Chapter 43: Escape and Pursuit

Since the first surprise attack did not succeed, Uchiha Feiyu had no intention of entangling further with Lao Zi, but Lao Zi would not let Uchiha Feiyu retreat so easily.

Following a roar, a complete Tailed Beast Cloak had already formed on Lao Zi's body, and he said with a cold and stern expression:

"I originally did not want to expose this ability, but a ninja of your age who can cross that boundary and step into the Shadow-level is truly too dangerous; I cannot allow you to continue growing!"

"Lava Style—Scorching Flow Great River!"

Exposing his identity as a jinchuriki, the aura Lao Zi displayed also surged several times over; terrifying magma surged out like a great river, rushing toward Uchiha Feiyu like a monstrous wave.

Facing this kind of overwhelming, full-screen attack, even with Uchiha Feiyu's speed, it was difficult to escape; fortunately, his Earth Release technique had improved quite a bit, and he performed a Seal with both hands, causing a huge earth wall to rise from the ground:

"Earth Release—Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

The earth wall blocked the surging magma river for a moment before it was quickly burned through completely, but with this bit of time, Uchiha Feiyu had long since pulled away and exited the attack range.

Facing a jinchuriki who had already begun to use the power of the Tailed Beast, Uchiha Feiyu knew he could not gain any advantage, so he turned around and began to retreat.

"Kid, don't think about escaping!"

Seeing Uchiha Feiyu slipping away faster than a rabbit, Lao Zi naturally took off in pursuit, but he stopped after chasing for two steps—the speed difference between the two was a bit large:

"You bastard brat, you guy, do you not even want a shred of face?"

"Heh, you, a jinchuriki in your 30s, chasing me, a ninja who has been graduated from the Ninja Village school for less than a year—could it be that you are very concerned about face?"

Uchiha Feiyu retorted while running, and soon disappeared from Lao Zi's line of sight, leaving only this jinchuriki in a fit of incompetent rage.

……

"Are these rats dogs by nature? Their pursuit speed is so fast?"

Uchiha Feiyu finished off another Iwagakure squad and complained, but because the squad had just fired a signal flare, he did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly continued his flight.

He had consumed quite a bit of stamina running all the way here, and he was now deep in the Iwagakure-occupied zone; there might be obstacles ahead, and he no longer dared to use Lightning Release to stimulate his body.

While using Lightning Release to stimulate his cells could significantly increase his speed, it would also greatly accelerate his own fatigue; it was fine to use it during combat or when disengaging from the battlefield, but as a method for traveling, Uchiha Feiyu at least did not have that kind of stamina.

Of course, Uchiha Feiyu also knew the reason these Rock Ninja were pursuing him.

For one, his talent had indeed frightened them, giving the Rock Ninja the intention to nip him in the bud early.

The second point was that he knew the intelligence that a jinchuriki had arrived on the battlefield; unsurprisingly, if this intelligence leaked, whether it was Konoha or the Sand Ninja, they would treat the Rock Ninja as their primary target and kick them out of the game first!

"Iwagakure has a Sensory Ninjutsu that can understand the movements of enemies within seven or eight kilometers by sensing vibrations transmitted through the ground... however, the number of Rock Ninja who possess this level of sensory ability is extremely rare."

The soul of Hatake Sakumo said to Uchiha Feiyu in a calm voice, and upon hearing this, Uchiha Feiyu's eyes lit up:

"In other words, the opponent is actually conducting wide-range sensing through ground vibrations?"

"Correct. Generally, if a companion continuously uses Earth Release ninjutsu to interfere, one can disrupt the opponent's sensing."

"I don't have a companion to help, but I think..."

Uchiha Feiyu directly summoned a Rock Ninja's soul orb, and looking at the muddled soul under his control, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:

"As long as I become lighter, won't they be unable to sense me?"

"The opponent's vibrations have disappeared; I can no longer sense his movements!"

Two kilometers behind Uchiha Feiyu, a Rock Ninja wearing glasses frowned and turned to say to Lao Zi.

The scars on Lao Zi's face were still dripping with blood, and combined with his own messy red hair and beard, he looked full of a ferocious aura.

However, although he looked ferocious, his performance was very calm; he was not angry, but asked in a low voice:

"Do you think that brat used a Summoning Technique to leave, or did he simply interfere with your sensing?"

"It should be interference with my sensing. If he used a Summoning Technique, his vibration waves should have disappeared instantly, but in my sensing, I could feel the process of his body weight changing from heavy to light—it was just like the Light-Weight Rock Technique!"

It must be said that elite ninja from Great Ninja Villages truly have some skills; both their observation and analytical abilities far exceed ordinary people, and they really did analyze Uchiha Feiyu's state.

"Light-Weight Rock Technique? That is our village's secret ninjutsu; how could that brat possibly know it?"

"Could it be that your sensing is wrong, Shangshan?"

"It is also possible that it is some other ninjutsu; for example, ninjutsu that use Wind Release to reduce body weight also exist."

As soon as the sensory ninja named Shangshan finished speaking, the seven or eight ninja behind him began to discuss it heatedly.

The sensory ninja named Shangshan did not say much, but a look of disapproval appeared on his face; he trusted his sensory ability very much and could be certain that what Uchiha Feiyu used was 99% likely to be the Light-Weight Rock Technique, or at least an Earth Release gravity-type ninjutsu.

As for some Wind Release ninjutsu, please, being blown by the wind and reducing one's own body weight due to anti-gravity are completely different vibration waves, okay?

In fact, the reason those Rock Ninja were acting this way was because they were flustered by concern; after all, gravity-type Earth Release ninjutsu were also considered secret techniques in Iwagakure, with a secrecy level second only to the Tsuchikage's Dust Release, and theoretically, it was absolutely impossible for ninja from other villages to learn them.

"Enough, don't be long-winded anymore! Regardless of whether that brat actually used the Light-Weight Rock Technique, as long as we kill him and search his head, won't we know?"

Lao Zi's cold voice suppressed the discussions of the others, and these ninja following behind Lao Zi immediately stopped talking.

These ninja were all reinforcements sent by Huangtu, and being recognized to participate in this pursuit battle meant they were all elites; the distance of two kilometers was already within their tracking range.

After Lao Zi, this jinchuriki, issued the order, the group each used their own abilities and continued to pursue in the direction of Uchiha Feiyu.

And after Uchiha Feiyu used the Light-Weight Rock Technique to reduce his body weight, the other squads could no longer grasp his direction, and sure enough, he found that the ninja intercepting him had become much fewer.

(End of chapter)