Crack!!
The Chakra gathered inside Iwakura took effect, helping him break through the hard ice.
"Pant, pant." Iwakura gasped, looking uncomfortable.
Although he successfully broke free from the ice seal, the biggest damage from the Ice Age was the cold invading his body.
If observed closely, you could see Iwakura's hands and feet still trembling constantly.
Drip!
The ice encasing Roshi quickly began to drip, followed by the production of large amounts of white steam as Roshi's body erupted with terrifying heat, melting the ice block.
Mokgetsu wasn't too surprised by this; the chakra from the Four-tails possessed the power of Lava Release, so breaking free from the ice seal wasn't difficult.
After all, although Ice Age was a powerful skill extracted from an S-level Scroll, Mokgetsu's proficiency with Ice Release wasn't as high as his proficiency with regular Chakra Nature Changes.
Furthermore, Mokgetsu hadn't developed a Breathing Technique that could enhance Ice Release.
Without the numerous advantages like other skills, it's indeed difficult for Ice Age to instantly eliminate strong figures like Roshi and Iwakura.
Of course, while it can't kill the very strong, ordinary Jonin and below are directly dead; they simply can't withstand the deadly cold.
While it can't kill those like Iwakura, it can still cause significant damage.
"Iwakura, you useless!" Roshi glared at Iwakura with wide eyes.
The already injured Roshi was further afflicted by the cold, his condition worsening.
The crucial point was that Iwakura, who claimed he would lead the team to eliminate Mokgetsu, ended up failing so miserably.
Roshi was almost moved to eliminate Iwakura himself now.
Although Roshi accidentally hurt the Hidden Rock, Iwakura not only failed to eliminate Mokgetsu but was instead injured by him.
Yet the impulse was just an impulse, and Roshi spit a lava fireball at Mokgetsu who charged at Iwakura.
Whoosh!
Mokgetsu halted his steps and used Instant Body Jutsu in another direction.
Iwakura was just a spent force; not worth wasting too much of his state to kill strongly, anyway Iwakura was definitely not going to run away.
Sigh." Iwakura sighed deeply.
From the hope of becoming famous in the Ninja World after the meeting ended, to now facing a life or death crisis from a failed ambush.
In just a few hours, he had fallen from heaven to hell.
At this moment, he wished it had been him injured that day instead of Rekiseki so he could recuperate peacefully in The Hidden Rock Village.
But it's impossible now; this battle would certainly end in a major defeat for the Hidden Rock Squad, and whether he would survive was unknown.
"At least we can't be completely wiped out." Iwakura said silently in his heart.
Although he had thought about passing the blame and finding ways to whitewash himself to avoid punishment for losing, Iwakura mostly considered the Hidden Rock.
After all, it's the village he swore to protect since childhood.
"Use the Tailed Beast Ball; don't worry about anything else, use the Tailed Beast Ball with all your might! Then take the surviving Hidden Rock to escape." Iwakura ordered sternly.
This was truly his last and most extreme measure.
The Tailed Beast Ball had a vast range and extremely terrifying destructive power; as long as Konoha didn't intend to perish together with the Hidden Rock, after Roshi released the Tailed Beast Ball, they could only retreat.
Roshi looked at Iwakura in disbelief, didn't expect this guy to be even crazier than when influenced by Tailed Beast Chakra.
Once the Tailed Beast Ball was released, he might rise to the top of the kill list in this war.
Because others could only kill one camp, but his Tailed Beast Ball would take a large number from both sides.
Before Roshi could reply, Iwakura proactively gathered Chakra to attack Mokgetsu.
Executing the Tailed Beast Ball also required time; with the distance between Mokgetsu and Roshi now, Mokgetsu had the complete ability to stop Roshi from releasing the Tailed Beast Ball.
Whoosh!!
Five stones imbued with Explosion Release power shot toward Mokgetsu.
With the Byakugan and Transparent World enhancements, Mokgetsu directly ignored these attacks, each time his form flickered perfectly dodging a flying stone.
In the midst of dodging, Mokgetsu pulled several kunai from his Ninja Pouch, throwing three at Iwakura and one at Roshi.
Feeling the coldness still in his body, Roshi silently opened his mouth, gathering a large amount of Chakra in front of his mouth, rapidly forming a dark purple Chakra Ball.
Although Iwakura's plan was insane, it was indeed a way.
Otherwise, if they continued to be deadlocked, the final result would only be both him and Iwakura dying at Mokgetsu's hands, and the Hidden Rock Squad failing to break through.
"Damn, Tailed Beast Ball!" Kakashi frowned upon realizing Roshi's attempt to gather the Tailed Beast Ball.
He tried to stop it, but there were many Hidden Rock ninja around them to handle.
After all, Hidden Rock numerically outnumbered the Konoha Ninja Squad by about 800; if Konoha weren't conducting an ambush, in direct confrontation, certainly by now the Konoha ninja would have experienced significant casualties.
"Are they really going to release the Tailed Beast Ball?" Some distant Hidden Rock ninja were dumbfounded.
If Roshi was going to release the Tailed Beast Ball here, he'd take them and the Konoha ninja with it.
Whether Konoha ninja or Hidden Rock ninja, subconsciously they wanted to move away from Roshi.
If the Tailed Beast Ball really was released, they could make a timely retreat.
Boom!!
The three kunai traveled incredibly fast; Iwakura hastily just threw a stone with Explosion Release to interfere, only managing to disrupt two kunai, leaving one still flying toward Iwakura.
Whoosh!
