Chapter 633: Wood Release Eruption on the Battlefield

“I think we should disperse the troops.” Muzuki said when the Jonin were still arguing.

In Muzuki’s opinion, it was not difficult to defeat Yagura Karatachi and his Hidden Mist forces; the difficulty was how to make Yagura Karatachi willing to fight him head-on.

Based on the currently known intelligence, Hidden Mist’s current strategy was primarily to exhaust Konoha’s energy, and only when they were confident would they engage in a large-scale Ninja battle with Konoha.

If they went directly with a large force, Yagura Karatachi would definitely avoid battle.

The previously balanced situation changed after Muzuki spoke.

As the commander of the entire force, Muzuki had absolute authority within the force.

Some Jonin who opposed the dispersal fell silent.

“But dispersing the troops easily…” Mimurabe Ketsu still felt that dividing the forces was unreliable.

“The last defeat was mainly due to being suppressed by the enemy in terms of intelligence, right? This time, the village sent more power, so such a thing should not happen again.” The Jonin who agreed to the dispersal seized the opportunity to retort.

Although Mimurabe Ketsu was the deputy commander, Muzuki, who shared his opinion, was still the main commander.

Mimurabe Ketsu opened his mouth, not knowing how to retort.

Questioning Konoha’s intelligence capabilities? If they were still losing to Hidden Mist in intelligence in their home territory, it would be too much underestimation of Konoha’s intelligence power, and if they were crushed in intelligence, it would be difficult to fight even without dividing the forces.

Finally, Mimurabe Ketsu also fell silent, and the plan to divide the forces was approved.

Muzuki chose a dispersal strategy almost identical to Homura Mitokado’s, having Teacher Chen, who was more prominent in strength and seniority, lead half of the troops to clear out Hidden Mist separately.

Muzuki’s thinking was simple: since Yagura Karatachi dared to attack Homura Mitokado’s force, if he adopted the same strategy as Homura Mitokado, then Yagura Karatachi would naturally dare to make a move against him.

After all, even if Muzuki was the first person among Konoha’s younger generation, he was still a Ninja of the younger generation, and Yagura Karatachi, who wasn’t afraid of the Three Sannin, certainly wouldn’t be afraid of Muzuki.

However, after the plan was made, Muzuki did not immediately execute it. Instead, he sent out small teams to clear out Hidden Mist teams closer to their force while waiting for intelligence from the intelligence team.

Even though Muzuki knew that Konoha could not win against Hidden Mist, who had Uchiha Madara’s help, in terms of intelligence, he still had to wait for intelligence before acting.

Because other Jonin would not allow Muzuki to rush in with a strategy similar to Homura Mitokado’s; from their perspective, this was purely suicidal.

After the intelligence team had thoroughly investigated the current situation of Hidden Mist and the location of Yagura Karatachi’s team, Muzuki then led his force into action.

“Muzuki Commander, although it may be inappropriate, I have a bad premonition.” Mimurabe Ketsu said to Muzuki during the march.

“Perhaps we underestimated Hidden Mist’s intelligence capabilities.”

The more the plan progressed, the more Mimurabe Ketsu had a strange sense of déjà vu. He thought carefully, wasn’t this the same script as Homura Mitokado’s, just with a different group of Ninja?

“Let’s trust our comrades.” Muzuki smiled and replied.

Muzuki had not underestimated Hidden Mist’s intelligence capabilities; after all, with White Zetsu’s help, it would be strange if they still couldn’t suppress Konoha in terms of intelligence.

From beginning to end, Muzuki wanted to defeat the Mist Ninja force with half of his troops.

Hidden Mist also needed manpower to set up the illusionary formation; it wouldn’t be their complete large force, possibly around ninety percent of the original Hidden Mist force.

With Muzuki’s current strength, even without using his full power, he was enough to neutralize seventy to eighty percent of the Hidden Mist force. So, could the remaining eight hundred Konoha Ninja not handle the remaining ten percent of the Hidden Mist force?

Mimurabe Ketsu sighed slightly and said nothing more.

After all, since Muzuki had said so, how could he retort?

“Achieving success at a young age is ultimately not stable enough.” Mimurabe Ketsu sighed in his heart.

He didn’t feel any ill will towards Muzuki because of this; he just felt that a life too smooth wasn’t good. For someone like Muzuki, who gained fame in the Ninja World at a young age and was highly valued by the Hokage, it was inevitable to develop some pride.

“I hope my premonition is wrong.” Mimurabe Ketsu braced himself, vigilantly observing his surroundings, and continued forward.

Perhaps this world is too cruel; the more you don’t want something to happen, the more it insists on happening.

The Konoha Ninja Force successfully found the hidden location of Yagura Karatachi’s team according to the intelligence.

However, what awaited them was not a small Hidden Mist team, but a Ninja force large enough to surround them.

