Kusagakure.
This small shinobi village, which once enjoyed stable relations with the Hidden Leaf, was now unrecognizable.
The main hospital building had largely collapsed into rubble, and the entire village remained a scarred wasteland from that night's conflict. This was the catastrophic price of Menma's Nine Masked Beasts—a force capable of rivaling ten thousand men.
Mui stood at the edge of the battlefield. Even though two days had passed, the terror of "Shura's" overwhelming power still cast a long shadow over his heart. Under his leadership, the surviving shinobi and villagers were desperately working to rescue the wounded and collect the dead.
The destruction wrought by those nine monstrous summons was absolute. Over forty shinobi had perished, including the village leader, Kōji Kusanagi, and the Anbu Captain, Ryūyū. The civilian casualties were even more staggering, with three to four hundred dead or injured.
For a minor village, such losses were a crippling blow to their overall strength. It would take at least a generation to recover the combat power lost in a single night.
"Brother!"
Mujo approached, leaning heavily on a crutch. He held a casualty report in his trembling hand.
"The loss assessment is in," Mujo read, his voice hollow. "In total, nine Jōnin—including Lord Kōji and Captain Ryūyū—have been killed. Thirty-eight Chūnin and Genin are dead, along with three hundred and seventy villagers."
"The wounded include eight Jōnin, fifty-six Chūnin and Genin, and five hundred and sixty-three villagers."
Hearing these numbers, Mui's entire body shook.
The village leader dead, dozens of elite Jōnin lost, nearly a hundred shinobi out of commission, and almost a thousand civilian casualties! In the central district of a shinobi village, these "villagers" were often potential reserves with ninja talent. A village's mobilization capacity during wartime relied entirely on them.
This wasn't just a defeat; it was a fundamental shattering of Kusagakure's foundation.
"Brother... should we post a bounty on 'Shura' at the exchange office?" Mujo asked. He looked at the ruins of his home, the memory of the battle two days ago still causing his breath to hitch.
That mysterious Shura had dismantled their entire village using nothing but nine summons. The man himself hadn't even lifted a finger!
"No..." Mui closed his eyes and sighed, a long, weary sound. When he opened them again, they were filled with nothing but dread. "We are not his match. Do not give him an excuse to return."
They couldn't fight him. The entire village together couldn't fight him. This profound sense of despair made Mui feel as though their enemy was a god.
Perhaps, he thought, even the legendary 'God of Shinobi' and the 'Shinobi of the Shura' who suppressed the world fifty years ago were only at this level.
Mujo nodded in grim agreement. The two brothers stood in silence, silhouettes of grief against the ruins.
A distance away, in the shadow of a building that was now only a half-shell, a pitcher-plant-like creature emerged from the ground.
"Whoa, look at that destructive power!" White Zetsu whistled, looking at the battlefield in the village center with an appreciative, almost casual expression.
Black Zetsu, however, stared at the ruined village with a cold, expressionless gaze.
Such terrifying combat potential... is he a descendant of Hagoromo? Or perhaps Hamura?
Even after a thousand years of lurking in the shadows, Black Zetsu had rarely seen such a scene. The ability to level a city was something he had only observed in the brothers Ashura and Indra, or in the likes of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.
Yet, a powerhouse of this caliber had existed without a single shred of intelligence reaching Zetsu's ears. This was why his thoughts drifted toward the clan of Otsutsuki Hamura.
Only those inhabitants of the moon, with their Byakugan, commanded enough of his wariness that he refrained from sending White Zetsu to spy on them. It was the only place capable of nurturing such a monster in secret.
So, what is his goal? Black Zetsu ran through Shura's recent activities. Attacking the Hyūga in the Leaf, striking the Cloud in the Land of Lightning, and now obliterating the Grass.
Wait... could it be... A sudden thought occurred to him regarding the moon-dwelling Otsutsuki. Years ago, an aging Madara Uchiha had summoned the Gedo Statue to sustain his life. It had remained in the world ever since, eventually being summoned by Nagato and drained of its chakra.
Did the Otsutsuki realize the Gedo Statue was missing? Have they sent a champion to the surface to retrieve it?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. This mysterious Shura had no detectable past, and no ordinary ninja could possess strength rivaling Hashirama or Madara out of thin air—unless they carried the chakra of Ashura or Indra. But those reincarnations were limited to the Senju and Uchiha.
If he was indeed from the moon, Zetsu would have to tread carefully.
I need to find an opportunity for Nagato or Obito to test this guy, Zetsu mused. I can't let him run wild and disrupt my plans. He had waited a millennium for the chance Madara provided. The Eye of the Moon plan to save his mother could not afford a single variable.
The marketplaces of the Fire Capital were bustling with life.
Uchiha Hikari, now dressed in new clothes, drew more than a few admiring glances. In a deep-blue trench coat paired with black shorts and open-toed boots, the girl looked heroic and sharp—a far cry from the disheveled state she was in when her seal first broke.
"Sister! Sister! Try this on!"
Karin, only three years old, held up an orange headband, pestering Hikari with wide eyes.
Vanilla had helped Hikari pick out her outfit. Now, seeing little Karin holding up the bright accessory, Hikari felt a surge of affection for this child who had endured so much. She knelt down, letting Karin carefully slide the headband into her hair.
"You look even cuter like that, Hikari," Vanilla said, smiling as she carried the groceries they had purchased.
Being in such a crowded market for the first time made Hikari nervous. If Menma hadn't asked her to protect the mother and daughter, she never would have agreed to come to such a public place.
Once their supplies were gathered, the three returned to their inn.
Menma was hunched over a map, lost in thought. As they entered, he looked up and immediately noticed Hikari's new accessory.
"That's a very beautiful headband," he praised with a smile.
"Karin picked it for me," the girl replied softly, the slight curve of her lips betraying her delight.
"Brother Menma! Praise me too!" Little Karin bounced over to him, tilting her head up expectantly.
Menma reached out and affectionately ruffled her hair.
"It's time to head out," Menma said, folding the map. "The other team in the organization has been on the move for a while now. We need to pick up the pace."