It was over.
Seeing Ōnoki struck down, Rasa's eyes flashed with fierceness as he prepared to deliver the final blow.
Suddenly.
A crimson figure shot out from inside Iwagakure.
"Lava Release: Scorching Stream!"
A torrent of molten lava poured down, aiming directly at him.
"This chakra…" Rasa's pupils shrank sharply. "A Jinchūriki!"
The crimson figure landed solidly in front of Ōnoki. It was the late-arriving Four-Tails' Jinchūriki, Rōshi.
He had already entered his Tailed Beast Transformation state. A blazing red chakra cloak boiled around him, and four tails lashed behind him like whips.
"Rōshi..." Ōnoki stood up slowly, using the last of his strength to keep upright.
Rōshi nodded. "Tsuchikage-sama, please retreat to safety. Leave this place to me."
Ōnoki looked at the resolute expression on Rōshi's face and said seriously, "Very well. I'm relying on you."
"Don't worry!" Rōshi nodded, then turned toward Rasa. His eyes were blazing with fury. "Rasa."
"You dared to harm Tsuchikage-sama."
"I will take your life!"
Seeing Ōnoki escape death, Rasa's face darkened.
The Four-Tails' Jinchūriki.
This won't be easy to handle.
"Sunagakure, listen to my command!" Rasa, already no longer in peak condition, gave a loud order. "Attack together! Overwhelm him!"
The nearby Suna Jōnin charged toward Rōshi without hesitation.
"Overestimating yourselves." Rōshi sneered coldly, clapping his hands together. "Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!"
He opened his mouth and spat out several molten magma spheres that swept forward.
"Scatter!"
The Suna shinobi immediately broke formation to dodge.
But the magma was too fast. Several slower shinobi failed to avoid it and were hit directly. They were vaporized on the spot.
"Damn it!" Rasa growled. "Magnet Release: Gold Dust Shackles!"
The Gold Dust turned into dozens of chains, wrapping around Rōshi from all directions.
Rōshi didn't move, allowing the chains to bind him completely.
In the next moment, the boiling chakra around his body erupted violently.
Boom!
The Gold Dust chains shattered into pieces.
"This is the power of a Jinchūriki…"
Rasa's heart sank.
He had to admit, alone, he couldn't defeat this monster.
He glanced behind him, wanting to ask Orochimaru for help, but when he opened his mouth, he hesitated.
Of the three fronts, Suna was only attacking this one.
If they needed Konoha's help here too, what would Suna be entitled to after the war?
Rasa thought to himself.
But he had completely forgotten one thing—taking Iwagakure was far from guaranteed.
"Is he not going to ask for help?" Orochimaru, observing from a distance, easily noticed Rasa's hesitation. A faint smile played on his lips.
"As expected, humans are always greedy…"
Since the other side didn't speak, Orochimaru had no intention of helping. He simply continued to watch.
Seeing Orochimaru's indifference, Rasa clenched his teeth and said nothing.
"Damn it!" He took a deep breath, glaring hatefully at Rōshi. "If that's the case…"
"Then I'll go all out!"
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Giant Needles!"
Rasa's chakra erupted once more. Countless Gold Dust particles filled the sky, transforming into spears.
Their targets weren't just Rōshi. The Iwagakure shinobi on the city wall were also within range.
"Bastard! Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!"
Rōshi roared and unleashed boiling lava upward, colliding violently with the descending Gold Dust.
Boom!
The resulting explosion sent smoke and dust flying high into the air.
On the wall.
The Iwa shinobi who had previously fallen into despair looked up and were reinvigorated.
"It's Rōshi-sama!"
"Rōshi-sama is here to save us!"
Kitsuchi, watching his father being helped back by an Iwa shinobi, finally let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness…"
His eyes shifted to the battlefield, where Rōshi's arrival had stabilized the crumbling defenses.
But…
Kitsuchi looked into the distance, toward the Konoha formation.
