Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 299 In the end, was it still too late?
The blazing sun hung high in the sky, its scorching midday rays pouring down upon the desolate yet majestic mountains.

However, at this moment, Iwagakure Village could not feel the hustle and bustle and vitality that it should have had at noon in the past. There was only a deathly desolation and a lingering stench.

Iwagakure is built in a valley surrounded by rocky mountains. The entire village clings to steep cliffs, layer upon layer, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

But at this moment, this once-defending fortress presents a shockingly tragic scene.

The dilapidated, tall wall is covered with dense, shallow and deep chisel marks and cuts, as if it were repeatedly scraped and pierced by countless sharp blades or drill bits.

A strange, sweet smell permeated the air and could not be dispelled. There were puddles of viscous purple liquid on the ground, and the rocks were corroded and pitted, resembling honeycomb.

The remains of humanoid puppets of various shapes and unique designs are scattered everywhere, mixed with the broken corpses of Iwagakure ninjas, silently telling the story of the battle that happened not long ago.

In this desolate ruin, Iwagakure ninjas wearing protective suits and thick masks or simple gas masks are cautiously advancing.

"Survivors detected in that house, medical team, prepare..."

"Watch your step, there's residual venom there..."

"This way, turn around and clear the way..."

The Iwagakure ninja known as "Istan" had cold sweat beading on his forehead as he pressed his hands to the ground after forming hand seals.

Earth Escape: Digging Technique.

As chakra was injected, the ground in front of them quickly caved in, forming a passage about three meters deep and wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

At the very front of the group, Akatsuchi's exceptionally burly figure stood out, his hands forming hand seals, and a massive amount of chakra surging within him.

Earth Escape·Gangli Style Technique!
Boom!

The ground in front of him rose up, and a large number of rocks quickly gathered and sculpted, forming a rough-looking stone statue.

The stone statue led the way, clearing the path for the following members and removing the dangerous remains of the puppets.

As the Iwagakure ninjas scanned the surrounding corpses, their faces pale and bruised, their eyes filled with an overwhelming sense of grief and sorrow.

"Senior Chitu".

Ichiban wiped his sweat, looked up at the red earth in front of him, and said in a somewhat muffled voice through his mask, "Is there really no problem with Lord Han? Old Zi might already be..."

His voice carried worry and a hint of barely perceptible fear.

After attacking Iwagakure, the two invaders learned that the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Rōshi, lived outside the village because of personality clashes with Ōnoki, so they left immediately.

Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, who rushed back, had already led several teams of Iwagakure ninja to provide support after learning of the situation.

Regardless of any disagreements between Rōshi and Ōnoki, he was ultimately the Four-Tails Jinchūriki of Iwagakure.

However, the invaders' strength...

Bang!
Chitu controlled the stone statue to push aside the rubble. Without turning his head, he said in a deep voice, "What we need to do now is to find and transfer all the survivors as soon as possible, and clear the poisonous miasma and traps."

He paused, then turned to look at Istan and the Iwagakure ninja: "If it's just Han alone, facing those two guys at the same time would indeed be very troublesome."

"After all, that's 'Sasori of the Red Sand' and 'Poisonous Weapon' Hanzo."

His words made the Iwagakure ninjas' hearts tighten, but then Akatsuchi said in a relaxed tone, "However, there's no need to worry now."

"I didn't tell you before, but Lord Tsuchikage and the others actually came back with Han, but they were hidden in the troops that Han had gathered."

"Otherwise, knowing that the enemy's target was a Jinchūriki, why would they let Han walk right into their trap, just to catch them off guard..."

boom! !

As if to confirm Akado's words, a roar that seemed to shatter the mountains suddenly came from a distance far from Iwagakure, and the ground beneath their feet trembled.

With this loud bang, a huge cloud of dust shot into the sky.

Meanwhile, at the spot where the dust and smoke rose, on a desolate, rocky clearing.

The deafening roar of the explosion echoed through the open, rocky area, and the billowing smoke and dust surged like giant yellow waves.

