The Plan

"After releasing the Yin Seal, I can, to a certain extent, compete with Kitsuchi, who is a Jonin," Uchiha Matsuri said, the corners of his mouth curling upward as he watched Kitsuchi forming hand seals in the distance. "However, Kitsuchi is not an easy opponent to deal with; it would be better to end this with a single strike."

Immediately, Uchiha Matsuri's hands moved in a blur, forming hand seals at high speed.

"Lightning Release—Thunderstorm Birth!"

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

"Earth Release—Earth Dragon Bullet!"

A dragon constructed entirely of mud instantly surged toward Uchiha Matsuri.

Simultaneously, over twenty bolts of lightning descended from the sky, striking directly at Kitsuchi and the Earth Dragon.

Rumble.

The lightning and the Earth Dragon collided, triggering an instantaneous explosion.

Struck by the Thunderstorm Birth, every building within a one-kilometer radius of the explosion's center collapsed.

At the same time, Kitsuchi and the three members of Team 5, who were at the heart of the blast, were sent flying by the shockwave.

Pfft!

Landing heavily on the ground, Kitsuchi spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Elemental disadvantage..." Kitsuchi said, his expression grim. "It seems I need to be more cautious of you."

With that, Kitsuchi stood up abruptly, acting as if he hadn't been injured at all, and began to walk slowly toward Uchiha Matsuri and his companions.

At the same time, inside the Tsuchikage's office.

Following a loud boom, Ōnoki looked out through the floor-to-ceiling window. He saw an area several kilometers away that looked as if an explosion had occurred, with buildings large and small all reduced to ruins.

"Someone come here," Ōnoki said, his face expressionless.

"Lord Tsuchikage." Three masked Iwagakure ninja suddenly appeared within the office.

"Go and see what happened in that area."

"Yes."

At the explosion site, Uchiha Matsuri's clothes were tattered from the blast.

Looking up, he saw Kitsuchi stumbling toward him.

Not good, that guy isn't dead yet, Uchiha Matsuri thought, his heart tightening as he hurriedly ran toward Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka.

Seeing Uchiha Matsuri run over, Kiba Inuzuka coughed twice before saying anxiously, "This guy's strength is too monstrous. Even after Matsuri used his full power, he only managed to scratch the surface."

"That's right. Our chakra is running low now, and our primary mission is to escape Iwagakure, not to fight Kitsuchi to the death," Minato Namikaze analyzed calmly.

"Minato, how much chakra do you have left?" After a moment of silent contemplation, Uchiha Matsuri suddenly asked.

"Hm? I still have half my chakra. Why?" Minato Namikaze asked.

"I have a plan, and it is..."

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

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

"We won't know if it works unless we try. Also, Minato, this time it all depends on you," Uchiha Matsuri said, looking at Minato Namikaze with a solemn expression.

"I will do my best. However, I can't guarantee how long I can stall him," Minato Namikaze said, clenching his fist.

"Regardless of success or failure, this is our only hope. Being inside Iwagakure, we simply cannot escape using conventional means," Uchiha Matsuri said.

"Alright."

Ten seconds later, Kitsuchi arrived in the vicinity of Uchiha Matsuri and the others, surprised to see the three of them standing together, waiting for him.

"They didn't run away?"

Kitsuchi suppressed his curiosity and quickly formed hand seals.

"Earth Release—Fist Rock!"

In an instant, Kitsuchi charged forward with his fist raised.

At that moment, Minato Namikaze activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and rushed toward Kitsuchi.

"Hmph, this move again."

Although annoyed, Kitsuchi had to admit the technique's effectiveness.

Coming to a sudden halt, Kitsuchi threw a punch at Minato Namikaze. Meanwhile, sensing the danger, Minato Namikaze threw a wooden Kunai and vanished, reappearing behind Kitsuchi.

"Damn it, his speed is too fast; I can't hit him at all."

Kitsuchi suddenly felt as if he were a tiger trying to eat the sky—there was simply no way to sink his teeth in.

Glancing at Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka, who were standing by and watching from several dozen meters away, Kitsuchi let out a soft huff. "Those two brats aren't making a move anymore—could they be heavily injured?"

Dodging an attack from Minato Namikaze with a flash of movement, Kitsuchi suddenly bolted in the direction of Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka.

Since I can't land a hit on him, I'll just have to take it out on you two, Kitsuchi thought.

However, the very next second, Minato Namikaze was back on him. To avoid being struck by his opponent, Kitsuchi instinctively slammed on the brakes.

"Damn it."

The anger in Kitsuchi's heart began to mount.

"If you want to keep fighting me, then let's see this through to the end," Kitsuchi spat, roaring through gritted teeth.

For ten full minutes, Kitsuchi hadn't managed to land a single blow on Minato Namikaze, and conversely, Minato Namikaze hadn't scratched Kitsuchi in the slightest.

Suddenly, Kitsuchi spotted an Iwagakure Anbu ninja appearing behind Minato Namikaze.

The Anbu ninja was slightly startled to see Kitsuchi sparring with a yellow-haired youth. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, he heard Kitsuchi suddenly bellow, "You, go and eliminate those two brats over there!"

Those two brats over there?

Without time to ponder, the Anbu ninja sprinted at full speed toward Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka.

In truth, Kitsuchi's primary goal in ordering the Anbu ninja to attack the pair wasn't to kill them, but to force Minato Namikaze, who was hounding him, to turn back and save his teammates.

To Kitsuchi's surprise, Minato Namikaze didn't choose to save his "heavily injured" teammates; he didn't even spare them a glance.

Cursing under his breath, Kitsuchi had no choice but to continue his duel with Minato Namikaze.

Several dozen meters away.

Seeing an Iwa-nin charging toward them, Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka suddenly turned and ran backward. But in the next second, the Iwa-nin suddenly appeared in front of them, cutting off their retreat.

"Konoha ninja?"

The Anbu ninja was slightly surprised to see the Konoha emblem on their headbands.

"Since Lord Kitsuchi ordered me to kill these two brats, I won't worry about anything else."

With that, the Anbu ninja suddenly drew two kunai and lunged, dashing between Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka.

Before they could react, the Anbu ninja swiftly drove the kunai into their necks.

Got them, the Anbu ninja chuckled to himself.

However, the next second, to the Anbu ninja's shock, Uchiha Matsuri and Kiba Inuzuka suddenly vanished into puffs of smoke with a "poof."

Seeing this unexpected turn of events, the Anbu ninja's jaw dropped in astonishment, and he stared fixedly at the spot where they had disappeared.

"It was just a Clone Technique," the Anbu ninja muttered, suddenly slapping his own forehead.