Several days later, at noon
Mu slowly opened his eyes.
The next moment, a delicate face appeared before him.
"Mu, you're awake."
Lunch will be ready soon.
Watching Izumi busy herself, Uchiha Mu finally felt relieved.
It seemed Izumi had emerged from the gloom of losing her clan and her parents.
Now I can set about planning for what I need without worry.
After a simple lunch, Mu made an excuse to leave their home. He vanished in a flash.
When he appeared again, he was outside the Third Hokage's room.
His keen senses kept him from acting rashly.
It was noon. Although the Third Hokage wasn't home, plenty of guards were posted around the place.
And this was the Hokage's private residence. It was obvious that the place wouldn't be as simple as it looked.
The moment he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan,
barriers made of chakra appeared all around the house.
Just as I thought. This old man's room is surrounded by barriers.
Getting inside won't be easy, but my right eye's ability seems to counter these barriers quite well.
Scar of Space.
As Mu spoke,
the space around him rippled.
He took a step forward and entered the Third Hokage's room.
Just as he'd suspected, he hadn't triggered any of the barriers.
But when Mu saw that the room was filled with scrolls, he couldn't help feeling tempted.
There were so many ninjutsu scrolls. At least seventy percent of Konoha's techniques must be here.
But every bookshelf has a barrier on it.
I remember that Naruto found the Scroll of Sealing with ease in the original story.
Why can't even my powerful senses detect it?
Perhaps my analysis was right. The Third Hokage's intentions were obvious—
he was generous enough toward Naruto, the child of destiny.
Shaking his head, Mu stopped dwelling on it.
Breaking through all the barriers and finding the Scroll of Sealing before the Third Hokage returned wouldn't be easy.
He'd have to draw the old man away first.
As he spoke, he looked out the window at the blazing sun.
By this time, the experts from the other villages should be arriving soon.
Mu didn't take a single scroll.
Instead, he slipped away without a sound.
He'd only come to scout the place.
The best time to act would be after the Third Hokage left the village.
With that in mind,
he attached a note to a Shuriken and flung it straight onto the desk in the Hokage's office.
Several Anbu Ninja and the Hokage's guards were startled.
Who was that?
But when they rushed outside, they couldn't find anyone.
"Lord Hokage, there's no one outside."
"Then where did this Kunai come from?"
"Hmph."
"He's a skilled one. Even I didn't notice him."
"All right, you may leave."
He picked up the note attached to the Kunai.
When he read its contents, the Third Hokage furrowed his brows.
"Quickly, have the scouts confirm whether this information is true."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
The Hokage's guard took the note, furrowed his brows, and said nothing.
He immediately vanished toward the southeast.
Mu followed behind them.
Scar of Space is truly useful. It's every bit as good as Obito's Kamui, perhaps even better.
With my current Kage Level strength, even the basic Scar of Space can fold space nine times, covering hundreds of meters with each fold.
The cost is high, but it's well worth it.
Whether in battle, while traveling, or when hiding, it's extremely useful.
Elsewhere, in a dense mountain valley, four Kage Level experts had gathered, along with over a dozen elite Jonin and hundreds of Jonin.
There were too many Chunin to count.
Mu stood atop a treetop several kilometers away. Through gaps in the layers of dense forest, his Sharingan watched the valley.
Suddenly, a striking figure stood out from the crowd and caught Mu's eye.
That girl... Mabui?
At this point in time, she should only be fourteen or fifteen.
Yet she was already growing into a graceful young woman. She seemed more mature than Izumi.
He hadn't expected the Raikage to bring her along this time.
What a pity I don't have a Super Idol Card.
But even if I did, I'd still need to build some sort of bond with them. That would give me a better chance of succeeding.
The burly man beside the girl was Raikage A.
His muscular frame stood over two meters tall, and his terrifying aura radiated an oppressive force.
Beside the Raikage stood someone who looked very much like him.
He was a little shorter. This was Killer B.
Tsuchikage Ōnoki of Both Scales hovered in midair, looking toward the Raikage.
"The fellow beside you..."
"He's Gyuki's Jinchūriki."
"You even brought a Jinchūriki with you?"
"Hmph. I never wanted him to come. He followed me on his own." As he spoke, he smacked Killer B on the head.
