The Land of Fire wasn’t far from Uchiha Mu’s newly established Nation of a Hundred Clans.
Traveling at full speed, the Konoha team could have arrived in a single day.
But since they expected to fight once they got there, they rested along the way and reached the new settlement after two days.
Naturally, there was no barrier around the village yet.
Mu badly wanted the Uzumaki Clan’s barrier sealing techniques, but he didn’t have enough leverage to get them.
For now, he could only rely on Hyuga Ryono periodically scanning the surroundings with her Byakugan.
Inside the village, Ryono suddenly called toward one of Mu’s shadow clones.
“Mu, I can see Konoha ninja.”
“Alright.
I’ll be back in a minute.”
This arrangement clearly wasn’t sustainable.
Mu planned to negotiate with the Uzumaki.
He could offer them the Rasengan in exchange for barrier techniques.
As for ordinary sealing methods, he already knew the Uchiha Flame Formation, which was enough for his immediate needs.
Outside the village, Hyuga Tenka stared ahead in disbelief.
“It hasn’t even been that long.
How did he build a village this big?”
Through his Byakugan, the settlement actually looked larger than Konoha.
“Hmph.
It’s passable.”
Uchiha Yan crossed his arms.
The fact that Mu hadn’t defected to another village and had instead founded his own made it difficult for the Uchiha to truly hate him.
But they still needed to deal with him.
Otherwise, the Uchiha remaining in Konoha would inevitably suffer because of his actions.
They carried the honor of their clan and refused to let anyone stain it.
“You three are actually going to fight seriously, right?” Tenka asked suspiciously.
“Heh.
You’d better worry about hiding somewhere safe.”
The Uchiha looked down on the Hyuga, whom they considered a tier beneath them.
Their pride left room in their eyes for only two clans: the Uchiha and the Senju.
Everyone else?
Small fry.
The next moment, Mu appeared in front of them with the Body Flicker Technique and casually raised a hand in greeting.
“Hello.
Want to join my country?
The Nation of a Hundred Clans welcomes ninja from every clan.”
Uchiha Yan stepped forward.
“Uchiha Mu, you’re the one who took the nobles’ money, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Mu nodded.
There was no point denying something this obvious.
“Where’s Hyuga Ryono?”
“Inside the village.”
Mu answered every question without hesitation.
Tenka’s expression suddenly grew serious.
“Be careful.
I’ve only seen chakra reserves like his on the Hokage and Madara.”
“What?!”
The three Uchiha immediately tensed.
None of them had imagined that the supposedly mediocre Mu possessed that much chakra.
“He’s right.
You really should be careful.”
As Mu spoke, the pattern in his eyes changed.
Three tomoe spun together and transformed into a far more complex design.
There was no mistaking it.
Mangekyo Sharingan.
“Mangekyo!”
Yan’s expression turned ugly.
There was an enormous gulf between a three-tomoe Sharingan and the Mangekyo.
So Mu had been hiding his strength all along.
But why?
Hiding his talent meant giving up the clan’s attention, glory, and resources.
“Mm.
At least people in this era recognize it on sight.”
Mu sounded almost amused.
“I’m going to use genjutsu next.
Be careful.”
The warning was so arrogant that all four men looked furious.
Outside of monsters like Madara and Hashirama, ninja battles were battles of information.
And Mu had just openly announced what technique he intended to use.
He was looking down on them far too much.
“Don’t underestimate us!
Mangekyo or not, we’ll still take you down!”
The enraged Uchiha activated their three-tomoe Sharingan and rushed him.
Mu calmly spoke.
“I think you should check what you’re actually doing first.”
Then he released the genjutsu.
Two Uchiha froze as they realized their blades were about to cut into each other.
Yan and Tenka were in almost the same situation, moments away from attacking one another.
The instant reality returned, all four men’s faces turned ashen.
They had been caught in genjutsu without even realizing it.
“So this is the ocular power of the Mangekyo…?”
Yan lowered his weapon.
There was no point continuing the fight.
“Of course.
