Chapter 405: Fame in the Ninja World
[Name: Hanzo
Chakra: 130500
Skills: Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 6100/15000), Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 2000/15000), Water Instant Body Technique (Mastery), Fire Release: Exploding Flame Array (Mastery)...]
Among the Kage level powerhouses Mugetsu had appraised, Hanzo was one with relatively few skills. He possessed only two mastery level nature transformations, and most of his ninjutsu were Water Release.
Having fewer skills did not mean Hanzo was weak. His Water Release chakra nature transformation proficiency was not low, and he also had several mastery level Water Release ninjutsu.
Mugetsu, who knew the story's direction well, also understood a strength Hanzo's panel did not fully show.
Poison.
Hanzo had a nin beast called the Salamander, capable of spewing an extremely potent, wide range poison mist. On top of that, Hanzo had a Salamander poison sac implanted in his body, which was why he always wore a mask.
If he did not wear it, the poisonous gas produced by his breathing alone could paralyze those around him.
Mugetsu had to admit it. Hanzo's poison based style somewhat countered the Breathing Technique. Using the Breathing Technique in poisonous gas would only accelerate the invasion of toxins.
Mugetsu had been aware of this drawback from the very beginning, which was why he had been planning improvements. Unfortunately, raising this to a usable level was even harder than developing a brand new Breathing Technique, so progress had been slow.
He had two directions in mind.
The first was alleviation, adding detoxification or poison resistance effects to the Breathing Technique.
The second was a complete cure, changing the Breathing Technique's operating method so it no longer relied on normal breathing at all.
The first path was far simpler than the second, and Mugetsu planned to improve it step by step.
There was also a third option, relying on equipment, like gas masks or oxygen masks.
Equipment was convenient, but it had an obvious weakness. It could be destroyed in combat.
In shinobi battles, even a glancing hit from a jutsu could shatter it.
When Mugetsu returned safely, the anxious hearts of the group finally settled.
No matter what anyone thought of Hanzo personally, for any ninja from the Land of Rain, the first name that came to mind when speaking of a true powerhouse was always the Demigod.
"As Hanzo told me, a bounty has been placed on me," Mugetsu said the moment he rejoined the team. "The black market price has reached 3.5 million ryo. From now on, bounty hunters may come after me."
He looked over the seventy two.
"Some of them may be very strong. That means the road ahead will no longer be safe. There will be real risk."
If it were only a few attackers, Mugetsu was confident he could protect everyone.
But he was not one hundred percent sure he could keep all seventy two alive if ruthless people like Kakuzu were drawn in.
If Kakuzu arrived and chose not to focus only on Mugetsu, but instead attacked the others to distract him, Mugetsu could not protect everyone. At best, he could kill Kakuzu afterward and avenge whoever fell.
"Three million five hundred and fifty thousand ryo…" Ikechou's pupils shrank.
As a wandering ninja, he had never seen that kind of money in his life. He understood exactly how tempting it was.
"If any of you want to leave the team, you can do it now," Mugetsu said plainly. "No one will blame you."
The group exchanged looks, hesitation flickering across many faces.
It was a brutal choice.
Most of them were not strong. If they were, they would not have needed to follow Mugetsu and learn new techniques just to survive.
"Ninja Master Sosuke, do not underestimate the Akatsuki's strength!" Yahiko said with a laugh. "We will protect ourselves, and we will protect you too."
Leaving Nagato aside as an exception, Yahiko and Konan were not weak. Yahiko had no intention of leaving over something like this.
If anything, he wanted to stay closer. He was afraid Mugetsu would run into danger alone.
"My strength is average," one of the ninja said, stepping forward. "I will do my best not to become a burden."
Leaving would be safe, but it would end there.
Staying was different.
Not only could they continue learning from Mugetsu, but even watching him travel the Land of Rain felt like witnessing history being written. Compared to his past life, the man felt he had been living without direction.
After a long struggle, Ikechou made a decision he never would have made before.
He would stay too.
Even Ikechou found it hard to believe. The cautious version of himself he knew would have fled the moment danger appeared.
