Chapter 68: Fiery Lotus of Buddha's Wrath, A Critical Decision!

Fire Release: Fiery Lotus of Buddha's Wrath!

Although the fiery blossom doesn't take the form of a lotus, Shūichi Hoshita decided to name it this way.

This is an A-rank Fire Release technique, slightly less difficult than the Fire Body Flicker Technique, and much easier in terms of form manipulation.

However, the power of this jutsu depends on the amount of chakra the Fire Release clone has left.

Earlier, the Fire Release clone had already expended some chakra; otherwise, Madai wouldn't have gotten away with just a few burn injuries.

Now, seeing that Madai hadn't been killed by the explosion, the remaining shadow clone immediately lunged at him.

Madai quickly retreated, throwing shuriken to hinder the clone and buy time to prepare his own jutsu.

But what concerned him the most was Shūichi Hoshita's true body.

"This brat is even more troublesome than last time!"

Madai gritted his teeth.

Every time he tried to release a jutsu, he was interrupted.

He kept retreating, using the trees as cover, until he finally found an opportunity. He created a shadow clone to engage Shūichi's clone while his true body leaped onto a tree branch and unleashed a windstorm.

The branch beneath Shūichi's feet exploded, but his figure left an afterimage as he suddenly ascended. In Madai's horrified gaze, a fiery blossom bloomed beneath Shūichi's feet, propelling him even higher and completely dodging Madai's Wind Release.

Below, the windstorm swept through, clearing away large swaths of vegetation.

Shūichi flipped in mid-air, descending headfirst while rapidly forming hand seals.

Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!

Inhaling deeply, Shūichi spat out a series of air bullets that shot toward Madai below, leaving streaks in the air.

Bang, bang, bang…

The Vacuum Spheres pierced through tree trunks, leaving holes, and struck the mountainside, creating craters and scattering debris.

Madai dodged repeatedly, but in doing so, he managed to complete his own hand seals.

Wind Release: Cast Net!

Standing on a tree stump, Madai opened his mouth and released a net-like wind that swept upward.

Shūichi shifted his body, and once again, a fiery blossom erupted beneath his feet. His figure flickered as he dodged the jutsu and landed on the ground, appearing right behind Madai.

"Fast!"

Madai spun around, eyes wide as he saw the short sword descending. His right hand was already prepared to unleash a jutsu.

He intended to withstand Shūichi's strike and then counterattack with Wind Release.

But just then, Shūichi caught sight of a fireball approaching from the side. Instantly, he activated the Fire Release chakra in his feet and vanished.

The fireball missed its target, and Pakura's figure appeared beside Madai.

Shūichi came to a halt, just as Minato Namikaze appeared on the other side.

Meanwhile, the Fire Release clone that had been entangled with Madai's shadow clone exploded, taking the clone down with it.

The battle was over, with four Sunagakure shinobi killed.

Shūichi Hoshita and Minato Namikaze remained unharmed.

In their second encounter, Minato's team had once again won decisively.

Rasa's expression was grim.

In a one-on-one fight, he couldn't do anything to Minato Namikaze, not even graze him.

Although Minato hadn't broken through his defenses either, he had managed to let Shūichi Hoshita eliminate three of Rasa's comrades, and even the Jōnin Madai was injured due to a misstep.

"This brat is said to be only seven years old. He might grow up to be another Minato Namikaze or Sakumo Hatake."

After two confrontations, Shūichi Hoshita had left an indelible impression on Rasa.

On the other side, Minato quickly gave the order, "Retreat!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, both he and Shūichi vanished.

Watching Shūichi and Minato depart, Rasa immediately ordered, "Madai, after treating your injuries, go to the Daimyo's residence and report the situation here to Elder Chiyo. Konoha may very well be planning to target the Third Kazekage."

"Understood!"

Madai wrapped his burned arm in bandages and quickly set off.

