Naruto: By lying low and hiding, he eventually became the leader of the Legendary Sannin.

In the original timeline (referring to the TV series), this country only appeared during the Third Shinobi World War.

Kusagakure was an important battleground in the Third Shinobi World War, where Obito Uchiha died (actually disappeared).

There were only two ninjas from Kusagakure who appeared in the entire series. One of them was the fat guy from the Preta Path, one of the Six Paths of Pain.

Another one is Karin, the descendant of the Uzumaki clan who hangs out with Sasuke.

But today we're not going to talk about Kusagakure, but about a young man who comes to the Land of Grass at this time.

This was a young man dressed in purple clothes and a breastplate, with his hair tied in a small ponytail and a beard.

This is none other than the Four-Tails Jinchuriki from Iwagakure, known as Roshi.

Although he doesn't look old now, Lao Zi is indeed his real name.

Although he was still wearing a headband with the Iwagakure symbol on his head, he was no longer a ninja of Iwagakure.

Strictly speaking, although Iwagakure has never issued a warrant for his arrest, he can only be considered a rogue ninja from Iwagakure.

Old Purple's experiences are somewhat similar to those of Naruto and Gaara.

He was also implanted with the Four-Tails Son Goku when he was young, and became the Four-Tails Jinchuriki.

After years of rigorous training, he is now able to skillfully control the Four-Tails and is a powerful ninja.

Unfortunately, as his strength increased, the conflict between him and the current Tsuchikage, Onoki, also intensified.

Several years ago, after the Second Shinobi World War, he finally left the village and became a wandering monk due to his personality clashes with the Tsuchikage.

Of course, Onoki wouldn't announce to the public that such a Jinchūriki had become a runaway ninja.

Since Rōshi never showed any resentment towards Iwagakure, he was eventually allowed to leave the village and travel the continent.

He was squatting by a small river, scooping up water with his hands and drinking it.

After a short while, he finally replenished his fluids and stood up again.

He casually wiped the water off his beard and squinted at the distance.

Although he was supposed to be traveling across the continent, the actual number of places he was allowed to visit was far less than he had imagined.

After all, he had fallen out with the Tsuchikage, so it was naturally not appropriate for him to linger within the Land of Earth.

However, as a powerful Jinchūriki, his information must exist in the archives of other countries.

If we rashly venture into other countries, it may cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

So for the past few years, he has been wandering around the borders of these small countries and other large countries.

Fortunately, due to his great strength, he still had a considerable amount of the bounty he had earned from missions in the Land of Earth.

The bounty was enough to support his dream of traveling the continent.

After determining his direction, Lao Zi made up his mind about his next steps and finally started walking again.

But he hadn't taken more than a few steps when he stopped again.

The reason he stopped again was that three strangers appeared in front of him.

The three men were dressed in identical clothes, black robes embroidered with red cloud decorations.

"Dawn?"

Upon seeing the three people's attire, Lao Zi narrowed his eyes slightly and immediately identified them.

As one of the victims of that battle in the valley, the higher-ups of Iwagakure naturally investigated the Akatsuki organization founded by Uchiha Madara.

As one of the strongest members of Iwagakure in the past, Roshi must have seen the results of Akatsuki's investigation.

So when he saw that distinctive outfit, he immediately recognized the other person's identity.

He looked up and carefully observed the three men's attire and appearance, and quickly identified them:

"Two of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who were originally from Kirigakure, are Juzo Biwa and Suigetsu Hozuki."

And Kakuzu, an elite Jonin from the former Takigakure village, a legendary ninja who was active in the same era as Hashirama Senju.

Ah...

May I ask what brings you three wandering monks like myself here?

You should know that I have absolutely no connection with Iwagakure anymore.

The three people whose identities were revealed showed no surprise.

Kakuzu, one of the three, took a step forward. His dark green eyes swept over Old Purple, and then he said in a deep voice:

"It has nothing to do with Iwagakure. We're looking for you."

Upon hearing this, Lao Zi murmured for a moment, then revealed a knowing look.

He looked at the three of them and said in a low voice:

"So that's how it is. You were looking for me..."

No, it's the four-tailed beast inside me, Son Goku.

Throughout his years of action, Madara Uchiha never made a point of concealing his true intentions.

After collecting and analyzing Akatsuki's actions over the years, it's easy to deduce that they were collecting the Tailed Beasts.

