Naruto: Menma Exiting Infinite Tsukuyomi

Chapter 194: The Actors Gather on the Stage

BOOM! BOOM!!

The soaring waves of fire rushed towards the thick gold dust with the momentum of toppling mountains and overturning seas.

However, under the devouring and illumination of this scorching flame, the Gold Dust Shield showed absolutely no sign of melting, still shining with a dazzling light.

The evenly matched firelight and golden light seemed to divide the dark night into two separate worlds.

After a long stalemate,

the gold dust, by virtue of its weight and mass advantage, gradually overcame the scorching sea of fire.

Maki couldn't help but show joy upon seeing this, exclaiming excitedly: "Lord Kazekage!"

Indeed, Lord Kazekage possesses the power to lead Sunagakure into the future!

But as Maki, with a joyful face, looked towards "Lord Kazekage" with admiration,

he was suddenly stunned to find that Rasa's hands were still pressed to the ground.

A drop of cold sweat slowly slid down his grave face.

"What on earth is going on with this person..."

Feeling the rapidly draining chakra in his body, Rasa couldn't feel any joy in his heart at all.

The Third Kazekage's Kekkei Genkai, "Magnet Release: Iron Sand," had the advantage of being light and flexible, and iron sand could be extracted on the spot. Its disadvantage lay in the performance limitations of iron sand itself.

Rasa's Kekkei Genkai, "Magnet Release: Gold Dust," had advantages and disadvantages that were the complete opposite.

Density, melting point, mass...

Although it couldn't be used extravagantly, gold dust could be said to be incredibly heavy and all-conquering.

Yet such powerful gold dust was almost defeated by a Fire Release ninjutsu.

Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation is just a B-rank Fire Release ninjutsu.

But this person before him had forcibly used an ordinary B-rank ninjutsu with the momentum and power of a forbidden technique!

From this point alone, their chakra control and chakra reserves were simply terrifying.

BOOM!!!

In the end, the gold dust was slightly superior, barely extinguishing the sea of fire.

"Lord Kazekage, how are you?"

Maki used Body Flicker to appear beside Rasa, asking warily as he stared ahead.

The grave look on Rasa's face didn't change. He just shook his head lightly, indicating he was fine.

Immediately, he looked into the distance and questioned in a deep voice:

"Who might you be, and why are you obstructing our Suna's operation?"

This person's Fire Release skill was simply too strong.

Luckily, Sunagakure's financial situation had become much more affluent recently, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to bring so much gold dust out of the village.

A ninja with such strength, why attack them?

Was it a ninja sent by another village, or an enemy they just happened to encounter?

At least in his memory, besides the destroyed Uchiha clan, it seemed no one could use such a powerful Fire Release ninjutsu.

Just then,

the masked figure also slowly walked out from the swirling dust and smoke.

"Should I say, as expected of the Fourth Kazekage, one of the Five Kage?"

Looking at Rasa a hundred meters away, Uchiha Izumi praised him with a light tone: "This is a good chance to test my current strength."

As she spoke, from the eyeholes of her mask, two streaks of scarlet slowly emerged.

Sensing that familiar cold feeling, Rasa's body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"You are..."

He showed an expression of disbelief: "You are an Uchiha?!"

Impossible!

How could it be?!

"The Uchiha should only have two male clansmen left! Where did you, a woman with the Sharingan, pop out from?!"

And this woman's target was very clear; it was for their Suna mining team.

Could it be that Konoha not only inherited the technological legacy of the Land of the Sky but even hid a portion of the Uchiha clansmen?

But for the Gelel Stone, was it really worth it for Konoha, a land rich in talent, to expose so much?

Countless doubts instantly flooded Rasa's mind.

"Lord Kazekage, I must correct you on one point."

Uchiha Izumi's tone was serious as she said: "The orthodox Uchiha clan is not in Konoha today!"

"The flames of the Uchiha have never been extinguished!"

As she spoke, the scarlet light of the Sharingan under her mask grew stronger, and the three tomoe began to rapidly spin and merge.

Finally, they gradually turned into a complex spiral pattern. An extremely strong sense of pressure burst forth from her body.

BOOM!!

At the same time, a dark red ribcage-like illusion projected from her body.

