[Battlefield of the Land of Stone]
Because this clash between Iwagakure and Sunagakure might spark a war between the two great villages, there were plenty of scouts around.
Earlier, Asuma, Kakashi, and Yamato, who had set out from Konoha, had also arrived nearby.
They had already learned of the previous battle where Sasori and Kakuzu made a move and drove Iwagakure away.
This time, with Iwa's jinchuriki coming out in force, many people saw it.
Once a jinchuriki took the field, the level of battle had escalated.
Especially since, after seizing the mine, Iwa didn't garrison it. Instead, Han personally led more than twenty elites to give chase.
That showed Iwa didn't just want to scare Sunagakure away.
But the direction Han tracked wasn't after the Suna shinobi.
It was after Kakuzu and Sasori.
The two had split from Sunagakure.
And with Deidara constantly in the sky, the two, retreating slowly, had no idea who was tailing them.
"They're right up ahead in the stone forest. Hm."
Deidara descended from his clay bird to report to Han, the Five-Tails.
It looked obedient, but in fact, he was digging a pit for Han to fall into.
'Please, how could I not know Big Brother Sasori's strength? And this Han dared to chase with just so few people.'
That's like an old man taking poison because he's tired of living.
Han nodded in satisfaction. Iwa didn't lack scouting shinobi, but flying scouts? Those were rare.
And Deidara had even equipped himself with a mini telescope. More than enough to play scout.
Though the man was flippant, at least he wasn't completely useless.
Han was pleased, "Next, go scout Suna's movements. If they come to support, you must report in advance."
Deidara waved his hand, not even bothering to answer Han, and flew off on his clay bird.
Han was speechless at his attitude, 'But fine. It is time to get serious.'
Deidara, up in the air, didn't fly far.
He lingered right above the stone forest.
Deidara grinned mischievously, "Let's see just what you're made of, jinchuriki."
"You dare order me around? Let Big Brother Sasori teach you a little lesson, hm."
———
[Inside the Stone Forest]
Kakuzu and Sasori weren't resting.
They'd already been monitored by Deidara earlier, so after hiding in the stone forest, Kakuzu immediately sent his Earth Grudge Fear threads out to scout.
"They're coming," Kakuzu stood, and from the ground emerged a humanoid monster woven with black threads.
It was his Earth Grudge Fear.
It dove back into Kakuzu's body, merging with him.
"It's the Five-Tails jinchuriki Han. He only brought twenty people."
Kakuzu looked at Sasori, "What do you want to do?"
Sasori had already been irritated, tricked by Deidara last time, losing many puppets.
And now, instead of chasing Suna, Iwa was chasing them. Sasori was furious.
From his back, Sasori drew out a scroll. On it was written the character "Three."
"If we don't give them some real pain, we won't be able to leave."
As a senior member of Akatsuki who had worked with Sasori several times, Kakuzu naturally knew what that scroll contained.
He gave a low, muffled laugh, "Finally willing to use it, eh?"
"Not afraid of Suna discovering it?"
Sasori ignored his teasing, "Hmph! I've been on Suna's wanted list all along. Doesn't matter."
Kakuzu wondered if Sasori had been hit with something lately, but didn't press it.
"Then you take point this time. I'll back you up."
Sasori's eyes glinted coldly, "Then let's set things up first."
———
When Han and the Iwa shinobi reached the stone forest, they halted.
"Hmph! What a crude trap."
As a jinchuriki, his perception was extremely sharp.
He already sensed traps ahead waiting for him. Of course he wouldn't charge straight in.
Han's chakra roared throughout his body, and behind him appeared the head of the Five-Tails.
A small Tailed Beast Ball began to form before him.
Whoosh!
The Beast Ball shot out.
BOOM!
The entire stone forest was instantly obliterated, blasted into a huge crater.
Debris flew everywhere.
Two figures bolted out from the front, fleeing fast. Then they split into two different directions.
"Hmph! After them!"
With one Beast Ball forcing them out, Han switched into pursuit mode.
And their chakra signatures had weakened noticeably. It was clear they were injured.
Seeing them split apart, Han didn't divide his forces. Instead, he chased after the one with the weaker chakra.
Han charged ahead, leading the elites after him.
Of course, with a jinchuriki so bold, the other Iwa shinobi weren't careless.
One of them placed his hand to the ground, constantly sensing.
This was to guard against the enemy using Earth Release to ambush them.
After all, they were Iwa shinobi. If they got caught by an Earth Release ambush, they'd be a laughingstock.
Most importantly, previous intel had said the enemy had a shinobi skilled in Earth Release.
The sensor pulled his hand back and reported, "Lord Han, it's clear. No Earth Release ambush traces ahead."
Han sped up again, "Good. I'll move ahead first."
In less than two minutes, Han and his unit had already stretched out their formation.
At that moment, a figure suddenly burst from the earth at the rear of the squad.
"Enemy attack!", the Iwa shinobi shouted at once.
They immediately formed up.
Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!
This was the most basic, fastest-to-activate Earth technique.
It was Iwa's signature move.
In an instant, a wall rose before them.
But the figure that had sprung out only made a single hand sign.
On the ground beneath Iwa, countless inconspicuous grains of sand suddenly condensed together, shooting toward them like needles.
"AH!"
"LOOK OUT!"
The sudden attack caught them completely off guard. No one expected the pebbles underfoot to form iron needles and strike.
Out of the twenty Iwa shinobi, four were struck in the ambush and killed on the spot.
Han was startled, about to pull back, but the enemy's robe had already been flung aside.
It was Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear, the Wind and Water masks.
Both had already begun charging chakra.
Combined Elemental Technique: Wind-Water Explosive Bullets!
The Water mask spewed a powerful water cannon, compressed and accelerated by the Wind mask.
A barrage of dense water shells rained down toward Han.
"RRRAAAH!"
Han roared, instantly pushing his chakra to the boiling point. Steam burst violently from his armor.
Boil Release: Peerless Strength!
He stomped down hard, the ground beneath him collapsing.
His body dropped low, and countless water blasts screamed overhead.
Meanwhile, the surviving Iwa shinobi, just escaping the iron needle ambush, suddenly saw a figure sweep down from above.
The figure bore giant wings of Iron Sand.
"The Third Kazekage?"
The Iwa shinobi were stunned, 'How could this be?'
The reason the Third Kazekage had been hailed as the strongest Kazekage was largely because he commanded the skies.
A shinobi who could dominate from the air with long-range attacks was never weak.
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