Chapter 637: New Enemy?
After Mugetsu arrived at Jiraiya's unit with his team, Jiraiya personally came out to welcome them.
"Mugetsu, you're finally here," Jiraiya said with a laugh as he walked up to him.
The moment he saw Mugetsu, Jiraiya instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Mugetsu was still very young, he had never failed to deliver on a mission. At this point, his name was practically synonymous with reliability.
"Mugetsu, inspect my Ninja Force first. We can discuss everything else afterward," Jiraiya continued.
He had already issued orders in advance for the entire force to assemble, so Mugetsu could begin the inspection the moment he arrived.
"Understood. We'll inspect first," Mugetsu nodded.
He instructed his team to handle the miscellaneous arrangements, then took his disciples and followed Jiraiya to search for spies.
[Name: Kano Masateru]
[Chakra: 5200]
[Name: Hyuga Yo]
[Chakra: 7200]
Mugetsu swiftly used Appraisal Technique on the Konoha Ninja Force stationed in the Land of Grass, but found no White Zetsu among them.
"No problematic Ninja were found. They may have escaped beforehand, or they may be using another method to steal intelligence," Mugetsu said, turning to Jiraiya.
This could not be an issue with Appraisal Technique. Even a powerful Transformation Technique could not deceive Appraisal Technique, let alone a White Zetsu.
Mugetsu was more inclined to believe that Uchiha Madara had obtained intelligence about his arrival in the Land of Grass and had directly withdrawn the White Zetsu.
After all, Mugetsu was moving with a Ninja Force, not traveling alone. It would be simple for White Zetsu to track their movements.
"I see. Maybe we should have assembled the force earlier, but it isn't a big problem. At least the force is finally free of spies now," Jiraiya said with a smile, not dwelling too much on the spies' escape.
As long as there were no spies, that was a good thing, whether they had been caught or scared away.
Jiraiya then led Mugetsu and the others to the tent serving as the meeting room.
"The commander of the Iwa force this time is an old acquaintance, Retsuishi, captain of Iwagakure's Explosion Corps," Jiraiya began, sharing intelligence about the battlefield.
"Besides Retsuishi, the other Ninja we need to watch out for are Han and Kitsuchi. I don't need to say much about Han. He's a Jinchuriki capable of fully transforming into a Tailed Beast. He possesses immense strength and can release Tailed Beast Balls.
"Kitsuchi is the Third Tsuchikage's son, and his Earth Release is very powerful..."
"Doesn't Iwagakure have two Jinchuriki? Is Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, not here this time?" Obito asked curiously.
He had participated in several wars against Iwagakure and knew a fair amount about their intelligence.
However, his question about Roshi was mainly because Roshi had left too deep an impression on him in the last war, with his relentless barrages of Tailed Beast Balls.
"He hasn't appeared yet. He may not be on the battlefield, or he may still be hiding," Jiraiya shook his head and said.
At present, too few people knew the truth about Roshi. Even Ōnoki did not know Roshi's exact location.
Although Mugetsu knew the intelligence, he could not reveal it. There would be no way to explain how he knew.
"According to reconnaissance from our intelligence personnel, this Iwagakure Ninja Force numbers around one thousand six hundred. With our forces combined, we have around one thousand one hundred," Jiraiya said, feeling that something was a bit strange.
The support force this time was indeed rather small, only four hundred Ninja.
"It's only one thousand six hundred Ninja. Uncle Toad, you handle that Jinchuriki, and Teacher Mugetsu can defeat the rest alone," Obito said with a grin, looking completely confident.
The Mist Ninja Force they had just defeated was similar in number to the Iwa force, only without a Jinchuriki.
"Does your Teacher Mugetsu know he's that powerful?" Jiraiya couldn't help but pat Obito on the back.
Of course, he knew Mugetsu was powerful. In the previous battle against two thousand Iwa Ninja, Mugetsu had been responsible for most of the victory.
But that credit had been comprehensive. A large part of it came from Mugetsu successfully using the spies' information to lure the Iwa force into a trap.
However, the reactions of Mugetsu's other disciples made Jiraiya notice something strange.
He realized that even Kakashi, who was usually very rational, did not refute Obito.
Smack!
Mugetsu tapped Obito's head with two fingers.
"When did I ever fight one thousand six hundred Ninja alone? Do you think Ketsu and the others were just air?"
To be fair, the Konoha Ninja Force had still played a role, such as preventing the Hidden Mist from retreating out of Mugetsu's Ninjutsu range and helping to distract them.
Without them, Mugetsu would have wasted more Chakra.
"Hehe, it's close enough. Besides, a lot of people in the force said we won entirely because of you, Teacher Mugetsu," Obito said, scratching his head.
