Renowned throughout the world

Konoha received the news first. When word arrived of Uchiha Mu's spectacular performance, the Uchiha Clan felt conflicted. Another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan had left them, and this pair could almost rival Madara's and those of the late Lord Izuna.

They even began questioning themselves. Was something wrong with them that drove one Mangekyō Sharingan wielder after another to leave? The clansmen who occasionally spoke with Uchiha Mu found it especially hard to believe that their unassuming fellow clansman possessed such tremendous strength.

The Hyuga Clan had begun paying attention to Uchiha Mu because of Hyuga Lingnai. Now that they had received the intelligence, they had mixed feelings too. Placing a Caged Bird Seal on her was no longer an option.

At the same time, this was a connection. With a marriage linking the Hyuga Clan to Uchiha Mu, they might be able to secure his help in the future. After all, when a woman from the Uzumaki Clan married Hashirama Senju, how could the other shinobi clans not be envious?

Of course, some old hardliners vehemently opposed allowing the Main Family's Byakugan to remain outside the clan. But they were silenced by a single retort: "If you object, go to the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Village yourself and demand her return."

That shut them up. What a joke. Dealing with the Branch Family was one thing, but actually facing that Uchiha? They would be throwing their lives away. They were old now; all they needed was to enjoy their remaining years in peace.

Ironically, the average age of Branch Family members skewed noticeably young. Even a cursory investigation would reveal something wrong with those distorted figures.

The Hyuga had no intention of hedging their bets, either. They had settled that from the start: playing both sides would only alienate both. They would simply treat it as marrying off a woman. After a few generations, her descendants would no longer awaken the Byakugan anyway.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Hashirama sighed. Although this concerned another village, war was still a source of sorrow. He and Madara had founded Konoha precisely to reduce warfare.

Tobirama Senju silently raised Uchiha Mu's threat level. Especially now that his territory bordered the Land of Fire, no amount of caution was excessive. No one understood the Uchiha better than he did. A nation founded by a lunatic like that was bound to be warlike.

Konoha's other shinobi clans turned their attention to the Uchiha. They were rather envious that the clan had produced two top-tier powerhouses, but now they were more interested in what the Uchiha would choose.

If they left the village now to join Uchiha Mu's nation, no one would make trouble for them, thanks to Hashirama. Later, however, they might not be allowed to leave even if they wanted to.

Iwagakure received the intelligence second, thanks to their ability to fly. Hearing that another Madara Uchiha had emerged left the Tsuchikage feeling drained. The kekkei genkai of the Uchiha and Senju clans were simply far too absurd.

Still, they had brought back some good news. Although the two countries Uchiha Mu occupied lay near the Land of Fire, their resources were not particularly rich. Without Uchiha Mu, invading them would have been profitable. With him there, it no longer was.

Thus, the Tsuchikage issued an order: until Uchiha Mu's death was confirmed, Iwagakure Ninja were not to approach him. Perhaps they could even cooperate with him. After all, Konoha was such a juicy target.

There was just one thing that worried him: would Ōnoki and Mū's mental states suffer? In such a short time, they had encountered two Uchiha powerhouses, both capable of standing at the forefront of their era.

Kumogakure also received the news that same day, using summoning beasts to transmit intelligence.

Reading the report, the First Raikage clenched his fist. "He didn't kill you?"

"No. I suspect he let us return alive so we would spread his name."

"Whew. Another Madara Uchiha? Their territory isn't far from Kumogakure." The First Raikage sighed.

"Raikage, we just need to avoid provoking him. From what I learned, those two countries he bought have resources, but they're nowhere near as rich as the Land of Fire."

"Mm, then it's settled. Until Uchiha Mu dies... once he's dead, heh. How is the situation with the tailed beasts?" The First Raikage had already lost interest in the matter.

"At present, we only have intelligence on the Nine-Tails. But as you know, Raikage, neither Kinkaku nor Ginkaku came out ahead against it. They can use Nine-Tails chakra now, though."

"Then that's what we'll do. Send people to gather intelligence on the tailed beasts, then use Kinkaku and Ginkaku's method to control tailed beast chakra."

"Yes." The shinobi who had led the team to the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation hurried out to relay the Raikage's orders.

"We still need to find a way to grow stronger. Konoha, the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation!" The Raikage let out a quiet sigh. Living in this era was both fortunate and unfortunate. There were already three confirmed powerhouses beyond all normal limits. He had to set the tone for the Raikage who would follow him. In his own generation, he could only keep his head down.

Two small countries separated Sunagakure from the nations Uchiha Mu occupied. Like Kumogakure, they transmitted intelligence through summoning beasts. As the Kazekage read the report, he fell silent.

He had intended to send their young prodigies out to gain experience, but instead their confidence had been crushed outright. The Magnet Release shinobi now had a stress response just from hearing the name Uchiha. Chiyo and her younger brother were better off, though they had developed a deep wariness of the Uchiha.

Moreover, according to the intelligence, a single B-rank Fire Release technique from Uchiha Mu possessed S-rank power. His chakra reserves, coupled with the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan... considering that those two countries had some resources but were relatively far from Sunagakure, the Kazekage established a rule: do not provoke the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation.

Kirigakure had never intended to participate in the first place, mainly because it was too far away. After confirming Uchiha Mu's strength, they simply decided to avoid him going forward. It was only a small shinobi nation, after all, and there was nothing to gain by provoking it.

The other small countries all turned their attention toward him as well. Their nobles looked as though they had swallowed shit. They could only quietly invest in their guards while banding together against Uchiha Mu's nation.

They were determined to leave it isolated and helpless on the diplomatic front. The stolen money was not a huge sum to them, but no one would turn up their nose at more money. The daimyos did not have a favorable impression of Uchiha Mu, either.

After all, he should have just been a shinobi and played his little village-building game. Yet he had actually founded a nation. What was he trying to do? What if all the shinobi started doing the same in the future? What would happen to the daimyos then?

Thus, although they had suffered no losses themselves, they were happy to see the nobles in their countries unite in opposition. It was a perfect opportunity to teach him a lesson: if you were a shinobi, stick to being a shinobi instead of getting other ideas.

The Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation and Uchiha Mu had become famous throughout the Shinobi World. Whether among shinobi villages, nobles, or daimyos, Uchiha Mu could be said to have offended them all.

For civilians and shinobi forced to wander, however, this was good news. They now had another place to go. The nearby Land of Grass was the first to act, with everyone able to relocate moving straight over. After all, they were sandwiched between two great nations.

Anyone with even a little foresight knew that their homeland would inevitably become a battlefield for the great nations. As a small country, they could do nothing but cooperate with those powers. Cooperation meant bringing war upon themselves, something those who wished to stay away from war did not want to see.

The Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation was different. With Uchiha Mu guarding it, it would at least be safe during their generation. Later on, the Land of Fire was close by, so if danger truly arose, they could flee there. That was better than the Land of Grass, where they already had to consider fleeing to the Land of Fire right now.