Chapter 32: Uchiha Jinchūriki?
"Fire Style—Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
"Lava Style—Flowing River of Molten Rock!"
BOOM!!!
The fiery dragon clashed with molten spheres, releasing a searing heatwave.
"You brat, your flames are nothing but ordinary fire! My Lava Release burns even fire to ashes!"
Even without the Four-Tails' chakra, Roshi remained a formidable ninja.
SWISH!
Danger!
Roshi's gaze stayed fixed on the explosion, unaware of an invisible slash hurtling from behind him.
Sensing imminent danger, he narrowly avoided the lethal strike.
Screech—
CRASH!
Dozens of towering trees fell in a chain reaction.
Turning around, Roshi met a pair of crimson Sharingan and the glint of a flashing blade!
---
Without the Four-Tails' chakra, Roshi couldn't sustain his Lava Release Chakra Mode.
If he could, this audacious Uchiha wouldn't dare come so close.
CLANG!
The blade of Kagami's Shirayuki collided with Roshi's steel gauntlet, sparks flying in all directions.
BOOM!
Roshi twisted his body, throwing a molten-hot punch at Kagami's chest.
Kagami, calm and focused, sidestepped the strike with ease and retaliated with a lightning-fast kick.
Roshi crossed his arms to block, his feet skidding back under the immense impact. But he quickly stabilized and lunged again.
"You're too green, kid!"
His fists swung like meteors, generating intense waves of heat.
Kagami dodged nimbly, weaving through the barrage of punches like a phantom, searching for an opening.
---
Attack long enough, and mistakes will follow.
Finally, Kagami saw his chance.
Using the reflection of Shirayuki's blade, he locked eyes with Roshi.
Magen: Kyōka Suigetsu! (Illusion Art: Mirror Flower Water Moon)
Vast ocular power surged into Roshi's mind, instantly painting black tomoe into his vision.
Without hesitation, Kagami slashed at Roshi's neck!
WHAM!
Roshi kicked Kagami away, sending him tumbling through the air.
Though the kick lacked Lava Release enhancement, it disrupted Kagami's rhythm.
---
Looking at Kagami, who rose unscathed, Roshi's face darkened.
"You and that monkey came to an agreement, didn't you?" Kagami asked mockingly.
Roshi's eyes flickered with conflicted emotions. "Only to fight you. For some reason, the Four-Tails agreed to help break your genjutsu."
"What did you do to him?"
Roshi couldn't comprehend it. The Four-Tails, who barely acknowledged him on a good day, willingly aided him now.
If killing this Uchiha could permanently win the Four-Tails' loyalty, Roshi might even consider it.
---
Gurgle… gurgle…
The sound and sensation were all too familiar to Roshi.
His pupils contracted in shock.
Kagami looked down. His body was now shrouded in a crimson chakra cloak, a single enormous tail extending behind him.
"This… this is impossible!" Roshi exclaimed in terror.
"You're the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki?!"
---
The idea alone was unthinkable.
Everyone knew the Hidden Leaf had only one tailed beast: the Nine-Tails.
And while many were unaware of the poor relations between the Hidden Leaf's leadership and the Uchiha, they all knew the history of Hashirama and Madara.
Had the Third Hokage gone insane?!
To make an Uchiha the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails?!
Did they want another Madara Uchiha to emerge?!
In Iwagakure, both the Second and Third Tsuchikage had been humiliated by Madara's overwhelming power.
The name "Uchiha Madara" struck fear and resentment deep into their hearts.
---
Even Kagami's companions, Shibi and Genka, were stunned.
The fact that Uzumaki Kushina was the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki was a classified secret.
Yet now, seeing Kagami enveloped in a chakra cloak…
"He's doomed to lose himself to the Nine-Tails' hatred!" Shibi thought grimly.
"Not only does he have unparalleled Uchiha talent, but now he's wielding the Nine-Tails' power… the Uchiha clan is unstoppable!" Genka marveled, caught up in a vision of his clan dominating the Leaf.
---
"Idiot! That's MY chakra! Can't you tell the difference?!"
The Four-Tails roared inside Roshi, its booming voice echoing through his mind.
"Er… how could I know that? All tailed beast cloaks look the same…" Roshi muttered to himself.
Before he could respond fully, Kagami struck again, his enhanced speed leaving only afterimages in his wake.
BANG!
A single punch landed squarely on Roshi's chest, searing his skin and leaving an ashen fist imprint.
Kagami's chakra tail lashed out, grabbing Roshi by the ankle and slamming him into the ground.
There was no respite, no dialogue, just relentless, calculated brutality.
Without the Four-Tails' protection, Roshi's body was nearing its limits.
---
"Hey, you idiot! Get up and kill him!"
The Four-Tails bellowed in frustration, but Roshi's body refused to respond.
---
"Do we… need to help him?"
Shibi swallowed nervously.
Despite his hesitation, he couldn't shake the sight before him: an eight-year-old child dominating a seasoned Jinchūriki.
Even Genka, usually full of bravado, was speechless.
Suddenly, Shibi noticed a small black dot on the horizon.
At first, he dismissed it.
But moments later, the black dot grew larger, taking on the unmistakable shape of a person.
---
"No way…"
Shibi's voice trembled, more fearful than when faced with the Jinchūriki.
Leaning out from the giant eagle, he shouted desperately:
"Kagami! Retreat!"
"It's Ōnoki!"
"The Third Tsuchikage is here!"
---
Ōnoki, nearing sixty, was one of the few surviving warriors of the Warring States period.
He was the longest-reigning Kage in history, the mastermind behind Iwagakure's golden era.
With his mastery of Dust Release, Ōnoki had earned the title "Ōnoki of Both Scales," a testament to his absolute strength.
What was the Third Tsuchikage doing here?!
---
Minato was equally alarmed.
Using his Flying Raijin Kunai linked to Kagami, he sensed the massive chakra and quickly abandoned his own battle to regroup.
When he arrived, the sight of Kagami cloaked in tailed beast chakra left him stunned.
---
"There's no time to explain," Kagami said, holding Roshi's unconscious body by the collar.
Though tempted to finish him off, Kagami decided against it.
A living Jinchūriki held far more strategic value.
---
Far above, a diminutive figure floated mid-air, arms crossed.
Despite his small stature, the sheer pressure radiating from Ōnoki left everyone below struggling to breathe.
Even the eagle shuddered, instinctively drawing closer to Kagami for safety.
Kagami dismissed the summoning, sending the bird away, and turned his gaze toward the Tsuchikage.
A man of this level shouldn't have left Iwagakure unguarded.
The only explanation…
"Danzo," Kagami murmured to himself, his eyes narrowing.
A sudden, inexplicable development could only be attributed to someone manipulating events behind the scenes.
And when it came to sabotage, nine out of ten times, the culprit was Danzo.
---
Ōnoki's sharp gaze locked onto Kagami.
"That boy…"
"That Uchiha boy… he's using a tailed beast's chakra."
The old Tsuchikage's bushy white eyebrows twitched in alarm.
Had Hiruzen Sarutobi truly lost his mind?
Letting an Uchiha become a Jinchūriki?
What was the Leaf thinking?!
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