Chapter 611: Assassination
Amegakure's request for Sōsuke to observe its Chunin Exams did not cause much of a stir within the Shinobi Sect.
Compared to the Shinobi Sect's large-scale lectures and the Youth Martial Arts Tournament that had gathered countless young geniuses from across the Ninja World, Amegakure's Chunin Exams were far too ordinary.
This was not even a joint Chunin Exam. It was merely Amegakure holding its own independent examination.
However, no one paid much attention to that detail. Even if Amegakure had invited the Shinobi Sect to hold the exams together, the Shinobi Sect had no Ninja who could participate.
The Shinobi Sect had only been established recently. The strength and abilities of its Ninja were generally aligned with their current ranks.
The night before Amegakure's Chunin Exams, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato sat in a small pavilion at the Shinobi Sect base, chatting.
"It's been really tiring lately," Yahiko said, stretching both arms above his head.
"It should get much better from now on. Most of the work is already done," Konan said softly.
To prevent other areas of the Land of Rain from falling into chaos again, everyone in the Shinobi Sect had been extremely busy recently.
"Yes, the overall situation has improved," Yahiko said with a smile.
The work was indeed exhausting, but seeing their homeland gradually improve through their efforts made Yahiko feel that it was worth it.
"Nagato, are you going to Amegakure with Teacher Sōsuke tomorrow?" Yahiko suddenly remembered and asked.
Nagato nodded.
In fact, Nagato was the only one from the Shinobi Sect who would truly accompany Mugetsu to Amegakure.
Mugetsu already knew that this was a trap, so there was no reason to bring other Shinobi Sect Ninja along to take risks.
He brought Nagato because Nagato was strong. Even if something unexpected happened, Mugetsu would still be able to escape safely with him.
"Oh no, I actually wanted to go too, but I've been so busy lately that I forgot to tell Teacher Sōsuke," Yahiko said with an annoyed expression.
He wanted to go to Amegakure with Sōsuke, but not for the Chunin Exams. He wanted to meet Hanzo and ask him a few questions.
Hanzo had come to the Shinobi Sect for both the Youth Martial Arts Tournament and the second lecture event, but Yahiko had been busy with all kinds of work at the time and had no chance to speak with him.
Yahiko really wanted to understand Hanzo's true thoughts about the Land of Rain, and whether Hanzo truly desired peace.
When Iwagakure facilitated cooperation between Amegakure and the Shinobi Sect, they claimed that Hanzo had acted against the Shinobi Sect due to a misunderstanding.
But the real reason the Shinobi Sect had been willing to cooperate was not because most of its members believed that explanation. It was because cooperation would allow the Shinobi Sect to develop better and restore peace to the Land of Rain more effectively.
Yahiko had not forgotten Hanzo's icy expression from that day, nor had he forgotten the Kunai used to threaten Sōsuke into suicide.
Based on the intelligence currently available, Yahiko felt that the matter was likely more complicated than a simple misunderstanding.
However, Yahiko also felt that Hanzo should not be a simple, faithless, and cunning Ninja.
Otherwise, those beautiful stories about him would not have spread throughout the Ninja World, and Hanzo would not have so many Ninja in the Land of Rain who worshipped him.
Yahiko could not figure out what kind of person the real Hanzo was, so he wanted to ask him in person.
"Nagato, do you think it would be bad if I went to see Teacher Sōsuke now?"
"Very bad," Nagato confirmed with a nod.
As the only accompanying person, Nagato had already been told by Mugetsu about the danger of this trip.
Although Hanzo had revealed information, he still carried the intention of competing against Mugetsu, and Danzo Shimura would also make a move.
Facing such a situation, Nagato naturally did not want Yahiko to go with them. It would simply be too dangerous.
"Indeed. I'll wait for next time, then." Yahiko scratched his head.
They were leaving tomorrow. Going to see Sōsuke at this time would indeed be improper.
The next day, Mugetsu and Nagato set off together for Amegakure to attend the Chunin Exams.
"When the battle begins, don't think about anything else. Protecting yourself is the most important thing," Mugetsu reminded him on the way.
Uchiha Madara would not personally act against Nagato for the time being, but Danzo was definitely aiming for Nagato's Rinnegan.
"Understood," Nagato nodded seriously.
He knew Mugetsu was strong, so Nagato's role for himself was clear. He needed to take care of himself and avoid becoming a burden to Mugetsu.
Of course, if Mugetsu truly encountered danger and Nagato had the ability to help, he would not hesitate to act.
Amegakure was located in the central part of the Land of Rain, not far from the Shinobi Sect in the south.
Around eleven o'clock, Mugetsu and Nagato arrived near Amegakure.
Mugetsu did not conceal his presence. He and Nagato, along with two of Nagato's Shadow Clones disguised with the Transformation Technique, walked openly along the main road and were quickly discovered by the Rain Ninja.
