"How do you feel, Hanzo?" Mokgetsu looked at Hanzo and asked with a smile.
"Geniuses in the Ninja World are like the crucian carp crossing the river," Hanzo commented.
Before coming to watch the competition, Hanzo didn't expect that there would be other ninjas who had a chance to compete with Nagato for the championship. After all, Nagato is a genius with the Sage Eye.
Now, what keeps Hanzo watching the competition is seeing Nagato lose, then taking the opportunity to observe Sosuke's expression.
Among the top eight, only Nagato remains a ninja of the Ninja Sect. If Nagato doesn't make it to the top four, the Ninja Sect will have to give out all the rewards.
"It's just a pity there are no Rain Village ninjas," Kakuzu added.
Hanzo's face quickly darkened; there's no need to emphasize such things.
"As we're partners, Hanzo, I'll point you in the right direction. Now the Ninja Sect is taking on the cultivation of ninjas. If your Rain Ninja can't teach, you can spend money to let others teach," Kakuzu stated his purpose.
There's nothing else; it's just to exploit the gold coins of the Rain Village, and later solve the Rain Village with simpler methods that won't cause turmoil in the Land of Rain.
"Our Ninja Sect didn't have the time for this, but the Hidden Rock Village offered a high-priced commission, that's why we started this business."
"So that's how it is. No wonder there are so many Hidden Rock working in Six Paths City," Hanzo realized.
It's hard to deny that Kakuzu's words indeed have some persuasive power, having peers from the Hidden Rock Village of the Five Great Ninja Villages and backed by the reputation of Ninja Master Sosuke.
"No need to trouble the members of the Ninja Sect for now." Hanzo refused.
Even though it sounds great, it would easily allow spies from the Ninja Sect to infiltrate the Rain Ninja.
Kakuzu didn't insist, and Hanzo's rejection ended the discussion.
He had anticipated this, as Hanzo didn't seem foolish, unlikely to agree easily.
He was just laying the groundwork; such matters can't be accomplished in just a day or two.
...
Due to Milotic's elegant and beautiful appearance, when Nohara Rin went to the audience stands, many people chased after her asking where to buy Milotic, including not only wealthy merchants and nobles but also quite a few ninjas.
Because Milotic had proven itself in battle not to be just a pretty face; it had both looks and immense strength.
But Milotic's egg was given by Mokgetsu, and Nohara Rin hadn't asked Mokgetsu where the egg was obtained, so naturally, she had no way of answering others' questions.
Seeing today's martial arts tournament was over, and finding it unbearably annoying, Nohara Rin ran over to Mokgetsu's side.
"Her ninja beast is something I got by chance. If you're interested, you can go look for it, but I wouldn't recommend it as I've already looked." Mokgetsu casually mentioned a remote area to brush them off.
The famous Blazing Sun Mokgetsu's personal explanation immediately deterred anyone from pestering Nohara Rin further.
"Young lady, your name is Nohara Rin, right? I'm very interested in that ninja beast. I'm willing to pay fifty million ryo to buy it. What do you think?" the Daimyo of the Land of Fire decided to leverage his financial power.
The Daimyo of the Land of Rain initially wanted to buy from Nohara Rin as well, but closed his mouth when the Daimyo of the Land of Fire spoke.
"Daimyo-sama, I'm sorry, Little Mei is very important to me, something money can't measure," Nohara Rin unhesitatingly refused the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's offer.
Nohara Rin never had a desire for money, so she certainly wouldn't trade her precious companion for something like that.
Moreover, Nohara Rin didn't feel she had the right to buy and sell Milotic, as Milotic and she were equals.
"How about ninety million ryo?" The Daimyo of the Land of Fire thought the money wasn't enough, so he nearly doubled the price.
Yet, Nohara Rin still wasn't the slightest bit swayed and immediately refused again.
"In that case, there's no way around it. I hope Mokgetsu, you can help me keep an eye out for any more similar ninja beasts. My offer will remain the same," the Daimyo of the Land of Fire said to Mokgetsu.
Since Nohara Rin won't give it to him, he had no choice left but to hope Mokgetsu, the one who found it, would pay more attention, and then post an S-level task for capturing ninja beasts in Konoha.
Mokgetsu nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, larger nations are wealthier," Mokgetsu thought to himself.
If Kakuzu heard what the Daimyo of the Land of Fire said, Mokgetsu estimated that Kakuzu might transform into Milotic himself to claim the prize money.
It's a whopping ninety million ryo, valued at two and a half Asumas.
"Teacher Mokgetsu." Obito and the others who had left the contestants' rest area greeted Mokgetsu.
Mokgetsu responded to each with a smile, then looked toward a particular direction.
Sasori walked expressionlessly for a while, then naturally changed direction; as he turned, his brow furrowed tightly.
"So Blazing Sun Mokgetsu is here too, and he seems to be Hatake Kakashi's teacher," Sasori instantly felt that the difficulty of killing Kakashi had increased by another level.
Even while roaming everywhere, Sasori had heard some stories about Blazing Sun Mokgetsu.
Just the briefest glance told Sasori that Mokgetsu wasn't someone with an empty reputation.
He had already tried his best to hide himself, using only the corner of his eyes to observe, yet Mokgetsu had still noticed him immediately.
"I need to conduct more investigation and research on this place," Sasori understood that now was not the time for assassination and decided to familiarize himself with Six Paths City first.
Even though his opponents included renowned warriors like Blazing Sun Mokgetsu and geniuses like Might Guy and Shisui, Sasori still believed he could kill Kakashi. He had no doubt about his abilities.
The so-called strongest Kazekage, Third Kazekage, was killed by his assassination; no matter how strong Blazing Sun Mokgetsu is, he couldn't be stronger than the Third Kazekage.
"Is there something over there?" Obito followed Mokgetsu's gaze but found nothing, so he asked in confusion.
"Nothing," Mokgetsu replied with a faint smile.
Even though it was a Shadow Clone, he just couldn't identify the data on Sasori, but Sasori hiding in front of him was just a dream.
He didn't need to authenticate because Sasori's data had already been viewed by Mokgetsu's main body during registration.
Mokgetsu held two major goals in hosting the youth martial arts tournament: one was to solve the Ninja Sect's financial problems, and the second was to train his disciples.
To prevent any outrageous characters from appearing, Mokgetsu assessed every competitor.
Sasori thought he hid well, but in reality, Mokgetsu merely felt that Sasori didn't require his main body's direct handling.
"Rin, your last battle was really amazing, you almost won in such circumstances," Obito turned to look at Nohara Rin, discussing the second round of combat with excitement.
"Not as exaggerated as you say, Obito, it was mainly Little Mei exerting herself," Nohara Rin acknowledged her own limitations.
"But Little Mei is your Summoning Beast, its strength is your strength," Obito said matter-of-factly.
Obito now genuinely felt a bit envious of Nohara Rin; fellow evolved ninja beasts, he sensed Milotic could knock out Charmeleon with a single tail strike.
Whether in size or raw strength, Charmeleon was no match for Milotic.
Kakashi showed a disappointed expression, he had thought Obito would continue calling Milotic a creamy big water snake, imagining interesting scenarios.
"Rin, can you tell me about the details of Little Mei's evolution?" Shisui wanted to learn excellent cultivation experiences from Nohara Rin.
"Sure," Nohara Rin readily agreed.
PS: Today, I'm feeling a bit drowsy and not in the best state of mind; this chapter is 7k, which is slightly less than the usual 8k double-chapter, but it should still qualify as a big chapter.
Furthermore, please vote for this month's ticket.