High in the sky, Mū's clone descended slowly, carrying two tons of wood, piles of gold, and crates of ninja tools. From a distance, he looked like a flying delivery king, absurdly majestic and utterly ridiculous.
The moment he landed, Mū dispelled the clone without hesitation and swiftly sealed all the compensation into a scroll with practiced ease.
"Sensei... is that really the end of it?" Ōnoki stared at the sealed scroll, frustration thick in his voice. "Last night was the perfect opportunity. Why did you let Madara Uchiha go?"
Mū turned sharply to look at him, eyes wide in disbelief. His expression nearly broke.
Let him go? Is that really what you think happened? You believe I let Madara Uchiha go? Yeah, right. I just missed the golden opportunity to kill one of the most dangerous shinobi alive and just waved him off like it was nothing? Do you honestly think a normal human could do that? Do you think I had a real chance? I was barely holding on out there. I almost died just to protect our dignity. And now you want me to throw myself into a death match with him?
But after a breath, Mū calmed himself. Ōnoki was still young. He didn't yet understand the way this brutal shinobi world truly operated.
In a child's mind, being beaten and then given hush money would naturally seem like humiliation. It would feel like being trampled.
But the truth was much colder.
This world was cruel and soaked in blood. When the weak kill the weak, it's a crime. When the strong kill the weak, it's just "Oops. My bad. Drink some beer and forget about it."
Rather than die meaninglessly for pride, it was far wiser to accept the compensation and focus on surviving long enough to become stronger.
"Ōnoki," Mū said gently, placing a hand on his student's head, "I know you're frustrated... but you need to learn to read the battlefield."
"But Sensei," Ōnoki said, gripping a rough stone in his palm, "didn't you always teach me never to surrender? Never to bow to power?"
He hesitated, but his voice didn't falter. The words had to be said.
Mū didn't show a trace of anger. Instead, he looked into his student's eyes and spoke patiently.
"Enduring doesn't mean surrendering. It's about belief. So long as we're still breathing, even a dead tree can one day sprout again. And when that day comes, we will reclaim every scrap of dignity we lost."
His voice was steady, calm, filled with conviction. These weren't hollow words, they were faith spoken aloud.
"But..." Ōnoki still couldn't completely accept it. He was stubborn, his heart like stone.
Mū smiled softly. He bent down, picked up a nearby rock, and then pointed at a willow tree swaying in the distance.
"Ōnoki, let me ask you something. Between this stone and that willow tree... which is better?"
He held the stone up and looked back at him.
Ōnoki paused, but gave his answer without hesitation.
"The willow. It's tall and graceful. If someone passed by, they'd notice the tree before even seeing the stone."
His tone was straightforward and genuine. Honest.
Mū nodded and continued, his voice steady. "This willow may live only around forty years. But this stone... it could endure for ten thousand years, maybe even longer." As he spoke, he raised the stone once more, his tone echoing with deeper meaning.
Ōnoki's eyes flickered with sudden realization.
"Water doesn't rush to be first, it flows endlessly. Outlasting your rival... is also a kind of victory."
Ōnoki's gaze brightened as he listened. At last, he was beginning to understand what his sensei truly meant. The wisdom hidden within those simple analogies unraveled inside him, and with it came a clearer grasp of the Will of Stone. It wasn't just about being rigid or unyielding. The Will of Stone meant adapting, observing the shifting tides of the world, and surviving with resilience and foresight. True endurance would one day pierce through the clouds and welcome the return of sunlight.
"Sensei... lately, your wisdom feels like gold falling from the heavens," Ōnoki said with a hint of awe in his voice. His respect for Mū's immense knowledge had deepened into reverence.
"Heh..." Mū gave a faint smile but offered no reply.
The two of them moved swiftly, crossing the border of the Land of Fire, passing through the Land of Grass, and finally entering the rocky terrain of the Land of Earth. As they traveled, Mū contemplated his future.
"Since I already know the plot in advance, of course I won't follow the original course," he mused internally. "The protagonists of this world aren't limited to just Konoha..."
