Dongfeng Express, Eradicating the Weeds

Madara leaped high, landing on the cliff, and returned to Natsu Yuu's side.

In an instant.

Madara sensed the change in Natsu Yuu—the chakra fluctuations emanating from him had surged dozens of times over?

The total amount wasn't high, but compared to the negligible fluctuations before, the shift was drastic.

Still.

Madara wasn't overly surprised by this.

After all, no one could possibly increase their chakra limit by dozens of times in just ten minutes, right?

More likely, it was just another trick from this "Sage of the Dao Path."

Madara's assumption wasn't unreasonable.

He had witnessed Natsu Yuu teleport away without any chakra fluctuation at all.

If that was a disguise back then, why wouldn't this be one now?

It was like.

You'd clearly seen a person with no weapons on them.

But in the blink of an eye, they pulled out a pistol...

And in another blink, they pulled out a rocket launcher...

At that point, would you think they only had a rocket launcher hidden? Or would you expect them to pull out something even more terrifying?

Besides, with the Rinnegan and that unfathomable teleportation ability.

Madara simply didn't believe that the chakra fluctuations Natsu Yuu displayed were his true level.

"Beautiful! Did that dance feel good?"

"Not bad. But far from Hashirama. Only Hashirama can truly get my blood boiling!"

Madara crossed his arms and snorted.

He grudgingly acknowledged Iwagakure. Or rather, a handful of its people.

At least the Tsuchikage Ishikawa, who was willing to fight to the death to protect the village, and the despicable yet talent-shocking Mu... had left a decent impression on Madara.

These shinobi deserved a "not bad" from him.

That was already an extremely high compliment.

To Madara, most ordinary shinobi were no different from the sand on the ground—not worth remembering.

"That jutsu Mu used—what do you think of it?"

Natsu Yuu asked with keen interest.

He was curious too—could Dust Release actually break through the Perfect Susanoo's defense?

Given how closely Madara had watched Mu during the fight, was it possible?

"It's likely a Kekkei Tōta, fusing the three chakra natures of 'Wind, Fire, and Earth.'"

"It's indeed quite rare, and dangerous too."

"If its activation speed were a bit faster, it would be a perfect Forbidden Jutsu."

Madara rarely evaluated jutsu.

But this Dust Release truly deserved praise.

It was also one of the few attack methods in the world capable of breaching the Susanoo's defense...

Of course.

Breaking the Susanoo's defense didn't mean defeating him.

Moreover, in front of Madara, Mu wouldn't even have the chance to fully execute Dust Release.

"A shame. Such an interesting jutsu seems destined to be lost."

"Not necessarily. That brat you saw a few days ago, Ōnoki, is still alive. He's probably already evacuated Iwagakure. He might master this Kekkei Tōta in the future."

Madara's eyes lit up as he recalled Ōnoki.

"That brat?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want me to kill everyone in Iwagakure? Including the old and children who left?"

Madara frowned slightly.

Though ruthless and cold-blooded, he was especially lenient toward children.

After all, besides Izuna, he had several other brothers who had lost their lives to war at a young age.

If he could help it, he didn't want to kill children.

Natsu Yuu waved his hand, signaling.

"It's not that serious. I haven't sunk to the level of a pervert."

War is war.

But genocide is another matter entirely.

Natsu Yuu had no desire to become a beast, let alone a squid worse than a beast...

Hearing this.

Madara also relaxed slightly.

Then his gaze sharpened, fixing on Natsu Yuu as he brought up the real matter.

"I've completed the deal. Now it's your turn to fulfill your promise."

Madara was, of course, referring to: he was responsible for destroying Iwagakure, and Natsu Yuu, after the deed was done, would take him to glimpse the future and confirm the truth of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

"No rush, we still need to wait a bit."

Natsu Yuu's answer made Madara flare up in anger.

The killing intent and Chakra pressure accumulated from wading through mountains of corpses and seas of blood pressed down on Natsu Yuu together, as he demanded harshly:

"Are you going back on your word?"

What Madara hated most was deception and betrayal!

"What's the hurry."

