After swiftly and cleanly eliminating the three members of the Hidden Mist team, Fuma innocently spread his hands and emphasized once again:
"Everyone, as you can see, this was just a defensive counterattack, which doesn't violate the peace treaty among the Five Great Hidden Villages."
No one responded. The ninjas from the other three hidden villages were all silently gathering their chakra, staring intently at Fuma. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
The blood-soaked ground and the scattered limbs around them emphasized Fuma's ruthlessness and fierce combat ability. His innocent words seemed pale in comparison.
"If I had been the one facing Uchiha Fuma just now, would I be in the same state as these dead Mist ninjas?"
Both the elderly Chiyo and the relatively younger A from the Hidden Cloud, as well as Kurotsuchi from the Hidden Stone, were all silently pondering this question.
Even though these leaders had been in the midst of chaotic skirmishes before Fuma arrived, their purpose had been to test each other's strength, not to engage in a full-scale battle. They wanted to feel each other out, to deliver a show of force.
But Fuma's blatant killing of the elite jonin from the Hidden Mist, while acting as if it was no big deal, sent a chill down everyone's spine. His actions were brutal enough to resemble a rogue ninja.
"To kill the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist so mercilessly… This is not the way of the Leaf Village at all! Something is very wrong here."
"Could it be that the Leaf Village intends to spark the next great ninja war?"
This question lingered in the minds of the ninjas from the Hidden Sand, Stone, and Cloud villages.
Under the leadership of the Third Hokage, the Leaf Village had always presented itself as the elder brother of the ninja world, positioning itself as a peacekeeper.
In its interactions with other hidden villages, it had mostly resorted to defensive counterattacks, rarely initiating any aggression.
But Fuma's actions were a serious provocation to the Hidden Mist. By slaughtering their jonin in front of everyone without any declaration of war between the two nations, the Third Mizukage would have every reason to declare war on the Leaf.
Fuma, however, wasn't worried. The loss of the three Seven Swordsmen would only further weaken the Hidden Mist's situation.
And with Orochimaru's plans already set in motion in the Mist Village, things were about to get worse.
With both external and internal conflicts looming, the overwhelmed Third Mizukage would likely only manage to send a harshly worded letter of condemnation to the Leaf, which wouldn't have much real impact.
A and Dodai exchanged glances, silently communicating through their sensory techniques.
"As much as I hate to admit it, this Leaf ninja bastard might already be as powerful as my father. With him here, we stand no chance of obtaining the Box of Ultimate Bliss."
"The intelligence division underestimated him. Uchiha Fuma's taijutsu skills are on par with the Raikage. He's beyond what we can handle."
"Not to mention, his behavior is strange. This isn't the usual way of the Leaf Village. It's too dangerous. I suggest we withdraw and abandon this mission!"
After weighing the situation, A made a cautious decision.
Though the Hidden Cloud was known as a militaristic village, it would be wrong to assume they were simply brutes who only knew how to fight.
In the future, this village, which had been training rigorously both ninjutsu and taijutsu for decades, would be the first to develop a chakra cannon capable of shooting into space, becoming the most advanced in ninja world technology.
Even now, the Hidden Cloud was the first village to near the completion of the perfect jinchuriki program.
Behind their tough, warrior-like demeanor, the Hidden Cloud hid a sharp intelligence.
A nodded slightly to Fuma and said in a deep voice, "Since the Leaf has intervened, we of the Hidden Cloud will withdraw from supporting the Hidden Grass."
A and Dodai activated their body flicker technique and swiftly retreated.
Fuma nodded politely but made no move to stop them.
Unlike the Hidden Mist, killing A and Dodai would surely bring the wrath of the Third Raikage, who would march into the Land of Fire the next day to demand justice for his son.
In that case, the Third Hokage would once again stir up public opinion, framing Fuma as the one responsible for starting the war, and the Uchiha Clan's hard-earned advantage would be lost again.
Chiyo, her face grim, glanced at A and Dodai vanishing and inwardly cursed:
"These cowardly Cloud fools! They're nothing but a bunch of weaklings who only pick on the weak!"
Chiyo had hoped to form a temporary alliance with the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone to oppose Fuma and seize the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
But to her surprise, the Hidden Cloud retreated so decisively, leaving her in a very awkward position.
Kurotsuchi also stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Since Fuma-san is here, I trust he can handle the Hidden Grass situation. We of the Hidden Stone will take our leave."
Kurotsuchi, along with the jonin Akatsuchi from the Hidden Stone, departed, leaving only Chiyo and Rasa of the Hidden Sand.
A faint smile appeared on Fuma's lips. Neither Kurotsuchi nor A were easy opponents to deal with.
As for the Hidden Sand, which had lost its tailed beast, they had no leverage left.
To put it bluntly, even if Chiyo and Rasa died here, what power did the Sand Village have to declare war on the Leaf?
Such was the way of the ninja world—always favoring the strong and bullying the weak. Fuma was no exception to this rule.
"Chiyo, bringing a child along for such a mission, you certainly have unique tastes, don't you?" Fuma teased as he looked at the young Rasa.
This red-haired boy would one day become a heavyweight figure in the ninja world, one of the most peculiar ninja of his time.
Under Rasa's guidance, Gaara, who was once a good kid, nearly turned into a monstrous shell of himself.
Rasa tried to maintain a tough demeanor as he met Fuma's gaze, but inside, he was terrified.
He knew that at barely twenty years old, he was no stronger than the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist who had just been slain.
Chiyo gritted her teeth, her resentment festering as murderous intent flashed in her eyes. But she remained silent.
As an experienced ninja, she understood from Fuma's battle with the Mist ninjas that if a conflict broke out, they had no chance of victory.
More crucially, she had Rasa, the future financial pillar of the Sand Village, with her, and she couldn't afford to let anything happen to him.
Though she wanted nothing more than to see every Leaf ninja drop dead tomorrow, she could only snort coldly, giving Fuma a hostile look before retreating.
And so, the five great hidden villages gathered by the Hidden Grass had all retreated, leaving Fuma standing alone.
Fuma walked slowly into Hozuki Castle, only to find it had become a ghost town.
The prisoners had vanished, and the enormous Box of Ultimate Bliss sat in the center, with a man wearing a hood seated on top of it.
"Young man, do you recognize me?"
A low, raspy voice came from the hooded man as he revealed his true face, showing a pair of ripple-patterned eyes.
In that instant, Fuma went into the highest level of alert.
Facing Uchiha Madara, Fuma knew this would be his greatest challenge in the ninja world yet!
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