The fierce battle lasted only a few minutes, yet Kusagakure had already suffered heavy casualties.
With overwhelming strength, the Nine Masked Beasts cleared a vast area around the hospital, slaughtering Kusagakure's Ninjas mercilessly.
Under the leadership of Ryuki, Kusagakure's Anbu fought desperately to guard the leader of their village, Koji. They used various Ninjutsu, weaving a defensive net that barely held back the combined assault of Genbu and Suzaku.
Meanwhile, the brothers Mui and Mujo relied on their clan's secret Fire Release Ninjutsu to fight a retreating battle.
"Fire Release: Demon Lantern!" Mujo dodged Seiryu's pursuit, swiftly retreating while forming hand seals.
In an instant, countless crimson ghostly faces materialized around him, wailing mournfully as they surged toward Seiryu!
"Fire Release: Heavenly Prison Fire Sword!" Mui condensed Fire Attribute Chakra in his right hand, shaping it into a blazing sword that he thrust at the approaching Byakko.
Seiryu tanked Mujo's Ghost Lanterns head-on, gathering Lightning Attribute Chakra in its maw before abruptly firing a crackling sphere of electricity!
"What?!" Mujo's pupils shrank in shock, 'Not only was this bizarre summoning creature massive and tough, but it could also use Lightning Release?'
Meanwhile, as Mui's Heavenly Prison Fire Sword was about to strike the masked white tiger, the beast suddenly flickered like an illusion.
"Damn it!" Mui hastily retracted his fire sword to defend, his combat instincts driving him to swing the sword to the left.
The flaming blade slashed over Byakko's head, but Byakko had already closed in, its massive paw slamming straight into Mui's chest!
"Pfft!"
Mui was sent flying like a broken kite, blood arcing through the air.
"Brother!" Mujo's expression twisted in panic. He immediately disengaged from Seiryu, and flickered to his injured brother's side.
At the same time, Nanto Sennin and Hokuto Sennin began casting a restraining seal on Kusagakure's leader, Koji, and the Anbu's members surrounding him.
Purple sealing runes rose beneath Koji, Ryuki, and the others, instantly immobilizing them.
Koji felt his entire body stiffen, his Chakra flowing as sluggishly as mud.
"Damn it! What is this?!" Koji roared as he struggled against Genbu and Suzaku's assault, but he couldn't break free.
Genbu's steel-plated body charged once more, and like a hundred-ton wrecking ball, it crashed squarely into Kusagi.
Koji was knocked flying and was then struck midair by Suzaku's Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
The stench of scorched flesh filled the air.
"Koji-sama!" Ryuki, the Anbu Commander of Kusagakure, was furious, but he could only watch his village's leader being knocked away and hit by Ninjutsu.
Whoosh-
Several wind blades tore through the air, slicing down the restrained Ryuki and the other Anbu. The defensive line collapsed completely.
Moments later, the area around Kusagakure's hospital building was littered with corpses.
With their leader and Anbu Commander critically wounded, the remaining Kusagakure's Ninjas, disorganized and leaderless, began fleeing in all directions.
Soon, only the forces led by Mui and Mujo remained near the hospital, putting up a desperate last stand.
Most of the Kusagakure's Ninjas had retreated to the outskirts, while the village's civilians fled in panic. The entire village descended into chaos.
"Is that all?" Menma held Kanon in his arms, not even needing to lift a finger as the Nine Masked Beasts nearly reduced the small village to ruins.
The brothers Mui and Mujo, future masters of Hozuki Castle, proved their worth. Even after Koji, Ryuki, and the elite Ninjas had been incapacitated, they still managed to organize a resistance.
However, with Koji and Ryuki out of the fight and the other Kusagakure's Ninjas retreating, only a handful under Mui and Mujo's command remained.
Now, Suzaku, Seiryu, Genbu, Byakko, and Kinja, five of the Nine Masked Beasts, turned their attention to the brothers, surrounding them.
"Brother! Use that jutsu!" Mujo, seeing the dire situation, gritted his teeth and prepared to unleash a Sealing Technique they hadn't yet fully mastered.
"Cough... Let me!" Mui was already seriously injured at this time. He was hit on the chest by Byakko's claw, leaving three bloody wounds that exposed the bone and were bleeding profusely.
He coughed up blood as he struggled to stand, only to collapse again.
"Brother!" Mujo wasted no more time. Forming a seal with his right hand, he began gathering Fire Attribute Chakra.
As his right palm became enveloped in Fire Attribute Chakra, a surge of scorching Chakra erupted from it. The chakra writhed and twisted in the air, transforming into five blazing crimson chains that shot toward the five masked beasts in front of him.
"Fire Release: Heavenly Prison!" Mujo felt the Chakra in his body draining away quickly, and despite the discomfort of his body, he performed this Sealing Technique that only a few Ninjas of the Mu Clan mastered!
It was said that the Heavenly Prison was powerful enough to restrain even a Tailed Beast!
In the movie version where Hozuki Castle appeared, Naruto and the others subdued the monster that emerged from the Box of Ultimate Bliss, Satori.
The master of Hozuki Castle at that time, Mui, used the Heavenly Prison to seal it, allowing Naruto to finish it off with his Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
This alone proved its might.
The five fiery chakra chains bound Suzaku, Seiryu, Genbu, Byakko, and Kinja. Crimson chain markings appeared on the five masked beasts, restricting their movements.
"It worked!"
"As expected of Mujo-sama!"
The other Kusagakure's Ninjas cheered when they saw their terrifying enemy imprisoned, and then they prepared to launch a counterattack.
But the next moment-
The bodies of the five sealed masked beasts rippled like the surface of a lake, vanishing without a trace.
"What!" Mujo was shocked when he felt the Chakra of Heavenly Prison disappear.
But when he focused his gaze back on the battlefield, the mysterious masked man at the center was already gone.
"When did he-?!" Cold sweat drenched Mujo's back. He hadn't even noticed the enemy's departure.
Mui, supported by his subordinates, slowly rose to his feet and walked toward the center of the battlefield… where the charred corpse of Koji lay.
Kusagakure was severely damaged in this battle, and even their leader, Kusanagi Koji, died in the battle.
Amid the billowing smoke, Mui knelt before Koji's burned remains. Staring at the devastated village, he muttered bitterly, "Koji-sama… we never should have taken in those refugees from Uzumaki Clan..."
…
Ruins of Uzushiogakure.
The hideout once used by pirates had now become Menma's base.
He gently laid the awakened Kanon on the bed.
"Mom..." Karin knelt beside the bed, clutching her mother's hand as tears streamed down her face.
The extremely weak Kanon managed a faint smile for her daughter before lifting her gaze to the masked man standing beside them, "Sir... please… take this child under your care..."
Kanon was barely breathing, but she still tried her best to raise her head: "She can do anything... just let her live..."
She could clearly sense that her life was fading, and she also knew that once she died, Kusagakure would definitely force Karin to serve them just as she had, and sooner or later, her Chakra and life force would be drained dry like her.
As a mother, Kanon wanted to seize this last hope for her daughter's survival.
"Who said you're allowed to die?" The voice behind the white three-eyed fox mask was cold and commanding.
Though Menma had yet to master Yin-Yang Release and couldn't transfer Chakra or life force to Kanon, he is still an Uzumaki.
Menma unwrapped the red cloth from his wrist and held it out to Kanon.
"Bite." His tone brooked no refusal.