Itsuki rode forward on Matatabi.
To this, Matatabi didn't mind at all.
Don't bring up any nonsense about the dignity of a tailed beast—it doesn't mean anything.
For Matatabi, the weight of a human was insignificant.
Dignity?
If you can't beat someone, you have nothing.
As for whether maintaining the beast form would drain Matatabi's energy… that's nonsense. She's naturally this big.
It's the Mangekyō Sharingan that drains a lot of energy to maintain Susano'o.
Looking at the battlefield littered with devastation, Itsuki's expression was indifferent.
"Lord Mokukage!"
Fugaku came to stand before Itsuki, looking up at him as he sat on the tailed beast.
However, every time he called Itsuki by his Mokukage title, Fugaku felt a twinge of discomfort.
Uchiha Itsuki—just hearing that name, you know things aren't quite serious.
"How many did we kill? How many died?" Itsuki's questions were straightforward.
"We haven't fully counted how many we killed," Fugaku said in a deep voice. "But as for the ones who fled from Kumogakure, no more than a thousand!"
"That number pleases me," Itsuki said, indeed satisfied.
How many ninjas are there in the Shinobi world? In the original story, the Fourth Great Ninja War didn't just gather the ninjas from the five great villages but also included smaller villages and even samurai.
You think not?
That's nonsense.
Back then, Obito's plan wasn't just aimed at the five great villages, but the entire Shinobi world.
In that scenario, the five great villages united, even the samurai got involved. You think the smaller villages didn't send troops? That's a joke.
Just think about it. The five great villages wouldn't let the others sit by idly while they fought. "We're over here fighting to the death, and you're just sitting around? No way."
They would drag everyone into the battle, at most waving a banner of righteousness.
So, 80,000 ninjas were gathered. The five great villages, each at most, contributed a bit over 10,000.
Kirigakure, being weaker, managed about 5,000, given the damage caused by the Bloody Mist era.
So wiping out 2,000 ninjas from Kumogakure now was enough to hurt them deeply.
A battle like this, where the enemy was crushed instantly, hadn't been seen since Hashirama Senju's time.
Fugaku continued, "We lost 185 people."
"Too many," Itsuki said .
"Kumogakure's morale was already broken, I gave you tons of explosive tags to help push through, and you even had the element of surprise. Yet you give me these results? Lord Fugaku, is your summoning beast a pig?"
Fugaku was speechless, unsure what to say.
This battle was certainly a brilliant victory!
But with newly established village, every ninja was precious; losing even one was painful.
Even though Kumogakure was filled with strong fighters, Hōkage had two Susano'o users, plus a number of elite Uchiha.
To still suffer such losses… it was unfortunate.
"Enough!" Itsuki waved his hand. "Your numbers don't match up. Have the rest gone toward Konoha?"
"Yes," Fugaku said seriously. "Shisui and Itachi are there, so dealing with Konoha shouldn't be a problem."
With two Susano'o users, even if they couldn't advance, they could hold the line.
The only issue was that Susano'o placed a heavy burden on their eyes, so they had to be cautious when using it. Otherwise, they would have pushed through long ago.
When they didn't have tailed beasts, those with Mangekyō Sharingan, using Susano'o, were nearly invincible on the battlefield.
Looking at the sky, Itsuki said, "I'm not at ease. You clean up the battlefield here, then take your men back to Hōkage Village. I'm going to check on Shisui."
"Yah!"
"Meow!"
With a shout from Itsuki, Matatabi let out a meow in sync, and the two sped off, leaving Fugaku to watch them, dumbfounded.
Even Hashirama Senju hadn't been this outrageous, using a tailed beast as a mount.
But with Itsuki and Matatabi heading to Shisui, that battle would likely end quickly.
After all, Matatabi was a walking disaster.
And Itsuki Uchiha? An even greater disaster.
These two weren't just warriors who could take on a thousand enemies—they could easily wipe out a thousand!
Perhaps Konoha, upon hearing that Itsuki was heading to the battlefield, would retreat immediately.
Sure enough, when Itsuki arrived, Konoha had already withdrawn.
"What happened?" Itsuki asked, surprised. "Didn't you fight? Did you run into someone familiar?"
"... How could that be?" Shisui said helplessly. "Konoha probably heard about Kumogakure's defeat, so they retreated."
Though truthfully, he wasn't eager to fight either.
"By the way," Shisui's expression turned odd as he looked at Itsuki, "there was a woman using a strange paper jutsu. Do you know her?"
Itsuki responded casually, "Oh, the helper I found for you guys. What about her?"
"I knew it!" Shisui muttered. Seeing how beautiful the woman was, he had suspected it had something to do with Itsuki. "Konoha's only casualty was because of her!"
"Oh?" Itsuki grew interested. "You didn't even fight, and she took action?"
"Yeah," Shisui said helplessly. "Explosive tags—she played around with those like crazy."
The scene had been something else.
Just a moment ago, paper cranes filled the sky, flying toward Konoha's ninja army.
But the problem was, all those paper cranes were made from explosive tags.
It was terrifying.
If Konoha's commander hadn't been quick to react, ordering everyone to attack the cranes, many Konoha ninjas would have been wiped out.
The commander had been sharp, and after discovering the cranes were made of explosive tags, he issued the order. Only then did the troops realize the danger.
Instantly, many Konoha ninjas were trembling in fear.
The sky was full of explosive tags—imagine what that felt like!
It broke their morale!
That was why Konoha had retreated in such a hurry.
Facing that kind of cheat-level tactic, anyone would lose their will to fight.
Itsuki was speechless after hearing the story.
"Alright then. Since they've retreated, let's head back too," Itsuki waved his hand and rode off on Matatabi.
Shisui shared the same sentiment as Fugaku.
A tailed beast as a mount!
If Itsuki had heard that, he would've scoffed.
A tailed beast as a mount?
He would say, "Not only do I ride in front of everyone, I ride in private too. I don't just ride during the day—I ride at night too!"
As Itsuki rode Matatabi back to Hōkage Village with a large number of ninjas, they were met with a warm welcome.
The cheers that greeted them were like a tidal wave.
They had won!
This was the battle that nearly solidified Hidden Fire Village's dominance!
With such an easy victory, the people of Hidden Fire Village finally began to truly recognize their new home.
They had found their footing!
Now, with no shortage of supplies and this decisive victory, the villagers of Hidden Fire began to walk the ninja world with pride.
Itsuki also began to take on his role as Mokage, managing the village's affairs.
However!
He wasn't aware that something quite interesting was happening in Konoha.
If he had known, he would've come charging over with his banner.
(End of Chapter)