Chapter 39: Itachi

There was no time to mourn the dying monkey; the next to arrive on the scene was...

The strongest genin, the perfect sage, the future Hokage—Rojie!

Wrong! It’s me, Shukaku the Great!

All eyes on me!

“Ahahaha, I’m finally out!”

Shukaku roared to the heavens, its voice like rolling thunder, making the surrounding air hum violently.

Its massive body danced wildly across the arena, as if celebrating its regained freedom, utterly unaware of the danger approaching.

Itachi’re about to get beaten, Shukaku-san!

Rojie’s expression turned icy; he let out a cold snort.

The sand beneath Rojie’s feet came alive, lifting him swiftly into the sky.

Though Shukaku was a master of sand manipulation, the sand could not be wrested from Rojie’s control, for it was governed by his senjutsu chakra.

Shukaku noticed Rojie above it and realized the sand refused to obey—it flew into a rage.

Its small gray-black eyes widened, glaring fiercely at Rojie as if ready to swallow him whole.

“Itachi puny human, how dare Itachi stand on top of this Great One’s head!”

Shukaku roared in fury and opened its massive maw.

Wind Style: Empty Ball.

Boom!

Shukaku violently spat out a colossal wind sphere, packed with terrifying force, hurtling toward Rojie.

The air along its path was instantly torn apart, emitting a piercing whistle.

Yet Rojie remained eerily calm.

He simply tilted his body slightly, effortlessly dodging the deadly attack.

Hmph, just a human outline artist.

The Empty Ball flew past the top of the stands and obliterated a distant building.

“Itachi’re too dangerous, Shukaku!”

“This can’t go on!”

Rojie lowered his gaze; his voice rang out through the air.

Slowly, he raised his hand, where vast amounts of senjutsu chakra surged and gathered like a tide in his palm.

The senjutsu chakra compressed and spun, gradually forming a rapidly rotating chakra sphere.

And the sphere continued to swell, its color deepening into crimson, with countless flame waves raging within it.

Sage Art: Fire Style: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!

Yes, Rojie stole again.

No, this time it really wasn’t theft.

The training method for Rasengan was clearly written in the original text; Rojie had simply been unable to practice it before due to his limited chakra reserves.

After awakening his cheat ability, Rojie’s chakra surged dramatically, and he began attempting to master this ninjutsu.

In the month following the preliminary matches, as the Third Hokage’s secretary, Rojie gained access to the Scroll of Seals and received meticulous guidance from the Third Hokage himself.

Rojie had fully mastered the nature transformations of Wind and Fire chakra.

Thus, he infused Fire chakra into the Rasengan.

He chose Fire because he possessed the [Fierce Flame] trait granted by the Burning Tail Nai Long, which significantly amplified the power of his Fire-style jutsu.

The Rasengan in Rojie’s hand blazed with dazzling light, resembling a sun about to erupt.

He thrust it high into the air and slammed it down onto Shukaku’s head.

Boom!

A deafening roar, as if heaven and earth were collapsing.

A blinding flash of fire instantly swallowed everything; the entire arena trembled under the immense force, cracks spreading across the ground.

“Aaaahhh!”

Shukaku let out a horrific scream as its head and most of its body were blown apart into sand.

Intense flames burned fiercely over its mangled remains, engulfing it in a sea of fire.

But Rojie gave Shukaku no chance to recover.

His figure darted forward like a phantom as he shouted: “One-Tail, your wind-down time is up!”

As he spoke, he swiftly formed hand seals and activated the Four Symbols Seal.

During this past month, Rojie hadn’t been idle.

Though the space-time ninjutsu Flying Thunder God was too complex for him to master, he couldn’t become a T0 ninja and go home like Minato.

But after grinding for over ten days, he successfully mastered the Four Symbols Seal.

He had foreseen that this sealing technique might be useful during the Chunin Exams.

Now, it proved him right.

The next moment, Shukaku—struggling to gather sand and reform its body—suddenly sensed a lethal threat.

Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!

Shukaku frantically flailed its claws.

“No, please! I’ll agree to anything! Don’t—please, don’t—!”

But it was too late.

As Rojie activated his sealing technique, Shukaku’s massive body began shrinking rapidly, its terrifying chakra violently converging into a single point.

Soon, a puff of white mist dispersed—and Shukaku vanished, leaving only the unconscious Gaara lying on the ground.

This unlucky kid could finally get some proper rest.

Sensing Gaara’s appearance, Ma Ji panicked and rushed forward with Temari and Kankuro to retrieve him.

But as they moved, Rojie’s cold gaze locked onto them.

Feeling Rojie’s deathly stare, the three instantly felt icy numbness in their limbs; an invisible pressure, like a mountain, pinned them in place, forbidding any motion.

At that moment, Yamashiro Aoba arrived swiftly with Kurenai and Lei Menyue, reaching Rojie’s side.

Yamashiro Aoba stared at the ruined arena and the unconscious Gaara, his face filled with shock.

He couldn’t help asking: “Is this the One-Tail jinchuriki from the Hidden Sand Village?”

Rojie’s expression remained calm; he gave a slight nod. “Handled.”

As he spoke, he lifted his gaze toward the upper stands.

Within the Four Purple Flames Barrier, a teacher-student battle of love and hatred was unfolding.

Compared to the original timeline, Hiruzen Sarutobi now faced doubled pressure.

Alongside the Edo Tensei-summoned First Hokage Hashirama Senju and Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, there was also the Fourth Kazekage, Ma Fu.

The diligent golden miner had also been dug up by Orochimaru to serve as a fighter.

Poor old Third, clad in his old-man happiness armor, gripped his black staff tightly, gasping for breath, sweat dripping like beads from his brow.

Like he’d been forced to wear a mask of agony.

Dammit, am I really getting old?

“Orochimaru, how dare Itachi desecrate the dead...”

Hiruzen Sarutobi roared in fury.

Orochimaru stood aside, coldly observing everything, offering no reply.

His gaze occasionally swept beyond the barrier, studying Rojie’s techniques.

Rasengan. Sage Mode.

This combo feels familiar.

Element Recognition.jpg

“Is he Jiraiya’s new idiot pupil?”

Orochimaru’s lips curled slightly as he asked with interest.

(End of Chapter)