Fierce Battle! The Third Raikage!

"Looks like he's the gift Black Zetsu prepared for me..."

The Third Raikage was nothing like the random nobodies Uchiha Mo had killed before. If the Third Raikage was the final boss of a stage, then Yugito was, at most, a minor soldier, while Danzo was merely an elite monster blocking the road.

Below Super Kage Level, the Third Raikage was absolutely one of the strongest people in the entire Ninja World.

His body was strong enough to brawl with the Eight-Tails Gyūki until both were exhausted. He had suppressed the Eight-Tails' rampages alone several times, and in one battle, he had even broken every one of the Eight-Tails' tails!

Even in the Impure World Reincarnation state, where both his chakra quality and physical strength were far inferior to when he was alive, he could take a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken from Naruto's chakra mode head-on at point-blank range—a technique that theoretically countered him!

He was a monster with virtually no weaknesses in any aspect. Whether it was speed, endurance, defense, or attack power, he stood at the very peak of the Ninja World.

After glancing at the panel, Mo did not reveal the news in advance.

Such a "high-quality" opponent naturally had to be used to the fullest, squeezed dry of every last bit of value.

The group continued onward in silence. By the time the sun began to sink toward the west, the dense forest where Mo had previously discovered the Third Raikage appeared on the horizon before them.

"..."

Mo narrowed his eyes slightly, heightened his vigilance, and continued leading the group forward, swiftly entering the forest.

"Step... whoosh..."

"Step... whoosh..."

"Step... whoosh..."

Figures leaped from branch to branch at high speed, landing on another branch ahead before springing onward again...

"Mo... isn't it a little too quiet around here..."

Fugaku turned his head, but before he could finish speaking, a dazzling streak of lightning suddenly shot down at the group like a bolt from the slanted sky ahead!

"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!"

Fugaku's expression froze, but Mo did not even look at him. With a grave expression, he instantly drew Futsunomitama from his waist and held it horizontally before himself.

"Scarlet Scorch: Burning Body Ring!"

A flowing black barrier appeared around Mo in an instant. Yet before it could fully form, it immediately condensed onto Futsunomitama's blade under Mo's deliberate control, forming a thin layer of light.

At the same moment, a burly dark-skinned man with long white hair standing upright appeared before Mo amid crackling electricity. His right hand, wrapped in blue lightning, violently stabbed into Futsunomitama's blade, which flowed with black light!

"Clang—!"

"Boom—!"

After a crisp, strange sound, everyone saw Uchiha Mo's figure violently blasted away by a streak of blue lightning!

That lightning sent Uchiha Mo crashing through countless thick branches before dragging him dozens of meters across the ground. It kicked up two dense trails of dust on either side before finally stopping before a towering tree so thick it would take three people to encircle it.

"Clan Head!"

"Big brother?!"

"Mo..."

"..."

The clansmen cried out in horror, hurriedly leaping down from the branches and rushing anxiously toward him.

"Cough..."

Yet at that moment, a clear cough sounded from within the smoke. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked worriedly toward the smoke beneath the tree.

As the dust dispersed, Uchiha Mo slowly rose to his feet before the charred and badly damaged tree trunk.

Mo's upper clothes had been completely reduced to ash, exposing his pale yet lean, muscular body. The trousers on his lower half were likewise tattered beyond repair.

He quickly noticed something strange. His eyes shifted downward, and he raised a hand to wipe the corner of his mouth before lowering it in front of himself and looking down.

"Hmm?"

A trace of bright red rested on Mo's pale hand.

"Blood...?"

Although the terrifying piercing force of Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite had been completely blocked by Futsunomitama, the powerful impact had truly struck Mo's body. Thus, while he appeared uninjured on the surface, his internal organs had suffered quite a shock from that force.

"Heh~"

The injuries within his body were soothed in an instant by his powerful vitality, but a somewhat crazed curve rose at the corner of Mo's mouth.

He suddenly raised his head. No one noticed that on a tree trunk diagonally above, a burly dark-skinned man stood with his arms folded, staring at him with a startled and suspicious expression.

Mo looked at the Third Raikage and suddenly grinned.

"What a long-lost feeling... This is... simply wonderful! This is what a battle should be! This is what real slaughter should be!!!"

