The Hunter lay in a massive crater like a dead dog.
Seeing the unconscious enemy, Uchiha Tatsumi didn't lower his guard. A black kunai flashed into his hand, which he immediately hurled toward Hunter's head.
"Die."
But a massive surge of chakra erupted nearby without warning. The sheer intensity of it made even Uchiha Tatsumi feel like he was being pressed down by an invisible weight.
What monstrous chakra…!
In the blink of an eye, a figure surged forward like a bolt of lightning. A powerful gust swept through the clearing, diverting the falling rain. When Tatsumi looked up again, someone was already standing beside Hunter.
The man calmly reached out and caught the kunai aimed at his disciple's head.
"What do you think you're doing to my student, brat from Konoha!?"
The word brat echoed like thunder, shaking Tatsumi's eardrums with force.
The man was clad in a dark purple outfit with a flak jacket, his red hair tied in a high ponytail, and a thick red beard adding to his rugged appearance.
Tatsumi's expression froze. He instantly recognized the man—Rōshi, the Four-Tails' jinchūriki!
Damn it… I've been played again.
No intel had mentioned that Iwa was deploying a jinchūriki to this front! How had he encountered one here?
What the hell is ANBU doing? Are they even awake?
Rope Tree, this is all your fault!
Frustration flared in Tatsumi. His thoughts quickly turned to the broader battlefield—not just because Rōshi was strong, but because of what a jinchūriki's death could unleash. If Rōshi died, the Four-Tails might go on a rampage. No village wanted to deal with a tailed beast going berserk.
Generally, the threat posed by jinchūriki was more about deterrence than actual deployment. The fact that Iwa had sent Rōshi to the field meant they were desperate.
If a jinchūriki has been sent… then is this the start of the final phase of the war? Could the main front already be lost?
I remember Konoha winning the war in the original timeline… but could that have changed because of my interference?
The tension in the air thickened. The only sound was the rain, which had begun to fall once more, and the rustling of leaves.
Rōshi surveyed the carnage—the ruined battlefield, and the dead and wounded Iwa-nin.
"You… killed all these Iwa shinobi?" he asked grimly.
Rōshi's temper flared. As one of the strongest in Iwagakure, and a contemporary of the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, he held his pride tightly. Yet the Tsuchikage had kept him hidden away, restricting his freedom, only deploying him now that the situation was dire.
If he'd arrived just moments later, his student Shō would've been dead.
Rōshi needed a release for his rage.
His killing intent surged forth, nearly suffocating Tatsumi.
He grabbed Hunter's limp body and hurled him to a safer distance. Without further words, he weaved hand seals.
"Earth Style: Mountain Jutsu!"
The ground shuddered violently. Two massive domes of rock erupted and began closing in on Tatsumi, threatening to crush him.
The sheer pressure was suffocating. This wasn't a jutsu a Chūnin-level ninja could take head-on.
Damn. He's coming at me with a large-scale Earth Style attack right off the bat? I can't tank this.
But instead of panicking, Tatsumi moved.
In an instant, he completed the hand seals for Lightning Style. Chakra, honed to a piercing edge, condensed in his palm, forming a high-frequency, chirping sphere of energy—Chidori.
He dashed sideways, escaping the rock domes just in time. With Chidori still active, Tatsumi rebounded off a wall of debris and launched himself straight at Rōshi.
The thunderous chirping of Chidori echoed as he closed the distance.
Rōshi didn't flinch. Calmly, he grabbed Tatsumi's wrist mid-thrust and deflected the Chidori to the side with minimal effort.
What the hell…?
He redirected Chidori that easily? He's completely outclassing me…
Tatsumi's feet skidded back as shards of rock splintered from the redirection. Rōshi looked amused.
"Too weak. Do you finally feel how helpless you are?"
"Spare me the lecture," Tatsumi snarled, activating a genjutsu via his Sharingan.
Rōshi paused—just long enough for Tatsumi to strike with a kunai aimed at his temple.
But the jinchūriki dispelled the illusion in an instant, slipped the blow, and retaliated with a devastating kick. The impact launched Tatsumi like a rag doll.
"Yes, that's it!" Rōshi laughed. "This pathetic struggle—I'm enjoying it!"
Tatsumi landed hard. He was breathing heavily. His fight with Hunter had already drained a large portion of his chakra. Chidori had taken even more.
This is bad… My chakra's almost gone. I can't win a frontal fight in this state.
Suddenly, searing pain bloomed in his chest—Rōshi's fist had found its mark.
"Spacing out during battle is a rookie mistake," Rōshi growled.
Tatsumi barely managed to use a substitution jutsu in time to avoid a follow-up blow, but the injury was real.
He needed a new plan.
He fell back and cast another genjutsu—low-cost, simple, effective. He needed to stall.
"Hmph. The Uchiha's genjutsu really is troublesome," Rōshi muttered. But he wasn't interested in playing games.
"Fine then. Lava Style: Scorching River Rock Technique!"
Rōshi opened his mouth and spat several dense, glowing orbs of lava, each one large enough to envelop a person. The heat distorted the very air.
Tatsumi's eyes widened. He jumped back, but Rōshi guided the magma balls with precision, locking onto his path.
Flames screamed through the rain-soaked air. There was nowhere left to run.
"Die, brat of Konoha!"
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