Ninja Master Sosuke had once again made a name for himself, becoming known to countless Ninjas in an extremely short time.
This time was different from before. Previously, it was because Sosuke's alias had such a legendary background that it easily sparked discussion. This time, it was purely due to his strength.
The Ninja world was one where strength ruled above all. The fastest way to gain fame was to defeat a well-known strong opponent—the stronger the defeated opponent, the greater the fame, and the bigger the impact.
Before participating in the Third Great Ninja War, Minato Namikaze was only somewhat famous within Konoha.
But once the war began, everything changed. The new AB duo proved their strength using the corpses of old Ninja legends, while Minato Namikaze single-handedly held his own against the AB duo, demonstrating his power and earning the fearsome reputation of the Yellow Flash on the battlefield.
Of course, defeating someone didn't automatically guarantee fame; timing, circumstances, and personal decisions all mattered.
On the battlefield, it was hard not to gain recognition when accomplishing feats. Mutsuki's chance encounter with Pakura, in which he defeated her without publicizing it, had little impact.
Although Mutsuki did not deliberately promote his alias this time, the "Ninja Sect inheritance" drew too many eyes. His battle with Kakuzu was fought openly and passionately, so news of Mutsuki defeating Kakuzu quickly spread.
The first to learn of it were naturally the strongest local force in the Land of Rain: the Rain Ninja Village.
"He defeated Kakuzu… and maintained the advantage throughout," Hanzo said, a thoughtful expression on his face.
There were not actually many truly powerful Ninjas in the world. Aside from a few hiding in deep mountains, even if their names weren't widely known, everyone knew at least something about one another.
Hanzo had heard the stories of Kakuzu in the black market and knew that his strength was extraordinary.
After all, Kakuzu specifically targeted Ninjas with high bounties. A highly bountied Ninja was either extremely strong or held a special position; if Kakuzu lacked skill, he would have been killed long ago. It was impossible to dominate the black market for decades without real ability.
Hanzo had previously clashed in a battle of presence with Mutsuki and knew he was not a simple Ninja, but he never expected Mutsuki to defeat Kakuzu so quickly.
"Too bad he's not a Ninja of the Rain Ninja Village," Hanzo said, shaking his head with some regret.
Hanzo currently faced a troubling problem: the Rain Ninja Village was in a transitional period.
By ordinary small village standards, the Rain Ninja Village had no problems, but Hanzo always measured himself against the Five Great Ninja Villages. The next leader of the Rain Ninja had to be a top-tier Ninja in the world.
Unfortunately, Hanzo had not seen any young Ninjas in the Rain Ninja Village with the potential to become a top-tier Ninja.
Kurosaki Ichigo, who had recently joined the village, was decent but not yet trustworthy.
"I should be able to maintain for another twenty years; the Rain Ninja Village still has time," Hanzo said, his expression returning to its usual composure.
As one of the pinnacles of the Ninja world, Hanzo had full confidence in himself.
Even though Mutsuki had defeated Kakuzu, Hanzo still considered Mutsuki only an outstanding junior, not a match for him.
Hanzo was not arrogantly baseless. Based on the battle data between Mutsuki and Kakuzu, Mutsuki excelled in Fire Release Ninjutsu, while Hanzo's strongest Ninjutsu happened to counter Fire Release with Water Release. Coupled with his superior combat experience and confidence in his Taijutsu, Hanzo did not consider Mutsuki a match.
Besides the Rain Ninja Village, several neighboring nations and Ninja organizations also learned that Kakuzu had been defeated.
In Konoha, at the Root Base, Danzo, after seeing the latest intelligence on the Land of Rain, swore at Hiruzen for his shortsightedness.
If they strengthened the Ninja forces in the Land of Rain, then they could act directly.
"We must find a way to get hold of the Ninja Heritage," Danzo began thinking about how to smoothly obtain the Ninja Heritage from Mutsuki.
With both the Wood Release Ninja and the Ninja Heritage in his hands, becoming the Fourth Hokage would be practically guaranteed.
However, Danzo currently faced a difficult problem: insufficient power.
The forces he had deployed in the Land of Rain were not enough to seize the Ninja Heritage from Mutsuki.
Mutsuki was not only a strong Ninja capable of defeating Kakuzu, but he also had seventy-two Ninjas following him—a considerable force.
Yet this did not faze Danzo. He quickly devised a countermeasure through perspective thinking.
"I can ally with Hanzo to deal with Sosuke," Danzo thought.