Thoughts on Going Premium

Mm... the paid release starts on Monday. Updates will still be at noon. I'm still writing the extra chapters, so I'm not sure exactly how many there will be, but after going premium, my daily target will be six thousand words.

Whether I can update more will depend on everyone's enthusiasm, hehe~ (rubs hands like a fly)

I won't waste too much time with nonsense. Let's get to the point and address a few things everyone has been worried about.

First: leaving the Hidden Leaf.

I saw some readers say that as long as Minato took office and did not die, there would be no problem at all with the Uchiha Clan staying in the Hidden Leaf, and there would be absolutely no need to leave. The answer is yes, without a doubt.

Others think the Hidden Leaf could simply become the Uchiha Clan's Hidden Leaf. To that, I can only say that the Uchiha Clan is fine at fighting, but management... those who know, know. (laughs)

By this point, dear readers should have realized that this book's tone is not like that. Staying in the Hidden Leaf would be a great path, but too many stories have already written it that way, and that path does not suit Mo.

Someone like Mo should be the darkness that makes the Ninja World tremble, a public enemy—not merely an incredibly powerful fighter within a faction. He is not truly a madman who kills without restraint. He is merely an Uchiha Clan psychopath.

Thus, he is cold-blooded to the extreme toward confirmed enemies, yet he would be upset because Shisui said, "I won't cook for you." He clearly understood the path he wanted to take, so he turned a blind eye to, and even actively rejected, the bonds extended to him in the Hidden Leaf. Whether it was Minato, Kurenai, Kakashi, or even Asuma and Gekko Hayate, it was all the same.

He was destined to walk alone, or to walk alongside only a small number of people with the same darkness.

That was the reason based on character compatibility. There was another reason as well: the plot.

From a plot perspective, defecting had been something I decided in my first outline. I have not read that many Naruto fanfics myself, but I did not want to write a story where staying in the Hidden Leaf simply meant following the original plot. Of course, Mo would not be absent from the important stories of the original work. After all, I am still writing Naruto; it is simply that the role he plays may be somewhat different.

Finally, regarding the Uchiha Clan after leaving, some dear readers also feel that the Uchiha Clan simply is not suited to lead a village, so leaving would not actually help. My answer is: you're right!

Naturally, I considered that as well. Therefore, in their new home, the Uchiha Clan will be emperors who only handle fighting. Everyone need not worry about that.

As for where they will go, it will be within the Ninja World. It will not be one of the places everyone usually thinks of, nor will it be an original location. I won't say more.

Second: about the eyes.

I know what everyone wants to see. (laughs) Some readers want to see the Mangekyo, while others want the protagonist to follow Indra's path.

As for that, my answer is: I want it all! I want the Mangekyo's abilities, and I want Indra too—and I will not force it awkwardly.

I can give everyone a hint: the reason the protagonist failed to awaken his eyes earlier was to lay the groundwork for this.

I won't say more. It would be too easy to spoil things.

Third: about the length.

The current plot has not yet reached two hundred thousand words, yet Mo's raw strength has already reached Kage Level by the standard of a well-rounded hexagon with no weaknesses. Combined with his combat intelligence, strange abilities, Kekkei Tōta, and other advantages, it could be said that as long as an enemy had not reached Super Kage Level, he would basically have a considerable chance of winning.

Therefore, some readers worry that the protagonist is becoming invincible too quickly, that the power scaling will collapse, or that I will make the plot collapse just to keep the power scaling reasonable, ending the story at lightning speed in five hundred thousand words.

Please believe me, because everyone can see that this cheat's method of improvement is simple: kill.

And right now, it is wartime. If his improvement were not fast, that would mean there was something wrong with my writing.

For one thing, the cheat I designed becomes harder to improve with the further one goes. For another, the plot from the beginning through the end of the Third Shinobi World War is meant to raise the protagonist's strength.

Only after the Third Shinobi World War ends will the protagonist have enough influence and strength to stir up the Ninja World and make plans and take action for his ultimate mission.

After the Third Shinobi World War, with the war ending, Mo would naturally continue causing trouble to prepare for his ultimate mission while killing people to grow stronger.

And during such a peaceful period, there definitely would not be conditions like those of a war, where he could simply run onto a battlefield and start hacking away.