He thought more deeply than most. A 3.5 million ryo bounty might not immediately attract monsters, but as Mugetsu killed the bounty hunters who came, the bounty would rise higher and higher, turning the road into a slaughterhouse.
He still stayed.
Even he could not fully explain why.
In the end, no one left.
Every single person chose to continue following Mugetsu.
That surprised Mugetsu a little. He had expected at least a few to walk away, especially since these people had not been with him for long.
The bounty did not change Mugetsu's pace.
He continued touring the Land of Rain as before.
When they met bandits, they dealt with them.
When villagers made requests for food, they helped.
For difficult problems, they stayed longer. For simple ones, they moved on quickly.
Step by step, they walked into more and more corners of the country.
"I thought I understood the Land of Rain," Yahiko sighed one day. "But I was wrong."
He had believed he knew this land well. Only after following Mugetsu and visiting village after village did he realize what he knew had been only the surface.
Every town had different struggles. Every village had different conflicts. He had been focused only on peace as an ideal, and now he realized there were disputes in some places that he could not resolve at all.
"But you are learning it now," Mugetsu said, smiling as he patted Yahiko's head.
Mugetsu's main goal was to place Nagato on the system's disciple list. Along the way, he did not mind nurturing a revolutionary.
That afternoon, the group arrived at a new village.
At the entrance, two small children were arguing intensely.
"The sun is closer to people when it first rises than at noon."
"No, no, no. The sun is farther away when it rises than at noon."
"When the sun first rises, it is as big as a wheel, but at noon it is like a plate. Things look smaller when they are far and bigger when they are close."
"The sun feels cool when it first comes out, but it is blazing at noon. Things are hot when close and cool when far."
They glared at each other, neither willing to yield.
One of them noticed Mugetsu and pointed.
"Uncle in white, you look really smart. Who do you think is right?"
Mugetsu made a thoughtful expression and stepped forward, as if preparing to answer.
Whoosh!
The two children suddenly moved.
Kunai flashed into their hands as they lunged for Mugetsu's throat.
"Ninja Master Sosuke, watch out!" someone shouted.
The nearby ninja tried to move, but it was too late.
Bang! Bang!
Two dull impacts rang out.
Mugetsu's fists snapped forward at terrifying speed, smashing into the two attackers and knocking them flat.
The force dispelled their Transformation Technique instantly, revealing their real appearances.
"How is that possible?" one bounty hunter rasped, staring at Mugetsu in disbelief. "He is too fast!"
At that distance, Mugetsu should not have been able to react.
Seeing Mugetsu handle the ambush cleanly, the group finally exhaled. They surged forward, surrounding the two bounty hunters.
Mugetsu only smiled faintly.
He had mastered Transparent World. He possessed sensory ninjutsu. He had the Byakugan.
A normal Transformation Technique, no matter how polished, was never going to fool him.
After interrogating the two and extracting what they knew, Mugetsu killed them without hesitation.
His followers were shocked. It was the first time they had seen Mugetsu take a life.
They had imagined he was the type who would try to pacify enemies with kindness.
"When facing enemies who want to kill us," Mugetsu said calmly, "we can respond in kind."
Mugetsu did not kill often, but if someone came with the intent to take his life, he would never show mercy.
The group nodded, feeling as if they understood him more clearly now.
As the journey continued, the attacks increased.
The bounty hunters came more frequently, and the ones who arrived grew stronger over time.
Yet with Mugetsu, Yahiko, and the others working together, no one in the team died.
Then Mugetsu received worse news from the bounty hunters he defeated.
His bounty was still climbing.
It had already surged to 10 million ryo.
That was within Mugetsu's expectations. The more attackers he defeated, the more credibility the sage art inheritance gained, and the higher the bounty rose.
To strengthen his followers, Mugetsu began assigning weaker bounty hunters to the others. He let them apply what they had learned in real combat.
With attacks growing frequent and battles piling up, the name Ninja Master Sosuke spread even farther, across the Land of Rain and into the wider shinobi world.
The Shinobi Sect also returned to the sight of many ninja.
Even Obito and the others, far away in Konoha, occasionally heard the name.
