Chapter 317: Slaying the Four-Tails
At that moment, Ōnoki seized the opportunity and took the initiative to attack Li Yao's Wind Release Clone.
From 500 meters away, he launched a transparent white Dust Release cube straight at him.
Shing!
Before the Dust Release cube could even expand, a slash from Li Yao's Wind Clone cut it cleanly in half.
Dust Release was extremely powerful—but not particularly fast.
That was why even without having techniques as strong as Ōnoki's, many top-tier shinobi had still been able to fight him.
The cube split apart and instantly exploded.
A massive white energy sphere, 100 meters in diameter, formed between Li Yao and Ōnoki.
"As expected… it won't work."
Seeing this, Ōnoki's heart sank. His Dust Release couldn't overpower the enemy's Wind Slash.
That left only two options: close-quarters combat, or using his strongest version of Dust Release—Detachment of the Primitive World Technique.
But staring at the armor of wind swirling around his opponent, Ōnoki hesitated. He thought of how the Technique of Mass had granted his disciple Shiyan a body that could withstand the strongest spear in the world—The Third Raikage's Hell Stab.
He wasn't confident it would work.
"Lava Release – Eruption!"
While Li Yao and Ōnoki clashed, Roshi and the Four-Tails launched an attack from below.
Five massive volcanic vents burst from the ground, spewing molten lava into a sea that surged like a tsunami toward Rasa's group.
The Sand shinobi had no real way to deal with such a wide-range attack. Even eight of them using Water Release together couldn't suppress the lava tide.
In the end, Rasa used his signature Gold Dust Great Waterfall to hold it back.
But the lava still flowed dangerously close, cutting off their path forward.
Meanwhile, Roshi and the Four-Tails began forming another Tailed Beast Bomb.
Seeing this, Li Yao's Wind Clone frowned slightly and glanced down at a tall man in a red hat among the Iwa shinobi.
"That one… can't fully control his Tailed Beast."
Up to this point, the main attacker had been the Four-Tails. Li Yao guessed that the jinchūriki of the Five-Tails couldn't fully use his beast—at most, partial transformation.
Roshi was clearly the main threat. If he wasn't stopped, Rasa's group was at serious risk of annihilation.
Li Yao didn't care how many Sand shinobi died—but if they all died, it would ruin his act as the Fourth Kazekage.
So, he turned away from Ōnoki and flew straight at the Four-Tails jinchūriki.
High above, Ōnoki saw this and immediately shouted, "Roshi, be careful!"
Then he flew back another 500 meters and fired another Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique at Li Yao.
Shing!
This time, Li Yao didn't even look back. With a thought, a slash wave burst from behind him, once again slicing the Dust Release attack in half.
BOOM!
Another blinding white explosion lit the sky.
Dust Release was quite a spectacle, Li Yao noted inwardly.
"Lava Release – Mountain Fire Technique!"
Below, warned by Ōnoki, Roshi and the Four-Tails abandoned the Tailed Beast Bomb and fired molten lava from their mouth instead.
Shing!
Li Yao didn't dodge. He flew straight into the lava flow. A slash wave appeared in front of him, cutting the magma apart.
"Hm..."
Li Yao was surprised. The lava didn't continue splitting—it looped around behind him, trying to engulf him.
"I see now."
He smiled. That had been Roshi's plan: abandon the direct blast and use lava to trap him from behind.
But—Shing shing shing!
The lava behind him was instantly sliced into countless pieces. Roshi could no longer control it.
Li Yao now had only 500 meters left between him and the Four-Tails.
That was all he needed.
"Wind Release – Slash Wave."
He whispered, raised his hand like a blade, and brought it down upon the massive head of the Four-Tails.
In an instant—
A razor-sharp slash wave formed in the sky, like a divine sword descending from the heavens, cleaving the Four-Tails from head to tail.
BOOM!
The slash didn't stop there. It tore through the ground behind the beast, leaving a massive canyon in its wake.
Three unlucky Iwa ANBU who got caught in the path were reduced to pulp—instantly killed.
It was an absolutely devastating strike. The Iwa shinobi were shaken to their core.
"Roshi!!!"
In the sky, Ōnoki screamed in anguish. But it was too late.
BOOM!
A massive eruption of chakra exploded, sending a shockwave that blew everyone within two kilometers off their feet—clearing the field instantly.
At the epicenter, Roshi—the Four-Tails' jinchūriki—lay dead, his body severed in half.
With his death, the Four-Tails' soul dispersed. As a Tailed Beast sealed inside a jinchūriki, it couldn't survive. It would take years—maybe decades—to be reborn elsewhere.
This was the key difference between jinchūriki-held Tailed Beasts and wild ones.
When sealed into a host, the Tailed Beast's chakra merged with the host's, including part of its soul.
And not just a small part.
If the jinchūriki died, that fused soul would collapse, causing the entire Tailed Beast to vanish with it.
Rebirth would take years—sometimes more than a decade.
That's why Tailed Beasts hated being sealed.
Had it been wild, the Four-Tails would've survived even if split in two.
Just like Shukaku in the past—cut down countless times by Li Yao's Wind Clone but never killed. However, it had feared losing too much soul essence.
Losing soul essence meant permanently losing chakra—something almost impossible to recover, at least without great time.
That was why Shukaku eventually surrendered—fear of losing too much of itself.
But once sealed into a jinchūriki, there was no such luxury. Its life and soul became tied to its host.
Now, sensing the Four-Tails' death, the Five-Tails' hatred toward humans deepened once more.
If not sealed, they wouldn't vanish so easily.
Damn humans!
But the Five-Tails' thoughts aside—
After killing the Four-Tails, Li Yao turned and flew toward Ōnoki.
Seeing this, Ōnoki flew even higher, hoping to lead him away. When he saw Li Yao give chase, he secretly sighed in relief.
Roshi was dead—Ōnoki was pained by the loss.
But if he could lure the Fourth Kazekage away, then Han could take care of the rest of the Sand shinobi. Reinforcements would soon arrive to help push the Fourth back.
Ōnoki no longer hoped to kill him.
He just wanted to force him to retreat—then bring back Shiyan. Only someone else who had developed a Kekkei Tōta-level Earth Release could counter that Wind Slash.
"Advance! Lord Kazekage has slain the Four-Tails!"
As the massive beast collapsed, Rasa led the Sand shinobi in a charge, temporarily sealing the lava with flowing sand and pushing forward over it.
On the Iwa side, morale was shaken. Roshi's death hit hard.
But years of battle-hardened training had taught them to fight in despair.
At least the Fourth Kazekage had been drawn away by the Third Tsuchikage. Their job now was to stop these invading Sand shinobi.
BOOM!
Clang clang!
The two forces clashed. Even though the Sand shinobi had the numbers, against Iwa's elite under Ōnoki's command, the fight remained even for now.
Kunai and short swords clashed, paper bombs exploded, and ninjutsu of all types thundered across the battlefield.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997