Chapter 627: I Think You Look Like the Fourth Hokage
"Hm?!"
When Hiruzen clearly heard Mugetsu's words, the displeasure on his face instantly turned into shock. He ignored the fact that Mugetsu had entered without knocking and stood up at once.
"What do you mean, you 'seem' to have developed Wood Release? Success is success, failure is failure."
Wood Release was different from an ordinary Bloodline Limit. It was the Bloodline Limit that had only ever appeared in the God of Shinobi, giving it a unique significance.
If Mugetsu had truly developed Wood Release, then Hiruzen would have to overturn his previous arrangements for him.
Mugetsu silently formed hand seals, condensed Wood Release Chakra, and a tender green branch suddenly sprouted from the wooden desk in Hiruzen's office.
The moment the branch appeared, Hiruzen's pupils sharply contracted. He could not help leaning forward to examine the green branch closely.
For an office desk that had already been turned into finished furniture to suddenly grow a branch was not scientific at all, but it was very much like something a Ninja could do.
Looking at the seemingly vibrant branch, Hiruzen felt a storm surge through his heart.
"He actually succeeded!" Hiruzen found it almost unbelievable.
Even though Mugetsu's displayed genius had already surpassed his own, Hiruzen was still deeply shocked.
Because this was Wood Release, the Bloodline Limit unique to the God of Shinobi. It had not appeared once in the several decades since the God of Shinobi's era. Even looking back hundreds of years, there had still been no trace of Wood Release.
No matter how much of a genius Mugetsu was, could he truly compare to Senju Hashirama, who stood alone before and after his time?
However, the fact that Mugetsu had successfully developed Wood Release was right in front of him. Now, Hiruzen had to consider one possibility.
Why could Mugetsu not become the next Senju Hashirama?
Senju Hashirama had Wood Release, and now Mugetsu had it too.
Senju Hashirama had been a powerful figure who shook the Ninja World in his youth, and Mugetsu was already known throughout the Ninja World as Raging Sun Mugetsu.
So why could Mugetsu not become the next Senju Hashirama?
Hiruzen's emotions surged. Based on Mugetsu's current performance, even if he could not become the second Senju Hashirama, there was still a high chance that he would become stronger than Hiruzen himself.
To surpass Hiruzen in his prime meant standing unrivaled in the current era, especially since there was no Uchiha Madara in this era.
"This should be Wood Release, right?" Mugetsu asked, releasing the hand seals.
"That's right. This is Wood Release!" Hiruzen said with certainty.
As he spoke, a hint of kindness appeared in Hiruzen's eyes and brows. The way he looked at Mugetsu softened in a way it never had before.
Those eyes, that nose, that hair...
The more Hiruzen looked at Mugetsu, the more he seemed like the Fourth Hokage.
"Although I had confidence in you, Mugetsu, I'm still shocked to see you actually develop Wood Release. Your talent has already surpassed mine and is approaching the First Hokage's," Hiruzen said with a sigh.
To produce another Wood Release Ninja, the descendants of the Senju Clan had diligently trained in the hope of awakening Wood Release, while Konoha's official channels had spent a great deal of manpower and resources researching Hashirama cells, trying to unravel the secret of the First Hokage's Wood Release.
Unfortunately, all of it had been in vain, with no results to show for it.
Yet Mugetsu, simply by relying on the information left behind by Senju Hashirama, had developed Wood Release on his own.
Sometimes, trying to plant flowers made them refuse to bloom, while casually planting a willow caused it to grow into shade.
"Not at all. I only happened to catch a flash of inspiration and was fortunate enough to master Wood Release," Mugetsu said, shaking his head slightly.
When Hiruzen said Mugetsu had surpassed him, it was a compliment, but Mugetsu could not directly accept it. Otherwise, it would seem somewhat disrespectful.
There was quite a difference between saying it yourself and having someone else say it.
"Was mastering Ice Release also by chance?" Hiruzen asked in a joking tone.
"Perhaps my flashes of inspiration are just a little more frequent than the average person's."
"Haha, well, isn't that your special talent?" Hiruzen stroked his beard and chuckled as he sat back down.
After speaking, Hiruzen remembered something and asked, "How has the Training Squad's work been going recently?"
"The teaching is progressing very smoothly. We should see preliminary results within two months," Mugetsu replied.
"Mm. With you as the captain of the Training Squad, Mugetsu, I'm very relieved. However, don't overwork yourself. Setting aside time for your own improvement is also important," Hiruzen said with a benevolent expression.
If Konoha could produce another Senju Hashirama, then that would be far more meaningful than Root, or even an enhanced Root.
Because of that, Hiruzen now hoped Mugetsu would spend more time improving himself.
"I will," Mugetsu nodded.
