[Stone Country Battlefield]
Surrounded by a group of Rock ninja was the Five-Tails' jinchuriki, Han.
He was currently using the power of a jinchuriki in textbook fashion.
The strongest attack method of a jinchuriki was none other than the Tailed Beast Bomb.
As long as you gave the jinchuriki a high platform to stand on, then with layers of protection around him, he could destroy a nation.
At the current stage, the Tailed Beast Bomb could only be dodged. Someone who could take it head-on had yet to appear.
Deidara observed from the sky for a moment, then descended.
He looked rather bored. This time, among the Rock ninja, he was the only one who could fly and conduct long-range scouting.
So, the task of reporting positions was handed to him.
"Hmph! No artistry sense at all…", Deidara muttered.
Although he was honestly doing his work, he looked down on this kind of mindless bombardment with Tailed Beast Bombs.
"Southwest position, target three kilometers. The Sand team is retreating…", The reason Deidara was being so obedient this time was because his three elemental transformations were already second nature to him.
Next, he planned to learn Dust Release from Onoki, so naturally, he had to show his worth a bit.
Han was already used to Deidara, this blond chuuni boy's strange remarks.
Since Deidara was working, he didn't bother arguing.
Han was standing on a stone pillar raised with Earth Release, dozens of meters tall.
At that height, with no obstructions, it was easy to fire several kilometers away.
After having been tricked once, Han obediently acted as a cannon now.
Behind him appeared the giant head of a tailed beast, as a Tailed Beast Bomb condensed in front of him.
WHOOSH!
A Tailed Beast Bomb shot out.
Moments later, a booming sound came.
The ground shook, and the Sand ninja began retreating continuously.
This kind of long-range bombardment naturally wasn't very accurate.
But after repeated adjustments, the danger level would gradually increase.
Chiyo led one squad, and Maki led another. The two squads weren't far apart.
After retreating some distance, they stopped.
"Looks like the Rock ninja intend to force us back to Wind Country."
Pakura, watching the bombardments, naturally understood the Rock's intent.
She looked at Chiyo, who only calmly led the Sand ninja in retreat.
"Since Akatsuki took over this matter, let's just wait."
Chiyo's feelings were somewhat complicated. Since Sasori came, the two of them hadn't spoken a single word.
But through the eye contact between her and Sasori, she had already realized that Sasori seemed to be deliberately showing the Sand ninja's side.
More precisely, showing her that he was the one who killed the Third Kazekage.
Whoosh!
Another Tailed Beast Bomb fell from afar.
The Sand ninja retreated again.
Han couldn't fire Tailed Beast Bombs endlessly.
But the Sand didn't dare stay in one place for too long, and didn't even dare build a camp.
The reason they were retreating so slowly was because, as Kakuzu had said, they needed to hold back the Rock.
Sasori and Kakuzu didn't move together with the Sand.
Instead, they walked in a separate direction.
After all, if you put all the eggs in one basket and it broke, it would be over.
What if a Tailed Beast Bomb just happened to hit them and exploded at their side? That would be too tragic.
Kakuzu looked at another Tailed Beast Bomb falling nearby, "I wonder when the leader will arrive."
Sasori retracted his gaze from the Sand, "Will the leader make a move this time?"
Kakuzu looked toward the Rock's formation in the distance, "In this situation, probably only the leader can handle it."
Rustle! Rustle!
A huge sound of wings flapping came, making both Sasori and Kakuzu instantly alert.
Konan had arrived.
In the sky, a pair of giant paper wings drew a beautiful arc and landed beside Kakuzu and Sasori.
Kakuzu glanced sideways, "Where's the leader?"
Konan shook her head slightly, "Pain won't be coming this time."
Kakuzu frowned in confusion, "I already reported the situation here before. Other than the leader, who can deal with a jinchuriki?"
Konan looked behind her. A figure slowly approached.
This person wasn't wearing the red-cloud cloak but instead an old, worn gray robe, holding a nine-ringed tin staff.
Bald, with a gray beard, already of advanced age. His face was kindly, but his eyes shone brightly.
"This is our new member, Master Senku."
Senku came to the two of them and gave a respectful bow.
"This poor Monk Senku greets the two benefactors."
Kakuzu and Sasori were both a bit dumbfounded, 'What does this mean? A killer organization can even recruit a monk?'
Konan seemed to know their doubts, "Master Senku is proficient in sealing arts. He doesn't take other missions, only deals with jinchuriki."
Kakuzu and Sasori's eyes both showed surprise. There were many in the ninja world who could use sealing jutsu, but to say someone was proficient.
Other than the shrine maiden of the Land of Demons, it was only the inheritance of the Uzumaki clan.
The shrine maiden's spiritual power was slightly different from chakra, basically passed down to one successor only, outsiders couldn't learn it.
The most famous of the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts was the Four Symbols Seal. Though Konoha had also obtained the Four Symbols Seal, nearly everyone who learned it well ended up dead.
Where did this Senku come from?
The two studied Senku's monk's robes, the more they looked, the stranger they seemed.
Old and worn wasn't the issue, the style itself wasn't like anything from the ninja world.
Kakuzu asked tentatively, "Master, you're not from around here, are you?"
Senku spoke slowly, "This poor monk hails from the Far East."
'The Far East?'
That was like saying nothing at all.
But at least one thing was certain: Senku truly wasn't from the ninja world.
Sasori didn't care where Senku came from. He only cared about Senku's strength.
"Master Senku, perhaps you could demonstrate your ability, so we can cooperate better."
Senku pressed his palms together in front of his chest, "Of course."
He thrust the tin staff into the ground with his left hand, put his hands together, and formed a meditative seal.
Where Senku stood, a seal appeared out of thin air, immediately encompassing the few of them.
Kakuzu instantly felt his whole body sink heavily. His chakra suddenly slowed down, its transmission speed directly reduced by thirty percent.
Sasori beside him was even worse. His whole body was controlled by chakra threads.
With chakra transmission slowed by thirty percent, Sasori's movements became like those of a stiff, creaky old man.
Even Konan's body suddenly sank.
In both Kakuzu and Sasori's eyes, astonishment flashed.
Forming a seal out of thin air, and not an ordinary sealing technique either.
And this was just a minor demonstration, not costing him the slightest effort.
"That's enough… that's enough, Master Senku," Kakuzu hurriedly spoke.
Senku withdrew his hand seal, all the marks shrinking back into his body.
The barrier instantly disappeared.
Everyone present felt a weight lift off their hearts.
In truth, Senku's sealing arts were the result of Rengoku combining the Four Symbols Seal and the shrine maiden's sealing techniques, woven together with other sealing arts he knew.
Other than space-time seals, Rengoku had mastered practically all sealing jutsu.
It was just that the external appearance changed when he performed them.
In essence, seals were merely a medium that used one's own energy to leverage external energy.
The outer form could easily be disguised.
[T/N: For Patreon readers; I changed 'Chankong' to 'Senku'. Because I just finished Dr. Stone and think that name sounds better.]
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