Uchiha Feiyu smiled inside the earthen barrier that had supposedly trapped him, eyes half-lidded with amusement.
"You're absolutely right," he drawled. "On the battlefield, you really shouldn't waste breath talking to the enemy."
Poof!
His body exploded into white smoke and vanished.
Kitsuchi's expression froze—then twisted.
"Damn it, a shadow clone! He used Earth Walk from the very start!"
The moment his gaze fell on the slightly damp soil beneath the clone's feet, realization struck. When he'd unleashed Earth & Stone Flow and filled the air with dust, Feiyu had already slipped underground, leaving only a clone topside to chat and stall him.
What made Kitsuchi's blood pressure spike even more was the part that hurt his pride:
This brat's subterranean movement technique was so clean, so seamless… that not a single Iwa-nin—who lived and breathed digging tunnels—had noticed a thing.
And then there was Feiyu's utter shamelessness.
A genius of his age, when encountering a strong opponent, would normally refuse to back down. Even if they used a shadow clone, they'd wait for an opening, go for an ambush, at least trade a couple blows before retreating.
Feiyu?
He dumped a clone, talked nonsense for half a minute, then fled without ever engaging.
Kitsuchi hadn't even smelled the real body.
—
"again! He's out again! That ghost is killing people!"
"Ahhhh! I'll fight you! Show yourself if you've got guts!"
Chaos erupted outside. The barrier team dropped the formation in panic, giving Kitsuchi a clear view of the disaster:
Low-ranking Iwa-nin were collapsing like wheat under a scythe, blood spraying in arcs, bodies piling up.
In the short time since he'd escaped, Feiyu had once again vanished into thin air, using sheer speed and stealth to butcher ordinary Chunin and genin. Another dozen lives were snuffed out in seconds.
"Bastard! If you've got any honor, fight me! Killing genin—what kind of hero are you?!"
Kitsuchi's eyes went red.
Yes—Chunin and genin were cannon fodder in the grand scheme of a ninja war. But cannon fodder weren't weeds; they didn't sprout back instantly. Losing them so rapidly would cripple their formation.
Without lower ranks to screen and support, elite jōnin would be exposed. And once Konoha's high-end combatants were freed up…
Even a Kage-level shinobi could be surrounded and beaten down.
The current Five Kage were not Hashirama or Uchiha Madara. A weaker Kage caught by seven or eight coordinated jōnin could very well end up fleeing for their life.
But Feiyu ignored every insult.
Hidden and fast—he had no reason to fear Iwa's elites.
Invisibility alone meant little to a true veteran. But invisibility paired with terrifying speed?
And if that assassin refused to engage the strong at all?
Then the elite could only watch helplessly as their forces were slaughtered.
—
"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!"
Kitsuchi snapped.
"Fine! Let's see who kills faster! Earth Release—Gangli Rock Technique!"
He slammed both hands down. The ground rumbled violently, and a colossal stone golem rose from the earth, stomping toward Konoha's rank-and-file.
Unfortunately for him, Feiyu didn't care.
And unlike Feiyu, Kitsuchi couldn't ignore enemy elites. Within seconds, several Konoha jōnin intercepted the stone giant, dragging it to a halt.
Meanwhile Feiyu's kill count kept climbing.
As more Iwa-nin died, more Konoha shinobi were freed and joined the assault, forming an overwhelming snowball effect.
Kitsuchi finally cracked.
"Retreat! All Iwa-nin, full retreat! I'll cover!"
His shout was like salvation.
Exhausted Iwa forces scrambled to escape—diving underground, leaping through trees, scattering in every direction.
Kitsuchi unleashed technique after technique, shaking the entire battlefield, reshaping terrain in his wake. Konoha's high-ranking shinobi were forced to block his destructive Earth Releases to protect their own troops, allowing the fleeing Iwa forces to escape.
The result?
Akimichi Torifū, seven or eight jōnin, over twenty tokubetsu jōnin, and nearly a hundred Chunin encircled Kitsuchi completely.
—
On the other side, the Four-Tails Jinchūriki—still reeling from being beaten by Orochimaru and several jōnin—dismissed his beast form and bolted.
If he didn't run now, he would never get the chance again.
Ninjas, when it came to fleeing, were terrifyingly efficient.
Within minutes, the Iwa army had vanished into the forests and underground tunnels.
Only Kitsuchi remained—chakra exhausted, surrounded, gasping for breath. Finally, he dropped to one knee and stopped resisting.
—
"Orochimaru-sama, should we just chop this guy?"
Feiyu appeared beside Orochimaru, making a cheerful chopping gesture, eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
Orochimaru, already half-dead from fighting a tailed beast, felt a fresh wave of exhaustion crash over him.
"Feiyu-kun, must you always be so… extreme? A living son of the Third Tsuchikage—an Iwa commander—is worth far more alive than dead."
"…Fine, fine. This one can't be killed."
Feiyu muttered under his breath, clearly disappointed. Kitsuchi's soul value alone was mouthwatering—nearly Kage-tier.
Orochimaru noticed the look in his eyes and felt a genuine chill.
If he didn't distract this lunatic now, Kitsuchi might actually lose his head.
He quickly spoke:
"Save your energy. I guarantee Sunagakure won't let this opportunity slip by. Before long, we'll have another battle on our hands—and I'll need you then."
Konoha vs Iwa on this scale wouldn't go unnoticed.
During the battle, Suna had kept their distance to avoid triggering a chaotic three-way fight. But now that the war had ended?
They would absolutely swoop in to take advantage—launching raids and ambushes, hoping to crush Konoha's weakened forces.
Orochimaru surveyed the battlefield.
Despite Feiyu's shameless strategy of targeting the weakest, the results were undeniable. Because of his rampage, the battle ended quickly, and Konoha's casualties were minimal.
From a commander's perspective?
It was beautiful.
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