After receiving the news, Hanzo soon led the Rain Ninja to the village entrance to welcome Sōsuke.
When Mugetsu and Nagato reached the gate of Amegakure, they immediately saw Hanzo standing at the very front.
"Sōsuke, you've arrived," Hanzo greeted him coolly, glancing from the corner of his eye at a Ninja in Rain Ninja attire beside him.
Mugetsu followed Hanzo's gaze.
That Rain Ninja looked no different from any ordinary Rain Ninja, except that his mask was strange. The eyeholes were extremely small, so small one might wonder whether they could even be used to see.
"Hanzo, I'm here," Mugetsu replied with a smile, while appraising the masked Rain Ninja.
[Name: Danzo Shimura]
Looking at the familiar panel, Mugetsu nodded inwardly.
This time, Danzo had taken the initiative to offer him an opportunity. It would be somewhat impolite not to make use of it.
Danzo had no interest in their meaningless conversation. His attention was focused on the Ninja Sōsuke had brought.
"He only brought three Ninja. Should I say he's confident, or that he has no one under him?" Danzo thought, secretly delighted as he saw that aside from Sōsuke and Nagato, only two Shinobi Sect Ninja had come.
The fewer people Sōsuke brought, the more convenient the assassination would be.
Perhaps there would not even be a need for a prolonged fight. A sudden close-range attack might be enough to send this Ninja Master on his way.
"The Six Paths Sage's eyes."
Looking at Nagato's Rinnegan up close, Danzo instantly felt that his Three-Tomoe Sharingan was no longer as attractive.
Nagato felt Danzo's gaze and looked back at him.
"Powerful Chakra. Is he one of today's enemies?" Nagato thought after seeing Danzo's Chakra through the Rinnegan.
After approaching Amegakure, Nagato had already entered a state of vigilance, prepared for a possible attack at any moment.
Danzo shifted his gaze toward Nagato's Shadow Clones, as if he were merely inspecting all the Shinobi Sect Ninja.
"The third stage hasn't begun yet. I'll take you to your resting place first," Hanzo said, then turned to look at the gate of Amegakure.
In an instant, the Rain Ninja behind Hanzo retreated to both sides, clearing a wide path.
Hanzo deliberately slowed his pace, walking side by side with Sōsuke after he stepped forward. Together, they entered Amegakure.
"The time to act is almost here, but Mugetsu still hasn't arrived," Danzo thought as he scanned the surroundings, frowning slightly.
Mugetsu was also an important trump card for him. If Mugetsu did not arrive in time, Danzo would be missing one of his key pieces.
Danzo was anxious. Anxious enough that he wanted to scold Mugetsu, but there was nothing he could do now because Mugetsu was not beside him.
The only thing he could do was wait for Mugetsu to arrive at Amegakure, then find some excuse to reprimand him once everything was over.
Suppressing the impatience in his heart, Danzo followed Hanzo into Amegakure.
Hanzo and Sōsuke walking side by side along Amegakure's main street attracted many gazes.
Some uninformed residents of Amegakure were curious about who Sōsuke was, since he was able to walk shoulder to shoulder with Hanzo.
Although Mugetsu's alias was famous, and many ordinary people had heard of Sōsuke's legends, they did not recognize his face.
Unlike ordinary people, every Rain Ninja in Amegakure recognized that the person walking beside Hanzo was Sōsuke, the leader of the Shinobi Sect.
"Could the village and the Shinobi Sect truly be reconciling completely?" one Rain Ninja could not help wondering.
Both Amegakure's Ninja and the Shinobi Sect's Ninja knew that the treaty between them had been born from mutual compromise, not sincere cooperation between forces of the same country.
Sōsuke's powerful individual strength was enough to threaten Amegakure, while Amegakure's large number of Ninja could hinder the Shinobi Sect's work throughout the Land of Rain.
At present, a considerable portion of Amegakure's Rain Ninja disliked this situation.
They recognized Sōsuke and even admired him. To them, this was nothing more than meaningless internal strife that drained the Land of Rain's strength.
Before the Shinobi Sect had even been established, many Rain Ninja in Amegakure had already held a good impression of Sōsuke because of his conduct.
Later, because their leader Hanzo had taken the lead in spreading negative rumors about Sōsuke, the number of such Rain Ninja decreased.
However, after Sōsuke defeated Hanzo, established the Shinobi Sect, held teaching events, and carried out a series of other actions, the number of Amegakure Ninja who recognized Sōsuke surged once again.
Some Rain Ninja even risked punishment to secretly attend Sōsuke's lectures.
The reasons were simple.
First, Sōsuke was indeed powerful enough to defeat Hanzo even while suffering from an attribute disadvantage.