Listening to their conversation, Jiraiya roughly guessed one thing. Before coming to the Land of Grass, Mugetsu had just finished another battle.
So Jiraiya immediately asked about the details.
"Teacher Mugetsu took half the Ninja Force, encountered a Hidden Mist ambush, and then Teacher Mugetsu used Wood Release..." Obito excitedly described the battle scene to Jiraiya.
Even now, he still thought it was incredibly cool. One person suppressing an entire Ninja Force was the sort of major plot point that only happened much later in Ninja novels.
When Jiraiya heard that Mugetsu had used Wood Release: World of Trees and Art: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, his face froze in astonishment. For a moment, he felt as if he were dreaming.
If he was not dreaming, how could something so absurd happen? How had the perfectly normal Mugetsu suddenly become a Wood Release master?
Jiraiya reached out and pinched Obito's face.
"Ah, that hurts! What are you doing?!" Obito slapped Jiraiya's hand away, glaring at him indignantly.
"You're yelling so energetically, so it seems I'm not dreaming," Jiraiya said, stroking his chin as if analyzing the matter.
Obito was speechless.
For Jiraiya's sake, since he was his teacher's teacher, Obito would let him off the hook for now.
After organizing his thoughts, Jiraiya's expression turned serious. He looked at Mugetsu and said, "So, Mugetsu, you now possess large-scale Wood Release that can pose an immense threat to Ninja Forces."
"Yes. If the enemy gathers together, I can use Art: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees to spread pollen that causes people to fall unconscious," Mugetsu nodded and said.
"In that case..." Jiraiya fell into thought.
Before Mugetsu arrived, he had already devised a counterplan.
That plan was to use his own force as bait to lure the Iwa force into attacking, then have Mugetsu lead his troops in a flanking assault.
But the spies escaping early had made Jiraiya abandon the plan, because it meant the Iwa force already knew of Mugetsu's arrival.
Thinking about it now, the reason Konoha had not sent over Mugetsu's latest intelligence was probably to guard against Iwagakure's spies.
However, with Mugetsu's current strength, it seemed as if no plan was truly necessary. If they encountered the enemy, they would fight. If they did not, they would search. Losing was almost impossible.
In the face of absolute power, everything else was illusion.
Jiraiya looked at Mugetsu carefully for a few moments. If he had not already met Nagato, who possessed the Six Paths Sage's eyes, he might have believed Mugetsu was the Child of Prophecy.
Minato's talent as a Ninja was already exaggerated, and Mugetsu could be described as an enhanced version of Minato.
If Mugetsu continued growing at this pace, he might truly become another God of Shinobi.
"Mugetsu, how about you form an elite squad and operate freely?" Jiraiya asked after some thought.
The battle against two thousand Iwa Ninja had proved Mugetsu's intelligence, and suppressing the Mist Ninja Force had proved his strength.
Jiraiya felt that conventional tactics were too wasteful for a special talent like Mugetsu. So he decided to let Mugetsu lead a small team and move freely.
"Alright. I'll try," Mugetsu agreed.
This was exactly what he wanted.
Just like dividing the forces on the Hidden Mist battlefield, Mugetsu was not worried about whether he could defeat the enemy. He was only worried about not encountering the enemy at all.
Now that he had perfected Wood Release, even a Jinchuriki capable of fully transforming into a Tailed Beast would find it difficult to pose much of a threat to him.
Unless that Tailed Beast was named Kurama.
After leaving the tent, Mugetsu called out to his disciples.
"You all still have the repair secret medicine I gave you, right?"
Mugetsu had given each of his disciples a repair secret medicine and instructed them to carry it close to their bodies.
"Yes, Teacher Mugetsu. You reminded us when we were still in Konoha," Obito said, taking out a black pill.
"Good. This secret medicine can instantly heal physical injuries. Even if you're half-dead, it can immediately save you," Mugetsu said, nodding after seeing all his disciples take out their repair secret medicine.
On the first day in the Land of Grass, Mugetsu mainly handled various miscellaneous tasks and did not lead his team out to search for the Iwa force.
Although he himself was not tired, ordinary Ninja had just undergone high-intensity travel and needed rest to be in good condition for battle.
On the second day, Mugetsu and Jiraiya discussed the roster for the elite team.
The list contained one hundred people. Sixty were elites from Mugetsu's support unit, while the remaining forty were elites Jiraiya had drawn from his own force.
The entire team consisted of Jonin, Special Jonin, and experienced veteran Chunin.
That afternoon, Mugetsu assembled the team for a simple coordination exercise.
On the third day, Mugetsu led the elite team away from Jiraiya's force and began his combat plan.
During the first few days, Mugetsu's elite team operated smoothly.
They cleared out eight Iwagakure squads without suffering a single casualty, eliminating a total of thirty-four Iwa Ninja.
