Vanished Without a Trace? A Farewell to the "Akatsuki" / Beneath Kannabi Bridge, Invisibility

"This isn't a fight you can interfere in. Protect the employer and watch carefully."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mo drew the ninja blade at his waist and vanished in a Body Flicker.

The three members of Team 8 hurried onward with their employer, while Mo had already arrived beside the battlefield.

His gaze narrowed slightly as two tomoe spun into existence in his eyes, his gaze settling on the group of Sand Ninja. At the same time, with a thought from Mo, an illusory panel appeared before him.

Blue Baby Fusion Rate: 11.35% + 9.13% (Ability unlocked when both reach 10%: Invisibility)

He was only 0.87% Wind Release proficiency away from unlocking Invisibility. There were more than ten Sand Ninja before him; as long as Yahiko's group did not steal too many kills from him, Mo would soon unlock Blue Baby's first-stage ability.

Unfortunately, judging from the abilities already unlocked by Green Child and Orange Child, the abilities obtained at the first stage were not complete. They needed to be gradually perfected through later unlocks.

Thus, what Uchiha Mo would most likely obtain was merely an ability similar to Transparency Release or concealing his aura, rather than the outrageously powerful ability of intangibility.

Mo flicked his right wrist and gripped the long blade in reverse, then suddenly raised his left hand.

"Boom—!"

Brilliant blazing fire abruptly ignited in his palm. The flames were layered in distinct shades of blood-red, swaying nimbly in the wind as Mo ran, carrying a deadly, bewitching beauty.

Though he had yet to approach the battlefield, that powerful presence instantly drew everyone's attention.

Nagato, whose senses were sharp, immediately became alert. He raised a hand and used Shinra Tensei to blast the Sand Ninja away, then turned to see a streak of blood-red lightning plunge into the battlefield!

Mo closed in on a Sand Ninja. A scorching wind brushed across the man's face, and the overwhelming pressure instantly drained the color from his features. His face turned pale, and his body trembled in terror.

"Fire Style: Scarlet Scorch!"

Mo slammed a palm into the Sand Ninja's chest, and Fire Release chakra condensed to the extreme erupted instantly!

"Fwoom—boom—!"

Blood-red flames exploded, instantly setting his entire body ablaze. Then, a violent explosion erupted from Uchiha Mo's palm. The flames seemed catalyzed by the blast, burning out in an instant as a charred humanoid corpse was sent flying!

Nagato's pupils contracted. "What kind of technique was that? It's incredibly explosive!"

A kunai shot in from the side. Mo's Sharingan spun as he directly reached up, caught it, and turned to drive it into the throat of a nearby Sand Ninja. Immediately afterward, he raised his right hand behind him, and his long blade instantly blocked a sword slashing down from behind.

Mo swept his right arm forward, knocking the attack aside. At the same time, his wrist turned, shifting from a reverse grip to a standard grip as he stabbed the blade into the abdomen of a Sand Ninja rushing toward him.

At that moment, another fierce gust came from behind him. Without even looking, Mo drew his blade and sidestepped. A long sword swept past his robe and plunged directly into the shoulder of the Sand Ninja clutching his abdomen.

"Argh!" the Sand Ninja cried out in agony.

Mo tightened his right hand slightly, and blood-red flames instantly spread over his ninja blade. With a horizontal slash, two terrified heads soared high into the air.

The next moment, a voice came from the side.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A violent gale rushed toward him. Mo remained calm as chakra rapidly surged within his body.

"Scarlet Scorch: Burning Body Ring!"

As soon as he spoke, blood-red flames rapidly flowed around Mo's body! The flames burned and swirled, forming a barrier of fire in an instant.

"Boom! Fwoom—!"

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough struck the fiery barrier and was instantly dissipated, kicking up a wave of heat.

Mo turned toward the Sand Ninja who had launched the sneak attack. Their eyes met, and the Sand Ninja immediately began retreating in panic, only to fall to the ground after taking two steps.

"Boom!"

Blood-red flames ignited in Mo's right palm again. He then flung his ninja blade into the ground, planting it firmly. With his left hand, he pulled at the bloody flames in his right palm, and a crimson spear over a meter long appeared in his hand.

"Scarlet Scorch: Red Gleam Spear!"

As soon as he spoke, Mo fiercely hurled the spear at the Sand Ninja. The Red Gleam Spear streaked through the air like a meteor, drawing a blood-red line before instantly piercing the Sand Ninja's chest.

