Could I Have Already Grown Stronger?

On the eve of the agreed deadline, the Fourth Raikage walked alone toward Konoha's camp.

When Uchiha Ensei received the report from the sensory ninja, he was somewhat surprised.

He truly had not expected the Raikage to dare barge into an enemy camp by himself.

Had Kumogakure forgotten that the Third Raikage had been surrounded and ultimately killed not long ago?

"Come on. Let's take a look."

Uchiha Ensei called to Shikaku beside him, leaving no room for discussion.

Nara Shikaku smiled wryly and shook his head. After giving Morino Ibiki a few instructions, he followed behind Uchiha Ensei.

Having an eleven-year-old child serve as battlefield commander looked like a joke no matter how one viewed it.

Yet Nara Shikaku could not offer any objection, because if Uchiha Ensei did not speak, Konoha could no longer command a single Uchiha.

When the Fourth Raikage saw Uchiha Ensei in person, he found it difficult to believe despite already knowing his age.

If the brat before him merely had the body of a child like the Fourth Mizukage, that would have been one thing. But if he really was only eleven...

He had to find a way to snuff him out in the cradle.

With that thought, the Fourth Raikage covered his entire body in chakra and lightning, then launched himself at Uchiha Ensei at full speed without warning.

At such close range, even Minato Namikaze...

Just as a faint smile appeared at the corner of the Fourth Raikage's mouth, his thrown fist was blocked by a puppet resembling a young girl.

The girl-like puppet had appeared without warning. Its material was incomparably hard, nothing like anything that could exist in the Ninja World.

"A space-time ninjutsu?"

Suppressing the sharp pain in his fist, the Fourth Raikage did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately followed up with his next move.

Guillotine Drop!

The name was rather awkward, but judging from its appearance, it seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary kick under Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

Its effect, however, was surprisingly powerful.

Zero-Two's body was slammed directly into the ground, and her shoulder seemed to have suffered extensive damage as well.

After only two moves, the newly modified Zero-Two had been forced out of battle. It seemed that her combat power had weakened somewhat.

But being able to withstand two full-force attacks from the Fourth Raikage already satisfied Uchiha Ensei.

Looking at Uchiha Ensei standing so close before him, a cruel smile appeared on the Fourth Raikage's face.

But in the next moment, that smile froze.

"Poof!"

As a cloud of white smoke burst forth, the Fourth Raikage's expression gradually turned livid.

"Raikage... are you all this shameless?"

Uchiha Ensei's figure emerged once more from the direction of Konoha's camp.

Seeing this, the Fourth Raikage knew he had lost the initiative. He snorted coldly and canceled his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

"You think this old man is despicable? Brat, let me tell you, this is the real Ninja World."

The Fourth Raikage's face was grim. It was unclear whether it was because his ambush had failed or because of Uchiha Ensei's calm expression.

The Shadow Clone Technique really was useful.

Even Kaguya Otsutsuki could not see through the real body. What a delightful technique.

"Despicable? Not really. I just think you're a little stupid."

Uchiha Ensei's calm statement nearly made the Fourth Raikage lose his temper again.

Kumogakure had obtained very little intelligence on Uchiha Ensei. They only knew that he was suspected of having awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and possessed talent greater than Madara Uchiha's.

"Hmph. This old man has seen plenty of geniuses. But a genius who cannot grow stronger is nothing."

The Fourth Raikage spoke a threat.

Perhaps, in his eyes, it was not merely a threat, but a statement of reality.

Regardless of what Uchiha Ensei had been like before, after today, even if he failed to kill him, the vast majority of forces throughout the Ninja World would be waiting for Uchiha Ensei's death.

If the benefits were great enough, the Fourth Great Ninja War could erupt again. The four ninja villages and countless other forces lurking in the darkness of the Ninja World would swarm Konoha together.

This Ninja World had no need for a God of Shinobi.

"Cannot grow stronger? Could it be that I've already grown stronger?"

"Enough. Stop talking nonsense."

"I came to demand my compensation. If Kumogakure cannot afford it, then shall we go to war?"

Uchiha Ensei spoke slowly, with a trace of anticipation in his tone.

"Impossible. My bottom line is to pretend this never happened and have both sides withdraw their troops."

The Fourth Raikage refused without hesitation.

"I see. What a pity..."

"For Kumogakure..."

Uchiha Ensei raised a hand and pointed toward the sky. A crimson beam shot from his fingertip and exploded overhead.

In the next instant, the ground began to tremble faintly.

The Fourth Raikage clearly realized something. He formed hand seals with both hands and used an unknown ninjutsu, likely to notify Kumogakure's ninja in the rear.

Soon, the trembling of the ground grew increasingly intense.

The Fourth Raikage initially thought Konoha had deployed the Nine-Tails. After all, aside from Tailed Beasts, there were few things in the Ninja World capable of causing such a massive commotion.

Before long, a figure finally burst out from the distant forest. It resembled some kind of irregular beast and radiated immensely violent chakra.

The first, the second, the third...

As more and more beasts charged out of the forest, the Fourth Raikage's face became exceptionally grim.

Only then did the Fourth Raikage understand why Konoha had deployed nothing but Jonin this time.

Only Jonin could move freely amid such a massive beast tide. Those Genin, and even many Chunin, were nothing more than targets in a beast tide of this scale.

He had to return quickly and inform every Earth Release ninja to use Earth Release to alter the terrain. If those ninja beasts were allowed to charge all the way through, this war would be nearly impossible to win.

As Uchiha Ensei watched the Fourth Raikage hurry back, he leisurely leaped onto the foremost beast.

"I never expected that some troublesome waste products would prove so useful on the battlefield."

The beasts that had been released were all waste products from Uchiha Ensei's research into Natural Energy for the Ninja Cat Clan.

They had originally been cloned through exceptionally crude methods, then contaminated by violent Natural Energy that was difficult to remove. As a result, disposing of these waste products had been troublesome.

He could not simply toss them somewhere at random. Though they were waste, they still contained a considerable amount of Sage Chakra.

Disposing of them carelessly could not only leak his technology, but also cause unnecessary trouble.

That was why, before setting out for this war, Uchiha Ensei had made thorough preparations. He obtained a batch of supplies from Hiruzen Sarutobi and made a few minor modifications to these waste products from his Natural Energy research.

Once the modifications were complete, these former waste products were transformed into one-use killing weapons.

But to unleash this weapon's proper power, he still needed a special ninjutsu.

Earth Release: Hardening Jutsu!