Who Piloted the Gundam

A strange sound suddenly echoed through the silent underground cavern. The elderly man, who had been dozing, slowly opened his eyes. After scanning his surroundings, his Three-Tomoe eyes detected nothing out of the ordinary.

Yet, he felt an inexplicable rise in the air's temperature.

It was the scorching heat of flames; it was the smoke of battle.

His withered body had not felt this sensation in a long time, and it suddenly made his aged blood boil with a hint of excitement.

But this was underground! Hundreds of meters underground! Not the surface! Why would heat be reaching this place?

"Obito, what happened?"

"There was another fight up there. It was so scary! That Uchiha seems even more powerful than you, Madara-sama. He wiped out all the Iwagakure shinobi with a single Fire Style technique~" Obito twisted his body, putting on a trembling display of fear.

"That earthen fortress was completely destroyed, too."

The old man, with tubes inserted into his back as if he were piloting Unit-01, curled the corner of his mouth slightly, a flicker of interest appearing in his Three-Tomoe eyes.

"It seems another genius has emerged among those fellows."

"That might be more than just a genius!" Obito spread his arms wide to draw a large circle. "An entire fortress, swallowed by a single Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

"It scared me so much I almost pooped myself!"

"Even though I don't know how to poop~~"

Uchiha Madara felt quite helpless regarding this bizarre creature he had created; he had absolutely no desire to discuss the topic of defecation with this fellow!

However, despite being a freak, his combat prowess was not to be underestimated.

"To be able to expand the range and power of a technique to the level of a fortress... the Uchiha clan cannot become jinchuriki, which means this fellow's Mangekyo ability is the same as mine: a power that enhances the potency of ninjutsu."

When one grows old, one likes to reminisce. Back in the day, it was precisely because of such ocular techniques that he successfully began his conquest of the four corners of the world.

Such an ability is powerful, but this great strength is exchanged at the cost of one's vision constantly deteriorating.

Even if this junior possesses such power now, without the cells of Hashirama, he would sooner or later be eroded by the [curse] and descend into darkness.

It was merely a fleeting brilliance.

"The successor I told you to find—have you found him?"

Obito instantly stood at attention, his body stiffening. "Found him! He has the naive and kind personality you wanted, Madara-sama. It's just that he's an idiot; he doesn't look very bright at all."

If even an idiot like you calls someone an idiot, just how stupid must he be?

However, an idiot is fine; such a person is the easiest to deceive.

Uchiha Madara maintained his dignity, not voicing his inner thoughts. Having spent so long with this peculiar White Zetsu, he felt he was becoming less and less like his former self.

"Very well. Find a way to bring him here, by any means necessary." After saying this, Uchiha Madara slowly closed his eyes.

He wanted to sink into his usual slumber, but... why was it getting hotter and hotter?

Hatake Sakumo's squad on the surface continued to advance along their original planned route.

"The intelligence wasn't leaked, but our position has been exposed."

"That ninjutsu was so powerful that the commotion was too great. Even from over ten kilometers away, the anomaly could be seen with the naked eye. I fear the surrounding area is already under martial law, and the intelligence we received is likely incorrect."

Hatake Sakumo glanced at Uchiha Yuji, who remained as calm and composed as ever. He felt that the Shinobi World he thought he knew had become somewhat unfamiliar.

Hatake Sakumo himself was not a ninja known for his chakra reserves; he was always proficient in various precise and sharp combat tactics.

Even if his chakra wasn't immense, [White Fang] was formidable. Even the Third Kazekage was not impossible to fight; although he was somewhat countered by him, stalling him was not a problem.

He had seen his fair share of enemies at the [Kage] level, and he had witnessed plenty of combined and composite ninjutsu on the battlefield, but this was the first time he had seen such an outrageous, terrifying Fire Style. This single technique alone had overturned his common sense.

Is this really ninjutsu? Or is it some kind of Tailed Beast Bomb?

Why, after releasing such a terrifying technique, are you still so nonchalant, as if nothing had happened at all!

And this genin—is he really a genin? Where is there a genin who can kick a chunin like a ball?

Before coming, he had planned to sneakily eliminate some unavoidable strongholds, then cause a scene in Iwagakure before making a graceful exit.

Now, having witnessed the ferocity of his team members, Hatake Sakumo decided to revise the battle plan.

"Yuji, can you keep using your Susanoo?"

The loyal Uchiha immediately grew anxious. "Using the Mangekyo ability continuously will cause blindness! White Fang, you don't know—"

"No problem."

The definitive voice drowned out the Uchiha's words. Uchiha Yuji clenched his right hand into a fist. "Those Iwagakure shinobi just now weren't even enough to serve as a warm-up."

"Then let's move out. The frontal battlefield is yours." Hatake Sakumo's dark eyes flickered with a blood-red glint. "The route remains unchanged, but every enemy along the way—leave none alive."

Since you have discovered our lightning-fast raid, we shall turn it into a lightning-fast assault.

"I understand. I will fight with all my might." Uchiha Yuji's figure flashed, moving away from Hatake Sakumo's team.

Zetton-chan was still silently supporting the massive reserves of Chatonra.

Yin-style chakra was output in large quantities, rapidly gathering and solidifying. The ink-like Susanoo appeared substantial, and under the supply of vast chakra, its pitch-black arms were covered in a thick layer of armor.

In another instant, the terrifying giant that had been right before their eyes appeared in the distance, visibly shrinking rapidly.

In just a few breaths, the Susanoo, which had been forced to fifty meters, was now the size of a soybean, having already reached the next target.

Two thirty-meter-long katanas swung with casual ease, their energy shockwaves sweeping in every direction, carving through the camp like a hot knife through butter and slaughtering a vast number of Iwagakure Ninja.

Earth Style: Earth Wall? Useless!

Earth Style: Earth Land Return? Useless!

Super-Weighted Rock Technique? Useless!

Useless, useless, useless, useless, useless!

The pitch-black Susanoo stood like an Asura from hell, coldly reaping lives, extinguishing countless sparks of vitality, and bringing death in its wake.

By the time Hatake Sakumo arrived, he saw nothing but a scene of utter devastation; the battle was already over.

No, perhaps it could not even be called a battle—it was a massacre.

From beginning to end, the Iwagakure Ninja had failed to mount a single effective resistance.

The crude, sweeping slashes had not killed every last one of them, but the remaining stragglers, faced with this elite squad, offered only a feeble resistance before their souls returned to the heavens.