Chapter 403: Ninja Master on Par with Hanzo
Ikechou ultimately did not run away out of guilt. He told Kuroda to stay where he was and to run the moment anything felt wrong, then hurried to Mugetsu's temporary residence.
"Ninja Master Sosuke, you should avoid the spotlight," Ikechou said with a grave expression. There was even a trace of regret in his eyes, as if he were mourning the loss of future lessons. "Some people have exaggerated your reputation too much. They're saying you're on the same level as Hanzo the Demigod. Now it's not just ninja organizations coming, even shinobi from the Hidden Rain are here."
"Is that so?" Mugetsu looked at him and smiled. "Then who do you think exaggerated the most?"
That calm, seemingly all knowing gaze made Ikechou's spine itch, but he held his expression steady, still looking like he was doing this for Mugetsu's sake.
"Write down your thoughts on war and peace," Mugetsu said. "Give it to me before you leave."
Then he walked toward the village entrance.
Whatever Ikechou's intentions were, the outcome was clear. He had more than completed Mugetsu's task.
He knew he had blown things up, yet he still came to warn Mugetsu to leave. That meant there was still some conscience left in him.
So Mugetsu was willing to give Ikechou a chance, one that could change the trajectory of his life.
In truth, Mugetsu had sensed the incoming shinobi long before they reached Oz Village. He had already used the Byakugan to assess their strength.
Most of the rogue ninja were genin, no threat at all. There were some chunin from ninja organizations and the Hidden Rain, and only a handful of jonin. Aside from Yahiko's trio, only one Hidden Rain jonin met the qualification standard.
"Are you really not going to avoid the limelight?" Ikechou pressed. "Some of them look like they came to cause trouble."
"Actually, your propaganda wasn't exaggerated," Mugetsu replied, giving Ikechou a meaningful smile.
With Mugetsu's current strength, being compared to Hanzo was not false advertising.
That left Ikechou hesitating. Mugetsu looked completely confident, but Ikechou worried he was simply overestimating himself.
In the end, Ikechou gritted his teeth.
"Forget it. I'll stay and watch."
With Mugetsu acting like this, he clearly was not going to settle scores with Ikechou. If something went wrong, Ikechou and his brother could run together.
At the village entrance, the crowd was already boiling.
"Where's Ninja Master Sosuke? Didn't he say he teaches ninjutsu? Is this a scam?" an ambitious rogue ninja shouted.
"How dare he compare himself to Hanzo the Demigod!" another voice snapped, filled with fury. "I want to see what he can actually do."
With so many ninja gathered, the noise was overwhelming. Even the early listeners could not maintain order, their strength simply not enough.
Nagato frowned. He disliked places this loud.
Yahiko, however, looked completely at home. He was already talking to a stranger beside him, eyes shining.
"Brother, have you heard of the Akatsuki?"
"I have," the rogue ninja answered politely, "but I don't want to know more."
"Don't rush," Yahiko said, enthusiasm unshaken. "Once you hear about the Akatsuki's dream, you'll see us differently."
"Yahiko," Konan cut in, watching the stranger's patience fray, "weren't you supposed to recruit that Sosuke?"
"The main target is Uncle Sosuke," Yahiko replied as he turned to her, "but with so many ninja here, it's also a perfect chance to strengthen the Akatsuki."
Just as Yahiko was about to continue his passionate pitch, he realized that in the brief moment he turned his head, the other person had vanished.
Right then, a calm voice carried over the chaos.
"Hello, everyone. I heard someone was looking for me."
Mugetsu stepped into the open space and introduced himself.
"I am Sosuke."
All eyes snapped onto him at once, curiosity and suspicion mixing together as they sized up this audacious so called ninja master.
Audacious was the only word for it. Comparing yourself to Hanzo in the Land of Rain was like claiming you were evenly matched with Hashirama in the Land of Fire.
An orange haired ninja stepped forward, expression hostile.
"You're the Sosuke who calls himself a ninja master and dares compare himself to Hanzo?"
"I am Sosuke," Mugetsu said with a nod. "But 'ninja master' is not a title I gave myself."
"That's not the point!" the orange haired ninja growled, displeasure burning in his eyes. "The point is you actually think you can be compared to Hanzo!"
He flared his chakra and stomped the ground.
Crack!
The earth split under the force.
Nearby ninja recoiled instinctively and widened their distance. This was clearly someone looking for trouble, and his strength was not weak.