“Hayate Mugetsu, it seems I truly overestimated you. Do you not know how to learn from the lessons of your predecessors?” Yagura Karatachi couldn’t help but say with a laugh.

Upon learning that Muzuki was leading a Ninja force to attack, Yagura Karatachi immediately treated it as a formidable enemy and formulated numerous countermeasures.

He didn’t expect Muzuki to perform the same maneuver as Homura Mitokado.

Initially, Yagura Karatachi thought it was a trap, because even if Muzuki wasn’t skilled in tactics, the Ninja assisting him would surely have someone who knew what they were doing.

But the intelligence provided by the intelligence team contradicted his assumptions.

Given the intelligence team’s recent repeated successes, Yagura Karatachi trusted their intelligence and overturned his own conjecture.

And the intelligence team had not let him down; they were about to achieve another victory.

“It’s a trap! Quickly, fire the signal flare!” Mimurabe Ketsu anxiously shouted, looking at the large number of Mist Ninja surrounding them.

The signal flare ascended into the sky, and a dazzling light bloomed in the heavens.

“Is it really this time?” Kakashi quickly took out his White Fang Short Blade, revealing an unprecedentedly solemn expression.

Following Muzuki, they had encountered powerful enemies unexpectedly, and they had defeated Ninja forces much larger than them through strategy, but this was the first time they had fallen into an enemy trap and been surrounded by a large number of Ninja forces.

“Everyone, don’t spread out too much during the battle, help each other, and also pay attention to Muzuki Sensei’s situation.” Kakashi quickly said.

Obito and Shisui and the others nodded solemnly; the danger they were about to face was visible to the naked eye.

Neither the Hidden Mist army nor Yagura Karatachi’s taunts could change the expression on Muzuki’s face.

“Have you ever heard the saying, an excellent hunter often appears as prey?” Muzuki looked around, appraising the Mist Ninja with strong auras.

【Name: Yagura Karatachi】

【Chakra: 116800】

【Skills: Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 5100/15000), Yin Release (Mastery: 3000), Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 2800), Water Mirror Technique (Mastery)…】

【Name: Shingetsu Hozuki】

【Chakra: 62000】

【Skills: Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 3700/15000), Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 2600), Hydrification Technique (Mastery), Water Gun Technique (Mastery)…】

【Name: Tosha Kawasawa】

【Chakra: 56000】

【Skills: Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 3300/15000), Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 2600), Hydrification Technique (Mastery), Water Gun Technique (Mastery)】

Although Kenbunshoku Haki could also sense strength, it was still far inferior to Appraisal Technique, which could see most of the information.

“Hmph, just grandstanding.” Yagura Karatachi gripped his iron staff tightly, secretly gathering Chakra, ready to make a move.

Muzuki’s Ninja force only had eight hundred people, while he had fourteen hundred Mist Ninja here. With such a disparity in military strength, let alone Muzuki, even if Orochimaru were added, they would only be able to flee in disgrace.

“Muzuki Commander, you take a part of the elites and retreat. I will command the remaining forces to cover you.” Mimurabe Ketsu said with a resolute expression, looking at the Hidden Mist force, which was almost twice their number.

Compared to him, an old Jonin who had reached his limit, Konoha needed the young and talented Muzuki more.

Whoosh whoosh!!

Boom!

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

“Water Release: Water Formation Wall!”

Ninja from both sides made their moves, and for a time, Kunai and Shuriken flew chaotically across the field, and various Ninjutsu emerged endlessly.

Muzuki shook his head slightly and walked in front of Mimurabe Ketsu, “Senior Ketsu, you can trust me a little more.”

After he finished using Appraisal Technique, this battle was actually already over. On this battlefield, there was no Ninja who could stop him.

Whoosh!

“I hope your strength is as tough as your mouth!” Yagura Karatachi raised his iron staff, burst forth with Chakra, and charged towards Muzuki.

He had never personally fought Muzuki. On the last battlefield, he was busy dealing with Orochimaru and couldn’t spare a hand for Muzuki.

However, Yagura Karatachi didn’t think Muzuki would be stronger than him. Orochimaru couldn’t easily defeat him, let alone Muzuki.

In the eyes of ordinary Ninja, Yagura Karatachi’s speed was extremely fast, almost imperceptible.

But Yagura Karatachi was facing Muzuki, who had activated his Byakugan and entered Transparent World. Before Yagura Karatachi could even take a step, Muzuki had already foreseen Yagura Karatachi’s next move.

Muzuki calmly pressed his hands together, fingers interlaced, thumbs overlapping, forming the Snake hand seal.

The moment this action was completed, a massive amount of Wood Release Chakra erupted within Muzuki’s body.

“Wood Release: World of Trees Advent!”

Rumble rumble!!!

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble, as if countless lives were stirring beneath the earth.

