Chapter 61: Black Zetsu’s Guess
Kusanagi Village.
This small ninja village, which had a good relationship with Konoha, was now unrecognizable.
The original hospital building had been bombed and collapsed by more than half, and the entire village had become a scene of devastation due to that night’s battle.
This was the massive destruction caused by Menma’s Nine-Faced Beast, enough to rival thousands of troops!
Mui stood at the edge of the battlefield. Even though two days had passed, his heart was still deeply dreading Shura’s terrifying power.
The surviving Kusanagi ninjas and villagers, under Mui’s leadership, were doing their utmost to rescue the wounded and collect the bodies.
But under the destruction of such terrifying nine summoned beasts, the Kusanagi Village Center was massively destroyed. More than forty ninjas died, including the Kusanagi Village leader Kusanagi Koji and the Anbu Captain Ryusei. The number of wounded, including villagers, reached three or four hundred!
For a small ninja village, such losses were nearly enough to halve their overall strength!
It would take at least a generation’s time to slowly recover the combat power lost in this battle.
“Brother!” Mujo came over, leaning on a cane.
He was also holding a statistical report.
“The village’s losses have been tallied.” Mujo read: “Including leader Lord Kusanagi and Anbu’s Ryusei Captain, a total of nine jonin were killed, thirty-eight chunin and genin were killed, and three hundred seventy villagers died.”
“The wounded include eight jonin, fifty-six chunin and genin, and five hundred sixty-three villagers.”
When he heard these casualty figures, Mui trembled all over.
The ninja village leader was killed, more than a dozen elite jonin were dead or injured, nearly a hundred ninjas were casualties, and nearly a thousand villagers were dead or injured!
One must know that as the most central area of the ninja village, these villagers were basically reserve forces with ninja talent. During wartime, the ninja village’s mobilization capability relied entirely on these villagers!
Such massive casualties were a severe blow to the vitality of Kusanagi Village!
“Brother, should we post a bounty on ‘Shura’ at the bounty exchange?” Mujo also came to Mui’s side. Looking at the village in such a tragic state, his expression was dazed. Thinking back to the battle two days ago, he still felt lingering fear.
That mysterious Shura, using only nine terrifying summoned beasts, had destroyed their entire Kusanagi Village into this state.
He himself hadn’t even personally made a move! Yet he caused such painful losses to Kusanagi Village!
“No need…” Mui closed his eyes and sighed deeply. When he slowly opened them again, his eyes were full of dread and fear: “We’re not his opponents. Don’t give him another excuse to come cause trouble!”
They couldn’t win—not the entire ninja village could win. This deep sense of despair made Mui feel that their enemy was like a deity!
Perhaps more than fifty years ago, the legendary ‘Ninja God’ and ‘Ninja World Shura’ who dominated the ninja world were no more than this.
Mujo deeply agreed.
The two brothers just stood there, their expressions grave as they fell silent.
In the distance from the Mui and Mujo brothers, in the shadows of a building that had been bombed and left with only half remaining.
A pitcher plant-like creature emerged from the ground.
“Whoa, what massive destructive power!” White Zetsu looked at the tragic state of the battlefield in the distant village center, whistling with a sighing expression.
Black Zetsu, meanwhile, expressionlessly looked at the destroyed Kusanagi Village.
‘Such terrifying combat power… is it Hagoromo’s descendant or Hamura’s descendant?’ Even Black Zetsu of the Otsutsuki Clan, who had been active in secret in the ninja world for a thousand years, had never seen such a terrifying scene.
Such power capable of destroying a city—he had only seen it in the past millennium on Asura, Indra brothers, Uchiha Madara, and Hashirama Senju.
But such a strong practitioner—Black Zetsu, who had been monitoring the ninja world for a thousand years, surprisingly had no intelligence on him at all!
This was exactly why Black Zetsu couldn’t help but think of the Otsutsuki Hamura Clan.
Only those guys on the moon with Byakugan made Black Zetsu deeply dread them. He didn’t dare send White Zetsu to the moon to monitor the Otsutsuki Hamura Clan, and only they could possibly cultivate someone this powerful.
‘So, what exactly is his purpose?’ Black Zetsu thought back to all the things ‘Shura’ had done since appearing.
Attacking Konoha’s Hyuga Clan, attacking the Cloud Village in the Land of Lightning, and now attacking Kusanagi Village.
‘Wait… could it really be…’ Black Zetsu suddenly recalled something related to the Otsutsuki Clan on the moon.
A few years ago, the aging Uchiha Madara summoned the Outer Path Demonic Statue to extend his life. Later, the Outer Path Demonic Statue remained in the ninja world, was later summoned by Nagato, and continuously absorbed Nagato’s chakra.
‘Did the Otsutsuki Clan notice the disappearance of the Outer Path Demonic Statue and send a strong practitioner to the ninja world to search for it?’
After this thought arose, Black Zetsu felt it was increasingly possible.
This mysterious Shura had no traceable growth path, and ordinary ninjas couldn’t just possess such power nearly matching Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara out of thin air.
Unless he had Asura and Indra’s chakra, but those two’s chakra reincarnations over a millennium had only appeared in the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan…
If it was the Otsutsuki Clan on the moon, then Black Zetsu had to be careful.
‘Looks like I need to find an opportunity to have Nagato or Obito test this guy. Otherwise, if he keeps messing around in the ninja world and disrupts my plans, that won’t do!’ Black Zetsu had endured for a millennium to seize this opportunity with Uchiha Madara.
The Moon’s Eye Plan to save his mother absolutely could not fail!
——————
The market in the Capital City of the Land of Fire was bustling.
Uchiha Hikari, having changed into new clothes, was particularly eye-catching.
A deep blue windbreaker paired with black shorts, stepping in open-toed short boots, the girl looked heroic and spirited, completely different from her disheveled state when she broke the seal.
“Sister! Sister! Try this!” Karin held an orange headband in her hands, pestering Uchiha Hikari.
This outfit was still bought for Uchiha Hikari by Uzumaki Kushina.
At this moment, seeing three-year-old Karin holding up an orange headband high, Uchiha Hikari felt pity for the child with such a tragic background. She squatted down, letting Karin put the headband on her.
“With this, Hikari looks even cuter.” Uzumaki Kushina held some purchased daily supplies in her hands, squinting with a light smile.
Coming to such a lively market for the first time, Uchiha Hikari was a bit timid. If Menma hadn’t asked her to protect the Uzumaki Kushina mother and daughter, she wouldn’t have wanted to come to such a crowded place.
After gathering some daily supplies, the three returned to the inn they were staying at.
Menma was looking at a map, pondering something.
When he saw the three return, he lifted his head and noticed Uchiha Hikari’s headband, smiling as he praised: “What a pretty headband.”
“Karin picked it for me.” The girl softly replied, her slightly upturned corners of the mouth revealing her inner joy.
“Menma bro! Quick, praise me!” Little Karin bounced in front of Menma, looking up expectantly.
Menma extended his right hand and indulgently ruffled Karin’s head.
“Time to set off.” Menma put away the map and said to the three: “The other group members from the organization have already set out some time ago. Next, we need to hurry on the road.”
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