Therefore, the length I have planned should not be less than eight hundred thousand words, so please rest assured and keep reading!

Alright, let's return to this book in the end.

Naruto fanfiction was something I had wanted to write from the time I first started writing, because I am also quite a longtime Naruto fan.

When I was little, during one vacation, I wanted to watch Dragon Ball on Star Chinese Channel, but I happened to catch the Chinese-dubbed Naruto instead. The episode airing then was Sage Naruto vs. Pain, and I was instantly hooked. After all, what had a little brat still watching cartoons like Pleasant Goat ever seen before? I thought Dragon Ball was already one of a kind, but I never expected there to be something else so interesting.

But everyone knows how that went. Little kids still had to go to school, while anime would not wait for you to get out of class.

So when I was in middle school, I gradually caught up on Naruto using my mom's phone and a neighbor who also liked Naruto and had a computer at home.

Later, I also got into Naruto Mobile during my second year of high school. I have played on and off until now, quitting twice and coming back twice. It has been almost seven years.

So when I decided to write novels, Naruto immediately appeared among my first choices. But because it was my first time writing, I feared I was too inexperienced to write a story others would enjoy, so I waited until now, my second book.

Before writing it, I had many ideas in my head. In the end, I chose the one everyone is seeing now, because I instinctively felt everyone would prefer this sort of character.

After all, back when the series was airing, if I remember correctly, Sasuke was more popular most of the time. And an aloof, cool, sharp-tongued, neurotic handsome guy was clearly more suitable for the framework of a "novel."

I submitted this book directly to my editor—Boss Aurora.

However, although I could not exactly be called a complete beginner, honestly, I could not be considered some seasoned "veteran player" either. Even now, I only vaguely understand many of Qidian's mechanisms.

So later, when I heard that even top authors could have internal submissions rejected and needed to revise several versions before getting approved, I felt quite nervous.

But fortunately, Boss Aurora was rather kind to me. Maybe he considered that he could not demand too much from my abilities. (laughs) So after he finished reading it, he approved it directly.

The data during the initial new-book period was rather poor, but Boss Aurora also eased my anxiety and told me not to rush, to wait a little longer. Sure enough, when it reached the third round, it picked up.

For this book to have come this far, received so many excellent recommendations, and gone premium with results far beyond my expectations, aside from all of you readers, the person I owe most is probably my editor, Boss Aurora.

So whether you are new partners who want to write books for money and enter the industry quickly, or big shots with great ideas preparing to become famous with one book, I recommend everyone join our Midsummer Chief Editorial Group~

Or you can submit directly to Editor Aurora.

Boss Aurora is handsome, patient, and highly capable at his job. I strongly recommend him—you must not miss out~ (thumbs up)

Finally, let me shamelessly ask for another wave of first-day subscriptions, hehe~

Please! Tomorrow at noon!

Whether you plan to stockpile chapters or read pirated copies, please give me a first subscription before you go! It is really important to me!

Please!

0r2

Bang bang bang bang bang!!!

"Intense Battle! The Third Raikage!"

"This brat... actually has such a powerful body?!"

The Third Raikage muttered to himself in uncertain disbelief. He knew his own attack power very well. Even without its piercing force, the force of the impact alone should not have been something a twelve-year-old boy could withstand. Moreover, judging from Uchiha Mo's physical condition, the injuries he suffered seemed negligible.

The people from the Hidden Leaf followed Uchiha Mo's gaze and looked up, immediately seeing the black figure above.

"Th-the Third Raikage?!"

"Th-this... why? Why is the Raikage here?!"

"..."

In this era, the Third Raikage's reputation rivaled that of a Tailed Beast! The people from the Hidden Leaf clearly recognized him as well, and fear appeared on their faces.

A force of nearly a thousand shinobi gave them no sense of security whatsoever. After all, apart from the Uchiha Clan brought by Mo, the rest were not elites to begin with. Whether in combat quality or mental fortitude, they were abysmal.

Yet just as everyone remained in panic, a black bolt of lightning suddenly exploded forth and shot upward at the Third Raikage's position!

"Screee—!"

"Scarlet Scorch: Chidori!"

It was Uchiha Mo! Black lightning blazed around his hand as he charged fiercely at the Third Raikage!