If you had Hashirama or Madara’s strength, the genjutsu wouldn’t work on you.”
Mu chuckled.
“Uchiha Mu!
Why did you leave the village?
And why did you hide your strength?”
Another Uchiha shouted, unable to accept that he had nearly been killed by an illusion—especially by the hand of his own teammate.
“Why did I leave?
Because I had no chance of becoming Hokage.
I’m an Uchiha.”
Mu shrugged.
“As for hiding my strength…
wasn’t Lord Izuna strong?
Look what happened after everyone started paying special attention to him.
He died.”
The Uchiha fell silent.
They had no answer for that.
More surprising was how easy Mu was to talk to.
“Anyway, wait here for now,” Mu said.
“More people should be arriving soon.
I’ll deal with everyone at once.
It’d be better if you didn’t leave.
If all you have later is secondhand information, some of it might sound exaggerated.”
Mu turned and headed back toward the village.
The four wanted to return immediately and report what they had learned.
Their feet refused to move.
Only then did they realize they had been caught in the most basic form of genjutsu paralysis.
It took quite a while before they managed to break free.
When they did, all four dropped to their knees, gasping for breath.
The difference between them and Mu was so enormous that none of them could even bring themselves to attack again.
“So this is the Uchiha…?”
Tenka smiled bitterly.
And his clan still believed the Hyuga were somehow nobler?
The Uchiha had Madara and Mu.
What did the Hyuga have?
His father, the so-called Tennin?
Could that man beat any of these people?
Tenka didn’t believe it.
“Hmph.
Naturally, we Uchiha aren’t something the Hyuga can compare to,” one of the Uchiha said proudly.
Tenka’s face twitched.
“Heh.
You personally might not even be able to beat me.”
He had a temper too.
If this man had Mu or Madara’s strength, fine.
But he didn’t.
So where was all this arrogance coming from?
No wonder the Uchiha weren’t popular in the village.
Who could possibly like people who shoved their clan name into every other sentence?
“Oh?
Then let’s fight.
Don’t underestimate the Sharingan.”
The Uchiha activated his three-tomoe Sharingan on the spot.
“Enough!
Look at yourself!” Yan snapped.
“Uchiha Mu defeated you with one glance, and this is what you’re doing afterward?
Stop disgracing the honor of the Uchiha!”
“…Yes.”
The man lowered his head.
He had his pride too, which only made it harder to accept that one look from Mu had defeated him.
“Yan, are we really staying here?” Tenka asked.
Yan at least seemed capable of having a normal conversation.
“We’ll wait.
If all we bring back is someone else’s account, Lord Hokage won’t believe it.”
By “Lord Hokage,” Yan was referring to Senju Tobirama, who was already practically acting like one.
“Fine.
I wonder if they’ll let us inside.”
Tenka was genuinely curious about the newly built settlement.
“You can come in and take a look.”
Hyuga Ryono approached from the village.
“You damn woman!”
One of the Uchiha instantly reacted.
Before, he hadn’t cared much.
But Mu was this powerful and he had still ended up with a Hyuga?
Damn it!
Preserve that bloodline inside the Uchiha Clan!
Veins bulged around Ryono’s eyes.
“What did you just call me?”
“Ahem.
His brain doesn’t work properly.
Don’t waste your time on him.”
Yan elbowed his clansman hard enough to shut him up.
Whether they liked it or not, Ryono was now effectively the lady of the Nation of a Hundred Clans.
They needed to think before insulting her.
Otherwise, if another situation like the one just now occurred, this idiot might genuinely get himself killed.
Ryono folded her arms.
“I’ve decided.
He isn’t allowed inside.
The rest of you can come.”
“Why?!”
“Because I’m Hyuga Ryono.”
Ryono snorted and led the other three toward the village.
The settlement had fewer people than Konoha, but it was far from empty.
The small countries in this region had suffered from war for years.
Now that someone powerful had finally taken control, many civilians were hopeful.
After all, however bad Mu’s rule might turn out to be, could it really be worse than what they had before?