Orochimaru, one of the Konoha Sannin, still hadn't moved.
Is he just waiting to benefit from both sides?
It doesn't matter. Iwagakure still has another card to play.
"Han, the Five-Tails…" Kitsuchi murmured softly. "He hasn't entered the field yet."
The real decisive battle hasn't even begun.
The fight between Rōshi and Rasa intensified.
The entire western battlefield was affected.
Countless shinobi were caught in the crossfire and died without reason.
"Lava Release: Great Scorching Stream Eruption!"
Rōshi spat a massive wave of lava. It spread outward like a surging river.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
The Suna forces panicked, but several shinobi who were too slow were engulfed and vaporized.
Rasa's face turned grim.
In just over ten minutes, more than thirty Suna shinobi had fallen.
If this continued, they would lose everything.
"No. I need to change tactics." Rasa's eyes flashed. He looked at Rōshi and a trace of viciousness appeared in his expression.
"This is a battlefield… there's no need to hold back…"
"In that case…" Rasa suddenly changed direction and charged toward the base of Iwagakure's wall.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Giant Needles!"
"What?" Rōshi's eyes widened. "You bastard!"
He immediately shifted to defense. "Lava Release: Lava Wall!"
A massive lava wall rose up, blocking the incoming attack.
But in that brief moment, Rasa had already reached beneath the city wall.
His new target was the Iwagakure foot soldiers.
"Die!"
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
Instantly, Gold Dust surged into the air, transforming into countless thin needles that rained down.
"This is bad!"
Kitsuchi's eyes widened in horror, but he was too far to stop it.
Ahh!
The needles pierced the bodies of dozens of Iwa shinobi, turning the wall blood-red.
"Bastard!" Rōshi trembled with rage.
"Rasa, you coward!"
"Hmph." Rasa sneered. "Rōshi, how many times can you block me?"
He waved his hand again. More Gold Dust surged toward the wall.
Rōshi gritted his teeth. He was being forced to hold back.
He had to protect the wall. If it fell, Iwagakure would fall with it.
"Four-Tails…"
Rōshi whispered, "I need your power."
Inside his body.
The Four-Tails spoke. "Have you thought it through? If you use Full Tailed Beast Transformation, you might lose control."
"I can't worry about that now." Rōshi's voice was firm. "Iwagakure cannot fall."
"…Fine," the Four-Tails sighed. "Then let's raise hell."
The next moment, Rōshi's chakra exploded completely.
The red cloak ignited like fire, and his body began to swell rapidly.
The four tails thickened.
Crimson fur spread wildly, and his head transformed into that of an ape.
Beast-like features covered his face.
Perfect Tailed Beast Transformation!
Roar!
A thunderous roar shook the sky.
The Four-Tails had descended.
The gigantic ape, dozens of meters tall, looked like a living volcano, casting a shadow over the entire battlefield.
"This... this is…"
Seeing the towering beast, the Suna forces were struck with terror.
Rasa's pupils contracted violently. "He achieved Full Tailed Beast Transformation…"
The massive head turned slowly, and the beast's burning red eyes locked onto Rasa.
Only destruction remained in those eyes.
"Roar!"
Its massive jaws opened wide, and a sea of lava spewed forth, crashing toward the Suna formation like a tsunami.
"Scatter!" Rasa roared.
But it was already too late.
In an instant, dozens of Suna shinobi were swallowed whole.
Screams echoed.
Hundreds of shinobi perished on the spot.
"Damn it!" Rasa's eyes trembled as he stared at the hellish scene before him.
"Everyone, retreat!"
"Create distance!"
The surviving Suna shinobi immediately broke formation and fled.
But the Four-Tails didn't intend to let them escape.
Its mountain-sized fist slammed down from above.
Boom!
The ground split apart. More than a dozen slow-moving Suna shinobi were instantly crushed into meat paste.
The Four-Tails had arrived.
Suna's offensive was shattered in an instant.
(To be continued.)