Naruto: Menma Exiting Infinite Tsukuyomi

Chapter 206: I'll Keep These Legs for Lord Kazekage for Now

The battleground at the border of the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers.

A rolling firestorm rose, and a dazzling firelight shot out.

Dozens of figures were split into two camps, ninja tools and ninjutsu flying fiercely in battle.

The Land of Snow squad that followed this time were all new recruits who hadn't experienced much real combat.

But after the Snow squad's rain-like fusillade, all the Suna-nin who came from the stationed camp to provide support were wounded, and the ground was gradually littered with the corpses of countless Suna-nin.

Although the Land of Snow squad also had some casualties, they had utilized the "kiting" tactic to its fullest.

However, if Uchiha Izumi hadn't single-handedly tied up Rasa, creating a combat environment without any rear-guard worries for the Snow squad,

then, even without Rasa's support, just with Maki leading the squad,

even if these new recruits had used intelligence and weapons to ambush the Suna-nin in advance, wanting to defeat these well-trained Suna-nin was not entirely realistic.

But the mission Menma had initially given Izumi was to let these promising new recruits see some blood while she held back the Suna mining team.

Besides Konoha, the one Menma understood best was Sunagakure. Every step Suna took was within his expectations.

Uchiha Izumi's objective was very clear: she had been entangling the strongest, Rasa, all along, and had helped the Snow squad out of tight spots midway.

"Why would the remnants of the Land of the Sky be involved with an Uchiha?"

"Where did this female Uchiha and these remnants of the Land of the Sky suddenly pop out from?"

Although Rasa had brought only dozens of Chūnin out of the village this time, seeing his own Suna-nin being mown down like grass by that group of "Sky Ninja," a grim and grave look also appeared in Rasa's eyes.

He finally experienced how disgusting Uchiha ninja were.

Not only did he have to fight the opponent with all his strength, but he also had to be constantly wary of the opponent's genjutsu, which limited his own abilities, making it impossible for him to support his own Suna-nin.

"These guys clearly came prepared. The intelligence for this mining mission has been completely leaked."

Moreover, such a well-trained and well-coordinated team could absolutely not have been cultivated by any small power; they must have their own base of operations.

Just as Rasa was agonizing in his heart,

VROOOM!!

"To dare to be distracted while fighting me... Lord Kazekage is truly arrogant."

A cold voice, accompanied by the sound of tearing air, suddenly came.

Seeing the dark red, bloody scythe slash towards him, Rasa's pupils couldn't help but contract sharply. The gold dust at his feet fiercely pulled him backwards.

And while retreating to create distance, his palm also made a grasping motion towards the front.

BOOM!!

A wall of gold dust suddenly appeared, blocking the impact of the bloody scythe.

Uchiha Izumi, her attack unsuccessful, landed steadily. Dark red skeletal arms coiled around her body, holding a long scythe named "Dark Fang Yomotsu."

"As expected of one of the Five Kage, the Kazekage. Indeed, there are no so-called weaklings."

Hearing this, Rasa's already tightly furrowed brow wrinkled even more. For a moment, he couldn't tell if this was praise or mockery.

But regardless of which it was, he couldn't be happy.

"What a persistent fellow."

Looking at "Tsukuyomi no Mikoto" before him, whose aura was still as imposing as a rainbow, Rasa let out a long breath. His hands quickly formed seals, and a powerful chakra erupted from his body.

"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral!"

Gold dust surged from the desert like a sea wave, closing in on Izumi in the center from all directions.

"Using the same old trick is boring."

Although Izumi's words were full of disdain, her actions showed no slack.

Rasa's gold dust could invade the human body, and then paralyze and control the target.

Izumi did not want to be defeated by the enemy due to a moment of underestimation.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

Although Rasa's gold dust was as endless as the sea waves, a dark red half-bodied giant once again enveloped her entire body. Wielding the bloody scythe in its hand, it continuously cut the endless sea of gold dust before it in half.

