If one were to ask how painful an injury that ends one's lineage is, at this moment in the ninja world, perhaps only Zuo Xun could answer.
At this time, he only felt his lower body, along with his lower abdomen, being repeatedly and continuously pierced by a sharp blade. The blood from his entire body was gushing towards the open wound below him, dyeing the area beneath him a scarlet red.
The heart-wrenching pain had almost made him lose his mind. He could only lie paralyzed on the spot, clutching his lower body tightly, his body shaking like a sieve.
The full moon was in the sky. The moonlight of late winter, cool as water, like silk, like threads, sprinkled onto the earth.
Suddenly, the sky above Zuo Xun's head became even darker. The stubborn moonlight that had seeped through the leaves was suddenly completely blocked. He didn't even notice a giant eagle flying in the sky.
Through the gaps between the shattered branches, Shangguan Mo looked at the miserable Zuo Xun below, and a trace of a chill suddenly rose in his heart. He hadn't expected that even if Grey Wolf's curse ability could only cause one-tenth of the damage, with one slash after another, it had still managed to stab Zuo Xun into a state of serious injury.
"Let's end it..."
Shangguan Mo patted the Wind Eagle's head, his eyes somewhat complicated. Against an enemy, Grey Wolf's technique was certainly very useful. But if it were used on himself... just thinking about it made him feel terrified.
Before long, a wind ball rotated and was spat out from the Wind Eagle's mouth, tearing through the layers of spiderweb-like dense branches below, and directly crashed into Zuo Xun's body. With a booming explosion, the painful groans from below abruptly stopped.
"There are still a few Root ninja left. Hearing the commotion here, they should be rushing over immediately."
Watanabe Mousse lay on the back of the Wind Eagle, slightly raised his head, and looked at Shangguan Mo. A cold, sharp killing intent flashed in his eyes. He understood the meaning behind his words very well. It was nothing more than to cut down and kill them all. Since they had already offended Danzo, they might as well kill all the Root ninja and see if they could temporarily bury the matter.
"Little Feng! Fly a little higher! Let's find my teammates first!" Shangguan Mo gave an order to the Wind Eagle.
"Chirp! —Yes!"
...
The next morning, in the clouds, a goshawk was flying rapidly, heading towards the direction of the Land of Hot Water.
The unscathed Tianfeng and Watanabe Sheren were left behind to continue escorting Hebian Pu's merchant caravan back. Watanabe Mousse's injuries were a bit heavy and required timely treatment from a medical ninja. That was why Shangguan Mo was taking him back on the Wind Eagle.
"From the looks of it, there should only be one traitor in the village, Zuo Xun. He still has a trusted subordinate in the village, a child I watched grow up. He is definitely not from Konoha!" Mousse's eyes were a little heavy.
"What's his name?" Shangguan Mo raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him.
"Li!"
"Are you asking me to spare his life?" he said faintly.
"He is a simple-minded ninja, just bewitched by Zuo Xun..." Mousse explained with some difficulty.
"It's no use telling me. The leader of the Hidden Hot Water Village is Lord Zhi Yujing, not me..."
Hearing him say this, Mousse suddenly fell silent. He was a smart man. How could he not hear the evasiveness in his words?
Shangguan Mo's eyes looked at the sky in front of him with a cold expression. His first fight with Konoha's Root... not only did it not make him feel afraid, but it instead made a hot-blooded feeling rise in his heart.
"The darkness of the ninja world..."
A title that was treated as a joke in the original work had, in an extremely unexpected way, forcefully broken into his life. Absurd and unreal.
...
A day later, at the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water, the Wind Eagle howled as it flew through the sky. Compared to before, Mousse's face now actually carried a faint tension. After a day of flying, his face seemed to have become a little paler. But it seemed to be the fear of returning home. He had been silent and had not spoken.
At this time, it was only about four or five o'clock in the morning. The sky had not yet brightened, and only a touch of sea blue was revealed at the edge of the sky in the distance. "What's wrong, Captain Watanabe?"
Shangguan Mo couldn't stand it anymore. He had been fine when they set off. Now he was like a different person. Mousse's face was sullen, he didn't know what he was thinking. The atmosphere was a little stuffy. After a long while, he finally sighed. "I've let down Lord Zhi Yujing. I've caused a big trouble for the village..."
Shangguan Mo, who was sitting cross-legged on the head of the Wind Eagle, turned his head to look at him. "What trouble are you talking about?"
"That's Konoha! The strongest of the five great nations! And Root is a force controlled by that Danzo, who is famous in the ninja world for being a radical. A full twelve Root ninja, including two jonin... with that one's personality, he will definitely retaliate!" Mousse's face was filled with deep worry.
"Heh heh!"
Shangguan Mo let out a sneer, which made him look over with a puzzled gaze. "Now you know to worry and be afraid? I didn't see you being soft-hearted when you were killing people!"
Mousse looked at him with some annoyance. "At that time, I didn't know their goal was the position of the next leader of the Hidden Hot Water. I only thought those people's target was me. That's why I killed that leading Root jonin!"
Shangguan Mo raised his eyebrows and said, "Is there any difference?"
Mousse said faintly, "If I had known earlier that they mistakenly thought I was going to become the next leader, I might have chosen to go back to Konoha with them!"
"Just so those people wouldn't harm the village?" Shangguan Mo found it a little hard to understand.
Mousse did not speak. But sometimes, silence was the best answer.
With a light sigh, Shangguan Mo's next few words, however, made the haze in his heart dissipate a little. "Don't worry too much. To send people to secretly control other small country ninja villages is already a taboo in the ninja world. If everyone did as Danzo does, then what need is there for us, the small countries that are trying to survive in the cracks of the five great nations, to exist? So Danzo will definitely not come to trouble our Hidden Hot Water with great fanfare!"
Shangguan Mo was clear in his heart. With the strength of the five great nations, to casually wipe them, the small country ninja villages, from the ninja world was as easy as lifting a hand. As for why they didn't do so, there was naturally a reason. The countless small countries in the ninja world had been able to survive until now for no other reason than two factors. First, to act as a buffer zone for conflicts between the great nations. Second, to avoid their own country being plunged into misery, they chose to let the small countries become the main battlefield of the war.
A thoughtful look appeared on Mousse's face. "If everyone did as Danzo does, wouldn't this ninja world be in chaos? But we can also prepare for both sides. On the one hand, we can send more people to the border of the Land of Hot Water to guard against a sudden attack from Root. On the other hand, we can prepare to expose this ugly matter of Danzo's. Konoha is not a solid piece of iron. If that strongest Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, learns of this news, what do you think he will think?" Shangguan Mo said with a smile.
Mousse's eyes lit up. "He will definitely think that Danzo is developing his own power and preparing to challenge for the position of Hokage!"
He nodded in approval. "After you return to the village, you can send a trusted ninja to secretly spread this matter in the Land of Fire. You can even find ordinary people to publicize it in Konoha Village. This way, in order to clear himself of this suspicion, Danzo will surely not make a big move against us. Even if he secretly sends people over, then our Hidden Hot Water still has several hundred ninja. There's nothing to be afraid of!"
Mousse's breathing began to become rapid. He had to admit that Shangguan Mo's method was absolutely of great use.
...
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