Whoosh!Whoosh!
Two figures flew backward, looking rather disheveled, from the billowing dust. They were the injured Hiruko and Hanzo, who was stepping on the Salamander.

"Damn it, how did Onoki get back so quickly? I only had time to extract the Four-Tails..."

Hanzo's brows were furrowed, and the salamander beneath him hissed softly, its tough skin bearing several burn marks.

"Hmph, who cares about the Four-Tails or the Five-Tails now? We might all die here!"

Sasori's grave and angry voice came from Hiruko: "What on earth is Payne doing? This situation is not what we planned!"

Because he joined the Akatsuki organization earlier than in the original story and carried out the plan to capture the Tailed Beasts earlier, he didn't have time to transform his body into a human puppet.

Even so, it was supposed to be a foolproof operation, since Onoki and Yoto from Iwagakure were not there, and he, Hanzo, and Animal Path Pain were more than enough.

Unexpectedly, the Animal Path Pain who was with them suddenly went silent, the summoned beasts also suddenly disappeared, and even more unexpectedly, Onoki returned so quickly...

call!
Before the two could continue discussing countermeasures, Deidara emerged from the dust and smoke atop a clay owl.

Clay spiders rained down on the two below. Deidara grinned, formed hand seals, and shouted, "Drink!"

boom! Bang bang! !
A series of small explosions erupted around Hanzo and Sasori!

Although the power of a single attack is not great, the sheer number of attacks and their wide coverage make them a formidable force, with scorching air currents and flying debris constantly impacting the area.

"Annoying guy."

Hanzo spurred the salamander to swing its thick, powerful tail across its front, smashing most of the clay spiders in mid-air, the fire and smoke obscuring its vision.

However, in that brief moment when the view was obstructed...

"Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique!" A furious shout came from afar.

Rumble!
The ground beneath Hanzo and Sasori's feet groaned under the weight, as the once flat rocky land on either side was forcibly torn apart and lifted.

Two huge hemispherical rock blocks converge from the left and right sides toward Hanzo and the salamander in the center!
Sasori, one of Hanzo and Hiruko, narrowed his eyes and abandoned the salamander without hesitation, creating distance between them.

Bang! !

A muffled, loud bang rang out, and two huge hemispherical rocks clamped the salamander tightly in the middle, causing it to let out a sharp hiss and struggle violently.

Meanwhile, the smoke and dust in the distance gradually dissipated, revealing large patches of broken puppets scattered on the ground, their surfaces covered with abnormal dark purple spots, like festering sores.

Then, numerous figures slowly emerged, all of them Iwagakure ninjas dressed in full protective suits and wearing gas masks, clearly making thorough preparations to deal with Hanzo's deadly poison.

At the very front of the group, Huang Tu, carrying a giant axe, knelt on the ground with his hands on the ground, veins bulging on his forehead, and chakra surging throughout his body.

Clearly, it was he who activated that Earth Release ninjutsu just now, in order to first cripple Hanzo's Salamander Fish-shaped Waterfall.

"Ouch! My back..."

Onoki sat on Huangtu's broad shoulders, one hand covering his lower back, his face contorted in pain, gasping for breath.

I strained my back once before in the Land of Demons, and then I strained it again while rushing on my way.

Not far from Huang Tu and Onoki, Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, stood quietly, looking at the corpse on the ground.

That was Lao Zi's corpse, its face a strange bluish-purple, contorted in agony, with dried black bloodstains around its mouth and nose, clearly indicating that it had suffered immense pain before dying.

Han, who was also a Jinchūriki, could sense that the Four-Tails had been extracted from his body.

"In the end, was it still too late?"

Han exhaled deeply, as if to expel the pent-up emotions and grief in his chest.

Scorching, high-pressure steam hissed uncontrollably from the gaps in his specially made steam armor, forming a distorted white mist around him.

He slowly withdrew his gaze and looked at Hanzo and Sasori in the distance. His usually calm eyes were now filled with murderous intent.

(End of this chapter)