"Pfft! Sizzle—"

The Red Gleam Spear effortlessly pierced through him and nailed the Sand Ninja to the ground. Wisps of green smoke rose from the wound amid a piercing sound of evaporation, and then the blood-red color within the spear rapidly brightened. Then...

"Bang!"

The ground exploded into a round crater, blood raining down as Mo's expression remained calm. The surrounding Sand Ninja, however, were drenched in sweat. Their pupils shrank, their gazes froze on Mo, their bodies trembled, and all will to fight vanished.

But Mo had no intention of sparing them. With one hand, he pulled the ninja blade from the ground and began slaughtering them as if butchering pigs and dogs.

"Uchiha... Mo! Don't do this. The remaining people have already lost their will to fight!"

The moment Mo entered the battlefield, Yahiko's group had instinctively retreated to the side because of his overwhelming presence. Now, seeing that Mo still intended to kill the Sand Ninja who had given up resisting, they finally snapped out of it and spoke up to stop him.

In the distance, the three members of Team 8 stood there dumbfounded, still unable to recover from the impact of what they had just witnessed.

"So... so strong!"

The three of them had arrived at the same thought. Though there had been no Jonin among the Sand Ninja, only Chunin and Genin, the impact of watching Mo casually slaughter them as if dancing across the battlefield was simply overwhelming.

Mo turned a deaf ear and continued swinging his blade.

Several breaths later, not a single Sand Ninja remained alive. Mo wiped his ninja blade clean with the sleeve of his black robe before sheathing it.

"..."

Yahiko stood in place, looking somewhat stiff. The three members of Team 8, however, had recovered. Bringing Terada Yusuke with them, they rushed excitedly toward Mo.

"Teacher Mo, what was that Fire Release technique you just used? It was so cool!" Gekko Hayate looked at Mo with bright eyes, and he did not even cough after finishing the sentence.

Mo glanced at him. "Fire Style: Scarlet Scorch!"

No Trace? Meeting Akatsuki Again

Fire Style: Scarlet Scorch was the ability Mo had gone through the trouble of sparring with Kakashi to legitimize. It was also his partially self-created core Fire Release ninjutsu.

As the Uchiha Clan's foremost genius, with that reputation backing him, even if Mo suddenly claimed out of nowhere that he had created an A-rank ninjutsu, it would not have been a big deal.

But Mo wanted more. He wanted to legitimize not only a single ninjutsu, but Green Child's entire Fire Control ability. For that, he needed a clear path of development.

To achieve that goal, he had deliberately revealed portions of his abilities during certain past missions, vaguely allowing rumors of blood-red flames and the like to spread.

Then, he used Kakashi, Shisui, and Team 8 to completely legitimize "Scarlet Scorch."

In truth, Scarlet Scorch and Chidori did indeed share many similarities.

Although Uchiha Mo's Fire Release had been strengthened by Blazing Fire and gained greater power, it had not become fundamentally different from ordinary Fire Release. To improve that aspect, Mo had drawn inspiration from Chidori.

The core of Chidori was extreme Lightning Release chakra nature transformation, while the core of Scarlet Scorch was extreme Fire Release chakra nature transformation.

Mo possessed Fire Control, so he did not need to worry about any issues regarding Fire Release shape transformation. He merely needed to follow Chidori's example and push Fire Release's explosive and burning properties to their limits, naturally unleashing tremendous power!

That was how Scarlet Scorch's base form came to be. Once the base form was settled, further shape transformations became even simpler for Mo, who possessed Fire Control.

"What an incredible technique. I can sense that chakra at the very brink of explosion, yet you can actually control it..."

Nagato looked astonished. As a sensory ninja, aside from the Sand Ninja lying on the ground, he was the person present who could best sense the power of this technique.

After he spoke, Yahiko also came back to his senses. He walked up to Mo, his tone complicated.

"No matter what, we owe you again. Thank you for your help."

Mo's gaze fell upon an illusory panel.

Blue Baby Fusion Rate: 11.83% + 10.74% (Ability unlocked: Invisibility. Ability unlocked when both reach 30%: No Trace)

Seeing that the next-stage ability was not intangibility, Mo frowned slightly and replied casually.

"It's too early to thank me."

Yahiko tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The reason so many Sand Ninja are wandering around the border of the Land of Rain is because I killed someone of some importance among them within the Land of Rain before."

The three of them froze instantly. Once they processed the information, the image from a month ago surfaced in their minds at the same time.

"You bastard!"

Nagato, who had led the way, erupted in fury. He stepped forward, veins bulging at his neck. His purple eyes narrowed as terrifying ripples spread through the air. His right fist clenched tightly and rose, ready to swing at Mo's face.

