Yotsuki Sora!

Inside Rock Town Village.

Kitsuchi sat solemnly in the seat of honor within the Hidden Stone command tent.

The expressions of the Hidden Stone higher-ups beside him were equally grim.

"Hidden Cloud's resistance has only grown fiercer lately. They've even begun launching counterattacks."

"What exactly is the Third waiting for? Including the ninja withdrawn from the Wind and Fire borders, we already have more than eight thousand ninja in the Heavenly White Mountains. Wouldn't it be better to launch a full-scale assault and wipe them out?"

Kitsuchi shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Don't be hasty. Father already has plans in place. We must not throw ourselves into disorder."

"But we've already deployed nearly every force we can mobilize. Dragging this out will only give Hidden Sand and Konoha an opportunity..."

"Exactly. Especially Hidden Sand. Rasa's puppet master forces have split into two groups—one is pressuring the Land of Fire, while the other is waiting at the Land of Grass border!"

"Does that man have such grand ambitions right after taking office?"

"And there's the threat from Konoha..."

The crowd discussed the matter heatedly, yet Kitsuchi remained as steady as a mountain.

He believed in his father's plan!

At that moment, a Hidden Stone ANBU hurried inside. As he handed over a scroll, he reported in a low voice.

"Lord Kitsuchi, the reconnaissance squad discovered an exceptionally powerful Hidden Cloud team a hundred li east of here."

"The entire squad was wiped out. This is the intelligence they sent back through Reverse Summoning!"

"The enemy's chakra signature surpassed even yours, and they are not a jinchuriki!"

"Stronger than me!"

Kitsuchi's heart jolted, and he quickly seized the scroll to examine it.

After only one glance, he abruptly rose from his seat, his dark eyes brimming with excitement.

That was right!

It was him!

"The big fish Father has been waiting for has finally taken the bait!"

As the Third Tsuchikage's son, Kitsuchi was extraordinarily powerful.

In a direct confrontation, he would not be at a disadvantage even against Han or Roshi, the village's jinchuriki.

Though he had not inherited Dust Release.

The sheer power of his Earth Release was enough to shatter the earth!

In the entire village, aside from the two jinchuriki, only the Third Tsuchikage could defeat him with certainty!

Yet even so, the reconnaissance ninja had said that the enemy's chakra signature exceeded his.

And they were not a jinchuriki.

Then the identity of the newcomer was obvious.

"Send this intelligence to Father immediately!"

"Yes, Lord Kitsuchi!"

The Hidden Stone ANBU vanished in an instant.

The people in the meeting room stared at the enormous sand-table strategic map on the table, restless with anticipation.

None of them were fools. From those few words, they had likewise guessed the identity of the Hidden Cloud team's leader, as well as what exactly the Third Tsuchikage had been waiting for.

If the one who had come truly was that man, and if the Third's plan could truly succeed.

Then Hidden Stone would reap the greatest victory of this war since it began!

"As long as we seize this chance, we will—"

"Lord Kitsuchi, this is bad!"

Kitsuchi was interrupted.

A Hidden Stone ninja rushed into the command tent in a panic, his tone frantic.

"Enemy attack! We're under attack!"

"What?!"

"Y-You bastard, who exactly are you?!"

"Damn it, don't underestimate us..."

"No! Don't!"

Questions, furious shouts, and cries of terror rang out one after another.

By the time Kitsuchi arrived at the village entrance with his men.

The sight before them made everyone's limbs turn cold and sent chills down their spines.

A burly figure gripped a Hidden Stone ninja by the throat and lifted him into the air.

All around him, more than a dozen pools of blood and mangled flesh stained the ground red.

The reeking stench constantly assaulted the senses of every ninja present.

Kitsuchi, the highest-ranking commander stationed at Rock Town Village, saw this scene and his eyes instantly reddened.

"Bastard! Put him down!"

"Oh?"

A bloodthirsty smile appeared in Sora's eyes.

With a squeeze of his palm, the Hidden Stone ninja's neck snapped and shattered.

That action was like lighting the fuse of a powder keg.

Thick chakra surged to its limit. The enraged Kitsuchi leaped up, his right arm becoming coated in heavy earth and rock as he swung his fist. In an instant, it transformed into an enormous stone fist that came crashing down at Sora's head.

Yet in the face of that incoming giant stone fist, Sora's expression held nothing but excitement. He actually tossed the lifeless Hidden Stone ninja in his hand away like trash, then clenched his palm into a fist and met the attack head-on!

Scarlet lightning flickered around his fist.

In the blink of an eye, the giant stone fist collided fiercely with Sora's heavy punch.

The clash of immense force sent a dull boom through the air, and Kitsuchi's expression changed abruptly.

The seemingly solid earth and rock actually crumbled apart the instant they collided. He could even feel the bones in his right arm let out a cry of agony at the moment of impact.

What terrifying strength!

Was this guy some monster wearing human skin?!

The crushing force spread from his fist through his entire arm.

Gritting his teeth, Kitsuchi slammed his left palm against his right arm.

"Earth Style: Added-Weight Rock Technique!"

At the instant their forces erupted, the power of Added-Weight Rock Technique reinforced him in time.

Even so, their deadlock lasted only a moment before Kitsuchi was sent flying backward.

"That kind of cheap trick won't beat my fists!"

Sora did not move an inch.

His arms, wrapped in Blood Lightning, reflected a dazzling radiance beneath the sunlight.

Kitsuchi dispelled the force and climbed to his feet.

As he stared at the flickering Blood Lightning, something seemed to surface in his mind. His heart trembled, and he cried out.

"It's you!"

"Oh? You know me?"

Sora clenched his fist and walked toward Kitsuchi. "Sorry, I rarely remember men's names, unless their fists are hard enough..."

"Earth Style: Rock Pillar Prison!"

"Earth Style: Antlion!"

The ground around Sora suddenly trembled.

The once-solid earth became incomparably soft and began to spin and pull inward. Like a muddy black hole, it bound Sora within it.

At the same time, a cage formed from earthen pillars instantly enclosed Sora, preventing him from breaking free of the mud's restraints right away.

To unleash two A-rank Earth Style ninjutsu in succession in an instant, the newcomer's mastery of Earth Style had clearly reached a flawless level.

However, Earth Style of this caliber obviously could not restrain Sora very effectively.

Sora knew that clearly, and so did the caster.

Thus, the instant the techniques took shape, the man grabbed the somewhat unsteady Kitsuchi and pulled him away from Sora.

"Lord Kitsuchi, are you alright?!"

Wen Ya, who had come to provide support, hurriedly took out a specially made soldier pill from his ninja tool pouch and stuffed it into Kitsuchi's mouth.

Kitsuchi chewed the soldier pill, but his eyes remained fixed on the figure wrapped in Blood Lightning.

"Scarlet lightning... It can only be you..."

"Blood Wrist—Yotsuki Sora!"