…

Upon returning to the camp, Minato Namikaze smiled and said, "It seems your new techniques are coming along nicely. Besides the Fire Body Flicker Technique, you've also got the Fire Release: Clone Technique. What do you call it when the Fire Clone self-destructs?"

"How about calling it 'Fire Release: Explosive Flame Blossom'?"

Shūichi Hoshita couldn't help but laugh and quickly responded, "Minato-sensei, I've already got a name for it. It's called 'Fiery Lotus of Buddha's Wrath.'"

"Fiery Lotus?" Minato looked puzzled. "If I'm not mistaken, that looked more like a morning glory flower, didn't it?"

Shūichi nodded, "This technique is only in its initial stage. The Fire Body Flicker Technique is also still in progress. The final form will be a multi-layered lotus flower."

Minato thought for a moment but didn't ask further. Instead, he smiled and said, "Fiery Lotus of Buddha's Wrath—it's a fitting name."

"It seems you're better at naming techniques than I am!"

You're just realizing that now? Shūichi resisted the urge to make a sarcastic remark and changed the subject, "After today's battle, the Sand Shinobi will probably send reinforcements, right?"

Minato nodded thoughtfully, "They'll definitely send more forces, but they might not concentrate them all here."

"They could also target Shisui's group, forcing us to split our focus and go help them."

Shūichi agreed. The Sand Shinobi weren't fools—they might not have a saying like 'besiege Wei to rescue Zhao,' (When the enemy is too strong to attack directly, then attack something he holds dear.) but that didn't mean they wouldn't use such a strategy.

After thinking for a moment, Shūichi suggested, "Minato-sensei, maybe you should leave a clone here?"

Minato hesitated slightly.

Shūichi reassured him, "Don't worry, Sensei. My Fire Body Flicker Technique is nearly complete, so I can retreat if necessary."

"Whether it's Rasa or Pakura, I'm definitely no match for them. But with your clone here, I'll have no problem getting away."

"And once the Sand Shinobi start moving, I suspect the Daimyo's residence will make a move by tonight at the latest."

After a brief moment of consideration, Minato nodded, "Alright!"

The two then quietly waited, recovering their chakra in the meantime.

By the afternoon, Minato, now fully recovered, left a shadow clone behind and teleported away using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Meanwhile, at the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Rivers, Uchiha Yū returned to the hiding place of Sakumo Hatake's team. Though he appeared calm, there was a hint of excitement in his eyes. "Captain, the Sand Shinobi have mobilized. It seems something unexpected happened—two squads have been pulled away!"

Sakumo immediately decided, "Then we'll act tonight!"

"I'll take care of the Daimyo and Chiyo. Yū, you three handle the distractions and keep the other Sand Shinobi occupied."

Uchiha Yū and the other two nodded in unison.

They were all Jōnin, making this an elite squad.

Time passed, and night quickly fell.

By the waterfall and pond, Minato Namikaze's shadow clone stood up. "Shūichi, the Sand Shinobi are here!"

Shūichi rose to his feet, ready for battle.

"There are... 11 of them!"

Using his sensory skills, Minato accurately pinpointed the number of Sand Shinobi and immediately instructed, "Shūichi, engage and retreat."

"Understood!"

Shūichi nodded and swiftly departed, wasting no time.

The Sand Shinobi's plan was clear: Rasa, Pakura, and Madai would hold off Minato, while the other eight would focus on Shūichi.

Eight against one, including a Jōnin—the Sand Shinobi clearly regarded Shūichi as a Jōnin-level threat.

The Sand Shinobi also had sensory ninjas. As soon as Shūichi began his retreat, they sensed it, and Rasa immediately ordered the other two squads to bypass Minato and pursue Shūichi from both sides.

Boom!

Explosions echoed behind him, but Shūichi didn't look back.

It was night, and even if Shūichi turned around, he wouldn't be able to see much.

Moments later, his ears twitched.

The pursuers were here!

The Sand Shinobi were chasing at full speed. The fastest Jōnin quickly overtook Shūichi, appearing ahead of him and finishing his hand seals.