Mo calmly watched Nagato. Yahiko immediately stepped forward, grabbed Nagato, and shouted.

"Calm down, Nagato!"

Seeing this, the three members of Team 8 immediately moved behind Mo, watching the trio warily.

"Nagato, neither you nor Mo can be blamed for this. The one who made the decision is the one who should bear responsibility. Otherwise, the chain of hatred will connect everyone!"

Yahiko looked at Nagato with a stern expression. Their eyes met, Nagato's body stiffened, and he slowly lowered his arm.

Only then did Yahiko release Nagato. He turned to Uchiha Mo.

"Thank you for your honesty. I apologize to you on Nagato's behalf."

Uchiha Mo did not answer. Instead, he turned to look at Nagato.

"Those eyes are far more terrifying than you imagine. If you want to be killed by your own eyes, stay angry. Go ahead and try."

Those eyes were not simply the Rinnegan. They were Madara Uchiha's eyes, containing ocular power that could be called supreme! Nagato had merely been angered just now, yet he had instinctively stirred that ocular power and unleashed a horrifying aura. Even Obito, during the Fourth Shinobi War, could only control the power of one eye despite possessing Uchiha Clan blood and half a body of Hashirama Cells.

Thus, Mo hoped even more that Nagato could use those eyes to bear sufficiently abundant fruit.

As soon as Mo spoke, Nagato showed signs of erupting again. Fortunately, Yahiko raised a hand to stop him in advance.

Yahiko turned his gaze toward Uchiha Mo. "Thank you for the warning. However, for the Land of Rain, I may have to reveal your information."

Mo glanced at Yahiko, unmoved.

"Do as you please."

With a ninja war imminent, building up some hatred from Sunagakure in advance was not a bad thing for Mo. In the Ninja World, there were the fewest powerful people proficient in Wind Release. Mo could foresee that his future relationship with Sunagakure would never be particularly pleasant.

Hearing that, Yahiko smiled and extended his right hand toward Uchiha Mo again.

"Thank you for understanding. The Ninja World has been becoming increasingly unstable lately. I want to establish an organization and create a peaceful world where people can understand and communicate with one another. Mo, we can be considered friends now, right? I want to invite you to join us in building this organization!"

Although Mo had acted extremely coldly, Yahiko understood that this was simply normal behavior for a ninja from a major nation. Moreover, with his two interventions to help them and his initiative in explaining the reason, Yahiko believed that Mo was definitely a caring person deep down.

Mo glanced at Yahiko's outstretched right hand. "What a naive person. Even if people understood each other, what would that change? Would hatred disappear because of understanding? If the two people beside you were suddenly killed someday, and the murderer openly told you his reasons and his difficulties, would you forgive him and let go of your hatred?"

Yahiko suddenly frowned, but after a short while, his expression relaxed again. His gaze was steady and solemn as he looked unwaveringly into Mo's eyes. He nodded and spoke softly.

"I would."

As soon as he spoke, Mo could clearly see Nagato and Konan, standing behind Yahiko, turn ugly.

But Mo's interest was not in them at that moment. He lifted his gaze and, for the first time, properly regarded this man who had served as Nagato's backdrop in the original story.

The corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted slightly. "Naive, but not childish. What a thoroughly disgusting person. Don't you understand that this kind of behavior only makes kindness worthless? If you repay resentment with virtue, then how will you repay virtue?"

Yahiko's expression remained unchanged as he looked seriously into those clean black eyes.

"Kindness is kindness. Kindness does not need value to define it."

Mo sneered and turned sideways.

"Like you? Too naive. Mercy is the privilege of the strong. If you remain strong forever, then of course you can remain foolishly kind forever. But you are weak. Sooner or later, someone will pay a painful price for your kindness..."

After speaking, he turned his head and glanced at Nagato.

"When that time comes, Nagato, you can come find me."

Beneath Kannabi Bridge, Invisibility

No sunlight entered the dark underground cavern. The walls around it were unusually smooth, without the slightest trace of vegetation.

A white humanoid creature suddenly emerged from the ground. As it appeared, the white-haired old man sitting at the far end of the cavern in a wooden chair, his head lowered and his face withered, suddenly opened his crimson right eye.

"What is it now?"

He raised his head, his crimson right eye looking toward the humanoid creature growing from the ground like a plant.

The white creature scratched its head and said in a sharp voice.

"Lord Madara, Uchiha Mo has come into contact with Nagato again. He seems to have recognized the Rinnegan too. They almost fought, but unfortunately, Nagato was stopped by Yahiko."