As soon as Uchiha Feiyu finished speaking, five Konoha shinobi immediately stepped forward from the dozen or so gathered.
Clearly, these five actually believed they could contribute meaningfully in a battle involving a tailed beast—something only the highest-level shinobi normally dared interfere in.
One was from the Akimichi clan, another from the Aburame clan, and the remaining three didn't show any obvious clan traits, likely talented civilian shinobi.
The Akimichi didn't waste time. He tossed a pill into his mouth, and the moment his chakra surged, his body expanded rapidly—growing into a towering giant over seventeen meters tall. Gripping a massive iron staff, he charged straight into the battlefield.
The Four-Tails in its transformed state was only a bit over twenty meters tall. In comparison, the Akimichi giant was merely two or three meters shorter. Visually, with a weapon in hand, his momentum didn't seem inferior at all.
"Konoha still has an Akimichi this strong? Who is that?"
Feiyu couldn't help sounding surprised. This level of physical enhancement placed him among the absolute top tier of elite jōnin—already brushing against quasi-Kage.
A nearby Konoha shinobi quickly explained:
"That's Tokikaze-senpai. Rumor says he used to be in the same squad as the Third Hokage!"
"But Tokikaze-senpai was the youngest among them, and he never cared for village administration. Otherwise he would probably be part of the leadership by now!"
The Aburame shinobi, meanwhile, unleashed a very peculiar species of insect. Small, only a few centimeters long at first, they landed on the Four-Tails and immediately began devouring chakra at a terrifying rate. Their bodies swelled rapidly, growing into human-sized monstrosities that latched onto the massive ape, biting and tearing, forcing the Four-Tails to roar in agony.
Molten lava gushed from the tailed beast's body, burning many of the insects alive. But even as they melted, they continued frantically consuming chakra—laying eggs in the process. The newly hatched larvae clearly showed increased heat resistance, surviving longer in the magma.
"This is… the Giant Parasitic Beetle?"
Feiyu was genuinely stunned.
This species was extremely rare. Unlike the tiny kikaichū normally used by the Aburame, these insects were too big and too few to be practical in ordinary combat. But against huge summons and tailed beasts, their effect was monstrous.
The remaining three shinobi formed seals simultaneously.
"Water Release—Great Waterfall Technique!"
A roaring torrent surged forth like a river unleashed, slamming into the Four-Tails and forcefully extinguishing the flames and magma covering its body.
Although Lava Release functioned as something akin to a kekkei genkai that ignored elemental interactions—natural elemental suppression still applied. Water remained the most effective direct counter to molten rock.
Under the combined assault, the Four-Tails' rage and brutality gradually faltered. Tailed beasts excelled at mass destruction and slaughtering weaker opponents, but when surrounded by elite shinobi who directly countered its abilities, its overwhelming power suddenly felt constrained.
Worse yet, the current jinchūriki, Rōshi, was far from a perfect host. Even twenty years later, he would never achieve full synchronization. Right now, he could barely maintain control over the tailed beast's chakra.
Under such conditions, the Four-Tails was actually weaker than a wild tailed beast. The host's body simply couldn't withstand prolonged combat. Halfway through the fight, Rōshi abruptly retreated into a partial transformation and fled the battlefield.
"…We're not chasing him, Lord Orochimaru?"
Feiyu asked eagerly, watching the battered, ash-covered Orochimaru. He was itching to go after the retreating jinchūriki—partly to see if he could harvest a tailed beast soul, and even if not, a Lava Release bloodline user's soul was far more valuable than the ordinary Iwa shinobi he'd been collecting.
Orochimaru shot him a dark look.
"Even setting aside the cost of killing him, simply eliminating a jinchūriki would drive Iwagakure into madness."
"And don't forget—Sunagakure is still watching this battlefield. Why should Konoha bleed itself dry against Iwa, only for Sand to swoop in afterward?"
"I refuse to believe that Sand will sit still after learning a jinchūriki has appeared."
Feiyu exhaled regretfully, making Orochimaru glance at him strangely.
(This brat is terrified of dying, yet his killing intent is stronger than most shinobi. He doesn't care about lives at all… as expected, once a Uchiha awakens his eyes, the mind becomes unstable.)
Conveniently, Orochimaru ignored that he himself wasn't much better.
A mad scientist was, after all, simply another flavor of lunatic.
The battle had been far too loud to conceal. As expected, the revelation that Iwa had deployed a jinchūriki sent Sunagakure into full alarm.
A simple regional conflict had suddenly escalated—one side had just thrown a nuclear weapon onto the field. Of course the others reacted.
"What are those dirt-eating Iwa bastards thinking?! They actually sent a jinchūriki to the River Country front… Isn't their main battlefield supposed to be in Grass?!"
Fourth Kazekage Rasa slammed the report down, furious.
Even in a primary war theater, releasing a jinchūriki at the start was absurd. That was like flipping the table and firing a nuclear missile in the opening move.
Elder Ebizō skimmed the intel, expression calm.
"Ōnoki of Two Scales has always been the craftiest of the Five Kage. This isn't surprising."
"But deploying a jinchūriki immediately… that old fox sure has an appetite. It seems we'll need to shift priorities."
Rasa nodded.
"Indeed. A jinchūriki is too great a threat. From this point on, we must force Iwa out of this battlefield first."
Wind Country and Earth Country shared a border, and skirmishes between them had never stopped. During the Second Shinobi War, the two were enemies as well, fighting bitterly in the Rain Country.
Truthfully, none of the Five Great Nations had good relations. Any two could be paired at random, and they would share blood debts. Even Iwa and Kiri—who were geographically distant—had produced the infamous case of both their Second Kage dying together.
Given that history, the Fourth Kazekage did not hesitate. His decision came swiftly:
Eliminate Iwa's presence first.
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