"Huff... so tiring. It may be a B-rank ninjutsu, but the chakra drain is pretty intense."
"Chōmei, thanks for your help."
After neutralizing the opponent's Great Waterfall Technique, Gekko Chizan quickly stopped releasing the Great Fire Annihilation. As powerful as the technique was, its chakra consumption was far from trivial.
Then again, it made sense. Without high chakra expenditure, how else could one create a sea of fire?
"Chizan, when did you learn such high-level Fire Release jutsu?"
"I've never seen you use it before. Damn, did you convert all the chakra I gave you into flames?"
It wasn't Chōmei's first time witnessing such intense flames. Both Son Gokū and Matatabi were capable of spitting out massive fireballs.
But Gekko Chizan was just a human. Even with Chōmei's chakra support, the scale of that Fire Release was way over the top.
"Heh, I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeve."
"Alright, we've still got enemies incoming."
Through the bug eye surveillance, Chizan saw that although the enemies were shocked, they reacted quickly and were already charging toward the trio.
"Obito, Rin, get ready to engage."
Gekko Chizan grabbed Obito and Rin, activated Flying Thunder God in an instant, and teleported them away from their original position.
They reappeared behind three earthen walls.
Looking at the triple-layered walls, Chizan sneered.
"Such proper defensive jutsu, and they're using it to block a doorway?"
While Chizan was mocking them, the sensor ninja in the Kirigakure squad had already located their position.
"Captain, there are unknown targets over there."
"They're behind the three earthen walls!"
Hearing this, the Kirigakure captain frowned. The previous sea of fire had shocked him. He'd originally assumed that one Great Waterfall Technique would be enough to handle everything.
But to his surprise, someone had blocked it.
"Hmph!"
"So what if his Fire Release is powerful? We've got the terrain on our side."
"Kikugorō, Matsushita Ichi, get over here and help me."
"Everyone else, keep them occupied!"
The Kirigakure captain decided to use the terrain to eliminate Chizan and his group. He swallowed a soldier pill to boost his chakra.
Then he began forming hand seals again. As he moved, the two Kirigakure shinobi he'd called out immediately understood his intentions.
They rushed over to the water pool and began forming seals as well.
The remaining five, including the sensor ninja, charged straight at Chizan's group.
Through his bug eye surveillance, Chizan tracked the enemies' movements and quickly alerted Obito and Rin.
"Obito, take one of them on yourself. Rin, be careful—there's a woman in their squad. She's your opponent."
"Your top priority is staying safe!"
As soon as he said that, Chizan shot forward like a rocket, raising both hands and shouting:
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
The long snakes that launched into the air instantly split the battlefield. Under Chizan's deliberate control, the enemy team was split into three parts—three for him, one for Obito, one for Rin.
Melee combat erupted immediately.
Obito and Rin had both undergone training from Pakura, giving them significant boosts in taijutsu.
Especially Rin—she'd been focusing wholeheartedly on improving herself just to be combat-ready.
Her opponent, the female Kirigakure ninja, was significantly older, but Rin showed no fear.
Holding a kunai in each hand, she unleashed a quick flurry of attacks.
Obito was even more prepared. He'd trained in taijutsu alongside Guy and had solid one-on-one combat skills. With the aid of his Sharingan, his opponent had no real opening against him.
"Tsk tsk... my disciples are really getting some good experience thanks to you lot."
Gekko Chizan faced the three attackers around him with a smirk on his lips.
He casually flung three kunai embedded with Flying Thunder God formulas and followed up with a demonstration of just how unpredictable his footwork could be.
One of the Kirigakure shinobi lunged with a samurai sword at a strange angle, but in the next second, Chizan vanished.
"Feel the terror of a Konoha shinobi!"
Activating Flying Thunder God repeatedly, Chizan zipped around the three enemies like lightning.
The three Kirigakure shinobi couldn't even graze him.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
The swarm of snakes reappeared, instantly binding all three like dumplings. Then came three precision rear-end strikes.
Three agonized screams rang out across the battlefield.
The brutal defeat of those three instantly chilled the hearts of Obito and Rin's opponents, who were beginning to consider retreat.
But just then, the Kirigakure captain and his two allies finished their ninjutsu.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
With a fierce shout, three water dragons soared into the sky, each aimed at Chizan, Uchiha Obito, and Nohara Rin.
"Obito! Rin! Get behind me!"
Upon hearing Chizan's command, the two kids didn't hesitate for a second and quickly retreated.
"Just three little water dragons, and you think you're something?"
"Watch as your grandpa smashes you flat with the Fivefold Gate!"
With a roar, Chizan pressed his crossed thumbs to his lips and bit down!
No matter what, the pose had to look cool! It was the classic move from Orochimaru. He then slammed his hands onto the ground.
"Summoning Technique: Five-Layer Rashomon!"
BOOM!
The earth trembled as five massive Rashōmon gates rose one after another.
Two Kirigakure close-combat ninja didn't even have time to retreat before being slammed sky-high.
As for the three water dragons, they couldn't stir up so much as a ripple. They crashed straight into the gates and exploded into harmless spray.
"No way!! This kind of jutsu—is he one of the Legendary Sannin from Konoha?"
"No! The Sannin are all on the frontlines... who the hell is this guy?"
Not wanting to get caught in the chaos, the Kirigakure captain and his two remaining teammates immediately retreated.
But they completely failed to notice the kunai embedded in the ground behind them—engraved with the unmistakable seal: お父さんが來た (Daddy's here!).
The Five-Layer Rashomon tore through the earth, and the two shinobi who'd been knocked into the sky fell to their deaths.
Gekko Chizan felt a slow, satisfying sense of joy.
Who said Rashōmon couldn't kill people???
Today, he took two down with it!
He grinned and vanished in an instant.
When he reappeared, he stood right in front of the three fleeing Kirigakure shinobi.
"Yo, where do you think you're going?"
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
A mass of snakes shot out, binding all three as they tried to escape—including the Kirigakure captain.
"Be good and die already."
Holding a kunai, Chizan prepared to give them a clean end. The commotion had been loud enough already.
Just as his kunai sank into one of them, an unexpected turn occurred.
"Lightning Burial!"
Countless bolts of lightning erupted from the ground. The moment they appeared, Chizan instantly used Flying Thunder God to jump away.
But the two remaining Kirigakure shinobi weren't so lucky.
Lightning engulfed them entirely.
By the time the storm passed, both were nothing but charred corpses.