His chest swelled as he opened his mouth, unleashing a fierce wind in the dark of night.

Shūichi's chakra surged beneath his feet as he soared into the air.

Behind him, the other Sand Shinobi made their moves.

Some used Wind Release, others Fire Release, and one puppet master fired a barrage of hidden weapons aimed at the airborne Shūichi.

In mid-air, Shūichi had already dodged the Jōnin's attack. As he turned around while descending, he too had finished his Wind Release hand seals. He brought his hands together and exhaled sharply downward.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"

Once again, a combination technique—an intense firestorm—collided with the attacks of the seven Sand Shinobi.

Heat waves rolled back as Shūichi, who was falling, suddenly shot upward again, simultaneously hurling several kunai, some of which were rigged with explosive tags and smoke bombs.

Boom!

Bang!

Fire and smoke erupted, shrouding the area in a thick veil.

The Sand Shinobi below quickly used Wind Release to disperse the smoke, and the sensory ninja immediately tracked Shūichi's location.

"To the left!"

The sensory ninja shouted, "It's a clone!"

The leading Jōnin immediately warned, "Don't let his clone get close!"

A clone that could self-destruct was far more dangerous than an explosive tag. Letting it get near would be akin to gambling with their lives.

The Sand Shinobi swiftly joined forces to unleash mid-to-long-range attacks, destroying Shūichi's clone before it could approach.

But then, the sensory ninja detected another Shūichi to the right.

The leading Jōnin decided to split the group, leaving four to eliminate the clone while he led the rest to pursue the real Shūichi.

From the memories returned by his clone, Shūichi knew the Sand Shinobi had split up, which made him secretly pleased.

But his satisfaction was short-lived.

The Sand Shinobi gave him no chance to engage in close combat. They had prepared their jutsu in advance, launching them in rotation.

Soon, the four Sand Shinobi caught up, forcing Shūichi to keep running.

Meanwhile, at the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Rivers...

Sakumo Hatake's team emerged from their hiding place, each member wearing a mask and a black cloak, with no visible signs of their allegiance to Konoha.

The four split into two teams. Uchiha Yū and two others would draw the Sand Shinobi's attention, while Sakumo headed straight for the Daimyo.

Under the cover of darkness, the Daimyo's residence quickly became chaotic, with explosions echoing throughout the city.

The battle had begun!

As expected, the Sand Shinobi were drawn away by Uchiha Yū's team, while Sakumo advanced through the night like a phantom, easily making his way into the Daimyo's sleeping quarters.

Suddenly, Sakumo halted, staring at the figure ahead of him—Chiyo.

"The White Fang of Konoha?"

Chiyo glared at the figure before her.

Sakumo didn't respond. He drew his blade, which flashed white as he struck.

"So what if you kill the Daimyo?" Chiyo said, and in the next moment, her body exploded into a puff of smoke.

A clone!

Sakumo stopped, a change in expression hidden beneath his mask.

Had the Daimyo been moved?

Impossible!

The Daimyo's attendants had been hypnotized by Uchiha Yū, confirming that the Daimyo hadn't been relocated.

So why did Chiyo abandon the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers?

This thought flashed through his mind, and Sakumo immediately leaped onto the roof, looking towards Uchiha Yū's location.

Chiyo's real body was there too!

The Daimyo was right in front of him, but on the other side, Uchiha Yū and the others were in a deadly situation.

In that moment, Sakumo faced a difficult choice.

Should he complete the mission, allowing his comrades to suffer severe casualties?

Or should he save his comrades and abandon the mission?

But in an instant, Sakumo made his decision. He turned and headed straight for the battlefield where Uchiha Yū was.

He didn't create a clone to finish off the Daimyo.

Facing a powerful puppet master like Chiyo, he couldn't afford to be careless. Otherwise, not only would they fail to break through, but the entire team might be left behind.

(End of Chapter)

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