Chapter 240: Strong Enemies on the Battlefield
"Die!" The Iwagakure Jonin roared, swinging the sharp blade in his hand, intent on cutting down the wounded Konoha Ninja before him.
The injured Ninja, thinking his end had come, instinctively closed his eyes. But years of combat training forced them open again—and instead of pain, he was met with the sight of a blond figure suddenly standing before him, blocking the attack with ease.
Clang!
The metallic clash echoed sharply. The Iwagakure Jonin's eyes widened as he realized that no matter how much force he exerted, the blade wouldn't move even a fraction of an inch.
Mugetsu slightly deepened his breathing rhythm, channeling power through his entire body. With a surge of strength, he pushed the enemy's blade aside and delivered a clean, crushing kick to the Jonin's chest.
Bang!
The impact sent the Iwagakure Jonin flying backward, crashing into the dirt with a thud.
"Are you alright?" Mugetsu asked the injured Konoha Ninja, offering a faint, reassuring smile.
The warmth of that expression stirred a strange sense of déjà vu in the man, though there was no time to dwell on it. He quickly replied, "Sir, I can still move on my own! But that Iwagakure Ninja—he's coming back!"
"Don't worry. I'll handle this," Mugetsu said calmly, adjusting his glasses with one hand, his confident smile never fading.
He could have ended the fight the moment he intervened, but he didn't wish to reveal too much of his power. Against a Jonin of this level, killing him instantly would have been trivial.
"Earth Release: Earth Pillar Spear!"
The Iwagakure Jonin formed hand signs rapidly as he charged.
Thanks to his Byakugan's full 360-degree vision, Mugetsu immediately sensed the Chakra fluctuations beneath the ground. Without hesitation, he grabbed the wounded Konoha Ninja and threw him toward a safe spot before leaping away himself.
Boom! Boom!!
Three massive, sharp stone spikes erupted from the ground where Mugetsu had just stood, impaling the air instead of flesh.
Taking advantage of Mugetsu's evasion, the Jonin swung his sword once more, this time aiming directly for Mugetsu's eyes.
Clang!
The Kunai in Mugetsu's hand intercepted the strike effortlessly.
"Damn it, his reaction speed is insane!" the Iwagakure Jonin cursed inwardly, sweat forming on his brow.
He had expected Mugetsu to be off balance while saving his ally, but the man handled every move with precise ease.
Clang! Clang! Clang!!
The short Kunai flashed like silver lightning. Though a smaller weapon, in Mugetsu's hands it became far deadlier than the longer blade it opposed. Guided by the Byakugan's perfect sight and the explosive power of his Breathing Technique, Mugetsu moved like a phantom, cutting small but deep wounds across the Jonin's body without taking a single scratch himself.
"He's a master of short blades!" the Iwagakure Jonin realized grimly.
Desperate, he leapt back, intending to switch tactics to Ninjutsu.
But before he could even finish forming a seal, Mugetsu was already one step ahead.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
With just a single Tiger hand sign, three massive fire dragons erupted from Mugetsu's mouth, roaring forward with blazing fury.
The Jonin's eyes went wide in shock. The heat hit him before the flames did—scorching, suffocating, inescapable. He hadn't even clearly seen Mugetsu form the seals.
"This… this isn't a short-blade user! He's a Fire Release specialist!" he thought, panic rising in his chest.
The timing was perfect. The technique's range was immense. The Iwagakure Jonin couldn't dodge—it was already too late.
He poured all his Chakra into hardening his body with Earth Release. His skin turned gray and coarse like stone, the standard defensive technique of elite Iwagakure Ninja.
But Mugetsu's flames weren't ordinary.
Even if this Jonin had faced a typical Konoha counterpart, he might have survived. Unfortunately, his opponent was Mugetsu—who had every intention of making an example of him.
The fire dragons collided with him in a blinding explosion of orange and gold.
"Ahhh!!"
The Jonin screamed as the flames devoured him whole. His hardened body began to crack and blister, unable to withstand the intense heat.
Mugetsu's Great Dragon Fire Technique was among the most destructive of all Fire Release Ninjutsu, its burning power second only to the Great Fire Annihilation itself. Within seconds, the three blazing dragons merged into a single inferno that consumed everything in their path.
When the flames finally subsided, nothing remained of the Iwagakure Jonin—only scorched earth and drifting ash.
The brilliant firelight illuminated the battlefield, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.
"Such powerful Fire Release!" gasped one Iwagakure Ninja, his face pale as he watched his comrade vanish in the flames.
"That Jonin had mastered body hardening," another muttered in disbelief. "And he was still burned to ashes by a single jutsu…"
"This sir is so strong! He killed a Jonin so quickly!" exclaimed the Konoha Ninja who had been injured earlier.
