https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-638-Mu-Yue-and-Uchiha-Madara-Face-Off/12587587/
Chapter 637: Invasion of Uchiha Madara
Chapter 637: Invasion of Uchiha Madara
Mu Yue and her team arrived at Jiraiya's camp, where they were greeted by Jiraiya himself and a group of ninjas.
"Mu Yue, I'm glad you're here," Jiraiya said with a hearty laugh as he approached Mu Yue.
Seeing Mu Yue, Jiraiya unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Mu Yue was young, she had never failed in any mission and was known for her reliability.
"Mu Yue, please inspect my ninja forces first. We can discuss other matters later," Jiraiya added.
He had given orders in advance for the ninja forces to assemble, so Mu Yue could start the inspection right away.
"Alright, let's start the inspection," Mu Yue nodded and instructed her team to take care of miscellaneous tasks while she, along with her disciples, accompanied Jiraiya to search for spies.
【Name: Shika Akihide】
【Chakra: 5200】
【Name: Hyuga Haru】
【Chakra: 7200】
Mu Yue swiftly used her Identification Technique on the Konoha ninja forces from the Grass Country, but she didn't find any White Zetsu among them.
"We didn't find any suspicious ninjas. They might have fled beforehand or used another method to steal information," Mu Yue said to Jiraiya.
This couldn't be a flaw in the Identification Technique, as even a strong transformation jutsu couldn't deceive it, let alone the White Zetsu.
Mu Yue suspected that Uchiha Madara had obtained information about his impending arrival in the Grass Country and had withdrawn the White Zetsu.
After all, he was traveling with a ninja force, not alone, so it would be easy for the White Zetsu to discover his trail.
"I see. Perhaps we should have assembled the forces earlier, but it's not a big problem. At least now our forces are free from spies," Jiraiya said with a smile, not too concerned about the escaped spies.
As long as there were no spies among them, it was a good thing, whether they had been captured or scared away.
Jiraiya then led Mu Yue and the others to a tent that served as a makeshift conference room.
"The commander of the Iwagakure forces is an old acquaintance, Retsushi, the captain of the Iwagakure Blast Corps," Jiraiya began, sharing intelligence about the battlefield.
"Apart from Retsushi, there are two other ninjas to watch out for: Han and Ohtsuchi. Han is a jinchuriki capable of complete tailed beast transformation and possesses immense strength and the ability to release Tailed Beast Balls.
Ohtsuchi is the son of the Third Tsuchikage and wields powerful Earth Release techniques..."
"Doesn't Iwagakure have two jinchurikis? What about the four-tailed jinchuriki, Rouji? Why isn't he here?" Obito asked curiously.
Having participated in several wars against Iwagakure, he was familiar with their intelligence.
His curiosity about Rouji stemmed mainly from the strong impression the older jinchuriki had left on him during the previous war with his relentless Tailed Beast Ball attacks.
"He hasn't shown up so far. He might not be on the battlefield or could still be hiding," Jiraiya shook his head.
Very few people had information about Rouji, and even Onoki didn't know his exact location.
Although Mu Yue knew about Rouji's whereabouts, she couldn't reveal it as it was impossible to explain how she obtained that information.
"According to our intelligence, the Iwagakure ninja forces number around 1,600, while we have about 1,100 ninjas on our side," Jiraiya said, finding the number of reinforcements a bit strange.
The number of support forces they received this time was indeed small, with only 400 ninjas.
"It's just 1,600 ninjas. With you, Uncle Gama, handling the jinchuriki, and Mu Yue-sensei's abilities, we're sure to win," Obito said with a smirk, confident in their victory.
Their recent victory over the Kirigakure forces, whose numbers were similar to Iwagakure's, but without a jinchuriki, bolstered his confidence.
"Do you know how powerful Mu Yue-sensei is?" Jiraiya couldn't help but pat Obito on the back.
He was well aware of Mu Yue's capabilities, and their previous victory over the 2,000-strong Iwagakure forces was largely due to her.
However, that victory was a result of their combined efforts, and a significant part of it was due to Mu Yue's clever use of the spy to lead the Iwagakure forces into a trap.
But Mu Yue's disciples' reactions made Jiraiya sense something amiss.
He noticed that Kakashi, usually level-headed, didn't refute Obito's claim.
Mu Yue snapped her fingers against Obito's head, "When did I ever take on 1,600 ninjas alone? Are you implying that my disciples are useless?"
To be fair, the Konoha ninja forces did play a role in their previous victory, such as preventing Kirigakure from retreating out of Mu Yue's jutsu range and assisting in the battle.
Without them, Mu Yue would have had to expend more chakra.
