The moment Shinji landed, he immediately formed hand seals.
Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Countless figures rushed out from the smoke, then quickly scattered in all directions.
Having just surrounded Four-Tails, Shinji leaped up, landed on Four-Tails' head, and punched down again.
Bang—!
As Four-Tails' massive head slammed to the ground, the Shadow Clones waiting around immediately raised their hands to form seals.
Earth Release: Earth Flow Core!
Rumble—!
The ground where Four-Tails stood instantly sank, making Four-Tails, whose eyes were seeing stars from the punch, still try to struggle and jump out.
Shinji above raised his hand to form seals again.
Earth Release: Falling Clay!
Countless pieces of clay fell from the alternate dimension above, precisely covering Four-Tails.
"Roar!"
Four-Tails roared, then spewed an overwhelming torrent of lava from its mouth towards the opening above the pit.
"I was waiting for you to use that move."
Seeing this, Shinji immediately had his Shadow Clones increase their Chakra output, then leaped up, his ten fingers rapidly flipping.
Earth Release: Falling Lid!
A giant lid descended, heavily covering the huge trench.
Bang—
Four-Tails' lava had just reached the top when it was immediately covered by the lid, emitting a muffled thud.
"Next, reduce with high heat."
The Shadow Clones on one side all gathered strength and lifted the uniquely shaped lid. Shinji condensed Chakra in his throat and fiercely spewed a great fire into the gap.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
"Awooo!"
Instantly, Four-Tails in the pit first let out a howl, and as Shinji's Great Fire Annihilation increased in power, it gradually faded.
The massive figure turned from solid to ethereal, its entire body, like flowing Chakra, retracted back into Roshi's body.
Shinji, who had been sensing, stopped his Fire Release upon seeing this and kicked the lid fiercely. The giant lid instantly slammed into the logistics camp, which was already engulfed in flames.
Inside the trench, Roshi, now in human form, lay unconscious.
Shinji leaped over to Roshi's side. Jinchuriki truly live up to their reputation as unkillable cockroaches. After all that, Roshi was still alive, though he was now in a coma.
Shinji extended his hand, pointed his fingers, and touched Roshi's forehead. Black threads created by Yin Release instantly covered Roshi's body.
"Hey! Shinji!" From the trench above, Mimi's voice roared.
Shinji had informed Mimi to come over after he finished dealing with it.
"Catch."
Shinji didn't hesitate, he pulled up Roshi's body and threw him towards Mimi's head. Mimi caught him, and after seeing who it was, he couldn't help but open his mouth.
"Four-Tails Jinchuriki!"
Thud—
Shinji landed, nodded, and said, "Yes, he's unconscious."
"What do we do?" Mimi asked, a bit slow to react.
"What can we do? Of course, we take him back. If Iwagakure dares to send out a Jinchuriki, then they must be prepared to lose it." Shinji waved his hand.
Don't the Akatsuki want to collect Tailed Beasts? Then he'll capture one or two first and see if they dare to attack Konoha.
"Let's go quickly, or the main force of Sunagakure will arrive."
From the start of the battle until now, Sunagakure's main forces had not appeared.
Shinji guessed that Kakashi was probably blocking them head-on on the battlefield, but it was almost time to leave. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to leave later.
"No problem!" Mimi was excited, after all, Shinji had captured the Four-Tails Jinchuriki. Didn't that mean he could absorb it later?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but act energetically.
—
Bang!
Inside the Sunagakure main tent, a Jonin wearing an Iwagakure forehead protector slammed the table and roared at Chiyo in front of him, "Sunagakure must send out troops to make Konoha return our Jinchuriki as soon as possible!"
Chiyo sat calmly at the head of the table, looking at the chattering Iwa ninja, and spoke indifferently, "If you have the ability, tell Ōnoki to come himself."
The Iwa ninja froze at these words, his face instantly turning ugly.
He wanted to say something, but who among the Suna ninjas sitting in the main tent wasn't a master in their own right?
"How many ninjas have we, Sunagakure, lost in this battle? Even the supplies in the logistics camp were destroyed by your Jinchuriki."
"Tell Ōnoki, if he doesn't take responsibility, Sunagakure will invade Iwagakure."
After Chiyo finished speaking, two Suna ninjas stepped forward and approached the Iwa Jonin.
The Iwa ninja was drenched in cold sweat, looked around, and then walked out of the main tent.
As the Iwa ninja left, the discussions inside the tent finally began.
"Chiyo-sama, what should we do next?" A Sunagakure Jonin asked with a worried expression.
Since declaring war on Konoha until now, many Sunagakure Jonin had died, and there were also many Chunin and Genin among the casualties.
Now even the supplies in the logistics camp had been destroyed. If this continued, Sunagakure would have to prepare to surrender in this war.
Chiyo was silent for a moment, then spoke, "First, consolidate our defenses. Since Iwagakure's Jinchuriki was captured by Konoha, Ōnoki won't be able to sit still."
"Once Iwagakure and Konoha go to war, our pressure here will be lessened."
She was waiting. If the Fourth Kazekage in the village could wake up, then they still had a chance in this battle. Even if not, at worst, they would submit a surrender letter to Konoha.
It wasn't that she stubbornly held on, but that Sunagakure currently had no one who could replace the Kazekage.
The One Tail Jinchuriki was still difficult to control emotionally.
The internal high-ranking officials were still only concerned with infighting. If it weren't for her younger brother, Chiyo would not have dragged her ailing body to the front lines.
The best solution was for the Ninja World to fall into chaos, so Sunagakure could profit from the turmoil.
Upon hearing this, the Suna ninjas were all silent. Now, all they could do was this.
However, for the high-ranking officials to use a war to cover up the news of their village's Kage being in a coma and to divert the anger of the Sunagakure villagers towards the Jonin, pointing the blame at Konoha, the cost was perhaps too great.
—
Inside Konoha's front-line main tent.
Shinji glanced at the stopped snow and couldn't help but let out a sigh.
The heavy snow came and went quickly, giving the already struggling Sunagakure a chance to breathe.
"Shinji, you might need to return to the village first."
Kakashi, at the head of the table, threw a scroll to Shinji. Shinji reached out, took it, and began to read.
There wasn't much content. Hiruzen wanted him to escort Roshi back. After all, at this stage, only he could suppress a Jinchuriki.
While Four-Tails was a bargaining chip, it only truly became useful if it could be held firmly in hand.
As expected, with the capture of the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Iwagakure immediately sent a large army to the border.
Ōnoki clamored for Konoha to return the Jinchuriki.
Hiruzen ignored this, simply replying that if he had the ability, he should fight his way in and take him back himself.
"What about Sunagakure?"
Shinji looked at Kakashi, unable to understand what was going on with Sunagakure right now. Since the war began, after that one battle, they had fallen silent again.
The logistics camp's troops were completely wiped out, and whether they could even hold on now was another matter. Yet, they still refused to withdraw their troops.