Chapter 635: Hokage Assistant Mugetsu
Mugetsu gave Yagura a light round of treatment before returning to the battlefield with his disciples.
When he had used No Thought Strike earlier, he had deliberately aimed away from a vital point. Because of that, Yagura had not died. He was only heavily injured.
However, Yagura was the only one who survived. The other Mist Ninja who had escaped with him were all dead.
Obito and the others did not have the luxury of holding back. They had attacked to kill, so naturally, it was difficult to leave anyone alive.
"Commander Mugetsu, is this Yagura? You captured him alive?" Mimurabe Ketsu hurriedly asked, staring at the Yagura that Mugetsu was carrying.
Capturing a powerhouse like Yagura alive was extremely difficult.
With Yagura's strength and status, he certainly knew many secrets of Kirigakure. Most of the time, someone like him would rather die in battle than be captured alive by an enemy village.
After all, once captured, what awaited him might be ten times more painful than death.
But high difficulty also meant greater benefits. Capturing Yagura alive meant they could interrogate him for Kirigakure's secrets, or use him as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Kirigakure.
"Yes," Mugetsu nodded.
After witnessing Mugetsu defeat a thousand-man Ninja force alone, Mimurabe Ketsu was not too surprised this time. He only felt that Mugetsu was meticulous and reliable in everything he did.
"Even if he had brought only a hundred people, I'm afraid the result of this battle wouldn't have changed," Mimurabe Ketsu sighed inwardly.
When they had first set out, he had thought Mugetsu did not understand tactics. After the battle ended, he realized he was the one who did not understand Mugetsu.
With the vast majority of the Hidden Mist force unconscious on the ground and their commander captured alive by Mugetsu, the tense mood of the Konoha force instantly relaxed.
When they first saw the Hidden Mist force, which had outnumbered them by nearly twice their number, some Konoha Ninja had felt as if their lives were flashing before their eyes.
"What kind of relationship could Lord Mugetsu have with the First Hokage? Distant relatives?" Some Konoha Ninja could not help stealing glances at Mugetsu, trying to find similarities between him and Hashirama Senju.
Although Mugetsu's surname was not Senju, no one could rule out the possibility that his mother or grandmother had some connection to the Senju Clan.
Both of them used Wood Release. On top of that, for Mugetsu to possess such powerful strength at his age, it was hard not to think of the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.
It was as if he were the next Hashirama Senju, the next God of Shinobi.
Of course, they were only thinking about it. No one actually asked him.
A while later, Teacher Chen hurried over with his unit, his expression as if he were facing a powerful enemy.
Teacher Chen, taking the lead, used the Body Flicker Technique to rush forward, only to see Mist Ninja lying all over the ground while Konoha Ninja were cleaning up the battlefield.
Teacher Chen froze.
What was this?
Wasn't this supposed to be a highest-level crisis? Where was the crisis?
He had already prepared himself to lead Might Guy and break through an encirclement, yet this was what he saw.
Teacher Chen's unit was also briefly confused. Some of the Ninja among them had participated in the previous battle and thought they had fallen into a trap again, just like last time.
Then, Teacher Chen noticed something unusual. There were many strangely shaped trees here, as well as vines that were unnaturally long and thick.
"This is the First Hokage's Wood Release Ninjutsu!"
Memories from the early days of Konoha's founding gradually surfaced in Teacher Chen's mind.
His seniority far surpassed Mimurabe Ketsu's, and he had personally witnessed Hashirama Senju take action.
Although this was not as shocking as the Wood Release in his memories, there was no doubt that this was Wood Release.
"Apologies, Deputy Commander Chen. I misjudged the strength of the enemy and our own strength this time. We did not encounter any danger. The Hidden Mist force has already been defeated," Mimurabe Ketsu explained, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
At the time, when he saw so many Mist Ninja rushing out while Mugetsu had yet to make a move, he immediately ordered the signal flare to be fired. In the end, it turned out that Mugetsu's strength had exceeded his imagination.
"But you arrived at the right time. We captured a large number of Mist Ninja this time, and we need to combine our forces to control them more securely."
Strictly speaking, the signal flare still needed to be fired. It was just that the wrong type had been used.
"Did someone use Wood Release Ninjutsu?" Teacher Chen looked around, and his gaze finally landed on Mugetsu, who was speaking with his disciples.
Although Mugetsu had never displayed Wood Release Ninjutsu before, among the Konoha Ninja present, only Mugetsu had the strength to unleash such a large-scale Ninjutsu.
"It was Commander Mugetsu," Mimurabe Ketsu nodded.
"The victory in this battle is almost entirely due to Commander Mugetsu. He defeated most of the Mist Ninja alone and even captured the commander of the Hidden Mist force, Yagura, alive."
Teacher Chen looked at Mugetsu in amazement.
Although he had already suspected it, learning the truth still shocked him. This was the Bloodline Limit of the God of Shinobi, yet it had quietly reappeared just like that.
Because they needed to report the intelligence to Konoha and wait for further orders from the Konoha high command, the combined unit camped nearby to rest.
