Chapter 35: The Four-Tails Jinchūriki
At first, it was nothing more than a faint tremor beneath their feet.
But in the blink of an eye, that subtle vibration spread outward like rolling thunder tearing across the land. Thick, violent chakra surged and swelled at the entrance of the valley, boiling and churning like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
The ground began to shake violently. Pebbles bounced and skittered across the dirt, and the air itself grew heavy with scorching pressure, as if even breathing had become a burden too great to bear.
"This chakra… it's insanely strong!"
Yamanaka Mei's face drained of all color. Her body trembled uncontrollably as her sensory technique clearly grasped the full shape of that overwhelming presence.
It was massive. Wild. Destructive.
Like a roaring river of molten magma.
It far surpassed the level of an ordinary Jōnin.
Just feeling it was enough to make her soul shiver.
Beside Inuzuka Ago, Kuromaru began barking frantically toward the valley entrance. His fur stood on end as his body shrank backward, a low, frightened whine slipping from his throat. As a ninja hound, his instincts were far sharper than any human's—and right now, he was completely intimidated by the aura pressing down on them.
"W-Who is that…?" Inuzuka Ago tightened his grip on his short blade, his voice trembling despite his effort to keep it steady. "Is he… a Kage-level ninja from Iwagakure?"
Izumo's heart sank straight into the depths of his chest. A cold chill crept up from the soles of his feet all the way to his scalp.
A name instantly surfaced in his mind—an existence that made his skin go numb just thinking about it.
The Four-Tails Jinchūriki.
Rōshi.
In the original story, Rōshi was one of Iwagakure's ultimate trump cards. A master of Lava Release, a jinchūriki who could draw upon the power of a Tailed Beast. His strength was nearly impossible to measure, a terrifying presence feared by every ninja village.
If he was here…
That meant Iwagakure had deployed their final card to make absolutely sure this supply point would not be destroyed.
"Fall back! Everyone, retreat now—full speed!" Inuzuka Ago roared, his voice hoarse with extreme tension.
The ninja from all three teams didn't dare hesitate for even a second. They tightened their formation and sprinted toward the hidden path deeper within the valley.
But the speed of that massive chakra presence was beyond imagination.
It closed in almost like teleportation.
In an instant, the air at the valley entrance turned a blazing orange-red. A middle-aged man slowly stepped out from the shadows.
He wore purple clothing and armor. His hair was tied back into a rough ponytail, his thick beard framing a face marked by feral, beast-like eyes.
Rōshi.
"Trying to run?"
His voice exploded through the valley like thunder, making everyone's eardrums ring.
The chakra within his body surged violently. A faint lava-colored glow spread across his skin as scorching steam poured from his pores. Even the rocks beneath his feet began to glow red from the heat.
"Brats from Konoha," he growled, "you're staying right here."
The moment Rōshi appeared, the pressure across the battlefield dropped to a suffocating low. The chakra around him boiled like molten lava, radiating such intense heat that the air itself warped and distorted.
Inuzuka Ago knew—if anyone was going to escape, someone had to hold Rōshi back.
"You all go!" he roared. "I'll stop him!"
Together with Kuromaru, he launched straight into Fang Over Fang once more. A high-speed, roaring vortex of wind and spinning bodies tore across the ground toward Rōshi.
Yamanaka Mei's voice shook, but her eyes were firm and resolute.
"Scatter! Run as far as you can! Get this information back to camp—now!"
Rōshi looked at the charging Inuzuka Ago with a cold, mocking grin.
"You're awfully confident."
His hands flashed through hand seals, and the Lava Release chakra inside him erupted.
"Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!"
Blazing lava burst from Rōshi's mouth, forming a raging river of molten rock that surged forward and swallowed the spinning Fang Over Fang vortex whole.
Wherever the lava flowed, the ground was reduced to scorched ruin. Rocks melted on contact, and the air filled with the sharp, choking stench of sulfur.
No matter how destructive Fang Over Fang was, it stood no chance against that overwhelming heat.
The lava engulfed Inuzuka Ago and Kuromaru in an instant.
A scream of agony tore through the air, mixed with the sickening smell of burning flesh. It made everyone's hearts quake.
"Captain Inuzuka!"
Kotetsu's eyes went wide and bloodshot as he tried to rush back, but Izumo grabbed him tightly and held him in place.
"Don't be reckless!" Izumo's voice came out hoarse. "Going back there is just throwing your life away!"
He stared at the spot where Inuzuka Ago had been swallowed by lava, a deep sense of helplessness clawing at his chest.
This was the true horror of a jinchūriki.
With the power of a single person, he could completely overwhelm an ordinary Jōnin.
Rōshi's gaze shifted toward the fleeing ninja, his eyes filled with killing intent.
"Not one of you is getting away."
He formed hand seals again.
"Lava Release: Great Lava River Technique!"
A wave of molten rock far larger than before erupted from the ground, roaring forward like a massive dragon of fire and stone, surging straight toward their escape route.
Its speed was terrifying.
In just moments, it caught up to three Konoha genin at the back of the group.
Their screams were cut short as the lava swallowed them whole, leaving not even their bones behind.
"Run!" Yamanaka Mei shouted as she dragged the remaining ninja into the forest deep within the valley.
The dense trees provided a decent barrier against Rōshi's Lava Release, blocking the flow and forcing it to spread and slow.
Seeing that he could no longer chase all of them down, a scar-faced Iwagakure Jōnin—who had previously witnessed Izumo's speed—shouted urgently to Rōshi:
"Lord Rōshi, don't worry about the others for now!"
He pointed toward Izumo.
"You must kill that brown-haired ninja!"
"He has the potential to become a second 'Yellow Flash!'"
Izumo's breath hitched.
Those words slammed into his chest like a hammer.
Rōshi's gaze followed the Jōnin's finger.
And locked onto him.
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