[Konoha2] Chapter 103: Unmatched Strength!

Iwagakure’s Jinchūriki had been active from a very young age, so gathering intel on him was indeed not difficult.

In fact, intelligence on any village’s Jinchūriki was never as secret as one might imagine.

Kumogakure had known that Konoha’s new Nine-Tails Jinchūriki was Uzumaki Kushina.

As for other villages, their Jinchūriki were often openly discriminated against—some even went berserk.

Even ordinary villagers knew about them—how could they possibly be hidden from other villages?

Just two days later, Hajime received the intel on the Five-Tails’ Jinchūriki from Danzo.

The Jinchūriki of the Five-Tails was Han, younger than the Four-Tails’ Jinchūriki Roshi—currently only eighteen years old.

But just like Roshi, he’d been implanted with the Five-Tails from a young age. He had already mastered part of its power and was known as the “Steam Ninja.”

That title had already earned him a bit of fame in the ninja world.

After reading the report on the Five-Tails’ Jinchūriki, Hajime immediately created a Wood Clone.

This clone carried half of his chakra, as well as half of the Four-Tails’—more than enough for this mission.

To be cautious, the Wood Clone first traveled east, then turned north, entering the Land of Grass before finally crossing into the Land of Earth.

The next day.

The Wood Clone entered Iwagakure.

But the moment it did, the village was instantly alerted—a foreign ninja had infiltrated.

Barrier detection!

This was the strength of a major Hidden Village.

Had Hajime come in person, he could have disguised himself as a civilian and slipped in.

But a Wood Clone was chakra-based—it didn’t have the ability to alter its chakra like White Zetsu, and thus couldn’t fool the sensory barrier.

Still, the Wood Clone didn’t mind. Instead, it found an open area and waited for the Iwa-nin to arrive.

It wasn’t long before an Iwa-nin squad showed up.

The Wood Clone said nothing and clapped its hands. Thick vines erupted from the earth.

“Wood Style user!”

“Send a signal!”

The leading Iwa-nin jōnin was shocked.

A flare shot into the sky, but the Iwa-nin chūnin who fired it was immediately impaled by a vine, his chakra draining away rapidly.

The Wood Clone held a seal in one hand and a blade in the other, flickering through the air. Another Iwa chūnin was slashed and dropped from the sky, only to be wrapped up by vines.

“Damn it!”

The remaining jōnin dodged the vines while forming hand seals.

Earth Style – Rock Bullet Jutsu!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

A barrage of dense stone bullets tore through the air, smashing through vines and homing in on Hajime’s clone—but the larger, writhing vines blocked every shot.

The clone sheathed its blade and formed seals with both hands.

Wind Style – Vacuum Bullets!

Inhaling and then exhaling, it fired a stream of air bullets that carved clear vacuum paths, piercing toward the jōnin.

The jōnin dodged, but just as he avoided the wind bullets, vines wrapped around him, suspending him in midair.

The Wood Clone flashed forward, locked eyes with him, and activated Dreamwalker Technique.

The jōnin immediately grew drowsy, and with his limbs bound and chakra being drained, he quickly weakened. Unable to resist the hypnosis, he was fully controlled in under five seconds.

The Wood Clone then followed the sleepwalking jōnin straight toward the Five-Tails’ Jinchūriki.

Shortly after they left, more Iwa-nin arrived. When they saw the shriveled corpse hanging in the forest vines, their expressions changed drastically.

Very soon, the entire Iwagakure was thrown into chaos. Iwa-nin began sweeping searches, and with the help of sensory-type shinobi, they quickly located the direction the intruder was headed.

“This direction... Could it be...”

An elder over fifty years old turned grim as soon as he heard the Wood Clone’s path. He immediately ordered, “Catch up to him—at all costs!”

“That bastard’s target is likely the Five-Tails’ Jinchūriki!”

The Iwa-nin were in an uproar and launched into pursuit at full speed.

“This guy killed Roshi and stole the Four-Tails. Now, with Lord Third Tsuchikage away, he dares to infiltrate the village and try to take the Five-Tails? He’s underestimating Iwagakure way too much!”

“We have to capture him! He’s too arrogant!”

“Even the Third Tsuchikage couldn’t take him down—can we really do it?”

“Hmph, no matter how strong he is, this is our village!”

“I heard he can walk through the air. We must seal off the skies so he can’t escape!”

“Notify the Barrier Division...”

...

The upper echelon of Iwagakure was thrown into a frenzy, issuing orders one after another. The entire village mobilized.

Meanwhile—

The Wood Clone had already arrived at the training grounds of the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki.

This place lay far from the heart of the village, nestled in a mountain valley.

The valley was densely packed with towering stone pillars—some had collapsed, while others bore the marks of repeated bombardments.