"This battlefield hasn't been dealt with yet. Just wait a moment."

Natsu Yuu explained calmly.

After his Chakra had surged, he could withstand Madara's Chakra pressure now.

Of course, both physically and mentally, it was far less easy than his face let on.

Madara withdrew his hostility.

Hearing that the battlefield was still unfinished, he chose to hold back for now. Let's see what excuse Natsu Yuu could come up with next.

"How do you need me to handle the battlefield?"

"You don't need to lift a finger. I'll do it myself."

"Oh?"

Madara's eyes lit up.

Hearing that Natsu Yuu would act personally, he gained a bit of pure curiosity and anticipation.

It was a perfect chance to witness the power of the Rinnegan, or perhaps the true strength of this so-called Immortal Natsu Yuu?

But then.

The entire Iwagakure had already been reduced to ruins, with hardly any survivors inside.

On the battlefield outside the village, all the ninja who could flee had already escaped, leaving only a few hundred gravely wounded, dying ninja.

Where was any formidable enemy left?

Could Natsu Yuu be planning to strike at those severely injured?

That would be too pathetic, wouldn't it?

Was a dignified immortal really this lackluster?

Natsu Yuu saw Madara's confusion but couldn't be bothered to explain.

He'd understand soon enough.

Though Madara had indeed crushed the Stone Ninja army with a berserk, overwhelming force and sliced apart the entire Iwagakure with a single blade stroke.

This still wasn't enough.

Or rather, it was missing something.

What if.

Some days later, a few surviving Stone Ninja regrouped and came back to rebuild Iwagakure?

The odds were low, but still possible.

Certain stubborn ninja always clung to obsessions beyond ordinary comprehension.

Thus, Natsu Yuu had no desire to periodically drag Madara back here for a cleanup sweep.

And as the first Ninja Village to be destroyed, Natsu Yuu had to ensure Iwagakure wouldn't rise from the ashes!

Lest it suddenly drag down his mission progress later on.

Fine, he'd just apply the final patch himself.

As for the method?

"Whoosh--"

Natsu Yuu vanished from his spot, appearing instantly thousands of meters directly above Iwagakure.

Next, a [Modern Item Redemption Voucher] was used.

The next moment.

A gray-green cylindrical object over ten meters long appeared beside Natsu Yuu.

He then immediately delayed its activation and let go.

The 'cylinder' fell straight down toward [Iwagakure] below.

Natsu Yuu instantly teleported away, returning to Madara's side.

Madara, with his excellent eyesight and powerful perception, naturally noticed Natsu Yuu teleporting to the high altitude above Iwagakure's ruins and lingering there for a few seconds.

But he didn't understand exactly what he had done.

"What are you..."

"Come on, I'll take you farther away to observe."

Natsu Yuu brought Madara along and teleported dozens of kilometers away.

The sudden teleportation made Madara feel slightly uncomfortable.

But he quickly calmed down.

In his heart, he was even more astonished that Natsu Yuu could actually teleport him along! And without any warning, with no way to resist!

"You!..."

"Shh, look over there!"

Natsu Yuu pointed toward Iwagakure's direction, and at some point had put on a pair of sunglasses.

Though it probably wouldn't harm his [Rinnegan], Natsu Yuu didn't want to casually stare straight at a 'sun'.

Look where?

Look at what?

Madara followed his gaze, quite puzzled, not knowing what strange thing Natsu Yuu was up to.

But the next moment.

Dozens of kilometers away, at the center of Iwagakure.

A massive ball of light violently rose from the ground, its intense radiance like a blazing sun instantly swallowing everything, even overwhelming the sunlight from the sky!

The light sphere rapidly expanded, turning into a huge orange-red mushroom cloud.

It churned and spread at extreme speed in the air, devouring everything around it!

Compared to that mushroom cloud—symbolizing destruction, awe-inspiring just to look at, and towering over ten kilometers high—even the [Perfect Susanoo] seemed somewhat small.

Madara stared blankly at that exploding 'Earthly Sun'.

Then, with intense excitement, he murmured:

"What kind of jutsu is that?!!"