As the Kunai skimmed past Iwakura's right side, Mokgetsu instantly appeared beside Iwakura, grabbing the Kunai and thrusting it toward him.
However, Iwakura strangely felt joy rather than panic.
Iwakura never thought he could kill Mokgetsu in a head-on battle alone; even at his peak, he couldn't achieve this, and having fallen into weakness due to the Ice Age made it impossible.
But he was an Explosion Release Ninja, possessing an attack method ordinary ninjas absolutely wouldn't have—self-destruction.
Without an extremely thorough understanding of Explosion Release Ninja, one couldn't anticipate this tactic.
After all, not every Explosion Release Ninja has the skill of self-destruction, nor does everyone have the courage for it.
"If only I can perish together with Habu Mokgetsu, it wouldn't be a disgrace to Onoki-sama's cultivation," Iwakura thought in his heart.
At this distance, Mokgetsu couldn't foresee his self-destruct ability and certainly wouldn't have time to deploy the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
If Mokgetsu didn't possess any special defense abilities, Iwakura should be capable of achieving a maximum one-for-one trade.
"Explosion Release: Self-Destruction!"
A powerful outburst of Explosion Release Chakra unleashed, with intense white light surging from Iwakura's body.
Just when Iwakura believed he was about to succeed, Mokgetsu's body vanished.
Bang!
Mokgetsu appeared beside Roshi, executing a Burst Fist with great force, the sudden heavy blow nearly knocking Roshi down, dissipating the nearly formed Tailed Beast Ball at the final step.
Iwakura looked at Mokgetsu in shock; he didn't understand how Mokgetsu could see through his thoughts. Did Mokgetsu have a remote mind-reading ninjutsu?
In the next instant, Iwakura lost all doubts and troubles as he exploded in a literal sense.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out, dazzling white light flashed, and the Deputy Leader of the Hidden Rock Demolition Squad vanished, leaving a huge charred crater.
He could never have imagined that the eyewear beneath Mokgetsu's glasses was a pair of Byakugan capable of seeing Chakra, nor could he have guessed that just one look from Mokgetsu could reveal most of his information.
Mokgetsu saw through Iwakura's intentions from the start, so besides flinging three Kunai at Iwakura, Mokgetsu also threw a Flying Thunder God Kunai at Roshi.
By doing this, he forced Iwakura to self-detonate while interrupting Roshi's release of the Tailed Beast Ball.
Kakashi's anxious heart relaxed slightly.
If Roshi had truly launched the Tailed Beast Ball, even with Mokgetsu's protection, they might escape harm, but the Konoha Ninja Squad would undoubtedly suffer considerable losses.
"Iwakura-sama!"
A Hidden Rock Ninja looked at the scene in disbelief, never imagining Iwakura would self-destruct.
"This wasted... this guy..." Roshi steadied himself, gazing at the charred pit, feeling a tinge of emotion.
Although Iwakura indeed lacked ability and had led the Hidden Rock Squad into ruin, he wasn't entirely useless.
At least, Iwakura would fight desperately to pave a final path for the Hidden Rock Squad.
Then, what about him...
Roshi couldn't help but think about himself.
Like many jinchuriki sealed with tailed beasts from a young age, Roshi experienced a tragic childhood, looked down upon, discriminated against, and feared.
Because of these experiences, even with the Four-tails' recognition, Roshi was unwilling to communicate with the Four-tails.
He felt if not for the Four-tails, he wouldn't have had these experiences; he hated his identity as a jinchuriki.
Even though he knew if he could connect with the Tailed Beast, he wouldn't need any training to become stronger, Roshi didn't want to communicate with the Four-tails due to his unresolved inner conflict.
But having witnessed Iwakura's self-destruction, Roshi's thoughts changed.
Even now, Roshi thought Iwakura was a horrible person.
For Iwakura would let him undergo complete Tailed Beast Transformation surrounded by many Hidden Rock Ninja, showing complete disregard for the lives of his fellow villagers.
Still, even such a terrible person could self-detonate for the village and the Hidden Rock Squad.
He deemed himself less terrible; couldn't he devote himself to recovering everything through power?
Roshi's mind stirred, entering a dark space, with the imposing Four-tails, an ape with striking red fur, standing before him.
The Four-tails silently stared at Roshi without speaking.
Roshi gazed at the Four-tails, mustering all his might to open his mouth; he feared even slightly lacking strength would prevent him from speaking those words.
"Son, please help me, give me more power," Roshi said with a complex expression.
This was his first time addressing the Four-tails by name; earlier, he refused to communicate, let alone address the Four-tails by name like a friend.
Roshi felt extremely apprehensive now, worried the Four-tails would reject him and humiliate him, considering Roshi's usual lack of acknowledgment.
The Four-tails smiled, seeing Roshi's stubbornness shattered, gratified by Roshi's progress.
"As you wish, Roshi," the Four-tails generously infused Roshi's body with a vast amount of his Chakra.
The Four-tails' move surprised Roshi, he hadn't expected the entity responsible for his tragic childhood to so easily agree to his request.
Roshi had been prepared to be scorned and return without success...
"Thank you."
Roshi's voice quietly left a thank you as it disappeared in the consciousness space.
PS:
Ran into a little unexpected situation; didn't expect relatives to visit, insisted on sharing some drinks.
This elder forced the drink upon me, couldn't refuse; drowsily managed only three thousand words.
To avoid staying up late, I'm stopping here inconclusively, aiming to finish in the next couple of days, the battle has lasted several days already.