Roshi was left speechless. It was the first time he had heard someone claim something as ridiculous as that. Even him and Han fighting together wouldn't dare to claim that they could kill Onoki. The claim was so absurd that he didn't even get angry and instead laughed.
He asked, "Kill the old man with one hand tied behind your back? Are you called Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara?"
At the same time, he calmed down and thought, 'He is trying to rile me up by trying to make me angry. So, he wants me to drop my guard or make a mistake and land a critical hit. But, what means does he have to harm me when I am cloaked by the Four Tailed Beast's chakra? Does he still have a stronger attack than that cannon and the chakra to perform it?'
Fujin's clone didn't care how absurd his claim was. He wasn't sure if his main body had used reverse summon or flew away on Kaito. If it was the second case, then he needed to waste some time to ensure that they would be too far away for Roshi to even know where to chase. If it wasn't then he could just collect more information from Roshi and transmit them back to his main body.
The clone cursed angrily, "What? Do you not believe me? Do you think I am bluffing? Lead me to Iwagakure. I'll defeat that old geezer with one hand tied behind my back. I will even spare his life as my leader didn't ask for it!"
Roshi looked at the clone with a deadpan expression and thought, 'Yeah right. Bring along someone with as lethal jutsus as you. Still, this is amusing. Even that Deidara kid isn't as brazen as him.'
Roshi replied, "Sure. Let me seal your chakra and then you can travel with me."
The clone retorted, "Seal my chakra? What if you go back on your word and attack me when I'm helpless? That won't do. I'll be travelling without any restrictions."
A frown formed on Roshi's face as he thought, 'Something is off. He is giving almost no signs of a sneak attack. Is he wasting time to regain his chakra with a soldier pill?'
Though Roshi had an advantage in chakra, he didn't want to let Fujin recover his chakra and keep bugging him with the Wind Vacuum jutsus. He opened his mouth and spat a wave of lava towards Fujin's clone.
Fujin's clone sighed and began running away. He muttered to himself, 'I barely have any chakra left. I think I can flicker just twice at best.'
Roshi noticed him running and thought, 'As I calculated. He is low on chakra.'
He immediately chased the clone. Due to his larger size, his movement was much faster. He reached the clone and threw a punch at him. However, despite having a complete advantage, he was on guard against any counterattacks.
The clone flickered along the river banks and ran in the direction opposite of what his subordinates and the Kusa ninjas had taken. Roshi chased and was led away from the town on the opposite bank. A frown formed on his face as he thought, 'I have to finish the battle quickly. Though I can control the beast's chakra, I don't have total control over it. I can't maintain this state for long.'
He opened his mouth and launched a large ball of lava. The clone sighed and used his second body flicker. However, Roshi chased and attacked once again. The clone looked at the incoming ball of lava and thought, 'This is as far as I can go. It's fine. The main body should be safe.'
The lava ball hit him and exploded, dispelling him. As he was on the opposite side of the lava ball, Roshi couldn't see him being dispelled into a cloud of smoke. A frown appeared on Roshi's face. He wasn't happy. He thought, 'Something is wrong. This was too easy. Almost as if it was a shadow clone that had run out of chakra.'
As the lava spread out, Roshi noticed that there was no dead body or even bones left behind. He realized that his guess was right.
He fell silent and began thinking rapidly. He calculated, 'If this was a clone, was the one in the air his real body? If the real body managed to escape, then it would make sense for the clone to exist and waste time.
Or could it be that both were clones? After all, fighting me was foolish. So did he send another clone to distract me while he ran away? Or perhaps he is still hiding and wants me to believe that I have killed him so that I leave or put my guard down.'
A bunch of ideas appeared in his mind but Roshi couldn't be sure which was right. He stopped using Son Goku's chakra and returned to his normal state. Most of the injuries on his body were already healed. Only a scar was left on his left leg and right hand.
He concluded, 'If the one that was hit by my Tailed Beast Bomb was the real him, then he has managed to escape. I can't track him. So no point in considering that. I'll just assume that he is hiding here and look for him. He is dangerous. It will be best if we kill him before the start of the next Great War.'
He suddenly turned his head to the right. The ground was moving and a person climbed out. Gin looked around and asked, "Is he dead?"
Roshi shook his head and said, "Unlikely. He has escaped or is hiding underground. Help me look for him. But be careful of any sneak attacks."
Gim was surprised. He thought, 'Even Roshi couldn't kill him?'
He nodded and cooperated with Roshi to scan through the area.
Mount Muteki -
Goro complained, "What the hell! It feels like a block of iron fell from space and hit my head!"
Fujin got on his feet. His body was still shivering. He coughed blood a few times and muttered while breathing heavily, "Sorry. Just the blastwaves sent me flying!"
Fujin was still scared. After transmigrating to the ninja world, Fujin had been very careful. Until the Root was dissolved, he tried to keep his abilities as hidden as possible to avoid gaining Danzo's attention. During the missions, though he had grown to love a strong fight, he always controlled his impulse and always chose the easiest and the most efficient option.
Though Roshi wasn't the strongest opponent he encountered, this was the first time he came so close to death. Against Kakazu and Kaminari, he had managed to escape very quickly. Against Darui, though his position was bad, his life hadn't been put in danger directly.
Despite the risks, he always held his life and death in his own hands. This was the first time that he had completely trusted his life and death in the hands of another.
Goro noticed Fujin's fear. He stopped complaining and became serious. This was the first time he had seen Fujin in such a state. He asked, "Are you alright?"
Fujin nodded. He finally ended his Iron skin jutsu and inspected his body. His left hand had several burns up to the elbow. There were several other burns on his body. The worst was his back.
He had inscribed several seals into his clothes. Despite them, the back of his jacket and shirt was blown apart. Even his mesh upper body suit was blown. A few of the metal pieces from it were embedded in his back. In addition, the blastwave had damaged his back as well. He could feel that some of his rib bones were cracked.
Realizing the damage, Fujin's expression became grim. He thought, 'Fortunately I used the Iron Skin jutsu. Otherwise, just the mesh itself might have killed me.'
Goro noticed the injuries and said, "You are injured."
Fujin nodded and said, "It's fine. None of the injuries are serious."
Goro sighed in relief and asked, "In what mess were you? And what was that dangerous chakra?"
Fujin sighed and said, "He was a Jinchuriki, a ninja who hosts the Four Tailed Beast. I thought that he couldn't control it. But my information was wrong. That's why I fell into such a dangerous position."
He looked at Goro and said, "Thanks Goro. Had you been a second late, I'd have been dead."
Fujin genuinely was thankful. Goro chuckled and said, "You are worrying too much. Though you aren't as good as this Lord, your skin is extremely thick as well!"
Both suddenly looked towards the entrance of the cave. Ryu's massive body appeared in their eyes. Ryu entered the cave and observed the destruction. He asked, "What happened here?"
His eyes landed on Fujin and narrowed. He asked, "Who injured you?"
Goro and Fujin gulped as they felt the killing intent emitted by Ryu.
