At the turn of summer and autumn, it is still a bit hot in the Fire Kingdom.

In the Stone Kingdom, the temperature dropped rapidly in the afternoon. The wind blowing from the north made passers-by in the wild feel the chill of the approaching autumn.

A whistling cold wind blew by, a light cloud of dust rose from the ground, and the air was mixed with an inexplicable chill, which made Lao Zi hesitate as to whether he should continue moving forward.

The premonition of danger became stronger and stronger, forcing Lao Zi to set off early and prepare to leave the Stone Kingdom.

The neighboring Wind Kingdom has an endless desert. If you bury it in a random sand pile, it will be basically impossible to find it.

He originally planned to avoid the limelight, but unexpectedly, halfway through, an unprecedented sense of crisis made Lao Zi's hair stand on end.

"Am I worrying too much?"

There were no blind spots in the surroundings, and there was nothing wrong to see. As far as the eye could see, there was no reason to be afraid.

After hesitating for a moment, Lao Zi decided to turn around and leave. Even though he didn't see any danger, Lao Zi still chose to trust his intuition.

"You are really being too cautious. It really won't work if you try to take shortcuts. So let's just act according to the plan!"

Relying on traps to capture the Jinchūriki turned out to be too naive, and in the end it was inevitable to resort to some tricks.

Shuimu was already very satisfied to have found this elusive guy. It would be no big deal to have a fight with him, but it would be too late to regret if he escaped.

As Lao Zi turned around to leave, his expression suddenly froze. Four figures appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him, obviously with bad intentions.

"Sure enough, there is a trap. Judging from your attire, you should be from the Iwagakure Village. However, Ōnoki should not be able to send people like you. Who are you?"

This time, Mizuki decided not to pretend to be Uchiha Obito. Both Mizuki and Kotsuba were dressed as masked Iwagakure ninjas. Anyway, Ōnoki and Okonomiyaki were enemies, so it didn't matter if they took one more blame.

Shuimu had no intention of communicating with Lao Zi, and the four clones attacked at the same time.

"Lava Release - Burning River Rock Technique!"

Seeing that the enemy attacked without saying a word, Lao Zi was not polite. He formed seals with his hands and quickly transformed into a tailed beast. A humanoid lava monster covered in burning magma and dragging a tail behind it appeared. At the same time, multiple magma balls were spit out of his mouth and fired forward in a fan shape, covering the two Mizuki clones.

"He's very fast. Although he hasn't been able to perfectly control the power of the tailed beast, he's very skilled in using Lava Release. He's definitely not an ordinary person."

Although I don't know how much trouble it would have for Hoshigaki Kisame to deal with this guy, the fact that he still had a lot of trouble dealing with this guy even when his ninjutsu type was restrained shows that Lao Zi is really extraordinary.

Unfortunately, Shuimu never thought of having a serious duel with him.

Faced with the oncoming lava ball, Shuimu's clone dodged sideways, but the high-temperature lava ball that passed by still threw out some magma that fell on Shuimu, burning through his clothes and causing some damage to Shuimu.

"This is such a troublesome lava escape. It really can't be delayed!"

Shuimu couldn't help but frown. This level of minor injuries wouldn't affect his combat effectiveness. If these minor advantages were allowed to accumulate gradually, it would be terrible. He couldn't hurt Lao Zi, who was covered in lava, at close range, and there was no good way to fight from a distance.

Of course, Shuimu can also use the illusion - Xishuixiang, but the consequences of doing so are difficult to predict.

No wonder Lava Release can dissolve Susanoo. It is extremely dangerous for ordinary people to even approach it. If you don't break the surface shield, you can only compete with Lao Zi in physical strength and chakra. Although the tailed beasts and Jinchūriki are fierce, Lao Zi is an old man after all. The moment he was found by Mizuki, it was basically certain that he could not escape.

Although the result is already determined, the process still needs to be further examined.

There is another point that worries Shuimu. Is Jue already observing nearby? If he has really been discovered, then this would be a replica of Shuimu's experience in the Kingdom of Wind, except that this time the prey might be Shuimu himself.

It is not wise to approach rashly, so we can only think of other ways. Wind Style is definitely useless. Even Uzumaki Naruto cannot cut through the Molten Style Armor, and Water Style is definitely not possible either. Fire Style is probably not going to be very effective against Molten Style. Earth Style can harass its movements, and Lightning Style may be more effective. Its greatest use is that it can temporarily paralyze the opponent.

"Earth Escape - Yellow Spring Marsh!"

It was the first time that a large-scale earth escape technique was used to attack the enemy. In order to ensure sufficient power, the four clones used ninjutsu together, and a large-scale quagmire covered an area of ​​dozens of meters. The originally vigorous Lao Zi inevitably fell into the swamp. In a moment, the quagmire swallowed Lao Zi's legs and gradually spread to his waist and abdomen.

"Earth escape? Do you think this will work?"

Lao Zi looked at the raging earth escape with disdain. He was covered in magma and all he had to do was wait. The high temperature would dry up the surrounding soft mud ground, and the Yellow Spring Swamp would not restrict his movements at all.

"Thunder escape - ground walk!"

A lightning shock wave crossed the swamp and hit Lao Zi, causing the lava all over his body to tremble. Although he was not hurt, the conductive properties and paralyzing ability of lightning still made Lao Zi temporarily unable to control his body.

"The fifth person?"

Lao Zi's heart sank. The enemy's preparations were far more thorough than he had imagined. It looked like he would be in great danger this time.

"Earth Escape - Clay Falls from the Sky!"

The earth escape technique was combined with the space-time ninjutsu to summon a large amount of clay that poured down from the sky and attached to Lao Zi's body, causing Lao Zi, who was trying to escape, to fall into the mud again.

"The sixth person!"

This time Mizuki has come out in full force, and the matter is of great importance. It will directly affect the future development direction of his ninjutsu, so he has to act with caution.

Old Zi, who was wrapped in clay, was still struggling. The four clones of Huangquan Marsh, who had originally used earth escape, added the final fire.

"Fire Style - Great Fire Extinguishment!"

With the ability of the physical clone, this advanced escape technique cannot be used for more than a few times, and the consumed chakra cannot be replenished in a short time.

Four scorching fireballs hit the clay pile that wrapped Old Zi. When the fire died down, a sphere gleaming with crystal light appeared in sight. Through the dim light, Old Zi's shadow wrapped in hot lava could be seen.

“Success!”

We have put in so much effort just for this moment of limitation. As long as we can achieve this step, the overall situation will be almost settled.

Unable to wait for the heat to dissipate, the six clones flew forward at the fastest speed, pressed down the high-temperature crystal sphere with both hands, and the sealing runes spread on the crystal.

After the chakra stabilized, everyone worked together to lift it up.

"Ready, go!"

The six clones disappeared with the big ball that wrapped Lao Zi. When they reappeared, they were already in the northern seas, thousands of miles away from the Stone Country...