Deep within the distant dense forest.
“Is that Kurokawa’s rock giant?”
Kitsuchi, the elite Iwagakure ninja leading the team, looked up at the towering colossus and roared, “Everyone, speed up! Support them immediately!”
Over a dozen Stone Shinobi turned into dark blurs, leaping frantically between tree trunks as they rushed toward the scene.
In another direction.
Inuzuka Tsume, riding on the massive Kuromaru, sprinted side-by-side with Aburame Shibi.
Both of them were also drawn by the commotion in the distance.
“Shibi, the target is just ahead! Speed up!”
Inuzuka Tsume leaned low, and the speed of the rider and hound surged once more.
Atop a towering ancient tree even further away.
“Orochimaru-sensei, such an exaggerated Earth Release… Has such a terrifying guy from Iwagakure sneaked in?”
Senju Nawaki swallowed hard, his face filled with shock.
Grim killing intent filled Orochimaru’s golden, snake-like pupils.
Without wasting a single word, his figure shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
Two days ago, when the intelligence-gathering team discovered the corpses of the first elite squad, Orochimaru had deduced that the enemy was led by a top-tier expert.
Now, seeing the giant rock monster, he was instantly certain that the true culprit was just ahead!
Shifting back to the main battlefield.
*Pfft!*
Rinya expressionlessly pulled out his Kunai, and the last Iwagakure Chunin twitched twice before completely drawing his final breath.
[Ding! Killed four Chunin, obtained 12 Plunder Points!]
Rinya turned to look at his Konoha companions collapsed on the ground behind him.
Chiba Mai was among them; the young girl was already thoroughly exhausted, leaning against a tree trunk and panting heavily.
Watching Rinya’s clean and decisive manner of killing the enemies, Chiba Mai’s watery eyes were filled with adoration.
She unconsciously pressed her thighs together a bit tighter, and her breathing grew even faster.
“Hurry up and recover your Chakra. I’ll go check the bodies on the ground to make sure no one is playing dead!”
Rinya tossed out this high-sounding excuse and impatiently began to loot the corpses.
His teammates’ eyes were filled with gratitude, feeling that Rinya was truly a reliable comrade.
“Plunder!”
[Ding! Obtained 1 Ka of Chakra! 0.5 Constitution!]
Rinya absorbed all the rewards without hesitation.
His dried-up meridians filled up once more, and his muscle strength surged yet again.
Once his state was fully restored, he immediately turned and rushed toward the core battle zone where Kurokawa was.
After running just a few steps, Rinya was stunned by the gargantuan entity looming in the center of the battlefield.
A rock giant over thirty meters tall, radiating an overwhelming sense of oppression.
He almost wanted to directly activate the Hand-seal-less Subterranean Voyage Technique and slip away.
But on second thought, with three Jonin like Senju Ken holding the front, the tall guys would shoulder the sky if it fell.
He might as well see how things played out first!
Aside from swinging its fists twice when it first appeared, this colossus was now just standing there dumbfounded like a wooden post.
Rinya directly activated his Two-Tomoe Sharingan, staring intently at the giant creature before him.
“Rinya! There’s nothing for you here, get out of here quickly!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Takagi caught sight of Rinya approaching and cursed anxiously.
A battle at the Jonin level—Chunin getting dragged in would just be cannon fodder!
Rinya turned a deaf ear, his crimson pupils reflecting the flow of Chakra.
As expected, it was a sham!
Aside from its two thick arms being filled with high-density rock and Chakra, its torso was entirely patched together with loose dirt!
Right at that moment, Sarutobi Takumi finished gathering power and slammed his hands fiercely onto the ground.
“Earth Release: Super Earth Dragon Bullet!”
A B-rank offensive Earth Release technique was unleashed!
A ferocious, massive earthen dragon head burst from the ground, opening its bloody maw to spit out a rapid barrage of incredibly powerful earth-and-stone projectiles, blasting directly toward the rock giant.
Kurokawa, standing on the giant’s shoulder, had a drastic change in expression.
He desperately squeezed out his Chakra, controlling the giant’s arms to guard its chest.
*Boom!
Boom!
Boom!*
The violent projectiles slammed into the rocky arms, sending stone fragments flying wildly, barely blocking this wave of bombardment.
Before Kurokawa could even catch his breath—
“Fire Release: Blazing Fireball Technique!”
Seizing the perfect moment, Rinya unleashed a mutated fireball that went whistling out.