Just as Mugetsu was saying farewell to Hiruzen and preparing to leave the Hokage's office, he stopped, turned around, and said apologetically, "My apologies, Sandaime-sama. I was too excited just now and forgot to knock."
Hiruzen smiled and shook his head, indicating that he did not mind.
If Mugetsu could truly become the next Senju Hashirama, Hiruzen would accept it even if he never knocked when entering the Hokage's office from now on.
However, he felt that Mugetsu would definitely not do that.
After all, Mugetsu was not Danzo.
"The second Wood Release Ninja..." Looking at Mugetsu's departing back, Hiruzen could not help recalling Senju Hashirama's mighty power, clapping his hands once and instantly creating a vast forest.
In Hiruzen's eyes, the news that Mugetsu had developed Wood Release was even more important than the war intelligence Minato had sent back.
The deterrent power of a second Senju Hashirama was far greater than that of any Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.
After leaving the Hokage Building, Mugetsu returned home.
Normally, Mugetsu would go directly to the Training Squad, but Minato now needed to learn Wind Breathing, so Mugetsu had to set aside some of his free time for teaching.
Mugetsu first spent an hour explaining the theory to Minato in his living room, then made lunch. After they finished eating, he took Minato to the Training Ground to practice.
Minato had good Breathing Technique talent, and he had already cultivated Basic Breathing to the Constant State, giving him an excellent foundation. Because of that, he picked things up very quickly.
Coupled with Mugetsu's teaching and guidance, his proficiency rose rapidly. He quickly mastered Wind Breathing and continued making fast progress.
"This really is an incredible secret Jutsu. Perhaps you'll leave a profound mark in the history of Ninjutsu because of this secret Jutsu, Mugetsu," Minato said with a smile.
In Minato's view, Mugetsu had created an entirely new type of secret Jutsu.
Each Breathing Technique had its own characteristics and was incredibly powerful, enough that Ninja clans could adopt them as inherited secret Jutsu.
"Sometimes, leaving too many names isn't necessarily a good thing," Mugetsu thought of some gacha games from his previous life that turned historical figures into women.
Let alone people, even ships could be gender-bent and placed into the gacha pool.
Although he had played games in his previous life, the thought that he might become one of those characters made Mugetsu feel a little uncomfortable.
If it was something like, "No way, Raging Sun Mugetsu is still shady?" then it might be somewhat acceptable.
"I don't think so," Minato said, looking a little confused.
He thought that as long as someone was not like Uchiha Madara, defecting and then inexplicably trying to destroy Konoha, leaving one's name in history should be a good thing.
Mugetsu did not explain. He only smiled and continued his instruction.
Explaining gacha mobile games to someone who had never even played a video game would be far too difficult.
However, given Konoha's current technological level, Mugetsu felt that smartphones and similar things should be developed within a hundred years.
Since it was so close to his era, no one should make him into a game character. As for what happened later, he had no way of knowing.
Since he did not need to teach the regular members that afternoon, and only needed to teach the squad leaders and above from the Training Squad in the evening, Mugetsu taught until dinner time.
Finally, after having dinner with Minato, he headed to the Training Squad.
When he discovered that Shisui was still at the Training Squad, Mugetsu called him to the captain's office.
"Shisui, you don't need to attend the Darkness Breathing Technique class at night anymore. It's a bit of a waste of your time," Mugetsu said.
After all, Shisui had been practicing Breathing Techniques for several years and had already mastered Flame Breathing. Learning the Darkness Breathing Technique, a degraded version of the Breathing Technique, was too simple for him.
"Wouldn't it look bad if I'm the only one?" Shisui voiced his concern.
He was worried his actions might affect Mugetsu's reputation. After all, everyone else attended except him.
"No. I'll explain the situation. If anyone else meets the standard for the Darkness Breathing Technique, then they won't have to attend either," Mugetsu explained.
His evening classes for these squad leaders were originally meant to quickly raise their Darkness Breathing Technique level. If someone's level was already sufficient, then there was no point attending class.
"Don't overthink it. You'll only put unnecessary pressure on yourself," Mugetsu said, patting Shisui's head.
He felt that Obito and Shisui could balance each other out and average things nicely.
"Thank you, Teacher Mugetsu," Shisui nodded gratefully.
Saving this time would be good, whether he used it to read and enrich himself or to continue training.
After returning home, Shisui thought for a moment, then headed to Fugaku's house.
He was not going to see Fugaku, but to see Itachi.
Recently, he had been busy with the Training Squad and had not visited Itachi for some time.
To instill proper values in Itachi through steady influence, Shisui had set a goal for himself to see Itachi at least once every two weeks.
After politely greeting Fugaku and his wife, Shisui walked toward Itachi.
"Big Brother Shisui," Itachi greeted him happily.
