Breaking into the Fortress of Space, Suppressing Shennong

"Very good."

"The Land of Sky's fortress has appeared at just the right time."

"Izumi, there's no need to look for a new base."

"Take everyone and sail out from the southern coast of the Land of Fire. You'll reach that forest in two days at most."

"This fortress must become the base of our Void Organization. No one is allowed to stand in our way."

"Lord Mu, are you planning to go personally?"

Izumi's expression tightened slightly as she hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

"You said the Fortress of Space can conceal its tracks and move freely, so it must have powerful defenses and guards.

And those people's identities are unknown. It's too dangerous for you to go alone. I'll go with you!"

"No need."

After everyone had withdrawn,

Chakra stirred faintly around Uchiha Mu's body as he fully activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

Complex patterns spun rapidly within his crimson pupils. The power of the Scar of Space silently activated, and a faint transparent glow spread around him.

With a flicker,

he vanished from where he stood.

Using the Scar of Space's instantaneous movement ability,

he raced in the direction indicated by the intelligence ninja.

He moved so fast that only a faint chakra afterimage remained.

In less than a day,

Uchiha Mu crossed thousands of miles

and arrived at the forest from his memories.

In an instant,

he detected a faint yet strange chakra fluctuation.

The fluctuation was extremely well concealed,

and carried a trace of dark energy.

Without careful sensing, it would have been impossible to notice. Someone had clearly used a special ninjutsu to hide the fortress's whereabouts.

"So it really is here."

Uchiha Mu thought to himself, a flash of understanding passing through his eyes.

Concealed behind the clouds, Uchiha Mu's Sharingan pierced through layer after layer of obstruction, taking in everything inside and outside the fortress.

The outer guards were all carefully selected death warriors.

Their auras were steady and their discipline strict. Within the fortress's central hall, an exceptionally peculiar chakra had the entire fortress firmly locked down.

Cold and sinister, bizarre and unpredictable, it carried endless life force and devouring power.

It was Shennong.

A renegade medical ninja of the shinobi world, he had mastered the forbidden Body Activation Technique.

He claimed it could surpass the Eight Gates and break the limits of the human body.

He also controlled the dark chakra of the Zero-Tails, dreaming of overturning the shinobi world by himself.

Uchiha Mu understood at once. With a light step,

the Scar of Space flashed. He silently eliminated every hidden sentry and outer guard, infiltrating the fortress's central hall like a ghost.

At the center of the hall floated a mass of roiling black mist. Ethereal and ever-shifting, it was a bodiless mass of condensed resentment—the Zero-Tails.

Around the mist, more than a dozen of Shennong's elite jonin guards formed a formation to lock down its aura, firmly stabilizing the Zero-Tails' seal.

Before the altar stood a long-haired man in white robes,

his features refined, yet his expression gloomy and sinister. His perception was terrifyingly sharp. Before Uchiha Mu could fully reveal himself, he slowly turned his head, a mocking smile curling at his lips.

"Sneaking around is no way for a distinguished guest to behave."

"Since you're here, show yourself."

The instant his voice fell, every guard in the hall erupted with chilling chakra, their gazes locking tightly onto Uchiha Mu's hiding place.

Uchiha Mu no longer concealed himself. He stepped out, his crimson Mangekyō staring directly at Shennong.

"Leader of the Void Organization, Uchiha Mu. This fortress is mine now."

Shennong raised an eyebrow slightly, his eyes filled with disdain.

"An orphan of the Uchiha Clan? The Uchiha Clan has long since declined in today's shinobi world. A nameless brat like you dares covet the foundation I spent my life building?"

"I spent years reactivating the Fortress of Space and taming the Zero-Tails, all to forge a new order for the shinobi world."

"Your intrusion today is quite timely. Your chakra can nourish the Zero-Tails and help me complete my final transformation."

Before his words had even faded, Shennong casually raised a hand. "Kill him."

The elite jonin guards around him charged forward in unison. Ninjutsu, kunai, and taijutsu attacks came crashing down from every direction, sealing off all avenues of escape.