The scorching, high-temperature flames precisely bypassed the giant’s arms and blasted directly toward its defenseless chest.
How could a paper-thin torso block such high heat and impact force!
*Boom—!*
The flames pierced through the chest, and the massive stone body instantly disintegrated, turning into a cloud of dust that filled the air.
Seeing that things were going south, Kurokawa made a prompt decision to leap into midair, landing in a disheveled heap.
“Damn! It was actually an empty shell?”
Takagi, Senju Ken, and Sarutobi Takumi’s old faces flushed red at the same time.
Three dignified Konoha Jonin had actually been so intimidated by a bluffing mud figure that they didn’t dare to step forward!
It was a sheer humiliation!
“Iwagakure scum, die!”
Senju Ken, who had the most explosive temper, roared.
His Chakra surged wildly, and his right fist, carrying terrifying Super Strength, charged like a crazed tyrannosaur straight toward Kurokawa’s landing spot.
But in the next second!
*Bang—!*
A dull impact resounded.
Under the unbelievable gazes of Rinya, Takagi, and the others, Senju Ken, who had seemed possessed by the God of War, actually flew backward at an even faster speed than when he had charged in, violently smashing through two large trees before finally stopping!
As the dust cleared, a burly figure stood blocking the way in front of Kurokawa.
“If you want to show off by stepping on Iwagakure’s face, you’re still a bit too green!”
The dust cleared completely, revealing a rugged, iron-tower-like figure standing firmly in front of Kurokawa.
This burly man’s entire right arm had completely transformed into hard, grayish-black rock, radiating a heavy sense of oppression.
Hiding in the shadows, Rinya’s two tomoe spun rapidly, seeing through the secret in an instant.
Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!
No wonder he could go head-to-head against the Senju Clan’s Super Strength, and even blow Senju Ken away.
Ultimately, Senju Ken’s Super Strength had not yet reached Tsunade’s abnormal level of shattering a hill with a single punch, so it was only natural for him to suffer in a head-on clash.
The burly man was none other than the commander of the Iwagakure elite squad, Kitsuchi.
Kitsuchi fiercely swept his gaze over the three Konoha Jonin before him, then turned around to angrily scold Kurokawa behind him, “You led a team out for a surprise attack, and you actually managed to get wiped out! Kurokawa, we’ll settle your blunder when we get back. Now, fall back!”
Filled with shame, Kurokawa didn’t dare to utter a single word and obediently retreated to the side.
*Swish!
Swish!
Swish!*
Several sharp sounds of rushing air echoed as four figures flashed out one after another behind Kitsuchi.
One Jonin and three elite Chunin.
This was Kitsuchi’s actual ace squad directly under his command.
The Jonin leading them was named Gougan.
Staring at the Konoha crowd with a face full of killing intent, he said, “Lord Kitsuchi, your subordinate has arrived late.”
“Your timing is just right,” Kitsuchi replied in a deep voice.
“Gougan, go clean up the surrounding Konoha small fry. Leave these three tough nuts in front of me to deal with!”
As soon as his voice fell, Kitsuchi swung his massive rocky fist and charged straight at Takagi and the other two like a rampaging bull.
Senju Ken scrambled up from the ground, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and roared through gritted teeth, “Takagi, Takumi, let’s go together! Rinya! Take the others to hold off the Iwagakure reinforcements and do your best to buy time!”
Rinya cursed inwardly.
Asking him to lead a bunch of low-health Chunin to hold off an elite squad led by a Jonin?
What kind of international joke was this!
Without the slightest hesitation, he took off and sprinted toward the rear where the Konoha Chunin were gathered.
When the situation was unclear, saving Chakra to preserve his life was the absolute priority.
“Konoha brat, where do you think you’re running!”
Gougan immediately locked his gaze on Rinya, who was trying to slip away, and quickly formed hand seals.
“Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!”
Several sharp, razor-edged stone spears instantly burst from the ground, thrusting straight toward the back of Rinya’s heart.
Rinya didn’t even bother with hand seals, simply channeling his Chakra.
Hand-seal-less Ninjutsu, Earth-Style Fish activated!
Rinya plunged into the dirt beneath his feet like a slippery loach, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
Gougan and the three Iwagakure Chunin were stunned on the spot.
The famous Uchiha Clan—they hadn’t seen them use much Fire Release, yet they played around with Earth Release so smoothly?