Materialized dark red chakra surged from her body, forming a giant skeletal giant that stood before Rasa.

"This..."

Looking at the dark red skeletal giant before him, Rasa couldn't help but retreat a few steps in shock, his face full of astonishment as he murmured: "This is the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"

"Who on earth are you?!"

This woman wasn't just an ordinary Uchiha clansman; she actually possessed the same Mangekyō Sharingan as Itachi of the Clan Extermination!?

When did such a powerhouse silently emerge in the ninja world?

"Crimson Moon, Tsukuyomi no Mikoto!"

Uchiha Izumi crossed her arms, her tone carrying a hint of madness: "Lord Kazekage, please grant me the honor of a lesson!"

As her voice fell, the dark red chakra giant also raised its arm.

Then, it slammed down heavily towards Rasa and Maki!

Rasa came back to his senses, his heart sinking violently.

"Maki! Retreat!"

Reminding him without turning his head, his hands began to rapidly form seals.

The gold dust behind him began to gather towards the sky, condensing into a thick, giant cube of gold dust that violently crashed towards the skeletal fist from the air.

BOOM!!!

CRACK CRACK CRACK!!

In an instant, gold dust scattered everywhere, and the dark red skeleton shattered.

...

Meanwhile, a horse-drawn carriage carrying luggage and supplies was traveling along the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire.

In the carriage, the old man with the drinker's nose was chugging down wine.

"Let me tell you, our country is very powerful and rich..." he slurred, face flushed, continuously talking about his homeland.

Hearing that the old man's country was in the south, Kakashi, standing guard outside the carriage, frowned.

"Old sir, is the southern country you speak of south of the Land of Fire?"

For this S-rank mission, he had already roughly understood the situation.

His mission objective this time was to safely escort the old man to the Land of Rivers.

However, since the mission rank was S, it naturally couldn't be that simple.

This slovenly old man, on the surface, was a merchant caravan leader, but in reality, he was a descendant of an ancient empire, holding the specific location of that ancient empire's ruins.

In a canyon at the border of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, the ruins of that ancient empire's civilization were hidden there.

It was a brilliant civilization that once had its glory, now an ancient empire annihilated in history.

As for the reason for its annihilation...

"Hahaha, burp~"

The old man was obviously a bit drunk, laughing triumphantly: "Ninja-san, this world isn't just the Land of Fire, nor is there only one continent!"

"Cross the sea at the southernmost tip of the Land of Fire, and you'll see many fragmented small islands. That is our former homeland."

Kakashi couldn't help but be shocked upon hearing this: "You came from another continent?"

Yamato beside him was also surprised to hear this.

Because of the endless wars and conflicts in the ninja world, countries were always wary and hostile towards each other.

Although they often left the village for missions, they had never crossed the sea.

So in their view,

besides the continent they were on, to the south was just an endless ocean.

But from the old man's words,

there was once another landmass there, and even a vast empire was established, only to be destroyed for some reason?

"Burp~ What's there to be so surprised about?"

Seeing Kakashi so shocked, the old man became even more pleased.

"Don't look at it being your Five Great Nations ruling the ninja world now. My ancestors also once cut down forests, dug through mountains, filled rivers, and established a brilliant civilization. The resources of an entire continent belonged to us."

"Wells that never ran dry, livestock that grew overnight, food that could never be finished... the cornerstone that created all of this was... uh!"

The old man, head tilted back, was speaking excitedly.

But as he spoke, the words on his lips suddenly stopped, and he even sobered up in an instant.

"Hmm?"

Kakashi, seeing this, was also taken aback, his tone puzzled: "Old sir, what's wrong?"

"Ahahaha, what were you talking about?"

The old man scratched the back of his head, feigning confusion: "What did I just say? How did I forget?"

Kakashi frowned deeply, about to press further.

But he heard loud snores coming from the carriage, directly interrupting the words that were already on the tip of Kakashi's tongue.

"This old fellow really is..."

Kakashi's dead-fish eyes twitched as he began to ponder inwardly.

This S-rank mission was clearly not simple.

But for some reason, the Third Hokage hadn't spoken directly.

And the rise and fall of that ancient empire... the old man had been intentionally or unintentionally glossing over it.

