Konoha: Resurrected by Orochimaru at the start

Chapter 75 Releasing Water

For a moment, the surroundings were so quiet that even the rolling sand and gravel could be heard, and the drizzle from the sky gently fell on them.

This silence, for both sides, was like a silent judgment.

Finally, Uchiha Gen sighed, bowed slightly to them to express his apology, and said, "You can go back after leaving the Vio-chan insects here. This is Akatsuki territory."

"...If you join Akatsuki, what about Karin? That little girl doesn't know your situation yet. She was waiting for you to come back and had prepared a surprise for you." Kakashi questioned Uchiha Gen.

"Karin, then consider me dead in battle..."

Upon hearing this, Naruto immediately flew into a rage, yelling at Uchiha Gen, "What the hell?! We came to take you back! What do you take Karin for? What do you take us for?!"

"..." Upon hearing this, Uchiha Gen's eyes flickered slightly, but his expression showed no reaction.

Sasuke watched as Uchiha Gen stood there silently, seemingly ignoring Naruto's words. His gaze darkened, and he clenched his fists. It's happening again! Just like that man from that day. Why, why do they all have to join Akatsuki?! What is your purpose?!

Watching Naruto's commotion, Aburame Shiki, who had remained silent, wiped the raindrops from her sunglasses. Under these circumstances, she began to calmly consider the various doubts and clues in the matter.

In his mind, someone who could face the Akatsuki organization alone under those circumstances would not have been so easily persuaded to join Akatsuki; there must be other issues involved.

Jiraiya and Kakashi had naturally thought of this as well, but whether they joined voluntarily or had their own reasons, they had to bring Uzumaki Reikawa back today!

Jiraiya made a hand gesture behind his back, and in the next instant! Several vine-like wooden branches suddenly appeared beneath Uchiha Gen's feet, wrapping around him! Yamato, who had been preparing for a long time, made his move: Wood Release: Thorn Killing Technique!

At the same time, Jiraiya and Kakashi quickly closed in, using ninjutsu to block Uchiha Gen's movement above. They didn't use any high-damage ninjutsu, since they hadn't gone to all this trouble to chase him down to kill him.

Moreover, they were all aware of Uzumaki Reikawa's strength; this level of skill alone was not enough to kill him, but injury was certainly inevitable.

However, upon seeing this, Gen Uchiha did not choose to dodge. Instead, he instantly unleashed the Adamantine Sealing Barrier to surround himself and create a safe space. Yamato's Wood Release only wrapped around the Adamantine Sealing Barrier.

However, this has created a stalemate, because once the Adamantine Lockdown is lifted, Yamato's Wood Release will directly bind it!

"Brother Sasori, should we wait any longer?" Deidara, seeing that Uchiha Gen was in a stalemate and about to be defeated, had no choice but to remind him.

Sasori saw that even Uchiha Gen had reached this point, and he hadn't unleashed the same strength he had when he fought Deidara and Konan. Although it might have been due to a desperate struggle back then, Uchiha Gen's strength should be much greater than this.

Thinking of this, Sasori snorted coldly, clearly displeased. "Let's move out. If the tailed beast is lost and the person is taken back by the people of Konoha, we can't afford to lose face like that."

Deidara coughed lightly upon hearing this, feeling quite displeased, but not towards Sasori. This matter was probably not going to be forgotten. However, he added another mark against Genjutsu in his mind, vowing to blow all those bastards to smithereens if he ever got the chance!

Just as Uchiha Gen was about to be wrapped up like a hollow dumpling by Yamato's Wood Release, an explosion suddenly occurred around the Konoha people, and the explosions continued. If they did not take cover, they would be severely injured even if they did not die.

Naruto was caught by Kakashi, who noticed the commotion earlier, and avoided the explosions. When Shino Aburame tried to pull Sasuke back, she found that Sasuke, who had three tomoe, could easily avoid the explosions on his own, which made her feel much more relaxed.

Seeing that they were alright, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was frowning and preparing to help Yamato complete the sealing and control of the Uchiha Gen, he suddenly noticed a white clay spider crawling onto his hand. Jiraiya was slightly startled when he saw this, and the next moment an explosion occurred!

Above the Wood Release technique, a large amount of thick smoke was generated in Jiraiya's direction.

Seeing this, everyone's hearts sank and they wanted to rush to the rescue.

"I'm fine!" As the smoke cleared, Jiraiya, who had appeared in the distance at some point, was unharmed. However, due to the explosion, everyone was forced to move away from Gen Uchiha.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Gen, aided by the impact of the explosion and his own Adamantine Sealing Technique, creaked as if about to break. His Wood Release technique finally succumbed to the impact and shattered, sending up a pile of wood chips...

Having escaped, Uchiha Gen dusted off his Akatsuki robe and looked up at Deidara, complaining, "I thought you guys weren't coming."

Hearing this, Deidara, riding on his giant clay bird, scoffed in a less-than-friendly tone, "I wonder who held back? Where did their initial bravado go when they attacked us?"

"Why don't you do it? There are too many people, I can't beat them all..." Uchiha Gen said, seemingly very straightforward, and judging from his previous display of combat strength, that was indeed the case.

"...You! Hmph!" Deidara snorted coldly, because under normal circumstances, Uchiha Gen's choice could actually be considered correct. He was just unhappy that Uchiha Gen fought so fiercely against them, while he only defended against the people of Konoha.

Meanwhile, the battlefield was successfully divided as planned. Aburame Shiki, who was standing nearby, suddenly seemed to sense something. However, in the next moment, a scorpion tail made of steel suddenly attacked Aburame Shiki, piercing through his body. The scorpion smiled, having succeeded!

However, in the next instant, Aburame Shiki, who had been pierced by Hiruko, slowly dispersed and turned into a bunch of insects. What Hiruko had just hit was just an insect clone.

Meanwhile, Sasuke, who was nearby, had already turned his eyes into three tomoe and made a prediction in advance. Since it was wood, he took this opportunity to use Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

As the flames subsided, Sasori vanished from the spot. The next moment, Sasori suddenly appeared behind Sasuke, manipulating the slightly charred Hiruko's puppet-like mouth to open, unleashing a barrage of high-density poison needles at incredible speed towards Sasuke. Without a medical ninja in the group, even a single needle would be fatal.

……

Chiyo looked at Uchiha Gen standing in front of her, but didn't say much. Instead, she took the opportunity to ask, "For the sake of our past relationship, could you answer one question for me? Was Gaara captured by Akatsuki?"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Gen seemed to ponder for a moment before slowly saying, "Well, I don't know the specifics either, but what I do know is that Akatsuki didn't capture the One-Tailed Beast."

Chiyo pondered upon hearing this, "Is that so? Thank you..."

"You're welcome."