In Konoha: I will spread the will of conquest throughout the ninja world.

Is Lao Zi strong?

powerful!

Despite his current youth, he likely hasn't mastered all the tailed beast powers like he will in later generations, and his relationship with the Four-Tails isn't very harmonious.

But this does not change the fact that he mastered Lava Release at a young age and has a deep understanding of the power of the Tailed Beasts.

To be able to disagree with Onoki, carry a tailed beast, and openly leave Iwagakure to become a wandering monk, one couldn't do that without some skill.

It can be said that in terms of Yin and Yang attributes, the Fifty Strings are actually inferior to his.

Tailed beasts are like a power bank that provides buffs at all times. As long as the injury is not too serious, the Jinchuriki can forcibly sustain themselves through the Tailed Beast's chakra.

This is also a major reason why the ninja world attaches great importance to Jinchuriki.

A long-range artillery turret and a close-combat tank, the two are combined. As long as they don't encounter super-powerful Jinchuriki like Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha, they can fight back. Even if they don't fight to the death or face a truly desperate situation, the Jinchuriki can retreat after paying some price thanks to the vast power of the Tailed Beasts.

The chakra of the Fifty Strings is not enough to compare with that of a Tailed Beast power bank.

If he were to have a full-day solo match with Lao Zi, his small frame wouldn't be able to handle it.

But no matter how much he couldn't handle it, he still had to do what he had to do.

A Jinchuriki of a Tailed Beast? A Kage-level ninja?

Inui is targeting Jinchūriki! He's fighting Kage-level shinobi!

"Since you're already here, I'll take you down!" A predatory glint suddenly flashed in Isogen's eyes.

The light was blinding, burning him painfully, and combined with his previous taunts, it made his anger soar to the heavens!

"A mere Konoha brat dares to be so arrogant? Call the Hokage!"

Enraged, Lao Zi slammed his hands on the ground, unleashing a catastrophic surge of magma that swept in all directions, blocking out the sky!

"Molten Release: Scorching River Eruption!"

When he heard the name of this technique, Isogen raised an eyebrow.

If I remember correctly, this technique is used after transforming into a tailed beast. It turns out it can also be used in human form. There are truly countless heroes in this world.

Sealed space.

Having listened to the entire conversation of the Fifty Strings, the Four-Tailed Son Goku suddenly realized: "That's right, little purple brat, what this brat said is true. Those people in your village never treated you like one of their own. If you hadn't become stronger later, you wouldn't even be able to leave the house."

"Shut up!"

Old Zi's heart pounded, and his brow twitched wildly.

Unpleasant memories from the past flooded back.

Tailed beasts are natural disasters, so the jinchūriki who sacrificed themselves to seal them must have received very good treatment, right?

Yes, yes, even in a desert where water resources are scarce, the one-tailed jinchūriki can enjoy free vegetables from the villagers.

Lao Zi's childhood was very simple, which can be summarized in a few sentences.

"Why is that monster out again?"

"Where's the Anbu? Quickly take this monster back and lock him up."

"Get out of the village! You monster who harms people!"

So kind and friendly.

Because the village lacked the physique and powerful sealing techniques of the Uzumaki clan, Iwagakure's plan to create Jinchūriki proceeded smoothly, directly resulting in Rōshi's less than ideal childhood.

If it weren't for his ties to the village, he would have defected long ago based on his memories of Iwagakure.

Isogen's words reminded him of those painful memories, and the Lava Release, fueled by this rage, exploded in temperature!

Chakra is the power of the mind. Old Purple was already in a bad mood, and Isogen's words stirred up memories of his miserable past, causing him to feel grief and anger.

Four-tailed Fox's eyes lit up.

opportunity!

boom!

"roar!!"

A roar filled with resentment, anger, and displeasure unleashed a rolling wave of sound, which carried the surging lava from the ground to even more distant places.

What came into everyone's view was Old Purple, who had a lava beast tail behind him!

"Damn it, of all times!"

Old Purple's face was contorted with rage as he desperately fought against the Four-Tails, which was trying to suppress his consciousness.

After his strength increased, no one in Iwagakure dared to treat him the way they did when he was a child. However, apart from those familiar people, others still kept their distance from him in daily life. Originally, no one mentioned it anymore, and he himself selectively forgot about it.

I never expected that a little brat would point that out to me today.

"You guys really do collect all sorts of intelligence."

He didn't believe that Ichigen could find out the inside story of Iwagakure. There was only one answer: the spies from Konoha were just bored.

Fifty Strings didn't respond, only smiled: "Old Purple, do you want a mother?"

"...Die!"

The ferocious roars of beasts, mixed with human voices, assaulted Wu Shixian Yuge like a storm.

The fifty strings, without giving an inch, took the initiative to meet the challenge.

