章 98: Up

After capturing Isobu, Luo Lei left Kirigakure and headed to the front lines of the Land of Soup at high speed.

His speed was impressive; it took him less than half a day to reach the territory.

The only one who was really battered and helpless was Isobu. He never would have imagined it.

He never would have thought that monsters like Luo Lei existed in this world.

Without any fluctuation of chakra, Luo Lei could fly through the sky at will, and his power was simply devastating—at a level that seemed impossible to reach.

Isobu could withstand the wind pressure and enjoy the thrill of supersonic flight.

If he weren't so resilient, he would have died in the blink of an eye. But that didn't mean he was fine.

…..

The Land of Soup, located northeast of the Land of Fire, was known as the "Ninja Village that Forgot War."

But that had changed with the outbreak of the World War.

Konoha and Kumogakure had gathered a large number of troops in this country and waged a series of test battles, one after another.

Previously, the combination of Kumogakure's A-B duo had pressured Tsunade, one of the Sannin, forcing her to fight desperately, causing Konoha's army to retreat steadily, showing a clear decline.

But, at the critical moment, Jiraiya, another of the Sannin, and Konoha's Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, arrived to support.

The presence of these two changed the tide.

They helped Konoha's army stabilize the situation, especially after Minato defeated the Third Raikage's son and the Jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails, Killer B.

With this, the situation in the Land of Soup was completely reversed.

The Konoha battalion began to fiercely counterattack the Kumogakure battalion, pushing their enemies back.

But the joy was short-lived.

The Third Raikage, known as the strongest Raikage in history, used a special technique to arrive directly at the Land of Soup.

There were no words, no warnings, nothing unnecessary.

He simply arrived and destroyed three elite Konoha squads that were pursuing the Kumogakure ninjas.

Faced with this overwhelming pressure, Konoha's main force was forced to halt the attack. And so, invisibly, the battlefield in the Land of Soup was plunged back into uncertainty.

At that moment, somewhere in the Land of Soup, in the depths of the jungle, two teams faced each other.

An elite Konoha team, consisting of thirteen ninjas, and an elite Kumogakure team, consisting of twelve ninjas, confronted each other.

The enemies met. Without saying a word, the two teams began to fight.

The strength of both sides was comparable, and the battle quickly reached a stalemate.

The clash of kunai and the explosions of techniques echoed among the trees.

Zmmm!

But just then, a terrifying chakra wave swept through the jungle.

A silhouette surrounded by a blazing red chakra appeared deep in the forest.

Swish!

In the blink of an eye, a Konoha Jōnin, who was facing a Cloud Jōnin, didn't even have time to react before a hole appeared in his chest.

"A..." The Jōnin tried to shout, coughing up blood. "Retreat... retreat! Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchūriki is here..."

But before he could finish his words, his head was ripped off by a blow from the Two-Tails.

Blood splattered everywhere, painting the trees and the ground.

"RETREAT! Quickly, everyone fall back! Move, move!"

"The Two-Tails Jinchūriki is here! We're being overwhelmed! Retreat now, we stand no chance!"

At the sudden appearance of the Two-Tails, the remaining twelve Konoha ninjas were in complete panic.

With fear etched on their faces, without wasting a second, they abandoned the battle and fled at full speed in the direction of the Konoha camp.

"Don't let them escape! Chase them!" shouted one of the Cloud ninjas.

"Kill them! Show no mercy!"

Seeing the Konoha ninjas trying to retreat, the morale of the twelve Cloud ninjas soared. They couldn't miss the chance to crush Konoha and achieve the victory they craved.

"Hmph! Dare to chase us, and don't blame us for what happens!" shouted one of the Konoha Jōnin. He pulled out a kunai with a special seal.

It was the Flying Thunder God seal, designed by Minato Namikaze.

"You..." Yugito began to speak, but her words froze when she saw the kunai. Her eyes widened, and her expression turned serious.

"Prepare to retreat!" she ordered, raising her hand. "We can't stay here... we can't risk facing Konoha's Yellow Flash. If he comes back, we're all done for. Move out!"

"Yes, Yugito-sama!" the twelve shinobi responded in unison, though the bitter taste of frustration was palpable.

They wanted to fight, they wanted to win, but none could ignore the threat posed by that kunai.

Each of them knew well what would happen if Minato Namikaze appeared.

There was no other choice.

Since the Raikage's son and Killer B had been defeated by Minato, Kumogakure's unit had a strict order: upon seeing the Flying Thunder God kunai, the only response was retreat. Not even the Two-Tails could disobey this order.

"IMMEDIATE RETREAT!" Yugito shouted.

With a look of frustration, she murmured to herself, "Wait... this isn't over. The Raikage will make you pay, Konoha... I swear he will."

Suddenly, the voice of the Two-Tails, Matatabi, echoed in her mind.

"Yugito, I can sense the Three-Tails nearby... something isn't right."

"What...?" Yugito frowned. "The Three-Tails? Here...? That makes no sense. It should be in the Land of Water. This is impossible!"

"I don't understand it either," admitted Matatabi with disbelief. "But... it seems the Three-Tails... is falling from the sky."

"Falling from the sky!?" Yugito exclaimed. "That makes no sense... Wait a minute!"

"Everyone, get out of the way! Quickly, move away from here now!"

Swoosh

An ominous sound filled the air, like a roar. Yugito dashed out of the area at full speed, her instincts screaming at her to escape.

Although the twelve Cloud ninjas were puzzled, they didn't hesitate for an instant and quickly moved, getting as far away from the area as they could.

Boom!!

Just as they managed to get away, an enormous turtle covered in spikes, with three tails, fell from the sky, crashing right in the spot where they had been standing just a second earlier.

As Isobu impacted the ground, it triggered a shockwave that spread like a tidal wave in all directions.

________

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