"Hey, stop."
Several figures landed in front of Kaguya and Konan. Judging by the headbands, they were Iwagakure ninjas.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" One Iwa-nin held a kunai, aiming it at Kaguya, cautiously watching the two suspicious girls.
Kaguya stepped forward, slightly lowering the collar of her cloak to reveal her delicate face. She smiled and said, "We are here to hunt. Please grant us passage."
The Iwa-nin's eyes widened, seemingly mesmerized by such a beautiful girl. His pupils dilated, and his gaze became unfocused before he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
The Iwa-nin had fallen victim to Kaguya's genjutsu. A feature of Kaguya's Tenseigan is its subtlety. If not carefully observed, it appears no different from normal eyes, unlike the Sharingan, which turns bright red with tomoe, alerting others.
The Tenseigan's genjutsu is hard to defend against, but it's not particularly powerful in terms of genjutsu. However, it still has the ability to control others' minds and spirits.
Kaguya approached and placed her hand on the Iwa-nin's head, reading his thoughts and memories entirely.
She removed her hand, took out a white handkerchief to wipe her hands, casually tossed it aside, and took Konan's hand. "Let's go. I have the general location now."
"You don't look like you're from Iwagakure. Who are you, and what are you doing here?" A man emerged from behind a rock. He wore a peculiar hat, had red hair and beard, and his face bore a mountain-shaped tattoo. He wore purple clothing.
"You must be Roshi," Konan said, stepping forward.
"That's right. What is your purpose here?" Roshi, sensing ill intentions from the two girls, assumed a fighting stance.
"Sorry, we need to borrow the Tailed Beast inside you," Kaguya said with a smile.
The battle was imminent.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
After a fierce battle, the land was ravaged, with molten lava flowing everywhere, emitting a sulfuric smell. The few plants and shrubs in the Land of Earth had turned to ash, leaving the ground unrecognizable.
Konan and Kaguya leaned on their knees, breathing heavily. Their clothes were burnt in many places, revealing their unblemished skin beneath, with a faint burnt smell lingering.
Roshi lay not far away, covered in wounds and unconscious.
Originally, Kaguya had underestimated Roshi, thinking he wouldn't be much of a challenge since he was easily defeated by Kisame Hoshigaki in the original series. However, Roshi's Lava Release far exceeded her expectations, with powerful and wide-ranging attacks like volcanic ash and magma-infused flames, making it extremely difficult to defend against.
Konan's Paper Release was countered by Lava Release, with her paper burning to ash before reaching Roshi. Even explosive tags ignited prematurely, nearly backfiring on her.
In the original series, Kisame's powerful Water Release likely countered Roshi's Lava Release, allowing him to capture Roshi easily. Though Kaguya could use Water Release, her abilities were far inferior to Kisame's. Kisame could summon an entire lake's worth of water, while Kaguya couldn't even manage a fifth of that.
Roshi's power increased dramatically after transforming into his Tailed Beast form. If she hadn't worried about killing him, she might have used her All-Killing Ash Bones. Ultimately, Kaguya subdued him using her Tenseigan Chakra Mode's Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion. This move, however, drained her significantly, leaving her still trying to recover.
"Let's go," Konan said, catching her breath. "We've caused too much commotion here. The Iwa-nin will arrive soon."
"Wait," Kaguya panted, holding her chest. "Just a moment longer, I still need to catch my breath."
Seeing Kaguya's genuine exhaustion, Konan knelt down and turned her head. "Get on. I'll carry you."
"Can you do it?" Kaguya's face lit up with surprise.
"Stop talking and get on." Konan tapped Kaguya's forehead.
"Big sister, don't you think your words have some ambiguous meanings?"
Kaguya didn't hesitate anymore and climbed onto Konan's back, wrapping her arms around her neck.
Two large wings made of paper appeared on Konan's back. With a few powerful flaps, they lifted into the air.
As for poor Roshi, a rope was tied around his ankle, dragging him upside down behind them.
Leaning against Konan, Kaguya realized that despite Konan's slim build, her body was soft and pliable, not at all feeling bony.
Smelling Konan's fresh scent, Kaguya's face showed a look of intoxication. Unable to resist, she stretched out her hand, sneaking it under Konan's arm to grope her chest. The soft, tender sensation was surprising; even under the clothes, it was quite ample.
However, before Kaguya could grasp for more than a second, her hand was smacked away by Konan, who said irritably, "You're so big already, how can you still be so naughty? If you keep messing around, I'll throw you off."
When Kaguya first joined Akatsuki, she was young, and Konan naturally had no guard against a lovable little girl. This gave Kaguya opportunities to bathe together and tease Konan often. Konan merely saw it as childish playfulness and didn't mind. However, as Kaguya grew older, these chances became fewer.
Seeing the serious tone in Konan's voice, Kaguya quickly stopped taking advantage and behaved, knowing that being thrown off would be a real loss.
Suddenly, a few small black dots appeared on the horizon, rapidly approaching.
Kaguya looked closely and saw two people: a short, white-haired, red-nosed old man and a pretty young girl.
If Kaguya wasn't mistaken, the old man was the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, and the black-haired girl should be his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi.
They had just been through a battle, and Konan was carrying three people, making her slightly strained and slower.
Onoki, flying with Earth Release in the sky, had no such burden and was much faster, quickly closing the distance between them.
At this rate, they would soon catch up, and Kaguya and Konan didn't stand much chance.
At that moment, Kaguya jumped off Konan.
"Kaguya, what are you doing?" Konan shouted. "They're about to catch up!"
"I'll stay behind and hold them off. You take the Four-Tails and go ahead. I'll catch up later," Kaguya said nonchalantly.
"No, you just fought. Your stamina hasn't recovered," Konan said.
"I'm fine," Kaguya interrupted. "I've recovered most of my strength. Besides, I'm not trying to fight them to the death. If I can't beat them, I'll just run. Don't worry."
"But..." Konan hesitated.
"Go!" Kaguya turned and charged towards the Third Tsuchikage, then looked back and smiled, "Prepare some dango for me when I get back."
Konan gave Kaguya a deep look, then turned and flew towards the horizon, gritting her teeth.
In no time, the Third Tsuchikage reached Kaguya.