As a spy, he was naturally highly perceptive. After noticing that he was being followed, he behaved as usual, except that this time he simply ate and stopped paying particular attention to the conversations of the shinobi at the other tables.
"Is there something wrong with that guy?" Yufeng asked quietly.
"I can't see anything," the blonde girl said, shaking her head.
"There is. Something is very wrong. My Mind's Eye of the Kagura told me his chakra fluctuated when we arrived here. He was probably using sensory perception." Uzumaki Men frowned, though the man showed no outward signs of anything unusual.
"It's that amazing?" Yufeng was still very curious about the Uzumaki Clan's kekkei genkai.
This time, Ōki did not linger. He headed home as soon as he finished eating. Since the three little ones had not spotted anything suspicious, they could hardly make a move.
After walking for a while, once there were no shinobi nearby, Yufeng thought of a solution. "Let's find Teacher Mu. With his Sharingan, he only needs one look to confirm whether this guy's a spy."
Yufeng had not lowered his voice, and Ōki was paying close attention to the three children. Once he confirmed that they intended to find Uchiha Mu, he immediately broke into a run. No matter what, he had to get the intelligence back.
The Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation had only recently begun developing. Although it was doing somewhat better than the other villages, it had not pulled far ahead, so these spies remained firm in their loyalties.
Besides, they believed that once they sent the intelligence back, their own villages could develop just as quickly. There was practically no chance of them defecting.
"Yufeng, you really are a genius." The three little ones immediately gave chase.
Seeing that his pursuers were three children, Ōki also confirmed that they had not mastered many ninjutsu. Though he did not know many himself, he was well versed in assassination and the like.
He promptly took out a kunai and cut himself, then used a summoning beast to try to send out the intelligence he had gathered during his stay.
"That's intelligence! Don't let him send it out!" Uzumaki Men shouted, increasing the chakra under his feet as he charged toward Ōki.
"Too late, brats." Ōki's face twisted viciously. It had taken him considerable effort to infiltrate the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Village. He had done so much work here and spent every bit of the money he earned here as well. Naturally, being exposed infuriated him.
Yet before the summoning beast could take the intelligence, the documents in his hand turned to ash. He cried out in shock, "Who's there?"
"Take this!" The three little ones began throwing kunai. Uchiha Mu had used genjutsu to let them experience attacking high-speed moving targets. They were not the ordinary little children the shinobi world would take them for.
Strength mattered in this shinobi world. In an era when their ninjutsu still required many hand seals, swordsmanship, throwing skills, and taijutsu were all extremely important. As promising students receiving special attention, they often fought Uchiha Mu's clones.
With an expert personally teaching them, there was no reason for them to lose to a shinobi who was merely a spy.
Ōki began sweating heavily. He had never imagined that fighting the village's children would put him under so much pressure. He had no opportunity to form hand seals, especially with that red-haired brat's powerful sensory abilities.
The three little ones worked together seamlessly. Compared with the nightmare of fighting Uchiha Mu with his Sharingan activated, this shinobi was almost too easy. The moment Yufeng blocked an attack, the blonde girl, Yucheng, sent Ōki flying with a punch.
"Combined Ninjutsu!" Uzumaki Men rapidly formed hand seals and unleashed a wide-ranging Wind Release attack, while Yufeng used Phoenix Flower Fire and Yucheng threw shuriken, together executing the Uchiha-enhanced version of the Phoenix Flower Fire ninjutsu.
Those hand seals are so fast! Are these really children? Ōki was stunned. It was not that he had underestimated children; after all, four-year-olds often went onto battlefields in this era. But their chakra reserves and physical strength were limited, leaving them no match for adults.
"Not bad, though their lack of experience still cost them. Still, that's only a matter of time." Chōmei offered his assessment from the sidelines. He had originally intended to help, but he had not expected these children to be so strong. As for his commentary-please, a thousand years of experience was no joke.
"It's not over! That was a Substitution Technique!" Uzumaki Men shouted as he sensed their opponent's chakra.
"This is what we're best at!" Yufeng immediately charged.
"That idiot." Yucheng pressed a hand to her forehead and hurried after him.
Ōki began to despair. The longer he fought, the harder it became. Was his taijutsu really this pathetic against them? He could barely stomach it, and before long, the three little ones captured him alive.
"Well done." Uchiha Mu appeared and looked at the three children. Konoha did have ideas worth learning from, such as three- and four-person squads. Once he fully mastered Medical Ninjutsu, he would work on developing it.
Hyuga Lingnai had detected the fighting as soon as it began, and Uchiha Mu's clone had also been supporting them from the shadows. After confirming that the Seven-Tails was helping, he nodded. These tailed beasts were not bad.
"Teacher Mu!" The three little ones hurried over, eager for praise. Their attitude toward the Uchiha differed from that of Konoha's troublemaking residents, mainly because Uchiha Mu was rather special.
"I'll teach you this." An ordinary Rasengan appeared in one of Uchiha Mu's hands.
"Ninjutsu without hand seals!" The three little ones' eyes lit up, and they all declared that they wanted to learn.
"Chōmei."
"Uchiha Mu," Chōmei said as he revealed himself.
"So you were the one who did that earlier! You even avoided my senses. How did you do it?" Uzumaki Men asked curiously.
"Kid, you still need more practice." Chōmei brushed it off.
"From now on, you'll be their opponent. Make sure you put them under pressure." Uchiha Mu knew that some novices might be unable to move when confronted with a powerful opponent's killing intent.
Uchiha Mu then taught them the first stage of the Rasengan, leaving the next stage until they had mastered it. He also instructed them in the Shadow Clone technique. After all, like Naruto Uzumaki, they might need shadow clones to help them form the Rasengan at first.
As before, he first let them experience it through genjutsu, then had them begin training to master it.
"So you're Chōmei! I'm Uzumaki Men. I look forward to working with you, Chōmei."
"Mm." Watching the boy's easygoing manner, Chōmei answered softly. Perhaps moving from a primeval forest to life in a town would not be so bad. It reminded him of the old man's words again. Perhaps Uchiha Mu was the one.
"Uchiha Mu, I'd like to..."
"No need. I prefer cats to you. However, I do hope you'll sign a contract with Hyuga Lingnai," Uchiha Mu said earnestly. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, which had worked with ninja cats for many years, he had a contract with one, as well as with a ninja crow.
"All right." Chōmei nodded. Once a tailed beast made a decision, he acted decisively. That very day, he signed a Summoning Contract with Hyuga Lingnai. In the days that followed, he came to the Ninja Academy in a smaller form to serve as a sparring partner.
With Uchiha Mu deliberately shaping public opinion within the country, Chōmei became famous there as a hero who protected their homes and defended their nation. In this era, people who had lived through the wars of the Warring States period cherished the stability of their village and country all the more, so they greatly admired Chōmei.
Amid the constant praise, Chōmei got carried away and already regarded the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation as his own country. He would be the first to oppose any invasion by shinobi from another village, even if his chakra reserves were not as absurd as the Nine-Tails'.
But his ability to dominate the skies was second to none. Given the Seven-Tails' size and intimidating presence, the other shinobi villages could hardly fail to notice him. Seeing that Uchiha Mu had already brought a tailed beast under his control, they also turned their attention to these enormous living weapons and began gathering intelligence throughout the various nations.
Sunagakure was the first to confirm intelligence on the One-Tail. However, with its geographical advantage and ability to use ninjutsu, the One-Tail was harder to deal with than the other tailed beasts. They could only gaze at a mountain of gold without being able to mine it.
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