A large number of shinobi had gathered at the site of Former Takigakure. In their eyes, an Uchiha shinobi bold enough to establish a nation like this deserved at least some respect.
Mū of the Land of Earth watched from a distance with his squad. With his ability to turn invisible combined with Dust Release, he could launch a sneak attack and kill his target instantly.
The shinobi from Sunagakure and Kumogakure, however, did not stay on the sidelines. Instead, they joined the battle as bounty hunters.
Seeing so many people, Takigakure's leader immediately felt confident. He ordered the main force to set out for the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Village, while the Land of Frost advanced from the other side.
Under normal circumstances, a force like this could easily wipe out a village defended by only Uchiha Mu and Hyuga Lingnai. Unfortunately, Uchiha Mu was no ordinary Uchiha.
With Hyuga Lingnai's Byakugan, they could clearly track the enemy's movements. The village had already sounded the alarm, and those who had stayed felt terribly unlucky. The orphans Uchiha Mu had brought back were worried too.
After all, if Uchiha Mu lost, they would either be left to wander or slaughtered alongside him.
Uchiha Mu did not have to wait long. With her Byakugan active, Hyuga Lingnai said, "Mu, the Takigakure shinobi are here. Several of them have quite a lot of chakra. The Shimogakure forces have reached the other side too, but they'll be about half an hour behind. What should we do?"
"Let's finish this quickly and spread the name of Uchiha Mu throughout the Shinobi World while we're at it." Uchiha Mu's eyes shifted, forming a pattern of three triangles, and he used the Body Flicker Technique.
The next moment, Uchiha Mu appeared directly in front of the shinobi army.
Kakuzu glanced at Uchiha Mu in the distance, hurled a shuriken at him, and prepared to charge. Mū and Ōnoki were already in position overhead, ready to kill their opponent with Dust Release at any moment.
Chiyo of Sunagakure brought out her puppets, ready to show what they could do. Overall, they were still quite relaxed. Most of their force might have been a rabble, but there were plenty of experts among them.
Hmm, there's no need for the complete form here. Just like when Madara toyed with Mū, the second stage should do. Uchiha Mu had no intention of using the complete form. What a joke-if he did that and the other great nations refused to play along anymore, where would he find a legitimate pretext to invade them?
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!" Uchiha Mu used his Mangekyō Sharingan's ability to boost the technique's power another level. An enormous wave of fire surged straight toward the rabble.
"The technique covers a huge area! Anyone who knows Water Release, get up front!" The Takigakure shinobi's eyes widened. Just what sort of being were they facing? This was not the future era of the Allied Shinobi Forces. At this point, these shinobi were lucky if they knew even a few techniques.
Moreover, the shinobi from the Land of Water had only come to gather intelligence, so there was naturally not enough Water Release to block the attack. Those with decent strength had their own ways of surviving.
Kakuzu, for instance, used Earth Release to sink the ground beneath him, then raised a circular platform to shield himself. Seeing the scale of this technique, he was certain they would lose, even with their numerical advantage.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Unfortunately, there was too little water. A single Fire Release technique wiped out all the rank-and-file shinobi. Those who survived were reasonably skilled.
"Hey, hey, you've got to be kidding." Watching the hopeless scene from the air, Mū was reminded of Madara Uchiha. On closer inspection, that man's eyes were different from the usual tomoe-patterned Sharingan. They were Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Lord Mū, what should we do?" Ōnoki swallowed. Normally, Mū would seize this opportunity to launch a sneak attack with Dust Release, but right now, he did not dare make a move.
Dust Release was indeed powerful, but it would also tell Uchiha Mu which side had attacked him. They had originally planned to assess Uchiha Mu's strength, then kill him in one strike. Now, they no longer believed that was possible.
After the flames passed, Chiyo had lost three puppets blocking the Fire Release attack. She hurriedly looked toward the others. The only people she cared about were the Sunagakure shinobi and her younger brother.
"I'm fine." Magnet Release had created a stretch of sand, which, combined with Earth Release, allowed all the Sunagakure shinobi to land safely.
"Sister, let's abandon the mission. This is impossible." Ebizo was not a combat specialist to begin with. He had only come here to gather as much intelligence as possible.
"Yes, I'll inform Lord Kazekage. The Uchiha really are an enviable clan." The squad leader was deeply envious of Uchiha Mu.
Just one move had rendered every part of their original plan useless. Was this what an Uchiha was capable of? Chiyo had finally seen what a true powerhouse of this world looked like, but it was not over yet.
Before the shinobi who had come to subjugate Uchiha Mu could react, he had already charged into their ranks with Izuna's sword in hand, guided by his Sharingan.
With extraordinary motion tracking and graceful taijutsu, he seemed to dance across the battlefield. Every movement reaped a life. This was nothing but a rabble, and they could not flee fast enough. Their formation fell apart in an instant.
Uchiha Mu confirmed that he still had enough time, but he no longer wanted to play. Next, he would display his strength and let the shinobi from the great nations return with misleading intelligence.
He needed them to know he could defend himself without making them overly wary. It was enough to make the risks of waging war here far outweigh the rewards.
And so, Uchiha Mu unleashed the third power, Susanoo. A blue skeletal frame appeared, then continued to develop into its second stage.
Even in only its second stage, it was already enormous, with a sword in its hand.
"Madara Uchiha! Get out of here!" Mū withdrew with the Iwagakure shinobi without a moment's hesitation. They needed to return immediately and report on the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation. Until Uchiha Mu died, they absolutely must not provoke him. Besides, the resources of a nation formed by merging these two small countries were hardly worth much.
The Sunagakure shinobi made the same choice. The Kazekage had instructed their squad leader that failing the mission was acceptable, but he had to bring the village's future back safely.
"What is that? Is that a ninjutsu too?" The Magnet Release shinobi's mouth fell open as he stared at the enormous blue Susanoo in disbelief. If that was ninjutsu, what had they been using all this time? Children's games?
Chiyo and Ebizo looked back. The massive figure was swinging its sword, and it seemed to be aimed their way.
"Damn it!" The Magnet Release shinobi unleashed all his sand, while the squad leader put everything he had into defending them. Without hesitation, Chiyo stepped in front of Ebizo and deployed every one of her puppets.
After the sword strike, they were still alive, but every puppet had shattered. The Magnet Release shinobi was devastated, and the squad leader was scarcely better off.
"Run!" The squad leader hoisted the Magnet Release shinobi onto his back and fled. Their all-out defense could not match a casual strike from their opponent. Once they had truly faced such a gulf in strength, they could not muster the will to keep resisting. They were on entirely different levels.
The Kumogakure shinobi were the second fastest to flee. With their distinctive Lightning Release, they were quite adept at escaping. First place naturally went to the Iwagakure squad, who could fly.
"How can anyone have such absurd power? Is he Madara Uchiha?" Kinkaku asked. This was even more ridiculous than the Tailed Beast they had encountered before.
"Big brother, can the Six Paths Tools deal with him?"
"The gap is too great. The tools won't help." Kinkaku felt utterly helpless. He was certain that was not Madara Uchiha; even the color of his Susanoo was different. This world favored the Uchiha far too much.
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