This question simultaneously surfaced in the minds of everyone inside the tent. The deafening roar echoed in their ears, still lingering, and if one paid attention, they could feel the ground beneath them subtly trembling. The expressions of the two sensory ninjas in the group changed drastically at the same time.
"Lord Tsuchikage, it's Roshi and Han!"
This simple statement was enough for everyone to understand the situation outside — it seemed that the two Jinchūriki had started fighting!
Countless questions surged through their minds, piling up in their throats, but no one knew what to say for a moment.
Ōnoki's face was dark and silent. Without a word, he formed a hand sign, using his unique technique, Earth Release: Lightened Boulder Jutsu, and his entire body floated into the air, shooting out like lightning. Yellow Dust, Bun'ya, and others hurriedly followed him.
When they arrived outside the tent, they saw a bright flame rising into the sky. The position was, unsurprisingly, where the Konoha emissaries were stationed. As they drew closer, even those who weren't sensory ninjas could gradually feel the two terrifying chakra presences.
They weren't familiar with the presences, but they certainly weren't strangers.
After all, they were the chakra of their own Iwagakure's Four-Tails and Five-Tails.
"What… what's going on?" Bun'ya stopped in his tracks, staring at Roshi and Han, who were engaged in fierce combat. Both had entered partial-tailed beast transformations, clad in the crimson chakra cloaks of their respective beasts. Tails whipped around wildly as they moved like red lightning, each collision twisting the surrounding terrain.
Fortunately, both controlled their strength, preventing the shockwaves from spreading too far.
The surrounding Iwagakure shinobi weren't just standing idle either. Seeing the situation turn bad, they retreated under the direction of their higher-ups. Some brave jōnin even stepped forward to try to mediate, but Roshi ignored them completely, his fists blazing with molten lava as he relentlessly attacked Han.
Faced with Roshi's assault, Han refused to back down.
The Five-Tails also possessed the Boil Release, a kekkei genkai that was hardly weaker than Roshi's Lava Release. Though Han was younger than Roshi, he wasn't much younger, and he had experienced the grueling trials of the Third Great Ninja War. Han was no longer a rookie Jinchūriki!
Watching the intense internal battle unfold, Bun'ya and the others groaned in disbelief.
Why were their village's two Jinchūriki fighting on their own turf?
"Roshi! Han! You two idiots, stop this immediately!!!"
Ōnoki's furious voice boomed from the sky.
Han hesitated for a moment, but Roshi showed no sign of stopping, delivering another two brutal punches. If not for the protective chakra cloak of the tailed beast, Han's face would've been in serious trouble. Even with the cloak, he felt his face go numb, his nose nearly breaking.
In other words, it was a hairline fracture.
Forced to defend himself, Han had no choice but to keep fighting. He could handle two punches from Ōnoki, but three or four? Even with the tailed beast's protection, standing still and taking blows was a surefire way to get beaten down.
Ōnoki's eyebrows twitched with rage.
Roshi was treating his orders like nothing, utterly disrespecting the authority of the Tsuchikage. What made it worse was that the camp wasn't just filled with Iwagakure ninjas—Konoha and Kumogakure emissaries were there too! The embarrassment was unbearable!
Fury burned in his chest, and then—
A soft, pure white light began to glow in his hands.
"No way, he's not really going to use that here, is he?"
"Roshi, Han, do you two want to die? Stop this right now!"
Seeing the glow and the look on Ōnoki's face, the Iwagakure ninjas panicked. If the Tsuchikage used that technique in a fit of rage, not even the two Jinchūriki would survive unscathed. Even if they didn't die, they certainly wouldn't come out of it well!
After all, this was the legendary Dust Release, the world's only kekkei tōta.
Ōnoki's firm grip on the position of Third Tsuchikage had never been seriously challenged, largely because of his mastery of Dust Release, a technique powerful enough to compete for the title of the strongest in the ninja world. Even the Third Raikage, known for his "strongest shield," wouldn't dare face it head-on!
In their panic, some Iwagakure ninjas pleaded with Ōnoki to reconsider, while others cursed Roshi and Han for their stupidity.
Perhaps sensing the threat of Dust Release, Roshi halted his assault after the next exchange, putting some distance between himself and Han. Han nearly lost control but, seeing that Roshi genuinely seemed done, didn't push the issue. He hadn't wanted to fight in the first place; it was Roshi who had been relentless.
Ōnoki slowly descended, staring at the molten pit below. The intense heat from the lava evaporated the falling snow, and the snow around the pit had long since melted during the battle.
"Roshi, what's gotten into you? What's this all about? What's your problem with Han that you had to fight here?"
Ōnoki wasn't blind. From the way they fought, it was clear that Roshi had initiated the conflict, while Han had been forced to defend himself. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel[f]ire.net
He glared at Roshi, still in his half-transformed state, waiting for an explanation that would calm things down. This situation was already humiliating enough—he couldn't afford to let Konoha and Kumogakure's emissaries enjoy the spectacle any longer. There'd be time to settle the score later.
"I have nothing to say. That idiot just ruined my plans!" Roshi coldly replied. He looked up at Ōnoki, then at the Iwagakure jōnin gathered around. "Lord Tsuchikage, I've had enough of this old, decaying Iwagakure. As of now, I can't stay in this disgusting village any longer."
With that, Roshi turned, his three crimson tails swaying, and in a flash of red lightning, he shot off toward the west.
"Roshi?! You bastard!"
Ōnoki's forehead veins bulged in anger.
The pure white light in his hands flickered back into existence, but as he watched Roshi flee through the ranks of lower-ranking ninjas, using them as shields, the light gradually dimmed again.
