After finding the three youngsters, Uchiha Mu patted Uzumaki Men's shoulder. "The Uzumaki Clan leader wants you to spar with the village's children. Win in style, but don't crush their confidence too badly."
"Huh? Teacher? You agreed for me?" Uzumaki Men's eyes went blank. He had only come back to visit his clan; he had never expected anything like this.
"Of course. The Uzumaki Clan will send children to study in our country in the future. How many they send, and how talented they are, will depend on you," Uchiha Mu said earnestly.
"Understood." Uzumaki Men nodded. He, too, hoped his former clansmen could see the world beyond their clan and enjoy some good food in the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Village.
The matches were scheduled for that afternoon. It was sudden, but setting up barriers and the like took little more than a wave of the hand for the Uzumaki Clan. The village did not have many shinobi, but they all came to watch.
The children here had learned to extract chakra from an early age, and their chakra control was decent. Even so, Uzumaki Men felt no pressure facing these children around his own age.
He could hardly help it. What had he faced in the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation? Uchiha Mu's killing intent, Chōmei's killing intent, and all sorts of chakra suppression. Add Uchiha Mu's Sharingan to that, and this felt no different from picking on little kids.
"Heh, isn't he getting a little too cocky?" one Uzumaki spectator remarked upon seeing Uzumaki Men's demeanor.
"I don't think so." Another shook his head. Some of them could see what was really going on.
The two formed the Seal of Confrontation and once again opened with taijutsu to feel each other out. They were young, and even if they knew ninjutsu, forming hand seals still took time. Launching ninjutsu right at the start was not a sensible choice.
"Your movements are too wide. That's an opening." Uzumaki Men recalled his fights with Uchiha Mu, who always talked while beating them up. His Sharingan could see not only their movements, but also the flow of chakra inside their bodies, allowing him to predict where they would attack next.
Sure enough, seeing how little Uzumaki Men seemed to think of him, the Uzumaki boy threw a straight punch. It missed. Uzumaki Men pulled back a short distance, then kicked him in the chin, sending him flying backward.
"I held back at the end," Uzumaki Men said first. Then he stood where he was and used Mind's Eye of the Kagura. His opponent's chakra was gathering in his mouth. It was Wind Release.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Taking advantage of the dust kicked up as he hit the ground, the Uzumaki boy hurriedly formed hand seals. His speed was not especially fast, but it was enough.
The wind swept the dust along with it and struck Uzumaki Men, who promptly turned into a log.
"The Substitution Technique can turn a defeat into victory if you time it right," Uzumaki Men said, holding a kunai against the Uzumaki boy's back.
"The winner is Uzumaki Men. Form the Seal of Reconciliation," announced the Uzumaki shinobi serving as referee.
After that, Uzumaki Men fought three more matches, ending them with little more than taijutsu and the basic Substitution Technique. This gave the Uzumaki clansmen a clear understanding of his strength.
Although these were only fights between children, Uzumaki Ashina knew that on a battlefield, his clansmen would die before lasting a single exchange against him. The gap in combat intelligence was simply too great.
"My turn." An Uzumaki girl jumped onto the arena. She was Uzumaki Shana, a prodigy of the Uzumaki Clan. Though she was the same age as Uzumaki Men, she had already mastered many of the clan's sealing jutsu, along with the Adamantine Sealing Chains, and specialized in Fire Release.
Seeing that Uzumaki Men had no objections, the referee signaled for them to form the Seal of Confrontation.
The next instant, Uzumaki Shana unleashed her Adamantine Sealing Chains. This kekkei genkai required no hand seals, and the chains shot straight toward Uzumaki Men to bind him.
Uzumaki Men had yet to learn this technique. He drew his sword and blocked one chain, feeling its considerable force. There was no point in further testing it. Taking advantage of a gap, he used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, he also possessed enormous reserves of chakra. More than a dozen clones instantly appeared, then charged toward Uzumaki Shana.
"They aren't ordinary clones?" Uzumaki Shana realized she could not identify his real body. She continued sweeping her Adamantine Sealing Chains around, widening her attack range and refusing to let him approach easily.
Three clones disappeared. Several shadow clones gathered together and hurled a few of their number toward Uzumaki Shana.
"So fast." Uzumaki Shana jumped backward while controlling her chains, then used Fire Release: Great Fireball to intercept them. All of them were clones, while the real Uzumaki Men was also closing in fast.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Fire and water instantly produced a thick cloud of steam that engulfed the arena. Uzumaki Shana could not see anything. The next instant, a figure appeared behind her.
Oh no! Uzumaki Shana could not think of a way to respond. She knew plenty of techniques, but things like the Three Basic Body Techniques never even entered her consideration.
Uzumaki Men, however, did not wait for her to think it through. He sent her flying with a kick.
"That's enough. Uzumaki Men wins. Form the Seal of Reconciliation." The referee hurriedly stepped in.
"How did you know where I was? Neither of us should have been able to see." Uzumaki Shana looked utterly baffled.
"Mind's Eye of the Kagura."
"But..." Uzumaki Shana then looked toward a clone. He was using that technique, and immediately disappeared afterward. Shadow clones were special: when they disappeared, their memories and experience returned to the original. Uzumaki Men had seized that opportunity to defeat her.
"The Substitution Technique is still very useful. Don't underestimate it." After forming the Seal of Reconciliation, Uzumaki Men offered to help her up.
"I didn't think of it..." Uzumaki Shana took Uzumaki Men's hand and stood up, looking at the shinobi gathered around. Yes, she had lost. She, the girl hailed as a prodigy in the Uzumaki Clan, had lost.
Uzumaki Men returned to Uchiha Mu's side. "Teacher, how was that? I won in style, right?"
"Ahem..." Uchiha Mu looked at the redheads around them and gave an awkward chuckle, then took the three youngsters back to their lodgings.
Looking at the outcome, Uzumaki Ashina sighed softly. Had he truly fallen behind the times? Perhaps it would be good to let these Uzumaki clansmen visit Uchiha Mu's country.
He had not considered Konoha, because he had long since realized that, at its core, Konoha was merely a larger shinobi clan. It had internal conflicts, too; Hashirama had simply suppressed them. He did not want his clansmen to suffer in a place like that.
Then Madara Uchiha had left, Uchiha Mu had founded a nation, and everything had taken a different turn. Uchiha Mu had even brought Hyuga Lingnai to see him right away, offering to raise their clan's orphans.
He looked at Uzumaki Shana. "Shana, would you be willing to go to the country that fellow Uchiha Mu founded?"
"Clan leader, I would." Uzumaki Shana lowered her head respectfully. Although they had not joined Konoha, Uzumaki Ashina's formidable strength had still allowed them to live in relative peace.
"Keiko will lead the group. We'll send twenty clansmen this time. Ask who wants to surpass Uzumaki Men." Uzumaki Ashina made up his mind. He believed Uchiha Mu might have been right: once Hashirama and he died, the Uzumaki Clan would become an isolated island, left with no choice but to pin its hopes on Konoha.
"You're going to entrust your clansmen to Konoha? You think the later Hokage will honor the agreement? If you truly believe that, then I misjudged you." Uzumaki Ashina recalled Uchiha Mu's earlier rebuke. Yes, how could he entrust his clansmen's future to someone else? He was Uzumaki Ashina, after all.
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