So in just a moment, Lao Zi guessed the purpose of these three people.

The three men's expressions remained unchanged in the face of his speculation, but their silence was the best answer.

Having understood the other party's intentions, Lao Zi knew that a battle was inevitable.

He took off his straw hat and tossed it aside with a flick of his wrist.

The next second, Lao Zi's body suddenly turned deep red, and his entire body was wrapped in high-temperature lava.

This is the power that Old Purple's bloodline limit has unleashed—Lava Release Chakra Mode.

This involves turning one's chakra into lava and then wrapping it around the entire body.

When combined with physical techniques, the effect is outstanding; everything it touches will melt.

It can also enhance defense, and the Lava Armor has both offensive and defensive capabilities.

Although the Four-Tails Son Goku can also use Lava Release, Roshi's Lava Release at this time is not achieved by borrowing the Four-Tails' chakra, but rather originates from Roshi's own ability.

In fact, there is one other person in the entire ninja world who can use Lava Release, and that is Kagura's old acquaintance, Tsuchishiro from Kumogakure.

Although both are molten escape techniques, there are huge differences between them.

If we analyze it in detail, Earth Release has a higher proportion in Tsuchishiro's Lava Release, so it is more suitable for defense.

Old Purple's Lava Release technique, on the other hand, has a higher proportion of Fire Release and contains greater destructive power.

It can be said that the Lava Release technique used by Lao Zi is like lava erupting from a volcano, chilling people to the bone.

Looking at Lao Zi, who had suddenly transformed into a humanoid lava, the three people standing opposite him felt a wave of heat wash over them.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and a major battle was imminent.

Chapter 71 A Carefully Arranged Opponent

Looking at Lao Zi, who was as red as fire, even the three who were prepared couldn't help but frown.

After all, if we're talking purely about attack power, Old Purple's Lava Release is arguably one of the top attributes.

You should know that the lava on his body is not an illusion; just being touched by him at close range would probably cause a lot of damage.

Old Purple, facing three opponents alone, naturally wouldn't allow his opponents to prepare.

After crouching slightly, he surprisingly launched a preemptive attack on the three people in front of him.

Faced with Lao Zi's attack, the three of them dared not underestimate it in the slightest.

The three immediately jumped back and scattered, while simultaneously putting their hands together and quickly forming hand seals.

In the blink of an eye, they had completed their ninjutsu.

"Water Escape·Water Formation Wall!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

"Water Escape·Water Formation Pillar!"

Clearly, "Xiao" had also investigated Lao Zi before coming.

Without exchanging any words, the three of them simultaneously used Water Release.

Suddenly, a huge wall of water rose up in the open space between Lao Zi and the three of them, accurately blocking Lao Zi's path.

Seeing the water wall that suddenly appeared in front of him, Lao Zi did not waver in the slightest, but rushed straight into it.

Sizzle! ~~~

As Lao Zi rushed into the curtain of water, the lava on his body immediately reacted with the water.

In an instant, a large amount of water vapor was generated around him, quickly turning into a large mist that filled the air.

The next second, Lao Zi finally burst out of the water wall, forcefully dissolving a large hole in the impenetrable water wall.

At this moment, the lava on Lao Zi's body was still surging, and it seemed that the water wall had not had any effect on him.

But just as Lao Zi emerged from that wall of water, a water dragon rushed straight towards him.

The enormous water dragon opened its mouth and swallowed Old Purple, whose body was covered in lava, whole.

Faced with the impact of the water dragon, even the brave Lao Zi had to raise his hands to protect his chest in order to defend himself.

The sound of water vapor evaporating rang out continuously, and the moment the water dragon collided with Lao Zi, its head was already evaporated.

Even so, the long dragon's body still crashed into Lao Zi.

In an instant, the long dragon seemed to have been plunged into volcanic lava. The moment it touched Lao Zi, it immediately turned into water mist and disappeared.

Several seconds later, the enormous water dragon completely turned into steam and evaporated into the air.

At this time, Lao Zi's body finally began to show some changes.

The deep red lava armor had faded considerably, and the lava on his arms had almost completely disappeared, revealing a rock-like brownish-red color.

It seems that the Water Dragon Bullet Technique did have some effect on Lao Zi; at least from the outside, Lao Zi's lava cloak was worn away quite a bit.