Chapter 314: Huangtu's Death
Ten minutes later…
Ōnoki set out with twenty ANBU and the two jinchūriki teams led by Roshi and Han—a total of twenty-seven shinobi, heading directly toward the path Li Yao's Wind Release Clone had taken.
Meanwhile…
Ten kilometers outside of Red Rock City, on a mountain peak, Li Yao's Wind Clone and the group of Sand shinobi had already arrived and were resting—much earlier than Ōnoki had expected.
Moreover, unlike what Ōnoki had anticipated, they hadn't entered the city to rest. Instead, all of them remained on the mountaintop.
"Huff… Lord Kazekage, isn't it a bit risky to rest here?" Rasa asked anxiously, breathing heavily as he approached Li Yao's Wind Clone.
Since Dust Release had reappeared in the world, its immense power and range had always made the other villages wary.
Top-tier fighters might have ways to counter or escape it, but average shinobi? If caught within its range, death was certain—no exceptions.
Because of this, the other villages had developed specific strategies when facing Iwagakure:
Try to detect Ōnoki's arrival early to prevent a surprise Dust Release attack.If fighting Ōnoki was unavoidable, entangle him in close combat to deter him from using Dust Release recklessly.If alone, hide underground as much as possible.
They couldn't avoid Ōnoki now. And even with Huangtu as a hostage, they weren't safe. Entering the city and using civilians as a shield was clearly the safest choice.
In the open, on a mountain top—despite knowing how powerful the Fourth Kazekage's Wind Release Slashes were—Rasa still believed Dust Release would be hard to defend against.
Putting themselves in danger was a foolish move.
Especially now, after marching nonstop, they were physically and chakra-wise exhausted. If Ōnoki appeared, they wouldn't even be able to resist.
"Don't worry. If Ōnoki comes, leave him to me. He won't get a chance to touch you."
Li Yao's Wind Clone smiled confidently, trying to calm the panicking Rasa.
Others might fear being wiped out by Dust Release.
But Li Yao didn't.
His Wind Release Slash barrier could block Dust Release. He had tested it himself.
After all, he could use Dust Release too.
So he had chosen this very spot, ten kilometers outside Red Rock City, to rest—and to wait for Ōnoki.
Although they had shaken off Iwa scouts during their journey, Ōnoki was surely tracking their general movement.
They were close to Iwagakure now. If Ōnoki didn't want to fight inside his village, he would have to intercept them here.
Li Yao's Wind Clone was sure Ōnoki was near.
And indeed—
Ten minutes later, Ōnoki and his squad entered Li Yao's soul perception range.
"Hm… what's this…"
Li Yao noticed two of the chakra signatures behind Ōnoki were unusual—flickering, unstable.
He compared them to the jinchūriki soul signatures he had sensed before, and his expression shifted.
As expected—those two were Iwagakure's Four-Tails and Five-Tails jinchūriki.
"Didn't expect Ōnoki to bring two jinchūriki with him…"
"Looks like he's really pissed about what I did to his son."
From the intel he had, Li Yao knew that over the past two years of war, Iwa's two jinchūriki had never left the village.
Ōnoki had been extremely cautious about deploying them.
But now, both had been sent into the field.
Li Yao grinned—he could feel Ōnoki's fury, and it made him all the more delighted. He stood up and stretched.
Ōnoki clearly came ready for an all-out battle. Even if he couldn't kill Li Yao, he hoped the two jinchūriki could exhaust him. With their immense chakra reserves, they might overpower him over time.
As for Rasa and the rest of the Sand shinobi?
Apart from Rasa, most weren't strong enough to stand up to the elite force Ōnoki had brought. Many of them would likely die.
Unless Li Yao quickly defeated Ōnoki.
But he had no intention of doing that. He wasn't going to kill Ōnoki so easily. He planned to savor it.
As for the Sand shinobi… heh.
Li Yao glanced at the resting shinobi around him and smirked to himself. Even if they all died, he wouldn't care.
If he had known Ōnoki wanted to kill them as revenge, he might've laughed out loud.
Once Ōnoki discovered his true identity, any revenge he took would only deepen his own pain. It would mean nothing to Li Yao.
Thirty minutes later—
Just three kilometers away, behind a massive triangular brown boulder, Ōnoki and his team arrived.
"Lord Tsuchikage…"
A scout reported the Sand group's status. When he learned that the Fourth Kazekage and his men had remained out in the open and never entered the city, Ōnoki immediately sensed the depth of the Fourth's confidence.
The man didn't fear his Dust Release at all.
But what could Ōnoki do?
He really didn't dare use Dust Release in a large area attack.
"What's Huangtu's condition?" Ōnoki asked coldly.
Their opponent had made it obvious—they stayed exposed because they knew Ōnoki wouldn't risk hurting Huangtu. That was the only reason he hadn't already launched Dust Release.
"He's still—" the scout began, but was cut off by an ANBU.
"Lord Tsuchikage! Something's wrong… Lord Huangtu—he…"
Another ANBU, who had been watching the mountain through a telescope, spoke up, voice trembling.
"What happened to him!?"
Ōnoki's expression changed. He grabbed the telescope before the ANBU could reply and looked toward the mountain.
"Ōnoki, how's this for a gift?"
Atop the mountain, Li Yao's Wind Clone faced the direction Ōnoki was watching from, holding Huangtu's freshly severed head. Blood was still dripping from the gory stump.
The moment he saw it, Ōnoki's eyes went bloodshot. He tossed the telescope aside, turned to Roshi, and growled through clenched teeth, "Huangtu is dead. No need to hold back. Use a Tailed Beast Bomb—kill every single one of them."
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage."
Roshi nodded and leapt forward, immediately entering full tailed-beast transformation mode.
As the jinchūriki of the Four-Tails since childhood, Roshi had trained for years. He was the only jinchūriki besides Killer Bee who could fully control a tailed beast's power.
On the battlefield, a massive red beast resembling a monkey with four tails took form.
(END CHAPTER)
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