Uchiha Mu flickered through the hall, the Scar of Space carrying him back and forth as afterimages covered the ground.

He did not use any large-scale ninjutsu. Relying purely on overwhelming speed and taijutsu, his palm strikes were fierce, every blow precisely landing on a vital point.

In only a few breaths, more than a dozen jonin had all fallen, deprived of their ability to fight.

But the moment the last man fell, Shennong moved.

There were no hand seals, no warning.

A blinding wave of white chakra suddenly erupted around him.

Veins bulged across his muscles as the flesh of his body trembled, ruptured, and regenerated without end. His skin turned red and scalding hot, his blood and vitality boiling to their limit.

It was Shennong's unique forbidden technique—the Body Activation Technique!

"Oh? Not bad speed."

Shennong vanished in an instant.

His speed surpassed the limits of the human body.

He was comparable to a taijutsu ninja who had opened the Eight Gates, his body tearing through the air with piercing explosions.

Hyper-Active Fist!

There was no flashy ninjutsu in this punch, only pure physical destructive force carrying the terrifying properties of endless destruction and regeneration.

Uchiha Mu's pupils contracted sharply as he instantly summoned a Susanoo ribcage to block it!

Bang! Bang!

The immense force exploded outward. The Susanoo ribcage shook violently as cracks instantly spread across the entire skeletal armor.

Uchiha Mu was blasted several meters backward, his heels carving two deep trenches through the alloy floor.

Before he could steady himself, Shennong was already upon him, throwing out a second and third punch in rapid succession!

His body defied every principle of the shinobi world.

Ordinary ninja grew weaker when injured, but Shennong only grew stronger as the battle continued, becoming fiercer with every wound.

Every time his muscles ruptured and regenerated,

his explosive strength, speed, and toughness surged once more.

It was like the Eight Gates stacking endlessly, yet without the cost of his life.

"Is this what you're relying on?"

Uchiha Mu's gaze turned icy.

His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan spun at full power, its insight predicting every attack.

The Scar of Space carried him through repeated short-range teleports, avoiding fatal blows.

He gathered chakra into a heavy punch and met Shennong's Hyper-Active Fist head-on!

Their fists collided, and a shockwave swept through the entire hall.

Uchiha Mu's arm went numb, his blood churning.

Shennong, meanwhile, was forced back several steps. The flesh on his chest caved in and burst apart, blood spraying everywhere.

Yet in the next instant, the shattered flesh wriggled and regenerated.

His wounds healed at a visible rate, while his aura surged to an even greater level.

"Useless struggle."

Shennong sneered viciously. "My Body Activation Technique makes me undying and indestructible. The longer I fight, the stronger I become!

Every time you injure me, I grow stronger. What do you have to defeat me with?"

Uchiha Mu's expression grew grave as he fully recognized the terror of this forbidden technique.

Conventional attacks, physical devastation, and ninjutsu bombardment were all useless.

As long as his body was not completely annihilated in an instant, he could regenerate endlessly and stack his strength without limit.

If this dragged on, Shennong would only grow infinitely stronger, turning the battle into a dead end.

"Looks like I'll have to force you to use your trump card."

Uchiha Mu stopped holding back. Crimson light shot into the sky as the Third Form of Susanoo descended with a thunderous roar!

A towering cyan-armored giant dozens of meters tall stood within the hall, its pressure suppressing all directions. A massive Susanoo sword appeared in the air, its sword aura icy and sharp.

Yet facing the overwhelming Susanoo, Shennong showed no fear. Instead, he burst into wild laughter.

"Excellent! Such powerful chakra is perfect for feeding the Zero-Tails!"

"Since you've forced my hand, I'll let you witness my true ultimate power!"

Shennong formed hand seals, their sequence strange and obscure.

The white active chakra around his body instantly faded away,

replaced by countless black threads that surged madly into the Zero-Tails' black mist at the center of the altar.

The restless Zero-Tails instantly turned violent. Its black mist roiled and expanded, swallowing all the light in the hall.

The Zero-Tails had no physical form.

It was formed from every negative emotion in the world, and could grow without limit by devouring chakra.