He had no intention of walking down the same doomed path as in the past. Most of all, he would never make the same fatal mistake that mustached fool had made, dying together with someone else. That was utterly meaningless.
He had to survive. Live well, grow stronger, and keep moving forward until he's the one controlling the world. To do that, he needed a body powerful enough to support his goal. That's why he specifically requested a sample of Hashirama's wood.
Compared to the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, Hashirama cells were more within reach. If he could study the wood, perhaps he could find a method to extract or even replicate the legendary cells and use them to enhance his own body.
"But before anything else, I must strengthen the village and prepare for the First Great Ninja War. Still... why was the trigger for such a pivotal conflict missing from that memory orb?"
He frowned slightly, puzzled by the omission. The First Ninja War was a monumental shift in history. Yet the orb of memories lacked details about its origins. It didn't even specify which nations first entered the conflict.
All it noted was that Tobirama and the First Raikage had fallen... and that Mū and that mustached bastard, Gengetsu Hōzuki, died together.
"Sigh... the road ahead is still long."
Right now, his priority had to be strengthening the village. His current strength had reached its upper limit, unless he encountered a rare opportunity, some unforeseen breakthrough.
He knew his limits. He hadn't been born with the blood of the Six Paths, so from the start, his potential had boundaries. Only a miraculous chance could allow him to surpass them.
Creating the Dust Release had been that miracle. That single achievement had elevated his strength far beyond its natural level. Without it, he would've remained an ordinary Kage-level shinobi at best.
Mū carried Ōnoki through the night sky, flying at full speed until they finally arrived at Iwagakure just past midnight. Compared to the vibrant streets and festive atmosphere of Konohagakure, Iwagakure seemed bleak and lifeless, nothing but an endless stretch of rugged stone. The sight stirred a faint sense of inadequacy in Ōnoki's heart.
"It's all right," Mū said, placing a firm hand on Ōnoki's shoulder. "It may look like a slum now, but one day, this will become the most prosperous village in the entire shinobi world."
Hearing that, Ōnoki's mood lifted. He nodded with renewed confidence.
Since it was already deep into the night, the two refrained from disturbing the resting Tsuchikage and quietly entered the village without a word.
The next morning, Mū stepped into the Iwagakure Administration Building and resumed handling official duties, as he usually did. Though Ishikawa still held the official title of Tsuchikage, most of the responsibilities had already been passed on to Mū. In practice, he was already serving as the acting Tsuchikage.
As he began sorting through paperwork, he found several letters stacked among his official correspondence. Each one was marked with the seal of the Land of Water. Tearing one open, he began to read:
[Oi oi! Mū, how was that last battle? Wasn't my Steaming Danger Tyranny awesome? Wanna get hit by your old man's Water Iron Cannon Jutsu again?]
[When are we fighting next? I haven't seen you in forever. Why aren't you replying to me?]
[Mū, did you die or something?]
[Oi oi oi! Why aren't you answering me? Don't tell me you actually died? Aaaaaah! Weren't we supposed to die together like we said?!]
All of them were from Gengetsu Hōzuki of the Land of Water.
Mū hadn't responded to any of his letters during his recent trip to Konohagakure, and now it seemed Gengetsu had sent them all in frustration. The sight of the pile made Mū's brow twitch.
"That damn mustache f*ck!"
Just remembering their last battle stirred a familiar irritation. Their bond was anything but simple, both rivals and companions, constantly walking the line between enmity and camaraderie. They had become friends through repeated clashes, forging a connection only understood by those who exchanged blows and spilled blood together.
Theirs was a twisted sort of friendship, one built on the shared idea that if they were to die, it would be as Kage, and together. That had been their agreement. But right now, Mū had no intention of dying, not with Gengetsu, not with anyone.
He had glimpsed the potential future. He understood now how extraordinary the coming era could be. He had to survive, not just survive, but live well, live long, and witness everything that was to come. He even wanted to live long enough to see Boruto.
After a moment of thought, Mū picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote his reply in calm, steady strokes. Just three words:
"I'm doing fine."
He folded the letter, sealed it neatly in an envelope, and pressed it shut with a wax stamp.
===
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