At that moment, a figure was darting between the pillars at high speed, with loud booms echoing through the valley from time to time.

Just as the controlled Iwa jōnin stepped into the valley, three figures suddenly appeared.

"Kamigaya, why are you here?"

The squad captain assigned to guard the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki spoke—but then immediately noticed something was off with Kamigaya. "Be careful!"

Kamigaya moved nearly at the same time, charging forward to attack.

Behind him, the Wood Clone surged in, countless vines erupting from the ground and sweeping across the valley.

Seeing the incoming vines, the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki halted his training.

"Wood Style... a Konoha Wood Style user actually made it into the village?"

"Trying to take the Five-Tails from my body?"

"You really think I’m some idiot like Roshi?"

He snorted coldly. The ground beneath his feet exploded as he burst toward the rushing vines.

Just before contact, steam erupted from his back—his speed suddenly skyrocketed.

Boom boom boom!

Vines exploded apart as the Five-Tails’ Jinchūriki blasted through them. In an instant, he reached Kamigaya and sent him flying with a powerful kick.

Kamigaya slammed into a massive tree, coughing up blood. His consciousness returned, but he was too injured to move. He was immediately wrapped up by vines, which began draining his chakra.

At the same time, a mask pattern appeared on the Wood Clone’s face—his skin transformed into bark.

Sage Mode!

Fierce wind roared. His black hair whipped around wildly.

The Five-Tails’ Jinchūriki arrived and threw a kick.

The Wood Clone opened his eyes and sidestepped, grabbing the attacking leg with both hands—and with a boom, hurled him through the air.

While airborne, thick vines had already entangled the Jinchūriki, locking him down.

But the next moment, the vines were blown apart.

Just as he escaped, a massive vacuum sphere smashed into his body and sent him flying again.

Sage Art – Wind Style – Great Vacuum Sphere!

The soaring Five-Tails' Jinchūriki was once again bound tightly by Wood Style vines.

The Wood Clone followed instantly, relentless. As he approached, he activated Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands, slamming his palm against the Jinchūriki’s chest and pulling out chakra.

Wooden stakes rose all around to suppress the Five-Tails.

Behind the mask, the Jinchūriki’s eyelids drooped, but he gritted his teeth. “Don’t even think… about controlling me.”

BOOM!

Terrifying Tailed Beast chakra erupted into a massive column that shot into the sky.

The vines were destroyed, the sealing technique disrupted, and the Wood Clone was forced to retreat.

As the chakra surged, the Jinchūriki’s body rapidly transformed—within seconds, he became a colossal beast.

A dolphin-like head, deer antlers, a horse’s body, and pure white fur.

The Five-Tails, Kokuō!

Without hesitation, the Jinchūriki had fully released the Five-Tails.

In an instant, even the Forest Domain trembled beneath Kokuō.

RUMBLE!

Five massive tails whipped through the air, smashing vines apart and sending a storm-like wave crashing outward.

In terms of raw strength, the Five-Tails far surpassed the Four-Tails.

At that moment, Iwa-nin reinforcements finally arrived—only to run straight into the shockwave. They stopped in their tracks.

“Damn it! The Five-Tails has been released!”

“Hurry and call the Barrier Division! We absolutely cannot let that bastard take the Five-Tails!”

“Seal off the area!”

“And the skies—don’t let him escape!”

The Iwa-nin forces began surrounding the area.

They raised the terrain, forming high stone walls.

Some even used Earth Style – Open Earth Rising Excavation to create artificial mountains.

Back in the valley, the Wood Clone pressed his hands together.

Massive vines sprouted from the ground, coiling around Kokuō as it lowered its head to charge.

The Five-Tails flexed, shattering the vines.

But at that moment, a massive Wood Dragon burst from underground, wrapping around its body. The dragon’s mouth opened and clamped down on Kokuō’s neck.

Sage Art – Wood Dragon Jutsu!

Kokuō struggled violently. Though the dragon cracked, it held fast.

More vines sprouted, binding its tails and limbs, locking it in place.

Then, the earth shook violently.

The mountains flanking the valley collapsed—countless boulders rumbled downward.

Iwa-nin had launched an attack, seeing that the Five-Tails was restrained.

Vines grew underfoot, lifting the Wood Clone in front of Kokuō’s face. “Looks like I won’t get the chance to take you with me.”

“In that case… I’ll kill you.”

Their eyes met. The Wood Clone cast a genjutsu.

Sage Art – Dreamwalker Technique!

The Five-Tails slowly closed its eyes… then abruptly opened them again.

The Wood Clone leapt to the top of Kokuō’s head. The wood dragon and vines released him, and Kokuō let out a thunderous roar—shattering the incoming rocks in a burst of power.

(End of Chapter)