When Roy was forced back, the three immediately closed in on him.
It looked like Roy was the only one holding them off here, so they would break through at his position first.
As for Itachi, he wouldn't be able to stand against the three of them either.
And Izumi... they didn't have much information on her yet, but based on what they knew, she was just an ordinary Chunin and posed no threat.
"Hey..."
"Don't you think you're being a little careless?"
"I remember showing off my abilities plenty of times. Aren't you even a little curious why I ran away?"
Just then, a voice came from behind the three of them.
"Fire Style: Demon Fire!"
As Roy spoke, streams of green flames instantly spread out.
They clung to the three men's bodies and erupted with intense heat.
An upgraded version of Fire Daruma.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
In an instant, the three disappeared from where they stood, leaving behind only wooden logs.
"Substitution Technique?"
"Well, that's..."
"Have the three of you ever felt despair?"
After Roy finished speaking, flames began flowing over his body once more.
"Sealing Jutsu: Three Talents Sealing!"
Just then, the three men's voices rang out from all around him.
A sealing technique immediately sealed off the surrounding area.
"Are you planning to wear me down?"
"Did you forget I still have a teammate outside?"
Roy sneered.
These three seemed to be pretty strong, but they definitely had something wrong with their heads.
"Fire Style: Flame Pillar!"
Roy raised his hand again, and terrifying flames rose around them at once.
The three men had thought Roy was already trapped, but then they remembered Uchiha Itachi might be watching them from behind.
Under the circumstances, they quickly dispelled the seal.
They had been planning to spread out and discuss how to deal with the three of them, but the flames surrounding them suddenly swallowed them up.
"Uchiha Roy, are you really planning to take on all three of us by yourself?"
The leading ninja's voice had grown solemn.
He didn't know why Roy had made this choice, but it definitely wasn't just because Roy was strong enough.
"Honestly, I'm running low on chakra."
"It'll be tough for me to deal with your attacks."
"But..."
"Fire Style: Flame Emperor!"
As Roy spoke, terrifying flames erupted behind him.
They formed a gigantic fireball behind him.
In no time, the enormous fireball transformed into a towering Flame Emperor.
One fire dragon after another swam through the air behind it.
"That's an S-rank jutsu. How is this possible...?"
The three men were stunned.
After all, only a handful of people in all of Konoha had mastered S-rank jutsu.
More importantly, they were either geniuses or had enormous reserves of chakra.
But judging from Roy's background and experience, he was neither.
Even Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, the Uchiha clan's geniuses, usually relied on a large number of B-rank and A-rank jutsu when attacking.
Of course, ocular techniques were an exception.
"Sorry, but the three of you are staying here."
"It'll only last three minutes, but... that's enough!"
Being able to unleash his power without hesitation felt incredible.
That's right. Roy had now used the special ability of the Mera Mera no Mi.
Feeling the terrifying power, the three men's faces turned ashen beneath their masks.
This wasn't merely an S-rank jutsu anymore.
It was practically a super forbidden technique.
"Boom!"
The terrifying fireball came crashing down, turning the surrounding area into a sea of flames.
The three men didn't even have time to scream before they lost their lives.
"They're dead already?"
Even Roy was stunned.
He had thought they would put up a fight, but the result was beyond his expectations.
"Big Brother Roy, just now..."
Itachi had always thought Roy had earned his father's trust mainly because of the strategies he provided.
But now it seemed Roy was more than just clever.
Itachi wasn't at all confident he could have escaped Roy's attack unharmed.
Of course, with his Mangekyō activated, Itachi could have ensured his own survival.
"All right, those guys are dead."
"Let's continue with the mission."
Roy turned and headed straight for their destination.
Itachi was confused, but now wasn't the time to ask.
Still, his attitude toward Roy had begun to change.
As for Izumi, she had only come along to gain some experience.
Soon, they arrived at a village.
"Kamisawa Village."
"Big Brother Roy, it's just a small village. Most people here spend their days farming."
"You won't see many people around during the day."
Itachi briefly introduced the village.
Indeed, aside from the large villages, there were many small settlements like this throughout the Ninja World.
They didn't have shinobi of their own and survived by relying on the major villages.
They also gave many shinobi a place to stop and rest while on missions.
Even rogue shinobi generally left villages like this alone.
First, there wasn't much to gain from them. Second, no one could be sure they would never need a place to rest.
"Let's grab something to eat, look into the village a little, and then leave."
After speaking, Roy headed straight for a restaurant.
The food was cheap and there wasn't much variety.
After the three of them finished eating, they left.
"Three Konoha shinobi came to the village, ate something, and then left."
"That's right. They haven't done anything so far, so there's no need to follow them."
"They must have some other mission. We should keep a low profile for a while..."
The man was speaking, but he suddenly fell silent.
The three who had already left had appeared beside him.
A kunai pressed against his back.
The two people in front of him had activated their Sharingan and were watching him with amused expressions.
"I..."
"Tsukuyomi!"
Before the man could say another word, Uchiha Itachi activated his Tsukuyomi.
Soon, Itachi clutched his eye.
He was still in fairly good health, but it was his first time using Tsukuyomi, and it felt strange.
The aching in his eyeball made him feel dizzy.
"I found out this is just a contact point, and he's the only contact."
"He's not even a shinobi—just a man with a slightly stronger physique."
Itachi rubbed his eye and shared the information he had just obtained.
In that short moment, Itachi had interrogated the man for an entire day in the Tsukuyomi Space.
As the one responsible for maintaining contact, the man now lay on the ground, his expression vacant.
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