Just moments ago, several of them—Chunin-level fighters—had teamed up against that same Iwagakure Jonin and been quickly overwhelmed. Yet Mugetsu had defeated him in only a few exchanges.
First, he'd saved someone mid-battle, then suppressed the enemy's long sword using only a Kunai, and finally ended it with a single, devastating Fire Release. The whole fight hadn't even lasted three minutes.
"How come this sir looks so much like Minato?" someone finally noticed aloud.
"I've never heard of Minato having an older brother," another murmured, already beginning to suspect that Mugetsu and Minato might actually be related.
It wasn't the time or place to discuss it. The battle was still raging, and speculation would have to wait until after the fighting ended.
After killing the Jonin, Mugetsu exhaled softly. Balancing his strength on the battlefield was a delicate task—he needed to fight convincingly without revealing too much. Too strong, and he would draw unwanted suspicion; too weak, and he couldn't achieve the results he wanted.
The Iwagakure Ninja weren't fools. The moment they saw one of their own fall so quickly, several of them immediately banded together to attack Mugetsu.
But at this stage, Mugetsu's combat ability had no real weaknesses. Even in terms of Chakra, he far surpassed ordinary Jonin. Against these Chunin and mid-level fighters, he was untouchable—each attack effortlessly evaded or countered with surgical precision.
Meanwhile, the other Konoha Ninja were far from idle. Seeing their powerful ally surrounded, they rushed to support him, easing the pressure on his side.
Under such coordination, the Iwagakure casualties began to pile up. Some were pierced through by Mugetsu's Kunai, others burned alive by his Fire Release, and still more sliced apart by his Wind Release.
Thanks to his overwhelming effectiveness, the momentum of the Konoha forces quickly shifted. More and more Ninja took notice of the golden-haired warrior cutting through enemy lines like a storm.
And what the Konoha forces saw, the Iwagakure forces saw as well.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted nearby. Smoke and fire tore through the ground as an Iwagakure Jonin was blown to pieces.
From amidst the smoke stepped a muscular man with wild, spiked hair and sharp, calculating eyes. Without even glancing at the Jonin he had just obliterated, Kari—the infamous Iwagakure demolition expert—turned his gaze toward the blond Konoha Ninja who had just ended another of his comrades.
In the blink of an eye, Kari vanished using the Body Flicker Technique. He reappeared beside Mugetsu, punching a nearby Konoha Ninja through the chest before turning to face him.
"It seems you're the strongest Konoha Ninja around here," Kari said coldly. "If I deal with you first, wiping out the rest will be easy."
Mugetsu smiled faintly. "If you think you can do it, then by all means… try."
There were indeed people in the Ninja World who could say such words to him—but this Iwagakure Ninja wasn't one of them.
Though his Byakugan already revealed Kari's Chakra flow, Mugetsu activated his Appraisal Technique just to be certain.
[Name: Kari]
[Chakra: 31,000]
[Skills: Explosion Release (Mastery: 500/15,000), Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 1,500/15,000), Earth Release: Earth Rising Spear…]
As Mugetsu expected, Kari was an exceptionally strong Jonin. His Chakra reserves and mastery of skills were both far above average.
Unfortunately for him, he had encountered Mugetsu—a Ninja whose Chakra exceeded his by more than ten thousand and whose abilities completely eclipsed his own.
Kari couldn't see Chakra or analyze data like Mugetsu, but he had absolute confidence in his strength.
He was a proud member of the Rock Ninja Blast Squad, one of Iwagakure's most elite special units. Every member was handpicked for their raw power and born talent—and every one of them possessed the rare Explosion Release Bloodline Limit.
This war was his chance to make his name known throughout the Ninja World. During the Second Shinobi World War, Kari had been too young and inexperienced, but now he stood as one of Iwagakure's top twenty fighters. His control over both Earth Release and Explosion Release had reached an advanced level, and he intended to prove it here.
"Sir, be careful!" a Konoha Ninja shouted from nearby. "That's Kari of the Rock Ninja Blast Squad! He's incredibly strong—don't fight him up close!"
The warning came quickly. Both Konoha and Iwagakure had spent years studying each other's rising stars. Just as Minato's name was known throughout Iwagakure, Kari's explosive power and fearsome reputation were well-known among Konoha's ranks.
Even under fire, several Konoha Ninja risked their lives to call out warnings.
"His Ninjutsu makes anything it touches explode! You absolutely can't let him get close!"
Kari smirked arrogantly. "They can shout all they want—it won't save you."
Information was one thing, but surviving an Explosion Release user in close combat was another matter entirely.
"Thank you for the warning," Mugetsu said softly, his tone calm and unshaken. "I'll take care of him."
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