However, an unexpected event soon occurred.
On this day, Mugetsu was leading his team in pursuit of a two-hundred-man Iwa unit when they fell into an encirclement.
During the pursuit, a large number of Iwa Ninja burst out of the dense forest, blocking Mugetsu's team.
"As expected of the renowned Raging Sun Mugetsu. You dare charge straight into a war zone with only one hundred Ninja."
A calm voice came from within the Iwa force. A sturdy Iwagakure Ninja emerged from among the many Iwa Ninja.
"Iwa Fist Kitsuchi."
Kakashi immediately recognized him as the Third Tsuchikage's son, whom Jiraiya had mentioned earlier.
"After all, Teacher Mugetsu can fight two thousand. I don't think there are enough Ninja here for him to fight," Obito immediately retorted when he saw someone dare mock his teacher.
Kitsuchi was slightly taken aback. He had truly meant that Mugetsu was courageous, but it seemed the other side had misunderstood his words.
Kitsuchi did not pay too much attention to it and silently gathered Chakra.
Although he was somewhat straightforward, that did not stop him from eliminating enemies who blocked Iwagakure's path.
"Only nine hundred Ninja. Looks like I can save a bit of Chakra," Mugetsu thought.
With the range of his Kenbunshoku Haki, it was impossible for him to truly fall into a trap. This was nothing more than another fishing expedition.
"Why are these Konoha Ninja so calm?" An Iwagakure Jonin noticed that these Konoha Ninja, despite being surrounded, were not only unafraid but even seemed eager for battle.
The Iwagakure Jonin was utterly bewildered. He could not understand where these Konoha Ninja got their confidence. Their posture made it look as if Konoha had surrounded Iwagakure instead.
In truth, they had noticed this hundred-man team the day after Mugetsu led them out.
The reason they only acted now was that they had been investigating and planning. Only after confirming this was not a Konoha conspiracy did they proceed with the encirclement.
Mugetsu had defeated the Hidden Mist too quickly and had not let even a single Mist Ninja escape, so that intelligence was currently known only to a small number of people. Iwagakure was clearly not among them.
"Earth Release: Rock Iron Cannon Technique!"
A large number of Iwa Ninja tacitly gathered Chakra and spat out rocks like cannonballs.
This was one of Iwagakure's most proficient unit Ninjutsu, and its firepower was extremely fierce.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Many Konoha Ninja cast defensive Ninjutsu one after another.
Bang, bang, bang!
Due to the difference in numbers, the defensive net formed by the Konoha Ninja was rapidly destroyed.
At that moment, Mugetsu finished gathering Chakra.
"Wood Release: World of Trees!"
A massive amount of Wood Release Chakra brought unimaginable vitality to the land.
Boom, boom!
The soil seemed to come alive, surging and churning wildly. Countless tiny roots rapidly burst from the ground and spread in every direction.
These roots grew swiftly, intertwining into a net that quickly covered the entire battlefield.
Immediately afterward, thick tree trunks erupted from beneath the earth. They grew upward at an astonishing speed, rapidly maturing into long, sturdy trees.
Because this area was already a forest, the addition of the newly grown trees made the entire woodland terrifyingly dense.
Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy, casting mottled patches of light and shadow. But within this area dominated by Wood Release: World of Trees, the Iwa Ninja felt no warmth or peace. Every Iwagakure Ninja wore an expression of disbelief and fear.
"Wood Release?!" Kitsuchi's eyes widened, revealing an expression of incredible shock.
The legend of the God of Shinobi was known to all. Now, he had actually seen another Ninja capable of performing large-scale Wood Release. How could he not be shocked?
After manipulating the trees to block the incoming barrage of Rock Iron Cannons for his subordinates, Mugetsu immediately controlled the trees to launch an attack on the Iwa Ninja.
The Ninja in the elite team also immediately cooperated with Mugetsu's counterattack.
Most of them had already witnessed Mugetsu's Wood Release and were somewhat accustomed to it.
The situation on the field immediately shifted.
Some Iwa Ninja were bound by tree branches before they could react, while others could not withstand the continuous attacks from the trees and the Konoha Ninja.
Kitsuchi gathered a large amount of Chakra, intending to use large-scale Earth Release to destroy Mugetsu's World of Trees.
However, Might Guy had been watching Kitsuchi from the start. Before Kitsuchi could finish gathering Chakra, Guy rushed in front of him.
Mugetsu was about to cooperate with Guy to defeat Kitsuchi first when he suddenly sensed something and looked toward the north.
Whoosh!
A black-robed Ninja used the Body Flicker Technique to arrive at the center of the battlefield, looking at Mugetsu without the slightest attempt to hide himself.
.....
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