Mutsuki was extremely strong and intended to rebuild the Ninja Heritage. If Danzo were Hokage, having such a Ninja force in the Land of Fire would keep him restless; one cannot allow others to snore at the edge of their bed.
The more Danzo thought, the better he felt about his plan.
Hanzo would eliminate key threats, he would obtain the Ninja Heritage, and everyone would have a bright future.
"I can also take the opportunity to cooperate deeply with the Rain Ninja Village, bringing them into the war and gaining momentum for the future Fourth Hokage election," Danzo nodded with satisfaction.
If his plan succeeded, it would be the best outcome for both him and Konoha.
After perfecting the plan in his mind, Danzo immediately issued orders for his subordinates to begin action.
First, he needed to investigate the relationship between both sides. If things were not as he expected, he would have to stir up some mutual hostility.
Besides assigning tasks to the Root Ninja, Danzo also began thinking of a way to leave Konoha reasonably.
For such a significant matter, he certainly needed to meet Hanzo in person.
...
Land of Earth, Rock Ninja Village, Tsuchikage's office.
Onoki's face showed interest as he received the latest intelligence from the Land of Rain. "Ninja Master Sosuke, Ninja Heritage, interesting."
He wasn't concerned with Mutsuki's legendary experiences; Onoki just had a feeling that this Ninja was someone who knew how to stir things up.
In just over a month, he had gone from obscurity to fame in the Ninja world and had gained a group of followers.
What disappointed Onoki, however, was that Mutsuki was only causing trouble in the Land of Rain. If Mutsuki were active in the other four great nations, Onoki would not hesitate to get involved and escalate things.
In the Land of Rain, Onoki had little interest. Weakening the Rain Ninja Village didn't align with the interests of the Hidden Rock Village.
He also hoped to use the Rain Ninja Village to irritate the Sand and Hidden Cloud.
Although the village's Ninja force had already surpassed ten thousand, Onoki was in no rush to strike hard. He wanted to first exhaust the forces of the other great Ninja villages.
Thus, Onoki continued executing his "troublemaker" plan, provoking conflicts between the various Ninja villages and letting them fight wars.
In a dimly lit cave, Madara frowned as he listened to Black Zetsu's intelligence report.
"Have you investigated this guy called Sosuke?" Madara asked in a deep voice.
Nagato held a pivotal position in his resurrection plan, so having a new powerful figure suddenly appear around Nagato caught Madara's attention.
"We investigated, but found nothing. Maybe this guy really has been training in seclusion as he claims," Black Zetsu shook his head.
In fact, Black Zetsu was even more concerned about Mutsuki than Madara, because Mutsuki had proclaimed the Ninja Heritage and claimed to have obtained the Ninja Heritage succession.
If there was one person Black Zetsu feared most, it was definitely the Six Paths Sage.
Black Zetsu could be considered Kaguya Otsutsuki's third son, essentially the younger brother of the Six Paths Sage.
For that older brother who sealed their mother, Black Zetsu had absolutely no way to act. While the Six Paths Sage was alive, Black Zetsu didn't dare make a move.
If there really was any Ninja Heritage, Black Zetsu would only see it as a contingency left by the Six Paths Sage to prevent Kaguya's resurrection, not as a legacy of Indra and Asura.
Didn't Black Zetsu already know the nature of Indra and Asura? Those two fools weren't worth fearing.
So Black Zetsu seriously sent White Zetsu to investigate Sosuke's past.
But Sosuke seemed to have sprung out of a rock. All the intelligence Black Zetsu could find came directly from Sosuke himself.
Black Zetsu had wondered if this might be a false identity, but there were no traces of transformation Ninjutsu on Mutsuki. Even if the name was fake, something should have been detectable from his appearance.
After a comprehensive investigation, Black Zetsu concluded that Sosuke might really have been training in seclusion all this time, which explained the results of the investigation.
"Strengthen surveillance on Nagato's side," Madara said after pondering.
Right now, he didn't have a better solution. He couldn't just personally go and kill the other party.
Although Madara was confident in his own strength, the years had indeed eroded his body. Killing Mutsuki might shorten his lifespan and affect his overall plans.
However, Madara was not overly worried. Previously, a powerful Ninja had also appeared around Nagato. If Mutsuki didn't know about the Rinnegan, or had no intentions regarding it, then he couldn't pose a significant threat to his plan.
Black Zetsu nodded.
In fact, he had already dispatched White Zetsu to watch Nagato twenty-four hours a day. He was worried that Mutsuki might be a contingency left by the Six Paths Sage.
