"Hey! Wait a second!"
By the time Jiraiya dispersed the barrier, Sasuke's figure had already vanished from sight.
After transforming into Huodou's giant wolf form, Sasuke, even on all fours, traversed the scorching hot volcanic rock as if it were flat ground.
Jiraiya wasn't in a great hurry to chase after him. Instead, he first used the communicator to inform Naruto and the others on the other two peaks about the situation.
"Okay, I'm on my way."
After receiving Naruto's response, Jiraiya put the communicator away.
'This thing is really handy.'
'To think that such a useful thing could be created during the time I was away from Konoha?'
'It somehow felt even more convenient than using the Summoning: Toad technique to relay messages. I really was falling behind the times.'
Sighing with emotion, Jiraiya chased after Sasuke in the direction he had left.
He wasn't too worried about Sasuke's safety.
In fact, he had been watching Sasuke's training all these days.
Supported by hatred, this kid's talent and diligence were both astonishing.
To be fair, Sasuke's overall combat power had now completely surpassed that of an ordinary Jonin. Even if the enemy was a Jinchuriki, Jiraiya still believed Sasuke wouldn't be easily defeated.
...
In fact, Jiraiya's guess wasn't wrong.
Inside the extremely hot cave, the Four-Tails' Jinchuriki, Roshi, sat cross-legged, quietly sensing the Tailed Beast within him and the external environment.
Behind him, deeper in the cave, bright flames could be seen.
It turned out this cave directly connected to the interior of the volcano, its temperature comparable to the crater itself.
This was also where Roshi usually trained.
Suddenly, a feeling of being probed arose in Roshi's heart.
The sensation was very faint… if he hadn't been sensing his environment, he might not have noticed it at all.
"An enemy?"
He slowly stood up and looked towards the cave entrance.
In Roshi's perception, a Chakra Source was rapidly approaching his location.
He was used to this by now.
After all, he was a Tailed Beast's Jinchuriki.
During these years away from Iwagakure, many people had naturally started to set their sights on him.
Harassed beyond endurance, Roshi was often forced to leave his residence and embark on another journey.
Tap, tap, tap...
The footsteps stopped at the cave entrance… the other party showed no intention of going deeper.
Roshi wasn't one to shy away from a fight either, so he strode out.
But he was still startled when he saw Sasuke transformed into his hybrid form.
"A Jinchuriki? No..."
On this side, Sasuke, who had switched to his hybrid form because his giant wolf form couldn't enter the cave, looked at the purple-clad Ninja who had walked out, sizing him up.
'Red hair, red beard... Although he wasn't wearing Iwagakure's forehead protector, his appearance perfectly matched the one provided by that short old man.'
'Coupled with the fact that he could walk out of that scorching cave without changing his expression, his identity was self-evident.'
"Four-Tails' Jinchuriki… Roshi? A strange name."
Flexing his claws, the beastial instincts granted to Sasuke by Huodou made him sense the threat from the person in front of him.
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself? Wolf-boy."
From Sasuke's voice, Roshi could tell that this guy was probably quite young.
"Uchiha Sasuke. I'm here to take you away."
After Sasuke finished speaking, a look of confusion appeared on Roshi's face.
"Uchiha... Konoha? Is Konoha targeting me this time?"
Being away from the village, Roshi naturally wasn't aware of the news from Konoha and mistakenly assumed Sasuke's meaning.
Of course, it wasn't his fault.
Anyone seeing Sasuke's full-on battle-ready demeanor would misunderstand.
"Go back, kid, if you don't want to die by my hand."
Roshi was quite confident in his own strength and didn't want to kill the young man in front of him.
It was precisely because he was unwilling to accept Onoki's view of treating Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki as tools of war that he had left Iwagakure.
So, even though his temper was a bit fiery, deep down, Roshi was a pacifist.
"Talking is useless. Come on! Let's fight first!"
The threat emanating from Roshi excited Sasuke's nerves.
Although he had been sparring with his companions these past few days, it wasn't real combat, and some lethal moves couldn't be used.
One could say Sasuke was feeling quite pent-up.
"Is that so..."
Seeing that Sasuke was as stubborn as that old fool Onoki, Roshi knew a fight was inevitable.
"In that case, there's no helping it. I will pray for you."
Don't forget, one of Roshi's identities was that of a 'wandering monk'.
A wandering monk is still a monk.
Since he had to fight, Roshi stopped hesitating and immediately formed hand seals to strike first.
"Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!"
His mouth opened wide, and large balls of magma shot towards Sasuke.
The magma balls grew larger in mid-air, radiating intense heat.
Since Roshi had started, he wouldn't hold back.
This magma not only had extremely high temperature but would also cling to the enemy upon impact, causing secondary burns.
Even if it missed the target, it could alter the environment to some extent, restricting the enemy's movement.
Simultaneously, the magma would release gases that affected breathing, further weakening the opponent's stamina.
Unless facing a Ninja extremely proficient in Water Release, Roshi was confident he could drag anyone else into an unfavorable situation and wear them down to death.
Unfortunately, such attacks posed little threat to Sasuke.
His Sharingan spun slightly, easily finding the gaps between the attacks.
The next moment, Sasuke's figure quickly vanished from his original position.
"So fast!"
Roshi's pupils contracted… the opponent's speed had surpassed his own.
But he wasn't too worried about being drawn into close combat.
"Lava Release Chakra Mode!"
This was a technique similar to the [Lightning Release Chakra Mode] used by the Third and Fourth Raikage.
By gathering magma and Chakra all over his body, it not only enhanced his own strength and defense but also taught a lesson to any enemy who made close contact.
Thud!
Sasuke's figure reappeared less than a meter in front of Roshi.
This was a movement technique called [Soru] that he had learned from Naruto.
This high-speed movement technique, purely Taijutsu, could erupt with even greater speed when enhanced by Chakra.
A straightforward punch aimed at Roshi's chest sent him flying before he could even react.
Roshi crashed into the rock wall, the high temperature around him immediately melting the surrounding stones.
"Cough... Pretty impressive, kid."
Roshi clutched his chest, feeling that he might have underestimated this strange fellow in front of him.
That penetrating force made his internal organs churn.
"But you're not feeling too good either, are you?"
After taking a few breaths, Roshi stood up again. This move hadn't achieved any substantial effect.
On the contrary, the back of Sasuke's fist had been counter-injured by the magma's high temperature.
Huodou possessed the ability to devour flames and didn't fear high temperatures.
But the one here was ultimately just Sasuke, and his development of this Devil Fruit's ability hadn't yet reached its limit.
Therefore, even though he was immune to most of the high temperature, the magma still scalded a large area on the back of Sasuke's hand.
"That's even better!"
Sasuke felt the pain from his hand, but the fighting spirit on his face didn't diminish in the slightest.
Black-red Calamity Flames materialized out of thin air alongside the pain, swirling around Sasuke's limbs.
The burns on the surface of his fist began to heal at a visible rate.
Once they reached a point where they wouldn't hinder combat, the healing immediately stopped.
"Come on, the real fight starts now."