Due to the magnetic properties of the Kekkei Genkai Magnet Release itself, weapons with magnetic properties could not have any effect on Rasa.

However, the weapon Izumi used was a chakra weapon constructed by Susanoo, so she didn't have to worry about being limited due to her weapon at all.

With the rapid depletion of chakra in his body, Rasa gradually felt a powerful pressure, and beads of cold sweat slowly slid down his cheeks.

"Is this person's chakra so abundant?!"

Clearly, Rasa did not know that Uchiha Izumi had been using her dōjutsu to reverse the consumption of chakra in her body.

However, noticing the gap at the feet of "Amaterasu no Mikoto" (likely a typo, should be Tsukuyomi/Izumi) enveloped in the Susanoo, his eyes flickered almost imperceptibly.

"Hmm?"

Izumi, who was standing still, noticed a slight strange movement at her feet and subconsciously leaped high upwards.

One after another, golden, rope-like tendrils of gold dust suddenly surged out from under her feet, attempting to entangle her body.

But Izumi's one leap happened to dodge Rasa's sneak attack.

"Heh, Lord Kazekage's combat experience is truly rich. Have you discovered Susanoo's weakness so quickly?"

A Susanoo below the fourth stage only had a top half, leaving the risk of being attacked from below.

However, it could also be seen how astonishing this Kazekage's chakra control and combat experience were.

Not only could he carry out large-scale attacks with the sea of gold dust, but he could also multitask and differentiate small objects like ropes.

If not for Yin Release granting Izumi an abnormal reaction ability, she might have really been hit by this sneak attack.

Thump!

The chakra at Izumi's feet trembled forcefully, directly shattering the gold dust ropes at her feet.

Immediately, she leaped into the air, her hands forming seals, chakra gathering in her body.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!"

A giant fireball was spat from her mouth, assailing Rasa like a meteorite.

Compared to the ultra-large-range Great Fire Annihilation, the A-rank Great Fire Destruction, with its more difficult cultivation, had a more concentrated attack and relatively stronger destructive power.

Rasa's face also changed slightly upon seeing this.

The gold dust originally surging towards Izumi flew back rapidly, building a solid wall of gold dust several meters high in front of him.

BOOM!!!

After the fireball and gold dust collided, a huge crater was blown into the solid gold dust wall, sending the gold dust flying in all directions, glittering with dazzling light under the reflection of the fire.

After the fireball landed, the flames rapidly spread, sweeping across the surroundings in an extremely terrifying manner, turning the area it covered into a sea of fire.

The flames, like karmic fire, splashed onto the Suna-nin who couldn't dodge in time, and like gangrene on the bone, burned the enemies to cinders.

"Damn it!"

Quickly patting out the spreading flames on his clothes, Rasa looked at "Tsukuyomi no Mikoto" with lingering fear.

After hesitating for a moment, listening to the wretched screams and wails around him, the thought of retreat also arose in his heart.

As a stationary-type ninja, he was not at all skilled in close combat.

And after such a long time, the Gelel Stone had probably already been taken. It was hard to guarantee that other members of the "Crimson Moon" organization wouldn't come to provide support.

If he still wanted to leave then, it would not be so simple.

Thinking this, the thought of retreat ultimately won over everything else.

"Listen to my command! All retreat!"

Once the retreat order was issued, the Suna-nin, who were already somewhat timid, also quickly began to retreat.

However, exposing their backs to the enemy was an undeniably great risk.

In the process of them turning and retreating, before Rasa could use gold dust for cover, a group of Suna-nin were shot and killed by the Land of Snow squad.

Izumi also vanished from her spot, rushing towards Rasa again.

Seeing this, a trace of determination flashed in Rasa's eyes. He immediately slammed his hands on the ground, outputting all his remaining chakra.

"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Wave!"

In a flash, an endless amount of gold dust surged from behind him towards the sky. Gold dust, on a scale far exceeding before, gathered in the air like a tsunami.