"Ninja Master Sosuke?" Obito scoffed. "How can he have that title? If anyone deserves it, it is Mugetsu Sensei."
In Obito's eyes, only Mugetsu qualified.
Mugetsu had taught them, several recognized young geniuses. And in terms of scale, Mugetsu had once personally led special training for nearly seven hundred people.
"Do not underestimate him," Kakashi said, shaking his head. He knew more than Obito did. "They say he can rival Hanzo."
Even if it was only rumor, Kakashi felt Sosuke's strength had to be real. Otherwise, Hanzo would not even need to move, because Hanzo's followers alone could have crushed him.
"Strength aside," Kakashi continued, "his ambition is definitely not small, daring to shout about restoring the Shinobi Sect."
Pieces of history surfaced in Kakashi's mind.
When he first met Mugetsu, Mugetsu had mentioned some knowledge tied to the Shinobi Sect. Recently, while researching information about the Six Paths Sage, Kakashi had learned even more.
The Shinobi Sect was the origin of the shinobi.
Establishing a force under that name in the current shinobi world was practically a provocation to every other organization and village.
Danzo was one of the people who felt provoked.
He immediately sought out Hiruzen, wanting to send an elite Konoha squad into the Land of Rain.
"This Sosuke is definitely not simple," Danzo said in a low, heavy voice. "To be safe, Konoha must strengthen its presence in the Land of Rain."
He narrowed his eyes.
"That way, whether this is a scheme by Amegakure or some plot by this Sosuke, we will not be caught passive."
The Land of Rain bordered Konoha, and Danzo believed Konoha's current influence there was not enough to handle the chaos.
"The situation in the Land of Rain is complicated," Hiruzen said, rejecting the proposal outright. "And Konoha is already involved in too many wars. It is not wise to step deeper into it."
Hiruzen had no interest in the so called sage art inheritance. Old did not automatically mean better. New era shinobi refined ninjutsu based on what came before. That was the nature of progress.
He also had another concern.
If Konoha increased its strength in the Land of Rain too openly, it would raise suspicion from Sunagakure.
Right now, the Land of Rain was mainly a battlefield between Sunagakure and Kumogakure, with Iwagakure occasionally stirring trouble.
If Konoha sent more ninja there, Sunagakure might wrongly believe Konoha intended to become an enemy.
"Hiruzen, you are too indecisive," Danzo said darkly. "This might be our chance to break the stalemate."
Danzo could not clearly explain how it would break the stalemate, but that did not stop him from insisting.
Because Hiruzen's refusal was so direct, Danzo felt humiliated. He believed Hiruzen was not taking his advice seriously at all.
"I am the Hokage," Hiruzen said calmly.
As Hokage, his authority was absolute.
When he was in a good mood, he might entertain Danzo's arguments. But when it came to decisions that mattered, he trusted his own judgment.
Danzo's face turned black. He walked to the door without another word.
"Hiruzen, you will regret this."
With that, Danzo slammed the Hokage Office door and left the building.
As he headed back to Root, the more he thought, the angrier he became.
He was angry that Tobirama had chosen Hiruzen as the Third Hokage instead of him.
He was angry that Hiruzen had given him so little respect, even though they had once been classmates.
Most people cooled down after a burst of anger.
Danzo did not.
If Hiruzen refused to give him room, then Danzo would act on his own. Root was not built for nothing.
Danzo immediately issued orders. A portion of Root ninja would head to the Land of Rain. Then he mobilized Root assets outside Konoha to move toward the Land of Rain as well.
If he were not afraid of being discovered by Hiruzen, Danzo would have gone himself.
He was very curious about that sage art inheritance.
…
A ninja with stitches running across his body traded a corpse for a bag of money at an exchange office. He lowered his head and flipped through a bounty book.
"Sosuke. Title: Ninja Master. Capable of fighting with five chakra natures. Bounty: 13 million ryo. Live capture reward: an additional 5 million ryo."
The stitched ninja closed the book and nodded with satisfaction.
"A clean capture for 18 million ryo," he murmured. "That is not bad at all."
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