Intimidation

"Kusagakure is just ahead!"

Standing on the high slope, one can see a rather prosperous village on the grassland in front of them, occupying a considerable area. The flat road stretches outwards, and the few pedestrians on the road are as tiny as ants.

Looking at the village before her, Karin's eyes held a complex mix of emotions, including fear, disgust, and sorrow.

"Teacher Katsuki, what should we do? There are still many ordinary people in Kusagakure."

Kimimaro asked softly.

Katsuki stretched her neck, the bones grinding together with a crisp sound, and her smile was particularly sinister.

"It's simple, just let them come out on their own."

As soon as she finished speaking, crimson Chakra, as red as blood, emanated from Katsuki's body, wrapping around her arms like ribbons and swirling around her like vermilion smoke. An evil and chaotic aura swept in all directions, like a storm passing through.

"Smack!"

Their physiological instincts caused Sakura, Rindou, and the others to back away, avoiding Katsuki. They accidentally broke a dead branch under their feet, startling themselves.

"Rindou, Miki, what are you two hiding for? Are you trembling with fear?"

Katsuki revealed a malicious smile as she looked at the two boys.

Rindou's face flushed red instantly. With Sakura and Karin beside him, it was incredibly embarrassing...

However, after glancing at the tangible Chakra swirling like clouds beside Katsuki, he shrank back and chose to remain silent.

The clan leader is giving off a terrifying vibe right now. I felt breathless when I was standing close to him just now, but I feel more comfortable now that I'm further away.

Miki was much thicker-skinned than Rindou; after hearing Katsuki's words, he actually took a few steps back and stood even further away.

Jugo, who had just Jugo up, was bound tightly again and sat under the tree roots, looking at Katsuki with fear. Her aura was terrifying!

"Three minutes. The Grass Ninja has to come over in three minutes."

Katsuki held up three fingers and spoke to Sakura and the others.

Time passed second by second, and three minutes quickly came to an end.

The Kusagakure remained peaceful and tranquil. With Enhanced Vision, one could see the lazy work of the few Grass Ninja guarding the village entrance.

This is only possible if it were in Kusagakure. If it were in Konoha, the gatekeepers would be incredibly busy.

No, that's not the point... Mizuki 'Katsuki darkened. He'd boasted that the Grass Ninja would appear in three minutes, and it'd been almost five minutes already...

"Um... the Grass Ninja are even more lax than I expected!" Katsuki chuckled dryly, inwardly hating those useless Grass Ninja.

He released the Tailed Beast Chakra so openly, yet these Grass Ninja were completely oblivious. With such behavior, they have no sense of danger whatsoever. Unlike Konoha, where the entire village is enveloped by a sensory barrier, and the Police Force, Root, and Anbu patrol networks surround the village in layers, making it impenetrable.

"The Grass Ninja are indeed too lax, but that's probably because they haven't suffered any setbacks in the past few Shinobi World Wars!" Kimimaro also spoke up to help Katsuki out of the predicament.

However, Katsuki still felt very embarrassed.

"You guys step back, I'm going to give the Grass Ninja some serious flak."

Katsuki frowned and waved for Kimimaro to lead the group of little devils away.

After retreating to a sufficient distance, Katsuki licked her lips. "It's been a long time since I let you guys out to play. Who wants to come out and get some fresh air this time?"

In the dimly lit space, two enormous cages stood side by side, with two giant beasts lying inside, yawning and looking at Katsuki standing outside, appearing listless.

"Let's take a breather?" Nine-Tails chuckled. "You think you can just hand over control of your body to us, you bastard?"

The Five-Tails beast lazily watched Katsuki.

"Enough with the nonsense, Five-Tails. Lend me your power."

Too lazy Katsuki waste time arguing with these two beasts, Mizuki immediately reached out and grabbed at the Five-Tails...

"Roar!!!"

Not far from Kusagakure, on a hill, a snow-white behemoth crushed a grove of trees, its five thick tails lashing violently at the ground.

The earth was trembling!

The Kusagakure instantly erupted in excitement.

Cries, shouts, the sound of things breaking, and pedestrians running around aimlessly like headless flies caused enormous chaos.

"······"

A dozen seconds passed before the Grass Ninja reacted and organized their men to evacuate the villagers, while a group of fairly strong Grass Ninja headed straight for the hills.

"Phew! This is so boring."

Seeing the approaching Grass Ninja, Katsuki deactivated his Tailed Beast Transformation.

"... Gone?"

Where did that monster go?

"Where's the sensory ninja? Find that monster for me right now..."

The older Grass Ninja's voice abruptly stopped, like a duck with its neck caught in its throat, clucking incoherently as he stared in terror at Katsuki approaching.

"Lord Katsuki Mizuki, I never expected to see you here..."

"Stop talking nonsense. I didn't come here for sightseeing."

Katsuki sat on the sofa, legs crossed, interrupting the leader of Kusagakure with an impatient expression.

The fifty-something-year-old leader of Kusagakure smiled obsequiously and nodded in agreement, daring not to utter a single complaint.

He knew Katsuki. Back during the Third Shinobi War World War, when Konoha and Stone Ninja were fighting in the Land of Grass, the Grass Ninja helped with logistics. He was one of the high-ranking leaders of the Grass Ninja at the time and had witnessed how terrifying Katsuki was.

At this moment, his heart was pounding, wondering how he had provoked this fierce god. The Five-Tails had shown its face outside the village, almost scaring his heart out.

"Stop looking around, look over there." Katsuki pointed to where Karin was sitting.

The old man looked over and saw Karin looking uneasy. Just then, Katsuki's voice rang out again.

"Enough with the pleasantries. Karin is a member of my Uzumaki Clan. She hasn't been living a very comfortable life here. I'm taking her back to Konoha this time, and I'll also be taking Karin's mother's remains with me..."

Looking at Karin, the old man could no longer hear what Katsuki was saying.

He knew Karin's plight very well as the leader of Kusagakure, and it could even be said that he was the one who led the research. He never expected that she was a member of the Uzumaki Clan... The scene before him blurred, and then everything went black. He could see nothing at all.

"... Were you scared to death? What a useless thing." Katsuki looked at the old man's corpse lying on the ground with disgust. His heart had stopped beating, and he was no longer alive.

"Don't think that dying will make it all go away. You two, come here."

Katsuki extended her finger, pointed at the other two elders of the Grass Ninja standing to one side, and beckoned them.

"Summon all your leaders who have influence." (To be continued)