The next moment, the sea of gold dust that seemed to block out the entire sky descended, the overwhelming shadow it cast like the sky itself was about to fall.

Even the Land of Snow squad, which had undergone rigorous training, couldn't help but look up blankly, intimidated by Rasa's all-out move.

If he were in the desert environment of the Land of Wind, Rasa could even refine gold dust from the sand, kicking up a sea of gold dust even more terrifying than this. One man alone could exert power sufficient to match an entire troop.

But in the woodland environment of the Land of Rivers, he could at most display this level of strength.

Even so, this power was enough to instill awe.

"Are you trying to make a desperate struggle?"

Uchiha Izumi looked at the ocean composed of infinite gold dust, her originally indifferent eyes also becoming grave and serious.

If she allowed this sea of gold dust to crash down, under this super-large-range attack, she might be able to emerge unscathed.

But this promising Land of Snow squad would be completely wiped out.

"Since you want to threaten me with the lives of your soldiers, then don't even think about returning in one piece."

Thinking this, an ominous scarlet light flashed in her Mangekyō Sharingan.

Just as the entire Land of Snow squad was about to be drowned and killed by the sea of gold dust,

"Yomotsu Hirasaka!"

Voom!

The sea of gold dust, originally crashing down with golden waves, was suddenly stopped in mid-air by an invisible force.

This scene, which defied common sense, instantly made Rasa's body jolt, his pupils also contracting sharply.

"How is this possible?!"

When he looked at "Tsukuyomi no Mikoto" within the Susanoo with a terrified gaze,

he saw in the eyeholes of the mask, a pair of eyes full of demonic aura. Dense blood vessels had already filled the left eye, and a streak of scarlet blood was flowing from the corner of the eye.

Before Rasa could react,

"Michikaeshi no Kami!"

Following a low shout from Izumi, a streak of scarlet blood flowed from her right eye.

An invisible fluctuation instantly swept across the surroundings. The originally gathered sea of gold dust flowed backwards like a stream of water, which was a magnificent sight.

The entire process only lasted one or two seconds.

But controlling such a large area of gold dust had already consumed most of Uchiha Izumi's chakra, and her Mangekyō Sharingan also felt a sharp, stabbing pain.

However, she couldn't give up now.

Uchiha Izumi widened her blurry eyes, forcing herself to stand up straight.

Without giving Rasa any chance to react,

the Asura-like half-bodied giant raised the bloody scythe in its hand and slashed down with a whistling sound.

A dark red light cut across the mid-air, assailing Rasa, whose face was filled with terror.

Splurt!

Scarlet blood splattered across the night sky.

...

A long time later,

Uchiha Izumi staggered and sat down on a rock, taking out a few soldier food pills from her ninja tool pouch and stuffing them into her mouth.

Behind her, the Land of Snow squad was running about, piling up the gold dust and corpses into a small mountain, searching for valuable spoils of war.

"Phew~"

Izumi, having recovered some stamina, let out a long breath and wiped the dried blood from the corner of her eye.

Then, she looked at the fresh, severed legs still flowing with blood nearby.

"Just as Lord Master said, under a great reputation, there are no undeserving men. For me to be able to fight the Kazekage to a draw now, wanting to kill him is still too arrogant."

After all, it was just a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan with limited pupil power.

The reason she was able to gain an advantage against Rasa this time was entirely due to the advantages of intelligence and environment, coupled with the interference of those Suna-nin on Rasa's mentality.

If Rasa hadn't made a desperate move just now to cover his subordinates, and if she hadn't possessed the terrifying dōjutsu of her two eyes, the two would probably have been deadlocked until one side's support arrived.

"I was indeed too arrogant. If I had listened to Lord Master's advice and chosen to be injected with the fusion liquid, I wouldn't be in such a wretched state now."

This mission to intercept Sunagakure was originally assigned to Shisui-bro, while she was to deal with the Akatsuki.

And with sufficient intelligence, the Akatsuki could be said to be in the bag.