"Hehe, it's almost the same, and many people in the forces also said that we won because of you, Mu Yue-sensei.
"Obito scratched his head," Daito said, continuing the story of their journey.
Listening to the two chat, Jiraiya pieced together an interesting bit of information. It seemed that Mu Yue had just concluded a battle before arriving in the Grass Country.
Intrigued, Jiraiya asked for the details.
"Teacher Mu Yue and half of the ninja forces encountered an ambush by Kirigakure, and then Teacher Mu Yue used Wood Release..." Obito excitedly described the battle scene to Jiraiya, his eyes sparkling at the memory.
Even now, he found it awe-inspiring—the image of a single person suppressing an entire ninja force was the kind of grand plot twist one would expect in the latter half of a ninja novel.
When Obito mentioned the Mystical Palm Technique and Flower Tree Mystical Palm, Jiraiya's eyes widened in disbelief, feeling as if he had stepped into a surreal dream.
How could this be real? How had Mu Yue, their gentle companion, transformed into a formidable Wood Release user?
Jiraiya reached out and pinched Obito's face, unsure if he was still asleep and dreaming.
"Ouch! What was that for?" Obito swatted away Jiraiya's hand, his indignation clear.
"You're yelling so spiritedly, so I guess we're not dreaming then," Jiraiya mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Obito: ...
Well, he supposed he'd let it slide since Jiraiya was his teacher's teacher.
After a moment of organizing his thoughts, Jiraiya's expression turned serious as he looked at Mu Yue. "So, to clarify, you now possess a large-scale Wood Release technique that can pose a significant threat to an entire ninja force."
"Yes, if they gather together, I can use the Flower Tree Mystical Palm to release pollen that will put them to sleep," Mu Yue confirmed with a nod.
"In that case..." Jiraiya fell into deep thought, considering the implications.
Before Mu Yue's arrival, he had devised a counter-attack plan. The idea was to use his forces as bait to lure out the Iwagakure forces, then have Mu Yue and her team strike from the side.
However, with the spies having fled, he had abandoned that plan, realizing that the enemy was already aware of their presence.
Now he wondered if the lack of updated intelligence from Konoha about Mu Yue's capabilities was intentional—a precaution to keep the information from falling into the hands of Iwagakure spies.
But with Mu Yue's current strength, it seemed they didn't need a complex plan anymore. They could simply engage the enemy when they found them or search for them if they didn't; the chances of losing were slim to none.
In the face of overwhelming power, all else was insignificant.
Jiraiya studied Mu Yue intently, thinking that if he hadn't already encountered Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan of the Six Paths Sage, he might have believed Mu Yue to be the prophesied child.
Minato Namikaze's ninja prowess was already extraordinary, but Mu Yue seemed like a supercharged version of him.
If Mu Yue continued on this trajectory, he might very well become another Ninja God.
"Mu Yue, how about you form an elite squad and act independently?" Jiraiya suggested after some thought.
The battle against the two thousand Iwagakure ninjas had proven Mu Yue's intelligence, and her suppression of the Kirigakure forces had showcased her strength.
Jiraiya felt that conventional tactics would be a waste of Mu Yue's unique talents, so he proposed letting Mu Yue lead a small team to maximize her potential.
"Alright, I'll give it a try," Mu Yue agreed.
This arrangement suited him just fine.
Just as he had split his forces in the battle against Kirigakure, Mu Yue wasn't concerned about winning; he just hoped to encounter a worthy opponent.
With his newly perfected Wood Release, even a Jinchuriki capable of complete Tailed Beast transformation would struggle to pose a significant threat.
Unless, of course, that Tailed Beast was Kurama.
After leaving the tent, Mu Yue called out to her disciples, "Remember the healing pills I gave you earlier? Make sure you have them on you at all times."
Mu Yue had given each of his disciples a healing pill and instructed them to keep it close at all times.
"Yes, Teacher Mu Yue, we have them," Obito replied, holding up a black pill. "You reminded us to bring them when we were still in Konoha."
"Good, keep them close. Those pills can instantly heal your injuries, even if you're at death's door," Mu Yue emphasized, satisfied to see that all his disciples had the pills.
On their first day in the Grass Country, Mu Yue spent most of the time handling miscellaneous tasks and didn't lead the team out to search for the Iwagakure forces.
Although he wasn't particularly tired, the other ninjas needed rest after the high-intensity journey to be in top shape for the upcoming battle.
The next day, Mu Yue and Jiraiya discussed and finalized the roster for the elite squad.
The list comprised a hundred people: sixty elites from Mu Yue's support forces and forty veteran ninjas hand-picked by Jiraiya from his own forces, all of whom were either special jonin, exceptional jonin, or experienced tokubetsu jonin.