"Big bro, cut me some slack. There are lots of people here. You can hit me when we get back."
"Besides, I'm not the only Jinchūriki here. Look at that kid over there. He's a Jinchūriki too."
At those words, everyone looked to the right.
"Karatachi Yagura, the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki. You came in person too."
"Looks like Konoha is doomed this time."
But Karatachi Yagura said nothing.
He stood there motionless, like a puppet on strings.
What no one knew was that a one-eyed man in a mask stood on a nearby treetop,
staring at the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura.
His objective this time was to assess Konoha's current strength.
How many more Kage Level experts did Konoha have, besides the one who had suddenly appeared? He had to find out.
After the Masked Man finished speaking, Karatachi Yagura gave an almost imperceptible nod.
The atmosphere grew a little awkward.
The Tsuchikage spoke.
"When do we make our move?"
The Raikage lowered his massive hand,
gazing toward Konoha.
"In two hours."
"By then, it'll just be getting dark. Everyone will have eaten dinner and let their guard down."
"Good. We'll do it then."
The Tsuchikage had barely finished speaking
when a Kunai flew from somewhere and embedded itself in a boulder nearby.
"A Kunai."
"Who's there?"
"No one could be within a thousand meters of us."
"Our men have already surrounded the whole area."
"And I didn't sense a thing."
"He's a skilled one."
"Lord Tsuchikage, Lord Raikage."
"Three figures are slowly approaching us."
"They're Konoha's scouts."
"Have they already discovered our plans?"
The Tsuchikage stroked his beard and spoke.
"No. If he's sent scouts to investigate, that means we haven't been exposed."
"Take them out!"
"Looks like we can't wait until dark."
"Before Konoha has a chance to prepare, we'll catch them off guard."
The Raikage listened, then burst into laughter.
"Good!"
As he spoke, nearly a thousand people quickly surrounded the three scouts.
Before the three could figure out what was happening, the powerful ninjutsu of the Raikage and the Tsuchikage blasted them to pieces.
But suddenly, Killer B furrowed his brows. The Eight-Tails had sensed an extremely faint spatial disturbance.
One of the three scouts had just vanished into thin air.
"?"
"Vanished into thin air?"
"Don't joke about something like that."
"Big bro, do I look like I'm joking?"
The Tsuchikage also furrowed his brows. He signaled to the scouts behind him to act at once.
Sure enough.
After only a few breaths,
"Lord Tsuchikage, someone really did appear on the left just now, but he vanished suddenly too."
"What kind of jutsu lets someone vanish into thin air?"
"We can't let Konoha get the news first. If they're prepared, our surprise attack will be difficult to pull off."
"Let's go. Pick up the pace."
"We have to attack Konoha before that man gets back."
The group quickly spread out through the forest and headed toward Konoha.
Standing on a treetop, Mu
held an unconscious young man in his right hand.
Watching the figures rushing forward several kilometers away,
he smiled.
They're decisive, at least.
But you're not as fast as I am.
Meanwhile, the Third Hokage sat in his office, his brows furrowed.
An hour had passed, and there was still no word.
It looked like something unexpected had happened.
Notify the reconnaissance team, then send more people to investigate.
As soon as he finished speaking,
a familiar figure entered the Third Hokage's field of vision.
Lord Hokage.
I was just twenty li away when I encountered the Lightning Shadow, the Tsuchikage, and several hundred men with them.
Before we could react, the other two were killed in an instant,
and I alone was carried to the village gates by some inexplicable force.
Hearing this strange account, the Third Hokage didn't ponder it for long.
He simply turned to those beside him and said:
Notify the Hyuga, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Aburame, and Inuzuka Clans, as well as all the other major clans.
Set out at once. You must intercept the enemy outside the village, or they'll cause the village great damage.
Quickly.
In just one minute,
the major clans had each sent several elite jonin and more than a dozen jonin.
The heads of all the clans joined the battle as well.
At the same time, the Third Hokage personally led the team.
How far away are they from the village?
Lord Hokage, they're less than ten li away.
Good. Move out.
Sensing that the Third Hokage had left with a group of experts,
Uchiha Mu immediately appeared in the Third Hokage's room.
His gaze swept over the scrolls one after another.
Before you continue