Five days later.
Iwagakure, late at night.
"Am I the first Hokage in history to visit this village?" Uchiha Xiu stood on a cliff, looking down over it.
The village before him was surrounded by endless rocks and towering mountains. They had pushed on at a forced march, crossing countless natural barriers along the way.
"With the Land of Earth's scattered garrisons concealed throughout the area, that old geezer Ōnoki has no reason to fear a ground invasion by another nation."
Of course, the price of being so difficult to invade was that this impoverished country found it just as difficult to communicate with the outside world. Trade came at a steep cost.
"That's why poor countries are born with the urge to invade. They love militarism."
After seeing with his own eyes the temporary encampments formed by Iwagakure's mobilized forces, Xiu was even more intent on killing than he had been after reading the intelligence reports.
At least three thousand ninja!
Almost none were fresh graduates from the Ninja Academy.
And old man Ōnoki was still churning out troops...
"Open!"
Beside Jiraiya, a young man with pale eyes strained, veins bulging around his temples.
The light was poor, and a barrier surrounded the village, but to Hyuga Tokuma, the chakra inside the enemy troops stood out like bonfires.
—An eighteen-year-old Main Family jōnin, formerly assigned to Konoha's Intelligence Division. He possessed a pair of exceptionally pure Byakugan. Hiashi was clearly willing to pay a steep price to let such a young prodigy go.
Full of energy. He was doing this high-profile operation proud!
"Two squads are guarding the main entrance... A ten-man patrol in the northeast... Lord Hokage, our intel was accurate. Iwagakure's usual rotation schedule hasn't changed."
"I've found a Tailed Beast!"
"There's a mass of terrifying, blazing chakra on that high ground. It's like molten rock."
At that, Shisui unfolded the detailed map provided by the Konoha spies.
"Kofuku-ji."
It didn't take long to pinpoint the location.
"Why has the Four-Tails Son Goku's hot-tempered Jinchuriki suddenly taken to prayer and vegetarianism?" Jiraiya murmured. He had once fought the Lava Release ninja Roshi on the battlefield. At the same time, he painted markings on his face.
Sage Mode, ready to activate!
"Lord Hokage, I've found the Steam Ninja Han."
If the Uchiha were elite soldiers, the Hyuga were radar.
Hyuga Tokuma quickly identified the positions of the two key targets, then picked up the tactical board and marked the enemy patrol routes.
"Please help us, Sage Fukasaku, Sage Shima."
Jiraiya's voice took on a solemn edge.
Without a sound, two old toads appeared on his shoulders, one male and one female.
The female toad, with a purple head, looked at Uchiha Xiu. "So this is the Fifth Hokage?"
"Oh ho ho, so young! He looks even younger than the Fourth," said the white-bearded Fukasaku.
"I'll be relying on you both to help with the Iwagakure Collapse Plan," Xiu replied evenly.
"Of course."
"Don't worry, Fifth Hokage."
Then, they set off—
Shisui and Tokuma would work as a team, using the carefully prepared barrier-breaking scrolls from Konoha's Barrier Team to slip inside undetected and go straight for the Steam Ninja Han.
Jiraiya would assist Uchiha Xiu, using a toad to infiltrate the village and capture Roshi.
That was the strategy they had agreed on in advance.
"Summoning Technique: Toad Stealth."
Shisui, at the peak of his strength and wielding both Mangekyo, led Hyuga Tokuma away with the Body Flicker Technique. Meanwhile, Jiraiya summoned a small toad whose skin matched the surrounding rocks. It appeared before Uchiha Xiu.
"Mount Myoboku, one of the three great sage lands of the Ninja World. Its native creatures appeared on this planet long before Otsutsuki Kaguya."
"It really is something. There's more to it than meets the eye. Later, I can use Tsunade's connections to visit Shikkotsu Forest."
Just then, the adeptly concealed Rock-Skin Toad croaked and opened its mouth.
Xiu didn't hesitate. He quieted his thoughts and climbed inside the toad's palm-sized mouth!
Its mouth, esophagus, and abdominal cavity formed a barrier space that blocked chakra sensing. Jiraiya had relied on it for stealth missions in the past.
It had never failed!