In the afternoon, Mu Yue assembled the team for a brief warm-up exercise to foster better teamwork.
On the third day, Mu Yue set out with the elite squad, embarking on his own tactical plan independent of Jiraiya's forces.
In the first few days, Mu Yue's elite squad carried out their operations smoothly.
They eliminated thirty-four Iwa ninjas and wiped out eight small Iwa squads without any casualties.
However, the unexpected soon happened.
One day, as Mu Yue led her team in pursuit of a two-hundred-strong Iwa squad, they found themselves surrounded.
A large number of Iwa ninjas emerged from the dense forest, blocking their path.
"As expected of the famous Moyue, daring to charge through the war zone with just a hundred ninjas," a steady voice called out from the Iwa forces, and a sturdy-built Iwa ninja stepped forward, surrounded by his comrades.
"Iwaken Ohtsuchi," Kakashi immediately recognized him as the son of the Third Tsuchikage, the one Jiraiya had mentioned before.
"After all, Teacher Mu Yue can take on two thousand ninjas by herself. It looks like you don't have enough people here," Obito retorted, not backing down when someone dared to mock his teacher.
Ohtsuchi was slightly taken aback, genuinely impressed by Mu Yue's courage, but it seemed his words had been misunderstood.
Unfazed, Ohtsuchi silently gathered his chakra, ready to face the enemy before him.
"Only nine hundred ninjas, looks like I can conserve some chakra," Mu Yue thought to himself, knowing full well that this wasn't a genuine trap but a bait to lure them in.
"Why are these Konoha ninjas so calm?" an Iwa jonin noticed that the surrounded Konoha ninjas were not only unafraid but also eager for battle.
He couldn't understand their confidence and wondered if they thought it was the Iwa ninjas who were trapped.
In fact, they had noticed Mu Yue's hundred-strong team on the second day after she set out, but they had only made their move now after carefully investigating and confirming that it wasn't a Konoha plot.
Mu Yue's swift defeat of the Kirigakure forces without allowing a single escape had been too quick for the news to spread, so only a handful of people knew about it, and the Iwa ninjas were clearly not among them.
"Earth Style: Rock Cannon Jutsu!"
A large number of Iwa ninjas worked together, spitting out stone projectiles like cannons.
This was the Iwa ninjas' forte, a legion jutsu with overwhelming firepower.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
"Water Style: Water Barrier Wall!"
Many ninjas responded by casting defensive jutsu.
Boom! Boom!!
Due to the disparity in numbers, the protective barrier created by the Konoha ninjas was quickly shattered.
Just then, Mu Yue's chakra was fully gathered.
"Wood Style: Nativity of the World of Trees!"
An immense wood-style chakra brought unimaginable vitality to the land.
Bang! Bang!!
The soil seemed to come alive, wildly surging and churning as countless tiny roots drilled out from the ground, spreading in all directions.
These roots quickly grew and intertwined, forming a net that soon covered the entire battlefield.
Then, thick tree trunks burst from the ground, growing at a startling rate and rapidly becoming tall, sturdy trees.
Combined with the existing forest, the dense trees created a terrifyingly thick canopy.
Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting dappled shadows, but in this area dominated by the Nativity of the World of Trees, the Iwa ninjas felt none of the warmth or tranquility; they were filled with disbelief and fear.
"Wood Style?! " Ohtsuchi's eyes widened in astonishment.
The legend of the Ninja God was known to all, and now, he witnessed another ninja capable of wielding large-scale wood-style jutsu. How could he not be amazed?
Mu Yue controlled the trees, shielding his teammates from the onslaught of the Rock Cannon, and then immediately launched a counterattack with the trees.
The ninjas in the elite squad also joined in, assisting Mu Yue.
Most of them had witnessed Mu Yue's wood-style jutsu before and were somewhat accustomed to it.
The tide of the battle turned in their favor.
Some Iwa ninjas were caught off guard and entangled by the branches, while others struggled to withstand the attacks from the trees and the Konoha ninjas.
Ohtsuchi gathered a large amount of chakra, intending to use a large-scale earth-style jutsu to destroy Mu Yue's Nativity of the World of Trees.
However, Might Guy had been keeping a close eye on Ohtsuchi, and before Ohtsuchi could finish gathering his chakra, Might Guy was already in front of him.
Mu Yue was about to assist Might Guy in taking down Ohtsuchi when he suddenly sensed something and looked toward the north.
Shush!
A figure clad in a black robe appeared in the center of the battlefield using the Body Flicker Technique, unabashedly fixing his gaze on Mu Yue.
(End of Chapter)
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