Seeing that, Ikechou immediately pulled Kuroda farther back and used the people ahead of them as cover.
To everyone's surprise, Mugetsu did not rush to argue or deny it. If anything, he looked like he was agreeing.
"It's your freedom to think that way," Mugetsu said calmly.
In the crowd, a Hidden Rain jonin narrowed his eyes. That was arrogance.
If the orange haired ninja had not displayed such strength, the jonin would have stepped forward already. Since someone else was willing to test Mugetsu, the Hidden Rain shinobi was more than happy to watch.
The orange haired ninja snorted, chakra surging higher.
"Then let me, Kurosaki Ichigo, see what you've got. For you to dare compare yourself to Hanzo!"
The Hidden Rain jonin felt the pressure in that chakra and froze in shock.
This was far stronger than him.
"As expected of Lord Hanzo," the jonin thought, a strange pride rising in his chest. "Even outsiders produce admirers this strong."
"It's almost time for class anyway," Mugetsu said, as if this were all perfectly normal. "Let's make it a practical combat lesson."
Kurosaki Ichigo was not some shinobi who shared a name with a manga protagonist.
He was Mugetsu's shadow clone.
Mugetsu wanted to display his strength, and nothing established authority faster than a loud, brainless challenger getting beaten down cleanly in front of everyone.
But in real life, how often did the perfect idiot volunteer on command?
So Mugetsu simply arranged it.
To prevent Nagato's Rinnegan from seeing through it, the shadow clone used a transformation to alter his appearance.
A transformation that perfectly copied another shinobi's information consumed too much chakra and required constant maintenance. The clone could not sustain that kind of drain. Otherwise, transforming into a known Rain ninja would have been even more convincing.
Konan watched the situation, unease in her eyes.
"That guy looks strong. Shouldn't we help?"
Konan had not been there when Mugetsu met Nagato, so she did not know Nagato's assessment.
"I believe in Uncle Sosuke's strength," Yahiko said without hesitation. "If he acknowledged it, then he must truly be no worse than Hanzo."
To avoid harming the villagers of Oz Village, Mugetsu led the crowd outward, moving the battlefield to a wide open area beyond the village.
Kurosaki Ichigo took his stance.
"If you're ready, we start in three, two, one."
Mugetsu nodded, indicating he had no objections.
"Three, two, one!"
The moment the count ended, both moved.
"Earth Release: Earth Pillar Spear!"
Kurosaki Ichigo formed hand seals quickly. In an instant, thick, razor sharp stone spikes erupted from the flat ground, shooting upward in clusters. Each spike was taller than a person, and sharp enough to make the air feel cold.
Many rogue ninja had never seen such a terrifying technique. They retreated instinctively, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
But Mugetsu seemed to have predicted it. He used the Body Flicker to slip through the gaps, avoiding the wide area attack with frightening speed.
"So fast," the Hidden Rain jonin murmured, eyes widening.
He had not even caught how Mugetsu dodged.
The jonin felt a chill of relief. Kurosaki Ichigo had stepped out first. If he, a Hidden Rain jonin, had embarrassed himself here, Hanzo would not forgive it.
Mugetsu raised his hands, forming seals as he spoke, voice calm and instructional even in the middle of combat.
"Sharp lightning can pierce earth. Lightning Release chakra nature transformation counters Earth Release, so Lightning Release is the best answer against Earth Release."
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Mugetsu gathered a massive amount of chakra in his mouth, then spat out a spear like bolt of lightning, sharp enough to make the air scream.
Boom!
The lightning spear tore through the battlefield, shattering every rock spike in its path. Stone fragments exploded outward, and the remaining force still shot straight toward Kurosaki Ichigo.
Kurosaki Ichigo clearly had not expected that level of power. His response looked messy, almost panicked.
"It's really that strong," a rogue ninja muttered, fist clenched in excitement.
If he could learn ninjutsu like that, he would not need to hide and rob ordinary people just to survive. He could take black market bounties and get rich.
He was not the only one thinking it. Many eyes in the crowd burned with the same greedy hope.
Kurosaki Ichigo gritted his teeth.
"So what if you counter my Earth Release? I don't only use Earth Release!"
He formed seals again, then unleashed Fire Release. Flames burst from his mouth and condensed into a massive fireball that roared toward Mugetsu.
Mugetsu continued teaching as if this were a lecture hall.
"The best choice against fire is water. Water extinguishes fire."