So what if you're half-tailed beast? We'll bully you even if you're fully tailed beast!

Boom!!

boom! !

The deafening explosions ravaged the forest almost non-stop, blasting hills into rocks, then rocks into pebbles, and finally into dust.

Lava splattered, explosive tags flew everywhere, mixed with the blood, flesh, and bone fragments of Fifty Strings.

Sakumo Hatake and the others watched the battle with astonished expressions. The White Fang of Konoha found himself with no place to intervene in this fight.

It's not impossible for him to force his way in, but he lacks the confidence to avoid hurting the 50th string or being hurt by it.

If someone had told him before that he couldn't even get involved in a battle between ninja academy students, he would have risked the Hatake family's reputation to refute it, but now the facts are right in front of him.

We don't know when it will explode, or the blast radius. Even he might get injured or have his 50th string damaged in the fierce battle.

Sakumo Hatake was both troubled and helpless.

It's not that I didn't try hard enough; it's just that Ichigen's unique fighting style is completely one-of-a-kind among ninjas.

Among ninjas who fight using explosive tags, only Isogen would put himself in the blast radius. Any normal ninja who did that would be thinking of taking everyone down with them.

This guy is really something, he's using this like a basic attack!

It's one thing for him to use basic attacks, but he also has a technique that allows him to use his own body as an explosive tag.

How mentally unstable must someone be to come up with this kind of usage?

Where is your secret technique that allows you to transform your body into chakra? Where are all those explosive tags?

Don't think I didn't see that you're using a mix of explosive tags and body explosions!

"What do we do now?" Uchiha Aoen hesitated.

He couldn't understand why this Jinchūriki would be so angry about Isogen's words.

To be honest, the compatibility between the Four-Tails Jinchuriki and their group is very poor.

The Uchiha's genjutsu was anticipated and disrupted by the tailed beast's chakra. The unpredictable Uchiha throwing techniques were defended against by the lava-style armor, and the opponent's ranged ninjutsu was equally impressive.

Based on past experience, if such an opponent is determined to leave, they cannot be stopped by anyone, not even with White Fang present.

Without Jinchuriki of this caliber, they wouldn't be the nuclear deterrent for each ninja village.

After a brief silence, Uchiha Itsukushima suddenly spoke.

"Lord White Fang, is it possible to capture him alive?"

Sakumo Hatake, who was keeping a close eye on the battle, was equally quick-witted.

"If the Jinchūriki remains in this state..."

Capture the Jinchuriki alive!

Sakumo Hatake narrowed his eyes slightly and shouted loudly, "Yu Ge, continue at the previous pace!"

Having just finished bombarding Old Purple, Igarashi glanced sideways at them, looking at them with a strange expression as they were ready to join the fray at any moment: "This guy just misses his mom and dad. I'm discussing with him how to find him new parents."

"Roar!!" Old Zi lost his mind even further.

Uchiha Itsukushima's lips twitched slightly: "Lord White Fang, I think we'd better not interfere with Isogen's performance."

"……Um."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Meanwhile, a small hill, quite far from the blast site, stands in a three-legged stand.

Hanzo the Salamander wearing a gas mask, Kakuzu with eyes full of greed for money, and Jiraiya with a serious expression.

As the explosions faded into the distance, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze fixed intently on his two formidable enemies.

His encounter with Hanzo the Salamander was unexpected, but it was through Hanzo that he learned that people from Konoha were fighting over there.

As for the other one, Kakuzu, a famous bounty hunter in the underworld.

Both are formidable enemies.

"Does Konoha want to start another war?!" Hanzo the Salamander asked coldly.

Jiraiya chuckled awkwardly, "Hehe, absolutely not. But our ninjas are on a mission, could you please take them back with you?"

Sanshoyu Hanzo narrowed his eyes slightly.

If Jiraiya were the only one confident in his strength, he could easily defeat the enemy. However, only a year after the war ended, the strength of this kid whom he had bestowed the title of one of the Three Legendary Sannins could not have soared to a level that Jiraiya could not comprehend. The real constraint on him was the people around him.

He had also heard of the famous bounty hunter.

Jiraiya is also quite strong, and he wouldn't be afraid to fight here, but the question is how many of the men he brought will be able to return.

However, voluntarily leaving would be detrimental to his prestige.

Unlike them, Kakudo didn't have such complex psychological states; he only cared about one question.

"Can you guys move aside? Don't block my way from making money!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The scene of the three-way standoff was unknown to anyone at the explosion site, which was now entering a heated phase.

"Mr. Tailed Beast? Miss? Do you have a father?"

"roar!"

"Do you have a mother?"

"roar!"

"Oh, neither of them."

"Get him!!"

"You don't need to tell me!"