Raging flames

"Rumble!"

A vast stretch of forest burned to nothing in the flames.

Among the Iwagakure ninja, three were struck directly by the Fire Release and burned to ashes, while several others were injured.

Several Iwa Shinobi struggled to suppress the pain of their wounds, sweat dripping constantly from their foreheads.

Now that battle had broken out, there was no longer any need to worry about remaining hidden.

The Iwa Shinobi leader immediately shouted:

"Form up around me! Formation C!"

The Fire Release just now had been far too powerful, and its range had been outrageous, completely disrupting the Iwa Shinobi's original formation, so their leader shouted for everyone to gather in their planned formation.

"Fire Release: Flame Net!"

With a whoosh, a mass of crimson flames shot upward and spread, covering a vast area and forming an enormous wall of fire that separated the Iwagakure ninja.

Many of the Iwa Shinobi watched in horror as Naraku stepped out of the wall of fire, one of his arms transformed into blazing flames.

Flames spread beneath Naraku's feet, the ground tore apart into dirt, and broken stones and flames scattered. With a sudden flash, his figure vanished.

Before the Iwa Shinobi sensory ninja could react, Naraku had already appeared before him and swung his arm straight down at him.

"Fire Release: Shiranui!"

The flames on Naraku's arm were flung out, instantly forming a long spear of fire that pierced a vital point on the Iwagakure sensory ninja's body. The flames then poured into him and began burning fiercely.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

A barrage of concealed weapons pierced Naraku all over his body, followed by two Iwa Shinobi who rushed forward, swinging their longswords down at him.

"Swish!"

The longswords in the Iwa Shinobi's hands swept like a gale through the forest, slicing through every obstacle and passing through Naraku's body.

Had they won?

The two Iwa Shinobi froze, but they failed to notice that Naraku had not stopped moving. A mass of chakra rapidly surged over his palms, forming two incomparably sharp scalpels.

Chakra Scalpel!

Like moonlight spilling down, like the sound of a blade sweeping over ocean waves, the forest fell silent once more.

The Chakra Scalpels in Naraku's hands pierced the two Iwa Shinobi's hearts. Intense pain swept through their bodies—the only sensation they had left at that moment, for the Chakra Scalpels had severed the chakra pathways and muscles inside them.

Flames bloomed across Naraku's body. The two Iwa Shinobi stared fixedly at him with eyes that would not close in death, never understanding why their attacks had failed to work.

The flames burning on his body vanished, and Naraku returned to his original state without a single wound.

This was the elemental transformation ability the Mera Mera no Mi had given Naraku!

By transforming his body into an element, he became intangible, rendering physical attacks completely ineffective.

Shihōin Naraku understood the doubts in the two dead Iwa Shinobi's minds, but he had no intention of explaining his abilities to his enemies.

"Two left!"

The exchange seemed to have lasted a long time, but in reality, the battle had taken only an instant.

And in that brief time, only two of the eight Iwagakure ninja from the two squads remained alive.

"Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique!"

The two remaining Iwa Shinobi emerged from underground, staring in shock at the scene before them, unable to understand why their companions had already died in such a short time.

"Bastard!"

"Damn it!"

Looking at the two furious Iwa Shinobi emerging from underground, Naraku was not surprised by how they had appeared.

This was an Earth Release ninjutsu called Hiding Like a Mole, which allowed ninja to move underground and change positions.

That was how they had avoided the wall of fire Naraku had unleashed and appeared before him.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow!"

The Iwa Shinobi leader rapidly formed hand seals, then slammed a fist hard into the ground. Terrifying, spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across the earth, and in the blink of an eye, the ground crumbled into countless grains of fine sand that surged toward Naraku like a tide.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon!"

A torrent of chakra poured out as the other Iwa Shinobi formed hand seals and roared. Countless masses of earth and stone rose, the ground shaking and splitting violently, before rapidly gathering into a ferocious dragon that roared at Naraku.

"Trap the enemy first, then kill him!"

Watching the encroaching fine sand cover his feet, Naraku could sense its restraint, and then the dragon formed of earth and stone was already upon him!

"Looks like these last two are the strongest of the pursuers!"

Although the terrifying attack was about to strike, Naraku remained unmoved.

With a whoosh, flames began blazing across Shihōin Naraku's body, their dancing tongues covering him completely.

The Iwa Shinobi opposite him frowned deeply at the sight.

No hand seals?

What was going on with the flames on his body?

Didn't the flames hurt him?

"Fire Release: Flame Ring: Fire Pillar!"

A mass of orange-red flames erupted violently, spinning and expanding rapidly around Naraku as fierce waves of heat gushed outward.

The dry heat instantly baked the ground into something like a desert, and the soaring flames seemed to have burned even the sky red.

With terrifying force, the flames formed a pillar that stretched from earth to sky!

The blazing pillar of fire scorched the earth until it cracked and sent the air steaming.

The earth dragon slammed into the pillar of fire with tremendous force, shattering into fragments of earth and stone that scattered through the sky before falling to the ground.

But Naraku's attack was not over yet. The enormous pillar of fire finally stopped expanding, then discharged all its energy in an instant.

"Boom!!!"

The last thing the two Iwa Shinobi saw was the crimson fire filling heaven and earth, reflected in their pupils.

That single attack completely flattened the forest for hundreds of meters around!

"It's over!"

Looking at the devastation around him, Naraku could not help marveling at the power of the flames.

His Fire Release had originally been incapable of reaching such a terrifying level, but the appearance of the Mera Mera no Mi had greatly amplified it, producing the result before him.

The Mera Mera no Mi and Fire Release were far more than a simple matter of one plus one equaling two!

Only after a long time did the surroundings settle down.

Naraku did not remain there either, instead turning and heading toward the Land of Fire.

Iwagakure's pursuing ninja had been dealt with, and Sunagakure would not catch up anytime soon. This mission could be called a perfect success.

Sunagakure, inside a building.

"Bang!"

Scattered documents fluttered all over the floor!

"Tell me, what have you been doing?"

"Only now do I learn that the ninja we sent out have already been wiped out by the enemy!"

"What! Have you! Been doing!"

With white cloth wrapped around his head and another piece covering the left side of his face, Baki, dressed in an ocher jōnin armored vest, roared with a dark expression.

"..."

The several Sunagakure ninja standing before him remained silent.

"Where do you think that gold dust came from?"

"Lord Kazekage spent tremendous effort extracting it from underground amid his already busy work!"

"It was for the development of our Sunagakure!"

"And now, you're telling me..."

"The enemy stole the gold dust?!"

Looking at his subordinates, Baki's anger had already overwhelmed his reason. He had berated them for an hour and still had no intention of stopping.

"This time, not one of you will get away with it!"

"Just wait for Lord Kazekage's orders!"

"..."

Amid the uneasy silence, a knock suddenly came at the door.

"What is it?!"

Baki turned to look at the Sunagakure ninja who appeared, his face stern and his expression full of anger.

"S-sir, Lord Kazekage asks you to come over..."