Black Zetsu even had a wild theory: maybe Mutsuki was the Chakra reincarnation of the Six Paths Sage.
It was possible. Normally, which Ninja would hide away in the mountains to train without emerging for decades, only to come out and immediately work to restore the Ninja Heritage?
But this speculation was too bold, and Black Zetsu also thought the probability was very low. Although the techniques Mutsuki had displayed were impressive, they were still within the normal range.
"Looks like it's time to speed things up a bit," Madara thought, planning to use his arrangements to further destabilize the Ninja world.
Plans can't keep up with changes. To prevent major accidents, Madara wanted to accelerate his plan, so he could rest assured and wait for resurrection.
Mutsuki's defeat of Kakuzu had drawn too much attention. His bounty on the black market skyrocketed, reaching an astonishing forty million ryo.
This was a terrifying number. Converted into S-Rank missions, it could fund forty S-Rank missions in Konoha.
Although his bounty soared, the attacks Mutsuki faced actually decreased. Most bounty Ninja, hearing that Kakuzu, a legendary figure in the black market, had been defeated by Mutsuki, dared not act rashly.
Bounty Ninja loved money, but they also valued their lives. After all, once dead, no amount of money could be spent.
After defeating Kakuzu, Mutsuki's group's rhythm of action didn't change much, except that one more person had joined the team.
Because Kakuzu's body was unusual, Mutsuki specially bought him a long robe so as not to scare ordinary people.
"Why care about ordinary people?" Kakuzu asked, indifferent to what he wore but curious.
"It's just giving the proper respect. Everyone is human; no one is inherently more noble than anyone else," Mutsuki answered seriously.
Kakuzu sneered, "Sounds good, but then why do nobles exist? Aren't they born superior?"
"Nobles are born with lands and privileges. How is that equality?"
All the Ninja looked at Mutsuki, curious about how he would respond.
Among Ninja, this issue wasn't too extreme. Family Ninja might just have more resources and Secret Jutsu than civilian Ninja, but the gap between ordinary civilians and nobles was much greater.
"You're right, which is why I think the system granting privileges to nobles should be abolished," Mutsuki replied with a faint smile.
Kakuzu widened his eyes, staring at Mutsuki. This was not at all the script he had imagined.
Mutsuki had not refuted him; instead, he had said something so "blasphemous."
"Do you even know what you're saying? The Daimyo are the highest nobles," Kakuzu scrutinized Mutsuki, as if seeing him in a completely new light.
In the Ninja world, the Daimyo were the most privileged. Their descendants could enjoy wealth without doing anything, and a single word or action from them could decide the lives and deaths of countless people.
The other Ninja were also staring at Mutsuki in shock. This was absolutely the boldest thing they had ever heard.
"The Ninja Organization I want to establish is not an exact replica of the historical one; it's a new Ninja Organization that learns from past failures," Mutsuki steered the topic back to the organization.
Kakuzu thought Mutsuki would avoid the critical points, and he was about to mock him, but then he realized that Mutsuki's next words were even more explosive.
"Although the Six Paths Sage was far-sighted, the organization he created could not escape the limitations of its era. The most problematic aspect was the adoption of the hereditary system."
Mutsuki had actually started criticizing the Six Paths Sage's flaws.
The Ninjas were all extremely surprised. Up until now, Mutsuki had always praised the historical Ninja Organization and admired the Six Paths Sage.
"We must learn and absorb the good aspects of the Six Paths Sage and the ancient Ninja Organization, but we must also eliminate the bad, and have the courage to boldly critique them."
"No one is exempt from making mistakes. Do not blindly follow someone just because they are an authority. And if one day you find that I am wrong, you can point out my mistakes so I can correct them," Mutsuki said earnestly.
For a moment, Kakuzu didn't know what to say. He could only quietly remember Mutsuki's words, waiting for the day Mutsuki would break them. He did not believe such a person truly existed in the world.
The other seventy-two Ninja also gained a new understanding of Mutsuki.
"Uncle Sosuke makes sense. If I make a mistake in the future, you must point it out immediately. Don't be polite just because I'm the leader," Yahiko said with a smile to his Akatsuki members.
He felt that what Mutsuki said was absolutely correct, but if it were up to him, he would never have thought of such words in his lifetime. Yahiko's respect for Mutsuki grew even deeper.
After that day, the content of Mutsuki's lessons changed slightly. In addition to Ninja knowledge, Mutsuki began integrating knowledge from his previous life with the ancient Ninja Organization and the realities of the Ninja world in his teachings.
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