At the border of the Land of Earth, inside a command tent within the Iwa ninja encampment.
This was the headquarters for the general commander of this front, the place where the man in charge of the entire battlefield, Kitsuchi, was stationed.
Inside the tent, a survivor from Roshi's unit was reporting the events they had encountered to Kitsuchi.
"You attempted a sneak attack on the Konoha ninja, but ran into that Tianyuan of Konoha? You say he routed your forces singlehandedly, and even Roshi was defeated by him, his life or death unknown?" Kitsuchi's expression turned grim.
The death of such a large number of Iwa ninja was a massive blow to Iwagakure. It was a loss that cut deep.
"I didn't expect that genius from Konoha to be so formidable. Word was that he was on the battlefield against Sunagakure. I can't believe he made it here, and that you were the unlucky ones to cross his path." Kitsuchi's face was unsightly; this situation was truly the height of misfortune.
It was obvious that Tianyuan had not been on this battlefield for long; otherwise, it would have been impossible for Kitsuchi to have no intelligence on his movements.
Not only had he arrived recently, but he had happened to be in the exact unit the Iwa ninja chose to target. This luck was abysmal.
Kitsuchi took a deep breath. Things had already reached this point, and there was no other way forward but to tell the Iwa ninja to be more cautious in the future.
"But is Roshi dead?" Kitsuchi asked the ninja before him.
"Lord Kitsuchi, we do not know. We only saw Tianyuan transform into a terrifying samurai who used a bow and arrow to blow up the Four-Tails. As for what happened to Lord Roshi... we were only concerned with our own escape at the time, so..." the ninja said, hanging his head in shame.
In a moment of life and death, they couldn't afford to go looking for Roshi.
"It's fine. You were in a life or death crisis, after all," Kitsuchi said.
"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Kitsuchi," the ninja replied quickly.
"Now, take me to the previous battlefield. Regardless of what happened to Roshi, there is one thing we cannot leave out in the wild," Kitsuchi said slowly.
"The Four-Tails," the ninja realized.
If Roshi were dead, the Four-Tails would return to a wild state. Tailed Beasts were the weapons of Iwagakure; they would never let such power slip away easily.
"Exactly. Konoha already has the Nine-Tails; we cannot allow them to obtain the power of the Four-Tails as well," Kitsuchi said flatly.
Just then, a voice came from outside. "Lord Kitsuchi, Lord Roshi requests an audience."
"Roshi is back?" Kitsuchi blinked, his face lighting up with joy. If that were the case, it was even better. Not only was the Tailed Beast secured, but Iwagakure's combat strength was preserved.
At full power, Roshi possessed Kage level strength.
"Let him in," Kitsuchi urged.
"Lord Kitsuchi." Along with the voice, Roshi walked directly into the tent.
"Roshi, are you alright?" Kitsuchi looked at Roshi and frowned slightly. Roshi's clothes were tattered, and his face was exceptionally pale.
"I'm certainly not 'alright.' Something major has happened," Roshi said with a bitter smile.
"Something major?" Kitsuchi asked. "What is it?"
Roshi looked at the Iwa ninja standing nearby. He recognized him, of course; as a Jonin, he was one of the few surviving officers from the team Roshi had led.
"Lord Roshi," the ninja greeted him.
"I suppose Lord Kitsuchi already knows the gist of what happened," Roshi said. "I was defeated by the power of Tianyuan's Mangekyo. I later found myself waking up in a remote location and made my way back here. However, as for the specific reasons... I don't remember much of that part."
"I know about that. After you transformed into the Four-Tails, you were defeated by Tianyuan's Susanoo," Kitsuchi explained.
"So that's how it was." Roshi nodded. That matched what the Four-Tails had told him—that even after becoming a Tailed Beast, he had been defeated by Tianyuan.
Perhaps that was why the Four-Tails didn't want to talk much about it.
In reality, Roshi didn't know the real reason. The Four-Tails wasn't ashamed of being defeated by that power; after all, it was the eternal power of the Sage of the Six Paths.
The Four-Tails simply didn't want to talk about it because he had suffered an Anal Attack.
"Roshi, can you still fight?" Kitsuchi asked, eyeing Roshi's condition.
"Impossible. I know my own body. I'm afraid I'll need a period of rest before I can recover," Roshi replied, shaking his head.
"Understood. Then focus on your recuperation," Kitsuchi nodded. Roshi's return was already a stroke of luck.
"Both of you may leave," Kitsuchi dismissed them.
"Yes." Roshi and the other ninja left the tent.
Watching the two depart, Kitsuchi fell into deep thought. "I suppose I should inform my father of the situation here."
News of this battle between Konoha and Iwagakure began to spread among the Iwa ninja. Kitsuchi could do nothing to stop it.
The matter couldn't be suppressed, so the only choice was to let the Iwa ninja know about Tianyuan so they would know how to handle him in the future.
Of course, the primary tactic for these Iwa ninja became simple: run. If you see Tianyuan, run immediately, or you're finished.
Tianyuan became a figure of great fear within the Iwa ranks.
The Flying Thunder God Technique, powerful Taijutsu, and even the destructive Susanoo... any one of those powers was enough to crush them.
In the heart of the Land of Earth sat Iwagakure.
The village was surrounded by numerous high mountains and rocky cliffs, forming a natural fortress that made any invasion attempt extremely difficult.
Inside a building engraved with the symbol for Earth—the Tsuchikage Building, where the Tsuchikage conducted his business.
"Mangekyo Sharingan, divine power, Susanoo, sealing Shukaku, and defeating the Kazekage..." Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, murmured as he looked at the letter in his hand. "I never expected that former genius of Konoha would possess such terrifying strength. Truly unexpected. What if we had allied with the Third Raikage back then?"
"This intel is a few days old." Onoki noted the date written on the report. "I wonder how things are going on our battlefield with Konoha now."
Knock, knock.
"Enter," Onoki said calmly.
A ninja entered and knelt. "Lord Tsuchikage, here is the latest intel from the front."
"Good, give it to me." Onoki nodded.
The ninja handed the report to Onoki.
"You may leave," Onoki said. He opened the envelope and began to read, a slight smile forming on his lips.
"Oh? Not bad. We hold the advantage." Onoki smiled and stood up, looking out into the distance. "Perhaps the Land of Fire will finally..."
"Lord Tsuchikage!" A voice called out from outside the door.
Onoki frowned. "What is it now?"
"An urgent report!"
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