Who could have predicted that the war launched by the Four Great Hidden Villages would end up in such a dire state?
This wasn't like the First Shinobi World War.
During that war, although the Four Great Hidden Villages attacked Konoha simultaneously, they had been wary of one another and held back, never fully committing their forces.
This time, however, they had formed a true alliance and thrown nearly all their strength into the conflict.
Each village had deployed nearly 10,000 ninjas, spreading the fight across three fronts, forcing Konoha to divide its forces.
On every battlefield, their numbers had been overwhelming, approximately four times that of Konoha's forces.
At the outset of the war, none of the Four Great Villages believed they could lose. They were convinced that this would be the war that obliterated Konoha for good.
After this, Konoha would be erased from history.
Mochizuki Hui, the prodigy hailed as the future God of Shinobi, wouldn't live to see that future.
Their confidence in victory had been absolute.
But the course of the war unfolded far too quickly.
When Hui entered the Kumogakure battlefield, he leveraged the terrain with unmatched brilliance. With just over 2,000 Konoha ninjas, he single-handedly stopped nearly 10,000 Kumogakure ninjas from advancing beyond Moonfall mountain.
He defeated six Kage-level opponents simultaneously, killing five of them—including the Second Raikage of Kumogakure.
But it didn't stop there. After forcing Kumogakure into a defensive position, Hui led a daring strike that cut off their supply lines.
Using his aerial advantage, he delivered such a devastating blow that Kumogakure had no choice but to surrender.
All of this was accomplished in under ten days.
The speed and decisiveness of these victories were unparalleled. Before the other Hidden Villages could even react, Kumogakure had already capitulated.
It was nothing short of a miracle in the history of warfare.
After Kumogakure's surrender, Hui, capitalizing on the information disparity, led his forces across the Land of Fire into the Land of Rain.
There, he laid an elaborate trap, luring the Iwa-Suna Alliance into the "Land of Lightning."
Then, with a technique named Heaven's Calamity, he dealt a crippling blow to the Iwa-Suna Alliance, decisively turning the tide of the war in Konoha's favour.
Now, Mu found himself forced into a desperate wager, staking his life to secure even a slim chance of survival for his village's ninjas.
Reflecting on everything that had happened, Mu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Perhaps this war had been a mistake from the very beginning.
But then he dismissed the thought.
The war itself wasn't a mistake. Mochizuki Hui, the future God of Shinobi, posed an existential threat to them.
This war had to happen.
Their mistake was in the timing.
They should have started this war immediately after the Uzushiogakure incident. The Four Great Villages should never have given Hui a year and a half to grow.
With a deep sigh, Mu set aside his regrets.
"Well then, let's give this a try," he said to Hui, his voice calm yet resolute.
Though he knew he would likely fall today, there was no way he would submit quietly.
As the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, it was unthinkable to accept defeat without resistance. He would fight until the very end.
"Alright. Let's bring this war to a close," the second shadow avatar said, spreading its wind-forged wings and launching itself into the sky, charging toward Mu.
Once again, caution was necessary.
Even against an aging Kage-level ninja, one could never afford to underestimate an opponent of Mu's caliber, especially as a leader of one of the Five Great Villages.
Mu had likely encountered and mastered countless techniques, some undoubtedly bizarre and lethal, even to Hui.
Hui had no intention of being caught off guard at this stage of the battle.
As the second shadow avatar approached, Mu conjured a Dust Release technique.
Its initial form was a droplet of light, likely to evolve into a beam. If that were the case, dodging would be relatively simple.
But just as the shadow avatar neared what seemed to be a safe distance, Mu abruptly changed the technique's shape into a massive cube of Dust Release, which expanded rapidly to engulf the avatar.
Clearly, this was a carefully premeditated attack.
From his earlier observations, Mu had deduced that Hui's shadow avatars, like shadow clones, could be dispersed with sufficient force.
Mu aimed to eliminate the second shadow avatar outright with this large-scale Dust Release attack.
Unfortunately for him, he underestimated the avatar's reaction speed and sensory abilities.
The moment the avatar's vision registered the Dust Release's transformation, it realized the danger. It halted abruptly and retreated at lightning speed.
By a hair's breadth, the shadow avatar narrowly evaded the attack.
With a sigh of relief, the avatar looked at Mu, whose face betrayed a flicker of disappointment.
"That was close. I almost got taken out. Overconfidence is truly a ruthless killer," the shadow avatar said, "Ninjas are truly a trove of unpredictability, and I'll remember this lesson."
Mu stared at the avatar.
"Your reflexes… they're terrifying. Not just your reflexes, but your speed and strength as well. This shadow avatar technique of yours is enviable without the shadow of a doubt.
"I've always wondered—how much of your original body's power do you possess?"
"Ninety percent," the shadow avatar replied without hesitation. "Each shadow avatar retains 90% of the original body's peak strength."
There was no reason to hide it. At their level, such details were irrelevant—there was little point in being overly cautious.
Mu's eyes widened in astonishment. He had known the shadow avatars were nearly as powerful as the original, but 90% of the main body's peak strength? That was beyond absurd.
Then again, this entire world was absurd. And Mochizuki Hui? He was the epitome of the absurd. Mu could only accept it.
"Very well. I'll be even more careful in dealing with you," Mu said, steeling himself.
The shadow avatar wasted no time, launching a ranged attack.
Lightning crackled in its hands, transforming into concentrated beams that shot toward Mu, it was the technique Hui had used earlier.
Storm release: Light fang
Meanwhile, Hui's original body also ascended into the sky, wings spread wide.
Though aerial combat had previously been a disadvantage for him, this was no longer the case.
With both the original body and the shadow avatar attacking in perfect sync, Mu's situation grew increasingly dire.
The coordination between Hui's two forms was flawless, slowly but surely cornering Mu. Despair settled into his heart as he realized his end was near.
At one point, the shadow avatar descended to the ground. While the original body launched an attack that forced Mu to defend, the avatar propelled itself upward with explosive force, rushing toward Mu.
This was a repeat of a tactic Hui had used earlier—a tactic that had worked but had been interrupted by the Iwa-Suna Alliance ninjas.
This time, however, no one came to Mu's rescue.
Two laser beams pierced through his body—one through his heart and the other through his forehead.
Boom!
Mu's lifeless body fell from the sky, crashing heavily into the ground.
The Second Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Mu, was dead.
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