Stone Giant

The Second Shinobi World War had left every shinobi village with much to rebuild, but there was no denying that the spark for this war was closely connected to the Land of Fire, where Konoha stood.

The struggle between the three great nations of Fire, Earth, and Wind had made the Land of Rain its greatest casualty.

And this had also directly led to the deaths of Second Tsuchikage Mu and the Third Mizukage.

The sudden disaster had thrust Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi into the eye of the storm. Many speculated that Hiruzen Sarutobi, once a guard to Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, had deliberately started the war to avenge Tobirama Senju, who had died fighting in the First Shinobi World War.

Though the rights and wrongs were all in the past, time had yet to erase the seeds of hatred buried in each village.

Now, the Iwagakure shinobi looked at Liumu, trembling all over with the anger showing in his eyes.

Sensing the other man's uncontrollably surging chakra, Liumu smiled faintly and leaped a step backward.

"Trying to run? Too late! Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"

The burly Iwa Ninja slammed both hands into the ground, and a powerful surge of chakra instantly rippled outward. As his technique took effect, the ground beneath Liumu immediately turned into a blackish-gray swamp.

"Hm?"

Liumu tried hard to pull his legs up, but the constantly sinking mud kept him from escaping.

Watching Liumu's body sink steadily, the three Iwa Ninja immediately sneered.

"With skills like yours, you dared to steal a scroll all by yourself?" The burly Iwa Ninja snorted and laughed. "You don't know your limits!"

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Just as Liumu was trapped, two voices suddenly came from behind him.

Then four stone walls suddenly erupted from the ground around the three Iwa Ninja, trapping them tightly inside. Immediately afterward, an enormous fireball descended from above and struck the three of them.

The Fire Release technique exploded, sending up an enormous cloud of smoke and even leaving a few cracks in the Earth Flow Wall.

"Kakashi, Suiguang?"

Liumu muttered. By now, most of his body had sunk into the swamp, and he could not turn around at all.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

"Liumu! Bear with it!"

Kakashi leaped over, took an iron chain from the Ninja Tools pouch behind him, and wrapped it straight around Liumu. Pulling hard with both hands, he tried to haul Liumu straight out of the swamp.

"Easy! You're squeezing my little sun!" Liumu shouted hoarsely.

But...

Just as Suiguang, who had arrived after Kakashi, was about to help him pull Liumu out, a deep, muffled growl suddenly came from inside the Earth Flow Wall Suiguang had raised.

"Earth Release: Clay Statue!"

Bang!

The three of them looked toward the sound. An enormous stone giant smashed through the earthen walls and rose from the ground. The three Iwagakure shinobi stood atop the statue's head, looking down at the Konoha group below.

"That's... huge!"

Suiguang stared at the statue, as enormous as a small mountain, his expression already vacant.

Kakashi reacted first, temporarily abandoning his attempt to rescue Liumu. Instead, he pulled out dozens of shuriken bearing explosive tags and hurled them straight at the stone giant.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the explosions began, shattered stone flew everywhere and smoke billowed all around. Once the explosions ended, Kakashi discovered to his surprise that his attack had done absolutely nothing to the statue.

At this, Kakashi frowned slightly, turned toward the still-dazed Suiguang, and shouted angrily, "Stop standing there! I'll keep them occupied. You get Liumu out."

"Huh? Right!"

Hearing his voice, Suiguang belatedly reacted, picked up the chain, and resumed rescuing Liumu.

Seeing this, the three Iwa Ninja made no move to stop Suiguang. To them, Kakashi was probably the most troublesome opponent right now.

And so...

Another of the Iwagakure shinobi, a woman standing atop the giant's head, crouched down. As the giant kept pounding at Kakashi while he darted about, she formed hand seals and called out sharply, "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

In an instant, the stone giant's enormous head began to shift, transforming into a dragon's head that relentlessly launched attacks at Kakashi.

Seeing this, Kakashi knew he could not escape such a wide-ranging attack through speed alone. He simply stood his ground and immediately formed hand seals. A stone wall bearing four dog heads rose from the ground, blocking every Earth Dragon Bullet.

What do we do next?

Suiguang's mind raced, and he immediately thought of having all three of them flee as soon as Liumu was rescued.

Although, judging by the current situation, the three Iwa Ninja were not particularly difficult to deal with, their side had no way at all to counter the stone giant's attacks.

As Kakashi raced along, he looked at the three atop the giant, his brow tightening slightly. At the same time, he quietly formed the Tiger seal...

From the three Iwa Ninja's perspective, Kakashi suddenly abandoned his constant retreat and charged straight toward the statue.

Seeing this, the burly Iwa Ninja controlled the giant's massive palms, repeatedly striking at Kakashi. Yet every time an attack seemed about to land, Kakashi managed to escape at the last moment.

And as the sounds of Kakashi's movements drew closer, he had already quietly made his way to the statue's feet.

"Xing!"

The burly man called to his companion.

"Got it," the yellow-haired Iwa Ninja woman called sharply, a faint smile immediately appearing at the corner of her mouth as her plan succeeded.

She took a handful of yellow clay from behind her and scattered it in front of herself, then began forming hand seals. As web-like markings spread beneath her feet and white mist burst forth, pale green venom seeped out in front of the stone giant.

The venom spread rapidly, trapping Kakashi in its center.

"I suggest you don't move!"

The yellow-haired Iwa Ninja woman shouted at Kakashi, "This is venom from a Red-Tailed Scorpion's tail. Even a tiny touch could cost you your life."

This is bad!

Not far away, Suiguang looked at the trapped Kakashi and immediately sank into despair.

"You've lost!"

Looking at the trapped Liumu and Kakashi, the burly Iwa Ninja delivered his final verdict.

"Oh? Have we?"

Just then, a languid voice suddenly came from behind the yellow-haired Iwa Ninja woman. At the same time, a sharp shuriken quietly reached toward her throat.

The three Iwa Ninja: ???

Poof!

Everyone looked toward the sound. Amid a puff of white smoke, the Kakashi trapped by venom at the giant's feet suddenly turned into a puddle of water. This also meant that the Kakashi behind the Iwa Ninja woman was the real one.

"When did you use a Water Clone?"

The yellow-haired Iwa Ninja woman demanded coldly, not daring to move a muscle in her current predicament.

"Does that still matter?" Kakashi tightened his grip on the shuriken and replied coldly, "Release my teammates and hand over the scroll!"

Faced with Kakashi's threat, the three Iwa Ninja not only made no move, but instead revealed faint, barely perceptible sneers.