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
A huge sphere of water formed and crashed forward, swallowing the fireball and blasting through it. The remaining torrent drenched Kurosaki Ichigo head to toe.
Kurosaki Ichigo's face flushed red, humiliation written all over him.
"Don't think you're the only one who can use Water Release!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Using the leftover water from the Great Waterfall, Kurosaki Ichigo condensed a massive water dragon.
This Water Dragon Bullet was far thicker and longer than the normal technique, so oversized it looked like a flood given fangs.
Many spectators retreated again. Most of them were not much stronger than a freshly graduated genin from Konoha. In the chaotic Land of Rain, survival depended on caution, and caution meant distance.
The Hidden Rain jonin's thoughts shifted.
Should he recommend Kurosaki Ichigo to Hanzo?
Even as an outsider, this man was strong. Three chakra natures, all at a decent level.
But then Mugetsu spoke again, and this time his words carried a warning.
"In battle, elemental counters aren't absolute. If the gap in strength is big enough, counters stop mattering. If fire is strong enough, it can evaporate water."
This time, Mugetsu did not counter. He chose to be countered.
"Fire Release: Head Hardship!"
Mugetsu spat out a small fireball, absurdly compressed, barely the size of a fist.
Then it collided with the charging water dragon.
For an instant, the fireball seemed to disappear.
And then the compressed flames erupted.
A sea of fire exploded outward, a violent inferno that swallowed the water dragon whole. Under the scorching heat, that massive technique evaporated in moments.
The Hidden Rain jonin's pupils shrank.
This clash was completely different from the earlier exchanges.
Overpowering an opponent while at a disadvantage in element could only mean one thing.
The strength gap was enormous.
And Kurosaki Ichigo was already stronger than an average jonin.
The jonin realized, with a tight throat, that besides Hanzo, there might not be anyone in the Hidden Rain who could truly match this Sosuke.
"No wonder he dared to compare himself to Hanzo," the jonin thought.
In an instant, Mugetsu no longer seemed arrogant.
This was the ninja world. Strength was the foundation of everything.
The jonin still believed Hanzo would win if they fought, but Mugetsu was absolutely qualified to be called the second strongest in the Land of Rain.
Since Mugetsu had never fought Hanzo, a misjudgment was understandable. The jonin did not see it as arrogance anymore.
"As expected of Uncle Sosuke," Yahiko blurted out, feeling the heat wave wash toward him.
He specialized in Water Release. That made him understand better than most how terrifying Mugetsu's Fire Release had been.
Ikechou stared too, stunned.
"Could what he said earlier actually be true?"
He had just watched Mugetsu effortlessly educate a powerful jonin.
A terrifying thought formed in Ikechou's mind.
Mugetsu had not been boasting at all. He really might possess seven chakra nature transformations.
Ikechou's heart began pounding hard.
He remembered what Mugetsu told him only minutes ago. It was still about writing reflections, but this time, it clearly carried a different weight.
After that, Mugetsu continued to display powerful taijutsu, showing speed and precision that shocked the crowd. Even while fighting, he pointed out Kurosaki Ichigo's weaknesses and calmly offered suggestions for improvement.
The newly arrived ninja were stunned.
Even the early followers, the ones who had listened to Mugetsu for days, were stunned.
In their minds, Mugetsu being on the level of a jonin from the Five Great Nations was already the peak. That was a height they could not imagine reaching.
In the end, Kurosaki Ichigo staggered back, breathing hard, face twisted with humiliation.
"Your strength is indeed great. I am no match," he admitted, then forced his voice louder. "But that still doesn't mean you can compare to Hanzo!"
He conceded defeat, but still spoke for Hanzo.
The Hidden Rain jonin felt unexpectedly moved. To find a shinobi like this, he had to recommend him to Hanzo.
The onlookers also watched with respect. Kurosaki Ichigo had lost, but in their eyes, he was still worthy of respect.
Kurosaki Ichigo turned and left without looking back.
The Hidden Rain jonin silently memorized the name.
Sosuke.
Mugetsu's displayed strength was too great. The jonin could not leave yet. He needed to keep investigating.
Back at the edge of the crowd, a rogue ninja suddenly dropped into a respectful posture.
"Ninja Master, please teach me ninjutsu!"
That single shout triggered a chain reaction.
More voices rose, one after another, flattery and desperation mixing together as they began to bow and plead, treating Mugetsu like a master they could not afford to offend.
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