Perhaps the Third Hokage and the old man made some deal, and the content of the deal was related to what he was deliberately hiding.

"Sigh! What a pain."

Kakashi's face showed frustration as he sighed to himself: "If I had known, I would have found a reason to refuse..."

He had a bad feeling in his heart.

This mission probably wouldn't be easy.

...

From the shortest route, the mining team composed of a dozen or so Iwa-nin had been advancing towards the Land of Rivers at full speed.

Aside from stopping for ten-odd minutes midway to rest and eat, the rest of the time was spent on the road.

For ninja, this was the most basic of skills. Ninja who were out on missions year-round would not waste time and energy on resting and eating.

This also allowed them to arrive at the border of the Land of Rivers before the sky had even brightened.

"Captain."

An Iwa-nin walked to the side of the mining team's captain, pointing in the direction ahead and reporting: "Another ten kilometers, and we can reach the canyon in the Land of Rivers."

"Notify the others to slow down."

The Iwa captain waved his hand and said: "Rest for a period, let the advance team go ahead and scout. Adjust and then enter the Land of Rivers."

"Yes, sir."

The Iwa-nin nodded, turned and left to convey his orders.

After the order was relayed, the small team gradually stopped advancing and began to set up camp on the spot.

Medical supplies, food, water, tents, and other supplies were all fully prepared.

The Land of Earth was different from the nearby Land of Fire and Land of Wind.

They had no logistical supplies and support, so they had to ensure that the team could still maintain abundant combat energy after entering the Land of Rivers.

They had already rehearsed the battles they might face countless times in their minds.

There was no need to consider the possibility of failure at all. They only needed to think about how much profit they would gain as victors; that was the most important thing.

Because their Lord Tsuchikage had already arranged everything.

After the Iwa captain had arranged everything, he walked towards the two strangely dressed individuals at the back of the team.

He handed food and water to the two, his tone neither servile nor overbearing: "Sirs, you've worked hard."

"No need to be polite. It's our duty."

Kakuzu took the food and water, his tone cold: "We will act as agreed and help you eliminate all who block the way. Don't forget the rest of the payment when it's over."

Sasori, hiding in Hiruko beside him, said in a muffled voice: "Let's end this quickly. How boring!"

Hearing Sasori's disdain, the Iwa captain's face darkened slightly.

But after a moment, he smiled and said: "Then for the rest of the journey, we'll have to trouble you two. We will definitely pay a commission that will satisfy you."

Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with the attitude of these two missing-nin,

the strength of these two fellows could still be trusted.

...

Meanwhile,

An advance team of three Iwa-nin had already arrived within the Land of Rivers to scout the surrounding situation.

In the process of advancing, one Iwa-nin nudged the person beside him with his elbow.

"Hey, tell me..."

He asked with a curious tone: "When we left the village, did you hear an explosion?"

"Nonsense. An explosion that big could be heard from several li away."

"What do you think happened?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

The Iwa-nin smiled with no small amusement: "It was probably that brat Deidara again. Let me tell you, he... hmm?"

He was about to say something to the person beside him, but the other Iwa-nin suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

Seeming to notice his strange expression, the Iwa-nin also frowned and asked.

"Didn't you notice?"

That Iwa-nin scanned the surroundings, saying without turning his head: "Isn't it too quiet around here?"

The other two were first taken aback upon hearing this, then immediately reacted.

Indeed, it was too quiet.

So quiet it was almost bizarre.

It was early morning now, how could there not even be the chirping of insects?

"Wait, there's someone ahead."

The grave words came from the mouth of the sensory-type Iwa-nin.

"Someone?"

"...No, you must have seen wrong."

The two Iwa-nin followed his gaze but only saw swaying trees and shadows.

Under the moonlight, there were only swaying shadows and rustling leaves, like a monster choosing its prey to devour.

"No, I definitely sensed it."

Although he couldn't see it, the sensory ninja was very certain.

Just now, a figure definitely flashed past.

The two Iwa-nin beside him frowned deeply. Looking at their comrade's grave expression, they also began to get nervous.

Cold sweat unnaturally trickled down their foreheads, a gulping sound came from their throats, and their hearts suddenly felt a chill.

Could it be... they had seen a ghost?

(End of Chapter)

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