Chapter 45: The Escaping Jinchuriki and the Changing Situation

As soon as Uchiha Feiyu finished speaking, five people stepped forward directly from among the dozen or so Leaf Ninja.

Clearly, these five were ninjas who truly had the confidence to play a role even in a high-level match like one involving a tailed beast.

Of the five ninjas, one was from the Akimichi Clan, one was from the Aburame Clan, and the remaining three could not be identified by clan, so they were likely civilian ninjas.

The ninja from the Akimichi Clan was the most direct; he popped a pill into his mouth, and as his chakra surged out, his body grew continuously, eventually transforming into a seventeen or eighteen-meter-tall giant, and he charged into the battlefield wielding a massive iron staff.

The four-tailed Great Ape was only about 20 meters tall; by comparison, the Akimichi ninja was only two or three meters shorter, and from a visual perspective alone, the Akimichi ninja holding his weapon did not lack much in presence.

"Does Leaf still have such a strong Akimichi? Who is this guy?"

Uchiha Feiyu said with some surprise. The strength of this Akimichi clan member was definitely at the top tier of Elite Jonin, already qualifying as a Quasi-Kage.

A Leaf Ninja nearby spoke up:

"That is Senior Qu Feng. It is said that this senior once operated in the same squad as the Third Hokage!"

"However, Senior Qu Feng is the youngest among his peers and has no interest in participating in the management of the Ninja Village; otherwise, he would likely be a high-ranking official in the village by now!"

As for the remaining Aburame clan member, they used a very special type of insect, about a few centimeters in size, which landed on the four-tailed Son Goku and quickly began to devour its chakra frantically, swelling rapidly into giant insects about the size of a person, biting the four-tailed Great Ape until it shrieked in agony.

Violent lava flowed out from the four-tailed Great Ape's body, yet even when those large insects were burned to death by the lava, they did not stop frantically devouring the four-tailed beast's chakra, and they even continued to lay eggs; the newly grown insects clearly showed resistance to high temperatures, surviving in the lava for longer periods.

"This is... the Giant Parasitic Insect?"

Uchiha Feiyu said with some surprise; this type of insect was very rare.

Because they were scarce and not as tiny as other parasitic insects, the Giant Parasitic Insect was basically of little use in battles against other ninjas, but when dealing with giant Summoned Beasts and tailed beasts, the effect of these insects was truly astonishing.

As for the remaining three ninjas, they performed hand seals and simultaneously used Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique; surging waves of water swept out like a great river, forcibly extinguishing the lava flames on the four-tailed Son Goku.

The four-tailed beast possessed Lava Style, which was almost like a Bloodline Limit; this type of composite technique would not be affected by the five elements' restraint, but the natural restraints of the world would not disappear because of this, so Water Release remained the first option for dealing with Lava Style.

Under the siege of so many people, the four-tailed Great Ape, despite its irritable temperament, gradually could not hold on. Tailed beasts were strong in their large-scale destructive power and lethality against weak ninjas, but when facing a group of elite ninjas who countered it, it could not fully exert its own advantages.

More importantly, the current Lao Zi was not a Perfect Jinchuriki, and even 20 years later, this jinchuriki had not reached the level of a Perfect Jinchuriki; now, naturally, it was even more strained, unable to even control the consciousness of the tailed beast.

Under these circumstances, the power exerted by the four-tailed beast was not even as good as a wild tailed beast, and because of the jinchuriki's own endurance, it could not sustain a long battle, so it retreated to a half-tailed beast state halfway through and fled directly.

"Are we not going to pursue, Lord Orochimaru?"

Watching the panting and disheveled Orochimaru, Uchiha Feiyu asked with some eagerness.

It was mainly because Uchiha Feiyu wanted to see if he could collect the soul of a tailed beast, and even if it were just the jinchuriki Lao Zi, he was still a Lava Style Bloodline Limit ninja, and the value of his soul was far stronger than the ordinary Rock Ninja he had in his hands.

Orochimaru gave Uchiha Feiyu a look of annoyance and said gloomily:

"Not to mention how high a price we would have to pay to kill this guy, just killing a jinchuriki would likely drive the Rock Ninja insane!"

"And don't forget, there are still Sand Ninja on this battlefield! Why should we, Leaf, fight to the death with the Rock Ninja and let the Sand Ninja reap the benefits?"

"I truly don't believe that the Sand Ninja could sit still after hearing the news that a jinchuriki has appeared!"

Hearing this, Uchiha Feiyu sighed with some regret, making Orochimaru look at him with a rather strange expression.

(This kid is not only extremely afraid of death himself, but his murderous nature is also much heavier than that of an ordinary ninja, and he completely doesn't care about the lives of others... Sure enough, the minds of Uchiha who have awakened their eyes are all a bit abnormal.)

Of course, while slandering him in his heart, Orochimaru seemed to have forgotten that he was actually the same kind of person.

However, a mad scientist could indeed be considered a type of mental illness.

The commotion of a jinchuriki battle was simply too great to be covered up, and as expected, the news of the appearance of the Rock Ninja's jinchuriki did indeed shock the Sand Ninja, making them feel as if they were facing a great enemy.

In an ordinary regional war, if one side suddenly pulled out a nuclear weapon, it would be a true wonder if the other opponents were not wary.

"What exactly do those rats from Iwagakure want to do?! They actually sent a jinchuriki to the Land of Rivers battlefield... Shouldn't their main battlefield be in the Land of Grass?"

The Fourth Kazekage Rasa looked at the report in front of him with a face full of anger.

Not to mention that this was not the opponent's main battlefield, even if it were the main battlefield, who sends out a jinchuriki as soon as the battle starts! Isn't that like throwing a nuclear bomb and flipping the table the moment you step onto the field?

"Onoki of the Two Scales is the most cunning Shadow among the Five Great Nations to begin with; it is not surprising at all that he would do such a thing."

Ebizo picked up the intelligence, glanced at it, and said very calmly.

"However, sending a jinchuriki right at the start of the war shows that this old thing has a really big appetite. It seems we need to shift our targets next."

The Fourth Kazekage also nodded:

"True, the threat of a jinchuriki is simply too great. In the upcoming battles, we must first force Iwagakure out of this battlefield!"

The Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, not counting the small countries sandwiched between them, were considered neighbors, and the various small-scale frictions between the two had never been few; even during the Second Ninja War, the two were hostile nations and had fought many battles in the Land of Rain.

To be precise, the relationships between the Five Great Nations were never good; pick any two countries, and they basically had many blood debts between them. Even the Rock Ninja and the Mist Ninja, two villages that were geographically worlds apart, had an example of their Second Kages killing each other!

Under these circumstances, the Fourth Kazekage made the decision to deal with the Rock Ninja first almost without hesitation.

(End of chapter)