Immediately after, countless emerald green saplings broke through the ground and grew rapidly. Due to the extremely fast growth rate, even the ground was shattered.

The saplings grew at an astonishing speed into incredibly thick, lush trees. In the blink of an eye, the entire battlefield was instantly covered by dense trees.

Moreover, these trees seemed like sentient treants, fiercely attacking the nearby Mist Ninja with their branches and trunks. Yagura Karatachi was also stopped by thick branches.

At this moment, the atmosphere of the battlefield changed.

Both Konoha Ninja and Mist Ninja looked at Muzuki with shocked expressions.

“This is!” Mimurabe Ketsu looked at the suddenly appearing forest, gazing at Muzuki standing in front of him in disbelief.

His first reaction was that he had fallen under a Genjutsu.

There was no other way; it wasn’t that Muzuki was untrustworthy, but that this scene was too astonishing.

Even he had only heard stories of the First Hokage’s immense power to create a forest with a wave of his hand.

But Mimurabe Ketsu was an experienced old Jonin after all, and he quickly determined that he was not under Genjutsu, and everything before his eyes was real.

“No wonder he said such things…” Mimurabe Ketsu looked at Muzuki with a complex expression, instantly understanding many things.

He had thought Muzuki was young and arrogant, overly confident, but in reality, Muzuki’s strength was extraordinary and he had everything under control.

Muzuki, who had mastered powerful Wood Release, could face the entire Hidden Mist force even with half of his troops.

If the enemy chose to ambush Teacher Chen, Muzuki could also rush over to support them with his high mobility.

“Muzuki Sensei also mastered Wood Release.” Kakashi also showed a surprised expression.

Muzuki had never shown Wood Release in front of them. Because of Danzo Shimura, he had only privately guided Yamato in Wood Release before, openly teaching only other Ninjutsu.

So Kakashi didn’t know that Muzuki also possessed the Wood Release Bloodline Limit.

“Not this time?” Looking at the reversed situation, Kakashi felt that he might have guessed wrong.

However, Kakashi’s mood did not improve.

Muzuki was proficient in seven Chakra Nature Transformations, mastered countless Ninjutsu, and had independently developed numerous powerful S-rank Ninjutsu and secret techniques. He also possessed two Bloodline Limits, one of which was Wood Release, only ever possessed by the God of Shinobi.

Kakashi truly found it hard to imagine what kind of difficult situation could lead to Muzuki’s death.

To cover his comrades, being surrounded and killed by a Ninja force of ten thousand?

It couldn’t be that the legendary Uchiha Madara was resurrected and fought Muzuki, could it?

But now Kakashi clearly understood one thing: they really couldn’t help Muzuki much; the difference in strength was too great.

Whenever he felt he was getting a little closer to Muzuki, Muzuki would always display new strength.

“It’s Wood Release! So cool, Muzuki Sensei!”

Obito, who had been paying attention to Muzuki, saw Muzuki turn the tide with a single Ninjutsu and couldn’t help but cheer for Muzuki in his heart.

“If only I could learn Wood Release, Sharingan is simply not enough.” Obito couldn’t help but complain in his heart.

Although Obito was a member of the Uchiha Clan, he believed that Sharingan was inferior to Wood Release.

Firstly, the strongest Uchiha, Uchiha Madara, couldn’t defeat Senju Hashirama, who had Wood Release. Secondly, Wood Release was very rare, only Senju Hashirama and Muzuki possessed it, and generally, the rarer something was, the stronger it was.

Then there was the fact that the Sharingan’s abilities were too ordinary; understanding Transparent World or mastering Kenbunshoku Haki was not inferior to Sharingan at all.

“It’s Wood Release!”

After their surprise, a large number of Konoha Ninja looked at the Mist Ninja with excitement, as if it wasn’t them who were outnumbered, but the Hidden Mist force.

The Hidden Mist, on the other hand, had the opposite reaction. Many Mist Ninja’s expressions turned to fear when they looked at Muzuki. If it weren’t for the strict rules of Hidden Mist, where fleeing the battlefield meant certain death, they would have already tried to escape.

The era of Ninja villages had only developed for a few decades, and the Ninja of the Ninja World had not forgotten the legend of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and his invincible Wood Release.

Yagura Karatachi swung his iron staff, shattering the attacking branches, his face turning very unpleasant.

Ninja of his slightly older age were the ones who could most keenly feel the pressure of Wood Release.

At that time, Konoha even developed a Genjutsu that could create tree illusions, the purpose of which was to make the opponent have a misconception, “Is the enemy a Wood Release Ninja?”, thereby creating fear and making the opponent reveal weaknesses.

The deterrent power of Wood Release was evident.

Even with nearly double the personnel advantage, Yagura Karatachi couldn’t help but feel a slight urge to retreat at this moment.