Mukai charged up his reverse-jointed jumping legs and, propelled by compressed Wind Release, sprang backward to return to Konan and the others.
He retracted the blade on his left arm and shouted a warning:
"You wandering ninja commit evil every day. Killing you would be no injustice!
Now I'm giving you a chance to surrender. Drop your weapons, squat down, and put your hands on your heads. Otherwise, these men will be your example!"
Mukai had first taken out the leader of this band of wandering ninja, then swiftly and cleanly killed three more.
Together with his warning, it made for a powerful deterrent.
But not all these wandering ninja were thinking clearly.
Or rather, in this twisted world, few ninja had normal minds.
Yes, Obito, you idiot, that means you!
At that moment, a five-year-old boy in the Uchiha district of Konoha sneezed for no apparent reason.
A minor leader among the wandering ninja stepped forward, one eye covered and a Ninja Blade in each hand:
"Those three brats are exhausted. That sneak attacker is the only one left. Don't be afraid of him!
We outnumber him. Wear him down with Shuriken and Ninjutsu. As long as we keep him from getting close, we can definitely kill him!"
Mukai had to protect Konan and the others while facing these capable wandering ninja.
Given what they had seen Mukai reveal so far, their strategy did indeed pin down his mobility.
Shuriken and Kunai came flying at him from all directions, along with all kinds of Ninjutsu.
Unable to dodge them in time, Mukai could only withstand them with Wind Release: Great Breakthrough and his mecha.
His current total Chakra reserves, even with the boost from the fusion of his two souls, were only about as much as a Chunin's.
Even if he could reduce waste through precise Chakra control,
his reserves were still limited. Even the best cook couldn't make a meal without rice!
Under concentrated fire, Mukai soon ran low on Chakra and had to stop using Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
The wandering ninja noticed this too and began shouting:
"That cocky bastard is out of Chakra!
Keep it up! Blast them to death!"
Nagato's Chakra recovered the fastest. He was the first to push himself up and began helping Mukai defend:
"Earth Release-Earth Style Wall!"
An earthen wall rose in front of Mukai, giving him a moment to catch his breath.
Konan helped the shaken Yahiko up and said to Mukai worriedly:
"Mukai, there are too many of them. Don't try to hold them off! Let's retreat!"
While Nagato's Earth Style Wall held up against two waves of Ninjutsu and concealed weapons,
Mukai said, slightly out of breath:
"Don't worry. They still haven't surrendered or run away, so they've already lost their chance!"
Before Mukai had finished speaking, a massive figure burst out from the south, the ground trembling with its approach.
"Watch out! What the hell is that?"
The enormous thing that had appeared looked to be the color of wood. It bounded toward them on two disproportionately large arms.
The wandering ninja furthest to the south had just used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge the massive creature's curved-blade ram head-on.
Before he could catch his breath, a huge palm smashed him into a bloody pulp.
Mukai finally breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the Mountain God Mecha.
But the person wreathed in fire who appeared afterward was the real source of his confidence!
Pakura had arrived, wearing the form-fitting White Phoenix mecha!
Pakura's entire body burned with the extremely dry flames of Scorch Release.
Even the Land of Rain's ceaseless raindrops vanished within several meters of her.
The rising white mist looked like an extension of the flames around Pakura, making her look unbelievably cool.
Pakura glanced over at Mukai. Seeing that he and the three others, including Konan, were all right and that he could even give her a thumbs-up, she finally relaxed:
"Little Mukai, sorry!
I took out three wandering ninja on the way here, so I was delayed a little. Are you and your little girlfriend all right?"
Little girlfriend?
Konan was the only girl here, so there was no need to say who she meant.
Konan's cheeks instantly turned red, and white smoke seemed to rise from her head.
Mukai slapped his forehead, silently nursing a headache over Pakura's big mouth.
He hurriedly changed the subject:
"Teacher, stop joking around and hurry up and take out these wandering ninja!
