In the dense forests of the Land of Grass, Taiichi moved like a ghost. He slipped through the trees without a sound, chakra completely suppressed. The Iwa squad never saw him coming.
When they stepped within ten meters, he struck. Body Flicker carried him straight through their formation. His short blade flashed once, twice, three times. Throats opened before any of them could react.
At his level, chunin were no different from civilians. Without a jonin to anchor them, numbers meant nothing.
He shook the blood from his blade and vanished back into the trees. There were more patrols out there. He hunted them one by one, silent and methodical.
By the sixth squad, Iwa finally realized something was wrong.
A crimson signal flare burst high in the sky, bright even in daylight. The two surviving Iwa teams turned and ran the second it went up, slipping out of his sensing range before he could close the distance.
Taiichi didn't chase. They knew he was here now. No point wasting time on small fry.
He moved to the path the main Iwa force had to take and planted several Flying Thunder God kunai in hidden spots along the route. Then he launched himself into the sky, hiding in the clouds to wait.
Roughly ten minutes later, the Iwa army appeared below him. They moved like a real military unit—vanguard, flanks, main body, and rearguard all in tight formation. No other village did large-scale combat the way Rock did.
When they reached the spot he'd chosen, Taiichi folded his wings and dove. He formed the seals mid-fall and poured everything into the jutsu.
Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation.
Golden flames rained down like a meteor shower and slammed into the center of the unsuspecting column. A third of the Iwa force vanished in the first few seconds, burned alive before they could even scream.
The ones who reacted fast enough dodged, burrowed underground, or used Water Release to smother the flames and drag a few survivors clear.
One jutsu. Over two hundred dead.
From the rear, the Iwa commander Higashi watched the carnage, eyes bloodshot with rage. He forced the fury down and barked orders.
"Water users, kill the fire! Earth users, lock the sky down with Rock Iron Cannons!"
Dozens of water jutsu sprayed into the blaze. At the same time, a net of rock bullets launched upward, cutting off every escape route Taiichi had.
He didn't try to dodge. The moment the rocks closed in, he vanished with Flying Thunder God and reappeared inside their right flank.
His short blade spun in a full circle. A ring of golden fire exploded outward in every direction. Another wave of Iwa ninja dropped.
Before they could reorganize, he teleported again—this time to the vanguard. Same move. Same flaming arc. Most of them dodged this time, but a few still fell.
Two ambushes. Now they were ready for him. Taiichi didn't stick around to slug it out in their ranks. He teleported clear to the front of their formation, well outside their range.
A few hotheaded Iwa ninja charged him anyway. They met quick slashes, Phoenix Sage Fire, and a Flying Thunder God retreat. Only corpses remained.
"Don't pursue! Reform ranks!"
The amplified roar cut across the entire army. The Iwa forces pulled back into formation, though noticeably more spread out than before.
Taiichi walked slowly toward them, short blade held low, completely calm. With the battlefield burning behind him and wind whipping through the trees, he looked like a man who could hold a pass alone against thousands.
At the front of the Iwa formation, Higashi stepped forward with several jonin. Han, the Five-Tails jinchuriki, stood among them.
Higashi scanned the area. No other Leaf forces in sight. He shouted, voice carrying across the field.
"Matsushita Taiichi! You really think one man can stop the Rock army?"
Taiichi raised his blade and gestured at the destruction around them. "Looks that way, doesn't it?"
Higashi didn't flinch. "That was a cheap shot. Our formation's ready now. Try it again if you've got the balls."
He didn't wait for an answer. He waved his hand forward and the Iwa army marched in perfect step, their unified presence heavy enough to crush most single fighters.
Taiichi smiled. This was exactly what he wanted.
If they stayed in tight formation, they couldn't move fast enough to catch the retreating Leaf forces. So they advanced. Taiichi gave ground slowly. The moment they tried to speed up and broke ranks, he charged in, cutting and burning just enough to keep them cautious.
They stalemated like that for half an hour before Higashi realized what Taiichi was doing. One man was pinning down their entire army with this dirty trick.
"Sir, at this rate we'll never catch the Leaf main force."
Higashi knew it. He looked at Han. "Draw him off. I'll send four jonin with you. That should keep you safe."
Han felt a cold twist in his gut the second Higashi looked at him, but four jonin made the order easier to swallow. Ever since last night's fight, something about Taiichi made his skin crawl—like facing his natural enemy. The Five-Tails inside him had been screaming warnings ever since.
"Fine. With four jonin we should be good."
Higashi picked four jonin. They stepped out with Han.
The moment they moved, the main Iwa force split into four groups and started bypassing the fight zone at speed. Even divided four ways, their numbers were still overwhelming for one man—especially with Han keeping Taiichi busy.
Taiichi saw the play clearly. He wasn't going anywhere soon. But he still had cards left to play.
He formed the seal and created four shadow clones, pouring his full chakra into each one. The Yin Seal was empty, but he had attribute points. He burned one and refilled his reserves instantly.
The clones shot off toward the split Iwa groups using Flying Thunder God.
Han and the jonin tried to stop them, but golden chains exploded from Taiichi's back and blocked their path. The chains moved like living snakes, slipping past guards and trying to wrap around the jonin.
They weren't stupid. They dodged and countered with ninjutsu.
Inside Han's mind, the Five-Tails warned him sharply. "Han, don't let those chains touch you. They're sealing chains. Once they wrap you, you're finished."
Han relayed the warning. The jonin got even more wary. This kid had too many tricks.
Han was strong, especially with the jonin supporting him. Even Taiichi couldn't finish them quickly. But that wasn't the point. His clones had already intercepted the split Iwa forces.
The clones weren't as strong as the original, but they were still more than most jonin could handle—especially when they weren't trying to kill, just delay. They used Phoenix Sage Fire and hit-and-run Flying Thunder God tactics. Iwa's famous coordinated ninjutsu couldn't land on targets that could teleport away at will. The clones just kept peppering them with golden fire orbs whenever they tried to move fast. One touch and the flames burned deep.
It forced Iwa to stay cautious and slow.
While the clones delayed the main force, Taiichi's real body stayed locked in a brutal fight with Han and the four jonin.
Han had gone half-tailed beast. Boiling steam and wild attacks came nonstop. The Five-Tails' signature Boil Release made even Taiichi keep his distance.
The four jonin had learned the rhythm of the Adamantine Sealing Chains and started mixing in their own attacks—fireballs, lightning, wind blades, water arrows—trying to pin Taiichi down.
It was classic numbers advantage. Every time Taiichi lined up a clean shot on Han, he had to break off to deal with incoming jutsu from the sides.
An hour passed. Then two. Then three.
Taiichi burned through three attribute points to keep refilling his chakra and summoning fresh clones when the old ones ran out.
The Iwa jonin didn't have that luxury. When Taiichi finally caught one low on chakra and took him out, Higashi immediately sent four replacements.
By the time Taiichi's clones on the main force dispelled and sent back the memory that the Leaf had linked up with reinforcements, Taiichi teleported away right in front of the furious Iwa forces.
"He's… really gone this time?"
The Iwa ninja looked ready to break. Four hours of this bullshit and they still couldn't figure out where Taiichi got all that chakra. Was he a jinchuriki too?
Higashi sensed the area. He could feel Han rushing back. "Yeah. He's gone."
One of the jonin asked, "Sir, do we still pursue the Leaf forces?"
Higashi looked at his exhausted, demoralized troops and sighed internally. This fight had just gotten a lot harder.
But he answered without hesitation.
"Of course we do. Even if we can't wipe out their main force, we have to retake the Land of Grass. It's ours."