A little while later, the Rock-Skin Toad closed its mouth, pressed its limbs to the ground, and used its protective coloration and camouflage to leap toward a drainage tunnel where Iwagakure's barrier was relatively weak.
In the dim, damp drain, the little toad made its way upstream.
The passage was so narrow that not even a dog could crawl through, but it was just the right size for the toad.
The Iwagakure ninja monitoring the barrier didn't give a random toad a second thought. Summer was almost here, after all. It had probably come into the village to eat mosquitoes and poisonous insects.
"Interesting. No foul or fishy smell."
Uchiha Xiu studied the pink flesh lining the space around him. It was writhing now.
"Shared vision." Jiraiya became serious and seemed quite the part as he performed a secret technique, allowing Xiu to see what was happening in real time through the Rock-Skin Toad's eyes.
As the toad crawled out of the drainage tunnel, it came across a patrol. The Iwagakure ninja chatted as they passed by, paying no attention to the toads they saw everywhere.
"This Toad Stealth Technique really is useful. Only Pain Six Paths in the future timeline managed to catch Jiraiya off guard with the Rain Tiger at Will Technique, keeping him from fully concealing his presence."
Uchiha Xiu was unusually excited about his first stealth mission.
He couldn't wait to cut loose!
After passing through the drainage system, the Rock-Skin Toad was no longer restricted by the sensory barrier. It sped up and, in less than two minutes, crawled into the unguarded temple.
After observing and sensing the surroundings to confirm it was safe, it opened its mouth—
Uchiha Xiu leapt out of the toad's mouth first and landed without a sound.
Sage Jiraiya followed close behind, then released the Summoning Technique.
"We made it in. Heh." Jiraiya rarely got excited, but a smile tugged at his lips.
When that old Third was in charge, would he ever have been allowed to do this?
At most, he'd have given Minato, who had mastered the Flying Thunder God, the greatest possible freedom!
Three kilometers away, in a straight line.
Using Konoha's more refined barrier-breaking scrolls, Uchiha Shisui suppressed Iwagakure's network of barriers and slipped into an earthen-gray building.
Tokuma, who had kept his Byakugan active the whole time, nodded silently to confirm it was clear.
Then the Hyuga Main Family jōnin saw Body Flicker Shisui appear at the bedside of the Steam Ninja Han like a ghost.
Not a word was spoken.
Genjutsu: Sharingan!
In the bedroom, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki was snoring, still wearing his mask:
"Ha... snore... ha..."
The rhythm of his breathing faltered.
A nightmare erupted.
"In ten days, Roshi and I will lead three thousand elite troops into the Land of Fire. Heh, I need to get some good rest and save my strength so I can slaughter those pampered Konoha ninja... Wait! Why am I numb?!"
Han's eyes flew open, but he found himself staring not at the familiar, bare ceiling, but up at a pair of enormous shuriken-shaped eyes slowly turning in the sky.
Everything had been erased in black and white. The entire space was an endless expanse of monochrome, save for the pair of eyes radiating an evil aura, which glowed crimson.
"Come out, Five-Tails."
"Destroy everything you see."
Shisui had temporarily regained one eye. He spared no ocular power, devoting himself wholeheartedly to Uchiha Xiu and Konoha.
Two trails of blood ran from the corners of his eyes.
He had the Five-Tails Kokuō under his control, along with Han, who possessed Kage Level strength.
"Tut, tut, tut. A round-faced guy with a full beard gets both the mighty Hokage and Jiraiya in Sage Mode to look after him. You're in for a treat."
At that moment, Roshi, whose beard was a vivid purple, heard Frog Song in his dream and saw a sickle-shaped Mangekyo with a single eye spinning.
Unlike Shisui, whose eyes were bleeding, Uchiha Xiu barely had to lift a finger.
Once his original Mangekyo awakened, his strength would skyrocket even further!
"Go berserk, Four-Tails Son Goku~"
Five burning fingers struck Roshi's abdomen. The Five Elements Seal instantly disrupted the existing sealing formula, and lava-like chakra surged out like a tide.
The night split open as a giant magma ape tore through the roof and roared at the sky:
"Blood for the Blood God, skulls for the Skull Throne!"
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