"Lord Tsuchikage, is that…" Huang Tu and Wen Ya rushed over in a frenzy.
"That bastard Roshi has defected."
Suppressing the raging fire in his heart, Ōnoki calmly delivered this shocking news.
Huang Tu and Wen Ya were stunned.
Roshi... the Four-Tails Jinchūriki of the Iwagakure had defected? Was this a joke? Could this be some kind of nightmare from which they hadn't woken up yet? But after pinching the flesh on the leg of the person next to him hard and hearing a sharp, brief scream from his comrade, it was clear this wasn't a dream!
"Lord Tsuchikage, are you saying Roshi has... become a rogue ninja?"
"Did I not make myself clear, or are you all blind? Even if I wasn't clear, didn't you all see that bastard Roshi escape? If that's not a defection, what is? Are those eyes of yours just for decoration?" As if he found an outlet for his frustration, Ōnoki went off on the brave soul who spoke up, leaving him stunned and too scared to move under the Tsuchikage's angry tirade.
"So... should we chase him?"
Ōnoki twitched his mouth. "Who's going to chase him? Do you want me, an old man, to go after him personally? Or do any of you have the skill to capture Roshi?"
Everyone fell silent.
Other than the Tsuchikage himself, no one present dared claim they could defeat Roshi. Even Han, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, wasn't confident. In Iwagakure, where there was a clear lack of strong talent, Roshi, as the Four-Tails Jinchūriki, was one of their top fighters. They couldn't seriously ask the aging Tsuchikage to personally hunt him down. If something went wrong, it would be a disaster for Iwagakure!
And so, the topic of pursuing Roshi was dropped without resolution.
"Huang Tu, take some people and clean up this mess."
Ōnoki ruthlessly assigned the troublesome task to his son. The difficulty wasn't in leveling the ground—fixing the earth was easy for Iwa-nin, especially for someone like Huang Tu, a master of Earth Release. It was like popping a pimple for Mother Earth—no problem!
The real challenge lay in how to appease the Konoha emissaries! The massive pit in front of them had been the place designated for Konoha's representatives to stay. Now, led by Nara Suzaku, the Konoha shinobi stood there covered in dust. They didn't seem to be hurt, but this incident definitely needed an explanation, especially since Iwagakure had already decided to cooperate with Konoha!
Huang Tu frowned, scratching his head so hard he nearly pulled out his hair.
"Han, come here. Explain exactly what happened." After sending his son off to work, Ōnoki called Han over to get a clearer picture of what had occurred. Although Ōnoki could guess what happened, guesses weren't reliable. He needed to know the facts.
Han, who had already reverted from his partial transformation into his tailed beast, came before Ōnoki and emotionlessly recounted the events.
In a fit of rage, Roshi didn't return to his tent after leaving the command tent. The fire burning in his chest made it impossible for him to calm down. In the heat of his anger, an idea formed in his mind. If he couldn't convince Ōnoki to change his decision, he would force the Tsuchikage's hand with an irreversible action.
His plan was simple: kill the Konoha emissaries.
If he killed them, it would sever any chance of Iwagakure collaborating with Konoha. He couldn't believe that Konoha would continue to cooperate after such a humiliation. Whether Tsuchikage liked it or not, they would have no choice but to ally with Kumogakure to attack Konoha!
Once the idea took root, it couldn't be erased.
Like a wildfire, it spread uncontrollably through his mind. And so, he made his way to the Konoha emissaries' camp, knocked out the Iwa-nin guarding and watching them, and launched an attack using his Lava Release.
Unfortunately, because he didn't want to harm his own comrades, he hesitated for just over a second—less than two seconds in total. That brief delay gave the Konoha and Kirigakure shinobi inside the tent time to react.
Two Kirigakure shinobi, ignoring their chakra consumption, unleashed their most powerful Water Release jutsu.
Together, they barely managed to block Roshi's assault, giving them just enough breathing room to avoid being wiped out in a single move. Roshi's follow-up attack was intercepted by Han, who had rushed in and saved Nara Suzaku and the others from certain death.
Enraged by his plan being thwarted, Roshi furiously fought Han.
Then, Ōnoki and the others arrived. Realizing his plan had failed, Roshi, ever the stubborn one, gave up on arguing with Ōnoki. After all, he had long been unhappy with Ōnoki's leadership. Their philosophical clashes had led to several arguments in the past, but this time, the conflict had reached its breaking point. Roshi decided to leave for good!
"…It was my mistake. I should have used a more tactful approach to stop him earlier..." Han started to say, but stopped himself. Now that Roshi was a rogue ninja, he could no longer call him a senior.
"It's not your fault, Han."
Ōnoki shook his head.
He wasn't shameless enough to let Han take the blame for this.
"That fool Roshi... I'm not surprised at all that this happened. The signs have been there for a while. He's been unhappy with me for a long time. Today was just the culmination of all the accumulated conflict. If anyone's to blame, it's 90% on me!"
"No buts. Han, go rest! Don't worry about what's happening here. And get that nose checked by a medical-nin! While tailed beasts can help heal their Jinchūriki, you still need to be cautious about overusing their power." Overusing tailed beast powers gradually erodes a Jinchūriki's sense of self, a fate that imperfect Jinchūriki cannot avoid.
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage."
Han acknowledged the order and quickly left to find a medical ninja.
Ōnoki floated in mid-air, watching as Huang Tu and the others used Earth Release to fill the crater. His heart was a mix of emotions, full of frustration and anxiety. That idiot Roshi had picked the worst time to pull a stunt , leaving Ōnoki with no room to maneuver.
Now, he had no choice but to commit fully to cooperating with Konoha!