Although Shisui had not come to find him recently, they had never had a fixed meeting schedule in the first place. So, when Itachi saw Shisui, his joy far outweighed any displeasure.
"I've been busy with work recently. I only had free time today," Shisui explained.
"What kind of work?"
"Classified work. I can't talk about it."
"Then can you tell me a story? That shouldn't be classified."
"Sure. Where did I leave off last time?"
"You were talking about going on a bandit subjugation mission."
...
Land of Water, Mizukage Building.
"Kumogakure's forces and the Konoha Ninja Force are fighting a major battle in the Land of Hot Springs." The Third Mizukage looked at the latest intelligence regarding Konoha, a faint smile playing on his lips.
At this moment, he could only say that it was Kumogakure as expected.
Once they moved, they caused a huge stir. First, they broke through the Land of Fire's defenses, then they clashed head-on with Konoha's border force.
Unlike Iwagakure, which kept dragging its feet and had not even managed to break through the Land of Fire's defenses.
"In that case, perhaps Yagura can act directly now," the Third Mizukage said thoughtfully.
Originally, he had planned to observe for a while longer, but after thinking it over, if Hidden Mist acted now, it might encourage Kumogakure to intensify their efforts or draw other Great Shinobi Villages into the chaos.
The Third Mizukage closed his eyes. After a period of deep thought, he picked up his pen and began writing orders.
It would be very difficult for Hidden Mist to defeat Konoha alone, so they had to seize the opportunity.
Furthermore, this surprise attack carried risk, but compared to the possible gains, the risks were smaller. It was a cost-effective move.
Other Great Shinobi Villages might fear being stabbed in the back by the major Ninja Villages still watching from the sidelines, but Hidden Mist had no such worries.
Because for other Ninja Villages to attack Hidden Mist, they would first have to travel by boat for a long time. The major Ninja Villages located inland were not skilled in naval warfare, making it difficult for them to invade the Land of Water.
Even if Hidden Mist miscalculated and suffered another defeat, they would only lose the Ninja killed in battle.
The Third Mizukage's orders quickly reached Yagura, who had only recently arrived in the Land of Waves.
Yagura held the secret letter from the Third Mizukage in his right hand, while his left hand clenched into a fist. A trace of excitement flashed across his face.
The opportunity had come faster than he had imagined. He had thought he would have to stay in the Land of Waves for two or three months.
"Hayate Mugetsu, this time, I absolutely won't end up as miserable as last time," Yagura thought to himself.
During the last Hidden Mist night raid, just when it had seemed they held the advantage, Mugetsu first unleashed a Ninjutsu that could turn night into day and suppress Water Release. Then he killed Hidden Mist powerhouses on the battlefield, reversing the entire situation.
This time, Yagura had specifically consulted Hidden Mist's secret Jutsu scrolls and found a method to create rainy weather using Chakra.
If Mugetsu used that Scorching Sun Ninjutsu again, Yagura would activate his secret Jutsu to change the weather to overcast rain.
Even if he could not completely cancel the opponent's Ninjutsu, he could at least offset part of its effect.
"Assemble the forces. Prepare to invade the Land of Fire!" Yagura gathered the Jonin under his command, explained the attack plan, and finally shouted the order sternly.
"Yes, Lord Yagura!" The Jonin nodded in agreement. After leaving the meeting room, they quickly began making arrangements for their respective subordinates.
Soon, the ships carrying Hidden Mist's Ninja forces sailed in full force toward the Land of Fire.
The people of the Land of Waves, meanwhile, let out sighs of relief. They had thought Hidden Mist was going to fight a war there.
They were already a poor, small island nation with limited resources. If they were engulfed by war again, life truly would not be worth living.
Last time, Yagura had chosen to land in the southern part of the eastern coast. The southeast was an underdeveloped region of the Land of Fire, not highly valued, and its defensive forces were fewer.
This time, Yagura chose the northeastern coastal region as his landing point.
This involved the core reason why the Third Mizukage had chosen to dispatch troops at this moment.
The Third Mizukage did not intend to attack Konoha's homeland in a single surprise assault. He wanted everyone to see a Konoha that was gradually weakening.
A little farther north from Yagura's landing point was the conflict zone between Kumogakure and Konoha in the Land of Hot Springs.
To prevent their own Ninja Force from being ambushed from behind, Konoha would inevitably rush to send troops to block Hidden Mist.
At that point, the Hidden Mist forces would not engage Konoha head-on. Instead, they would use guerrilla warfare and maneuver around them.
Their main goal was to exhaust Konoha's energy and draw other Ninja Villages into the fray.
Fighting Konoha together would be best, but fighting others was also acceptable. For Hidden Mist, neither outcome was bad.
The muddier the waters on the continent became, the more chaotic the situation grew. And the fiercer the fighting became, the more advantageous it would be for Hidden Mist.
.....
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