The Plan

"After unsealing the Yin Seal, I can now hold my own against a jonin like Kitsuchi to a certain extent." Uchiha Matsuri smirked as he watched Kitsuchi forming Hand Seals in the distance. "But Kitsuchi isn't an easy opponent. It'd be better to finish him off in one strike."

Then Uchiha Matsuri rapidly formed Hand Seals.

"Lightning Release: Thunderstorm Birth!"

At the same time, Kitsuchi unleashed one of his powerful techniques.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

A dragon made of earth instantly flew toward Uchiha Matsuri.

At the same time, more than twenty bolts of lightning struck down from the sky, hurtling toward Kitsuchi and the earth dragon.

Rumble!

The lightning collided with the earth dragon, triggering an explosion.

The Thunderstorm Birth attack leveled every building within a kilometer of the blast's center.

Kitsuchi and the three members of Team 5, who were caught in the blast's center, were also hurled away by the shockwave.

Pfft!

Kitsuchi hit the ground hard and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"An elemental disadvantage..." Kitsuchi said, his face darkening. "I'll have to be much more careful around you."

With that, Kitsuchi sprang to his feet and slowly walked toward the three of them, as if he hadn't been injured at all.

At the same time.

In the Tsuchikage's office.

After hearing a loud boom, Ōnoki looked out through the office's floor-to-ceiling window. Several kilometers away, an area looked as though it had been hit by an explosion, with buildings of all sizes reduced to rubble.

"Someone come here," Ōnoki said impassively.

"Lord Tsuchikage." Three Iwa-nin wearing masks suddenly appeared in the office.

"Go investigate what happened in that area."

"Yes, sir."

At the explosion site.

Uchiha Matsuri's clothes had been torn to shreds by the blast.

He looked up and saw Kitsuchi staggering toward him.

This is bad. That guy's still alive. Uchiha Matsuri's heart tightened. He hurried toward Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka.

When Uchiha Matsuri ran over, Kiba Inuzuka coughed twice, then said anxiously, "This guy's ridiculously strong. Matsuri used everything he had and barely scratched him."

"Yeah, and we're all running low on chakra. Our priority now is to escape Iwagakure, not fight Kitsuchi to the bitter end," Minato Namikaze said calmly.

"Minato, how much chakra do you have left?" Uchiha Matsuri asked after lowering his head to think for a moment.

"Hm? I've got half my chakra left. Why?" Minato Namikaze asked.

"I have a plan. It's..."

Uchiha Matsuri explained his plan to Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka.

"Will it work? I don't believe that big guy's going to fall into our trap so easily," Kiba Inuzuka said skeptically after hearing the plan.

"We won't know unless we try. And, Minato, this time we're counting on you." Uchiha Matsuri looked at Minato Namikaze solemnly.

"I'll do my best. But I can't promise how long I'll be able to hold him off," Minato Namikaze said, clenching his fist.

"Whether it works or not, this is our only hope. We're inside Iwagakure. There's no way we can escape by conventional means," Uchiha Matsuri said.

"Okay."

A dozen seconds later, Kitsuchi reached them and was surprised to see Uchiha Matsuri and the others standing together, staring straight at him as if they'd been waiting.

"They didn't even try to run?"

Suppressing his curiosity, Kitsuchi quickly formed Hand Seals.

"Earth Release: Fist Rock!"

In an instant, Kitsuchi charged at them with his fist raised.

Minato Namikaze immediately activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and charged toward Kitsuchi.

"Hmph. This move again."

Though irritated, Kitsuchi had to give him credit.

Kitsuchi skidded to a stop and swung at Minato Namikaze. Sensing danger, Minato Namikaze threw a wooden Kunai and vanished, reappearing behind Kitsuchi.

"Damn it, he's too fast. I can't hit him at all."

Kitsuchi suddenly felt like a tiger trying to swallow the sky, unable to find a way in.

Glancing at Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka, who were standing by several dozen meters away, Kitsuchi snorted. "Those two brats aren't fighting anymore. Are they badly injured?"

He dodged Minato Namikaze's attack with a quick sidestep, then suddenly ran toward Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka.

If I can't hit him, I'll just have to go after you two instead, Kitsuchi thought.

But the very next second, Minato Namikaze was on him again. To avoid getting hit, Kitsuchi instinctively skidded to a stop.

"Damn it!"

Kitsuchi's anger continued to build.

"If you want to keep fighting me, then let's settle this once and for all!" Kitsuchi spat and shouted through gritted teeth.

For ten whole minutes, Kitsuchi couldn't land a single hit on Minato Namikaze. In turn, Minato Namikaze hadn't managed to injure him at all.

Suddenly, Kitsuchi saw an Iwagakure Anbu appear behind Minato Namikaze.

The Anbu Ninja was somewhat surprised to see Kitsuchi fighting a blond boy. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, Kitsuchi suddenly shouted, "You! Go take out those two brats over there!"

Those two brats over there?

With no time to stop and think, the Anbu Ninja charged at Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka with all his strength.

In truth, Kitsuchi hadn't ordered the Anbu Ninja to attack the two of them because he expected him to kill them. He wanted Minato Namikaze, who was keeping him occupied, to go back and save his teammates.

To Kitsuchi's surprise, Minato Namikaze didn't go to save his "badly injured" teammates. He didn't even lose focus.

Damn it, Kitsuchi thought. He had no choice but to keep fighting Minato Namikaze.

Several dozen meters away.

Seeing an Iwa-nin charging toward them, Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka suddenly ran backward. But in the next instant, the Iwa-nin appeared in front of them, blocking their escape route.

"Konoha shinobi?"

The Anbu Ninja was somewhat surprised when he saw the Konoha symbol on their Forehead Protectors.

"Since Lord Kitsuchi told me to kill these two brats, I might as well do it."

As he spoke, the Anbu Ninja suddenly drew two Kunai and dashed between Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka.

Before either of them could react, the Anbu Ninja swiftly stabbed them both in the neck.

I got them, the Anbu Ninja thought with a smug grin.

But the next second, to the Anbu Ninja's surprise, Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.

The Anbu Ninja stared in astonishment, his mouth agape. Then he fixed his gaze on the spot where Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka had disappeared.

"It was the Clone Technique." The Anbu Ninja suddenly slapped his forehead.