic.

If the opponent is an entire army, unless they possess a space-time ninja like Minato, no one will be able to escape.

However, Kitsuchi himself was also within the scope of Ninjutsu this time.

"Lord Kitsuchi!"

Some Stone Ninja had just crawled out of the rubble gasped in shock upon seeing this scene.

They realized that Kitsuchi Tu was determined to perish together with the enemy.

Ras's expression finally wavered. Seeing the vast range of the Mountain and Stone Technique, he realized he had to escape the attack range of this Ninjutsu as soon as possible.

After all, even though he was Artificial Human with superhuman physical abilities, being squeezed like that would turn him into a meat patty.

So he abandoned his attack on the Kitsuchi, intending to dodge the attack using his superhuman jumping ability.

But just as he was about to move, a strong dragging sensation on his feet prevented him from moving an inch.

"Um?"

Ras looked down and realized that his feet had been covered by rocks.

This is clearly also a method used by Kitsuchi.

"That despicable guy!"

Although Ras managed to break free from the rock's restraints with his immense strength, the two hemispheres had already reached their proper positions.

Ras could no longer escape.

Boom--

The violent collision, accompanied by a huge cloud of dust, obscured the vision of the startled Stone Ninja.

When the smoke and dust cleared, a huge hemispherical object stood inside, with patterns of Iwagakure carved on it.

"Huang, Lord Kitsuchi!!!"

"Atone for my sins with good deeds, again and again. Can you please stop doing this to me?"

At the border of Konoha, Jiraiya led a small team of Konoha Ninja.

Behind the squad, Kakashi, along with Naruto and the others who had recovered from their injuries, followed at a distance.

With the Fourth Hokage's endorsement, Obito quickly issued a punishment order for Jiraiya.

That means confiscating all his illegal gains.

Obito kept this considerable sum of money, intending to give it to Kazashiro when he returned to the village.

Jiraiya was sentenced to life imprisonment, but with the Fourth Hokage's pardon, he was allowed to atone for his crimes by investigating recent unusual events at the border.

Jiraiya was very familiar with this tactic—keeping himself tied up and not allowed to leave the village.

I've used it in the Third Hokage, I've used it in the Fifth Generation, and now I've used it in the Fourth Generation too. Hmm, I'm used to it.

Jiraiya had no objection to this, but of course, that doesn't mean he didn't harbor hatred.

Now, in his mind's list of people he most wants to kill, Kazashiro has fallen to third place. First is his foolish disciple Obito, and second is Kakashi, who betrayed him.

Jiraiya had already planned it out. Whenever they encountered an enemy, he would send Kakashi forward to probe the enemy's strength, and then he would make his move after the enemy was beaten half to death.