Magatsuhime.
It is an incredible Dojutsu born from the combination of Huodou's ability to 'attract good fortune and avoid disaster, observe calamity' and the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai.
It is not like Amaterasu, Kamui, or Tsukuyomi, possessing offensive capabilities in the physical or mental realms.
One could even say this ability cannot directly attack enemies at all.
But it has an even more absurd effect.
Manipulating misfortune.
This is a truly terrifying ability.
Perhaps just a small accident, a sneeze, a moment of distraction, could lead the development of events to a completely different outcome.
It cannot create natural disasters out of thin air, but it can influence the 'probability' of misfortune.
If the possibility of an accident is one percent, or even one-thousandth, then under the gaze of Magatsuhime, it becomes one hundred percent.
Under normal circumstances, tripping or losing focus might not be a big deal.
But in a battle between powerhouses, this slight flaw could very well determine victory or defeat.
Just like now.
Roshi's Tailed Beast Ball missed because of a few insignificant little accidents. This wasn't a big deal for him personally, but it gave Sasuke an opportunity.
Sasuke, who had closed the distance again, landed a full-power strike on the massive ape's head.
This time, he used the technique of the Hasshoken.
An invisible force directly penetrated the skull, shaking the brain.
For a moment, Roshi felt the world spin and was about to fall to the side.
But before falling, his combat instinct made him grab Sasuke's body and then squeeze with immense force.
Being gripped in the giant ape's hand, Sasuke acted as if he felt no pain at all, stubbornly resisting the force to free his hands.
"At this distance, it's enough!"
The next moment, lightning gleamed at his fingertips.
"Chidori Sharp Spear!"
Compressed and condensed lightning transformed into a long spear, attacking Roshi's head.
This move had extremely high penetration power. Even against a fully transformed Roshi, Sasuke was confident he could deliver a fatal blow with one strike.
As if sensing the crisis, Roshi, despite the disorientation in his head, tilted it and opened his mouth, preparing to spew magma at close range.
It seemed both sides were aiming for the other's life.
"Alright… stop."
At the critical moment, Naruto's figure abruptly appeared between the two.
The hand controlling the Chidori Sharp Spear was lifted by Naruto, shooting straight upwards.
As for Roshi, Naruto simply used his monstrous strength to forcefully press him down, then 'gently' slammed him, causing him to fall unconscious immediately.
"You did very well, Sasuke. Your growth is truly significant."
Because it was his first time truly using the Mangekyo Sharingan and he wasn't quite used to it yet, Sasuke felt dizzy from the Chakra Consumption.
Before he fell, he heard Naruto's affirmation.
'Heh, of course...'
With that thought, Sasuke also fell unconscious.
Both of them, having lost consciousness, reverted to their human forms.
Roshi was fine, as he was enveloped in the Tailed Beast Cloak, so his body wasn't seriously injured.
Sasuke, on the other hand, was in a sorry state.
His upper body clothing had long been reduced to ashes during the fight, and his exposed torso was covered in burns and bruises.
Naruto tossed the unconscious Roshi to the waiting B, then his hands glowed green as he began to heal Sasuke's injuries.
There was no other way… Sasuke was unconscious, so those Calamity Flames had dissipated and naturally couldn't heal him autonomously.
"That was too reckless, Naruto."
Jiraiya looked at Sasuke, who had nearly died at Roshi's hands, and shook his head slightly.
It was unclear whether he was referring to Sasuke choosing to fight alone or to Naruto letting them watch from the sidelines.
In response, Naruto just shook his head slightly.
"I can't protect him forever."
"If you want to become strong, you must go through the baptism of life and death."
"Consider this a rehearsal."
"If Sasuke were fighting that Uchiha Itachi this time, could you expect that guy to hold back?"
Hearing this, Jiraiya fell silent.
'Indeed, that man wouldn't hesitate to kill his own clan… we couldn't expect him to spare his younger brother's life in a decisive battle.'
"Alright, now that the Four-Tails' Jinchuriki has joined, it's time to set off for the next stop, Takigakure."
Carrying Sasuke on his shoulder, Naruto spoke while walking forward and healing him simultaneously.
This trip to the Land of Earth had delayed them for a few days. Fortunately, the Four-Tails' Jinchuriki didn't take up too much of their time.
He hoped the Akatsuki hadn't reached Takigakure yet.
...
"Hey… Sasori-danna, are you really planning to listen to that masked guy?"
In the sky above the desert, Deidara, wearing a bamboo hat, asked Sasori, who was repairing a puppet beside him.
Hearing this, Sasori's movements paused slightly before he continued his work.
The desert was like this… those tiny sand particles would always inadvertently get stuck in the joints of the puppets.
As a master puppeteer, Sasori would maintain his puppets whenever he had free time.
The one he was currently repairing was the [Hiruko] he always used for transportation… the short old man.
"...So, are you planning to defect?"
Sasori's tone was flat, but the question was sharp.
His demeanor suggested that if Deidara said 'yes', he would immediately start a fight right there.
"I wouldn't call it defecting."
Deidara shook his head.
"That Pain actually died at the hands of the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki... Sasori-danna, when you were recruited, what reason did they use to persuade you?"
This question stirred Sasori's memories.
Unlike Deidara, who was recruited by Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori himself through 'forceful' means, Sasori originally joined Akatsuki because Konan told him 'Akatsuki is a sanctuary for Missing-Nin' and promised the ability to protect all members.
At that time, Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage and defected from Sunagakure, solely focused on creating eternal art, and just happen to need a place to stay.
Looking at it now, Akatsuki wasn't as safe as she had claimed.
"You don't want to target Iwagakure, do you?"
Sasori didn't directly answer Deidara's question but instead countered with one of his own.
When Nagato was still the leader of Akatsuki, because he knew about Deidara's relationship with Iwagakure, so he would usually deliberately assign Deidara missions unrelated to Iwagakure's Ninjas.
Because unlike the others, strictly speaking, Deidara wasn't an Iwagakure's Missing-Nin.
During his several collaborations with Onoki, the latter had hinted at this, intentionally or not.
But now, with that unidentified Uchiha Madara giving orders, the other party unhesitatingly commanded Deidara to attack Iwagakure.
This had crossed his bottom line.
Deidara did indeed pursue art wholeheartedly.
He was indeed unpopular in the village.
He did leave the village because he was unwilling to accept the so-called [Will of Stone].
He always wanted to defeat Onoki head-on and prove himself right.
But that didn't mean he hated Onoki.
Towards Kurotsuchi and other fellow disciples, he never held any hostility.
"Ah... yeah, my only opponent is that old man alone."
Hearing Deidara's frank answer, Sasori fell silent for a moment.
"...It's not time yet."
Actually, during the previous pursuit battle with Chiyo, Sasori's mindset had subtly changed.
Those two puppets, and Chiyo's mention of a 'Resurrection Technique'...
Sasori didn't know if Chiyo was deceiving him. He instinctively didn't believe it, but afterwards, he kept thinking about it repeatedly.
This was also why he had been silently repairing his puppet earlier.
Perhaps because of this, Sasori hadn't pursued and eliminated Chiyo and the other Sunagakure's Ninjas.
"Anyway, let's go to the Land of Earth first..."
In the wordless silence, the clay giant bird changed direction and flew towards the Land of Earth.