Second, Sōsuke was the leader of a Ninja force in the Land of Rain, giving people a natural sense of identification with a strong person from their own country.
Third, Sōsuke had charisma and ability, and he truly taught real knowledge.
The fourth reason was related to Hanzo.
Previously, most Rain Ninja in Amegakure had worshipped Hanzo. But Hanzo had not only suffered defeat, he had repeatedly lost to a junior like Sōsuke. With such a comparison, it was difficult for the Rain Ninja not to feel that Sōsuke might be the way forward for the Land of Rain.
Facing the curious gazes of Rain Ninja and civilians, Mugetsu returned a gentle smile.
Perhaps one Rain Ninja was too excited, or perhaps there was some other reason, but someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "Teacher Sōsuke!"
"Teacher Sōsuke!"
Some Rain Ninja instinctively followed.
Seeing someone take the lead, more Rain Ninja joined in, and the sound quickly grew louder.
Hanzo looked at this scene with mixed emotions.
Sōsuke could be sincerely called "Teacher" by people in Amegakure, but would anyone in the Shinobi Sect sincerely address him as Lord Hanzo?
Hanzo felt that there probably would not be.
After all, the Shinobi Sect had almost been annihilated by his hands.
Perhaps only Sōsuke, that magnanimous man who was somewhat unlike a Ninja, would call him Senior Hanzo with a faint trace of teasing.
Danzo looked at the scene with a thoughtful expression.
He remembered that Mugetsu also seemed to be deeply loved by his students. Even the Root Ninja who had been taught by Mugetsu spoke of him with respect.
"Just let Mugetsu train some teachers to conduct special training. He shouldn't be teaching personally," Danzo thought.
Otherwise, if a group of Jonin and Chunin also began calling him "Teacher Mugetsu" like these Rain Ninja were calling Sōsuke, would Danzo's future position as Hokage still be stable?
Nagato looked surprised. He had not expected Mugetsu to be so popular in Amegakure.
Even with Hanzo standing right beside him, they still dared to call him "Teacher."
"Lord Hanzo is here! No loud shouting!"
A Rain Ninja behind Hanzo stepped forward and reprimanded them sternly.
Sōsuke had risen to fame in the Ninja World by stepping over Hanzo. This Rain Ninja could not control what happened outside Amegakure, but within Amegakure itself, he could not allow Sōsuke to act so arrogantly.
The voices immediately quieted down significantly.
They recognized the Rain Ninja who had spoken. He was the captain of Amegakure's Jonin, one of Amegakure's high-ranking Ninja.
Just as the high-ranking Rain Ninja was about to say another word, Hanzo spoke.
"This is not a solemn venue. There is no need for such formality," Hanzo interrupted coolly.
Acting like this made it seem as though he was deliberately trying to intimidate Sōsuke, causing him to lose face in front of Sōsuke for no reason.
The high-ranking Rain Ninja froze, looking at Hanzo in disbelief.
He had not said anything wrong just now, had he? He was speaking up for Hanzo, so why was Hanzo reprimanding him?
Although he felt wronged, the high-ranking Rain Ninja did not retort. He silently retreated behind Hanzo.
Amegakure's situation was different from that of ordinary Ninja Villages. Hanzo held absolute power here, and these so-called high-ranking Rain Ninja were no different from ordinary Rain Ninja in front of him.
The surrounding Rain Ninja stirred, all believing that Amegakure and the Shinobi Sect were truly going to reconcile completely this time.
After walking some distance, Hanzo spoke.
"This was not arranged by me."
"I didn't think it was arranged by you," Mugetsu replied with a chuckle.
He certainly did not believe Hanzo would do something so tasteless.
After all, Hanzo had already exposed Danzo's plan to kill him. There was no need to deliberately do something like this again.
Hanzo said nothing more and continued walking.
As they moved deeper into the village, Mugetsu noticed that the surrounding buildings became increasingly sparse, and pedestrians became rare.
However, Mugetsu was not flustered. His Byakugan and Transparent World were already active.
No one could ambush him, neither Hanzo beside him nor Danzo behind him.
When they reached a desolate area, Mugetsu saw a well-built two-story house.
It looked somewhat eerie, because there was nothing else around it.
"Did you consider my training needs when choosing this place? How thoughtful," Mugetsu said with a smile, looking around.
"You may think of it that way," Hanzo replied expressionlessly.
While the two were speaking, Danzo, who stood behind Sōsuke, gripped the Kunai hidden in his sleeve and quietly closed the distance.
He held his breath, gathered a large amount of Chakra into his arm, then suddenly stabbed toward Sōsuke's heart.
"I got him!"
Looking at Sōsuke, who was still chatting happily with Hanzo, Danzo was overjoyed.
It was as if he could already see the sage art inheritance and the Rinnegan beckoning to him.
.....
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