If you'd come any later, your best disciple would have been worn down and killed!"
Pakura spread her hands, and fox-shaped fireballs appeared one after another:
"Scorch Release: Fox Fire Technique!"
Before the wandering ninja could understand what was happening, the fox-shaped flames that had appeared out of nowhere were already in their faces.
Only two managed to use Water Formation Wall, but the enhanced Scorch Release: Fox Fire Technique evaporated a huge hole straight through it.
The fox-shaped balls of scorching fire then exploded right in their faces.
Water overcame fire-that was indeed a basic principle of how the elemental releases countered one another.
But it also depended on the level of the techniques and the amount of Chakra involved.
These wandering ninja were, at best, on the level of Amegakure Chunin.
They could still pose some threat by relying on their numbers.
But against Pakura, whose specialty was clearing out minor enemies, they were no match.
Sasori, who had hurried over, crushed only one of them. The remaining six wandering ninja were all turned into desiccated corpses, drained of moisture.
Feeling the boost from her high-purity Chakra Metal mecha, Pakura was very pleased with this use of the Fox Fire Technique as well.
She dispersed the flames around her and pointed a thumb at herself:
"Well, my disciple?
Your teacher's skills aren't bad either, are they?
This isn't like that time at the border outpost, where I was at a disadvantage!
Done!"
Mukai's earlier appearance, descending like a divine warrior, had already been enough to shock Yahiko and Nagato.
Now Sasori, who had appeared inside the Mountain God mecha, which stood over two meters tall,
and Pakura, who looked like a god of fire, completely overturned their understanding.
Were these ninja?
Weren't ninja supposed to rely on agility, intelligence, all kinds of Ninjutsu and ninja tools,
and then finish their enemies with a single killing blow?
They had met the Konoha Sannin.
Even Jiraiya, who had taught them Ninjutsu, followed the traditional way ninja fought.
That was what a ninja should be, wasn't it?
Unlike the battered and bedraggled Mukai and Sasori they had seen last time, these two-how long had they even been apart?
Mukai, who was about the same age as them, could actually kill a Jonin now?
Had they fallen under a Genjutsu?
Yahiko, still shaken by the failure of his talk no jutsu, glanced at Nagato beside him
and silently stabbed him with a Kunai.
That hurt! He's bleeding. It probably isn't Genjutsu.
Yet that reality dealt him an even greater blow.
Konan had no mind to consider any of this. Normally cool and aloof,
Konan's face burned under Sasori's and Pakura's appraising gazes.
Girl... girlfriend?
Mukai's teammates all know?
This is so embarrassing!
People in this world matured very early, and Konan was no stranger to matters between men and women.
At that moment, she was already imagining Mukai holding a bouquet of flowers and proposing to him.
Konan covered her face with her hands. As her thoughts ran wild, she felt someone tap her shoulder.
Only then did she realize it was Mukai, who had taken off his puppet mecha.
"Mu... Mukai, I... I do!"
Mukai was utterly confused. He looked at himself, then at Konan's bright red face, unable to make sense of it.
Wait, did I approach this the wrong way?
Konan, aren't you supposed to be the calm and composed Sister Konan?
The moment the words left Konan's mouth, she realized her mistake.
She stammered:
"N... nothing. Mukai, what did you say just now?"
Mukai repeated his invitation for Konan and the others to join.
From the small cylinder that could store and release Lightning Release, Konan already knew that Mukai had a talent for making ninja tools.
Now he even had the strength to contend with those powerful ninja.
But Mukai's invitation left Konan in a difficult position.
To tell the truth, Konan was very fond of Mukai, who was composed beyond his years and considerate and caring toward her in every way.
But the invitation to join Sunagakure was one she could not accept.
The blush on Konan's face had faded a little by now. She took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking:
"I'm sorry, Mukai. I know your invitation comes from a kind place.
But Yahiko, Nagato, and I have depended on one another since we were little. We're like a family.
I can't abandon them to join another ninja village!"