But she felt it was not challenging enough. Hearing from Lord Master that Rasa might personally make a move, she had confidently taken on the mission of intercepting Sunagakure.

"Thinking about it now, no wonder Lord Master just noncommittally let me try. He probably saw the problem with me long ago."

These eyes were indeed subtly influencing her thinking, but in the end, it was her own lack of mental cultivation.

Just as Uchiha Izumi was secretly annoyed and blaming herself,

Voom!

Hearing the sound of tearing wind from behind, Izumi turned her head with a look of caution.

She saw a streak of light, like a shooting star, appearing in the distant sky.

In the slightly gloomy sky, it streaked across a long trajectory, flying rapidly towards her.

Until she saw the figure under the golden light clearly, Izumi's body finally relaxed.

"Lady Tamamo's power and control are truly terrifying."

It was a door-shaped warship wrapped in a large net woven from several golden chains.

And the door-shaped warship, placed horizontally like a flying saucer, was carrying an incomparably huge cyan ore.

BOOM!!

The giant object wrapped in the golden net crashed down with a roar, also kicking up a large cloud of dust in front of Izumi.

"Looks like your side was much tougher than expected."

Menma slowly walked out of the dust and smoke, teasing Izumi with some amusement.

Hearing this, Uchiha Izumi lowered her head, a look of dejection on her face.

"Lord Master, I... I'm sorry. I let Rasa get away."

"This was within my expectations."

Menma was not surprised, just saying gently: "I just wanted you to recognize your own strength, so as to avoid dying in the future due to underestimating the enemy. After all, you are also a member of Crimson Moon."

The density of gold is about twice the density of iron.

Even the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release: Iron Sand could not compare to Magnet Release: Gold Dust in terms of attack.

Rasa, who could control gold dust freely, was undoubtedly at the top level in terms of chakra amount and control.

The Mangekyō Sharingan was, after all, just the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Although Uchiha Izumi had the advantage of intelligence, it was a bit arrogant to think she could easily kill Rasa.

For these Uchiha who were prone to extremes, a round of preaching was far less effective than a good beating.

Although that was the case, seeing the severed legs beside her, Menma was still quite satisfied in his heart.

He originally thought Izumi would be in a more wretched state.

But from the result, it was much better than he expected.

Sunagakure's mining team and support team this time were completely wiped out.

Rasa probably didn't even have time to retrieve his gold dust in the end, and having lost both his legs, he should have escaped on a "gold dust cloud."

Truly unsightly.

"After you go back this time, I will inject you with the fusion liquid. But you must also take your mental cultivation to heart."

Menma smiled lightly and patted Izumi's shoulder: "Cultivating life without cultivating nature is the first sickness of cultivation; cultivating nature without cultivating life, spiritual light is of no use. This principle applies everywhere."

Uchiha Izumi lowered her head and nodded.

"I understand."

Before this lesson, she felt her strength was already sufficient to seek revenge on Uchiha Itachi and Konoha.

But... now she was much more clear-headed.

Let alone a massive power like Konoha,

just Uchiha Itachi alone, the genius of the Uchiha of the past...

Whether it was the time he awakened his eyes, or combat experience, or his foundation in ninjutsu, she was far inferior.

On what basis could she seek revenge on Konoha and Uchiha Itachi, and on what basis could she appease the spirits of the Uchiha dead?

Uchiha Izumi's fists clenched, her face turning cold.

The temperature around seemed to drop considerably.

"Although arrogance is not advisable, being negative is not good either."

As if seeing through the thoughts in Izumi's heart, Menma shook his head somewhat helplessly.

In fact, either result was fine.

Whether it was Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Shisui, or Uchiha Sasuke,

long ago, Uchiha Itachi's tragic fate was already sealed.

"While moving forward, occasionally look at the people behind you."

After saying this with a light laugh, Menma turned his head to look at Rasa's severed legs at the side.

"I'll keep these legs for our Lord Kazekage for now."

"I look forward to his expression when he sees these legs next time we meet."

(End of Chapter)

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