The Konoha Ninja who had seen Mugetsu use Deep Forest Emergence excitedly recounted how Mugetsu had turned the tide of the battle alone, calling him the next God of Shinobi.
Soon, all sixteen hundred Konoha Ninja in the unit knew about Mugetsu's heroic performance in the battle.
"Teacher Mugetsu, what elements do you think someone would need in order to defeat you?" Kakashi thought for a moment before asking Mugetsu.
He felt that rather than guessing blindly, it would be better to make his judgment based on information Mugetsu provided. That way, he would be less likely to worry over nothing.
"First, they would need Chakra reserves far exceeding mine. Then, they would need extremely rich combat experience," Mugetsu replied.
Mugetsu had too many powerful skills. With the same amount of Chakra, he held an enormous advantage. However, because he was a transmigrator, combat experience was still his weak point.
"They would also need to master several powerful Ninjutsu and some unique secret techniques. On top of that, they would need a way to restrict me from leaving with the Flying Thunder God," Mugetsu analyzed one condition after another.
With his current strength, if he did not want to die and did not deliberately seek out trouble, it would truly be very difficult for him to die.
Kakashi revealed a thoughtful expression.
Based on the conditions Mugetsu had given, even the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages could not fully meet all of them. After all, how could anyone restrict the Flying Thunder God?
Could it be that Mugetsu would encounter a Ninja force led by a Kage and refuse to use the Flying Thunder God in order to protect his comrades, ultimately sacrificing himself?
...
Konoha Village.
Hokage Building, conference room.
The three Konoha higher-ups wore grim expressions. After their discussion, the room fell into a brief silence.
Hiruzen frowned, his pipe held in his mouth as he continuously exhaled clouds of smoke.
Konoha's current situation was truly like a leaking roof being battered by rain, while a broken boat was struck by headwinds.
They had only just suffered a defeat against the Hidden Mist, and now Iwagakure was beginning to cause trouble as well. A large number of Iwa troops were pouring into the Land of Grass, attempting to break through the borders of the Land of Fire.
Although Jiraiya had held off the Iwa force, he had not defeated them either.
That meant Konoha was now fighting on three fronts. If they could not break the stalemate quickly, Konoha would not be able to endure this kind of attrition.
"There aren't many forces left inside Konoha Village right now. If we send more troops to support Jiraiya, the Hidden Mist might seize the chance to attack Konoha directly," Koharu said, breaking the silence.
Homura nodded. As the main base, Konoha was undoubtedly the most important place to protect.
Hiruzen took the pipe from his mouth and rubbed his temples.
The logic was sound, but dragging things out was not a solution either.
"Now we can only wait and see when Mugetsu can produce results," Homura said.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, someone knocked on the conference room door.
"Enter," Hiruzen said in a deep voice.
Normally, high-level meetings were not to be interrupted. Since someone had come anyway, it had to be something important.
Hiruzen only hoped it was not news of Sunagakure declaring war on Konoha. If that happened, Konoha would truly be pushed into a desperate situation.
With a creak, an Anbu quickly pushed open the wooden door and entered the conference room to report.
"Sandaime-sama, Advisor Homura, Advisor Koharu, urgent intelligence from the East Coast Battlefield!"
Hearing that it was intelligence from the East Coast Battlefield, Hiruzen quickly picked it up and read it.
Both the Land of Grass and the Land of Hot Springs were locked in fierce battles, but the most important battlefield was still the one within the Land of Fire itself.
"We were just talking about Mugetsu, and now Mugetsu has brought us excellent news."
Looking at the intelligence sent back by Mugetsu, the worry on Hiruzen's face gradually vanished. It was replaced first by shock, then finally by a smile.
It had not even been half a month since Mugetsu had set out. Hiruzen had thought that Mugetsu might have won a small victory, perhaps gaining an advantage in one area.
After reading the report, he realized that Mugetsu had achieved a complete victory. He had even captured more than half of the Hidden Mist force, an unprecedented feat. Even Yagura had been captured by Mugetsu.
Hiruzen placed the pipe back into his mouth, took a shallow puff, exhaled a cloud of white smoke, and felt his burden lighten considerably.
Although this was only one battle, Mugetsu's victory was incredibly crucial.
It was not only because the Hidden Mist had invaded the Land of Fire, but also because Mugetsu's results were too significant.
With more than a thousand captured Mist Ninja and Yagura himself in their hands, Konoha could fully negotiate with the Hidden Mist. Even demanding war reparations would not be excessive.
For a long time to come, Konoha would no longer need to worry about a Hidden Mist invasion. They would only need to face two opponents, Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
"What good news is it?" Homura asked curiously when he saw such a drastic change in Hiruzen's mood after reading the intelligence.
Hiruzen smiled and handed the intelligence over.
As Homura read, his expression became rather interesting. There was surprise, joy, and a hint of embarrassment.
He was surprised that Mugetsu had achieved a great victory in such a short time, happy about the large number of captives, and embarrassed because Mugetsu had used a strategy similar to his own. Yet Mugetsu had achieved a complete victory, while he had been heavily injured and defeated.
"It is indeed good news. For Konoha, it couldn't be better," Homura exclaimed.
Seeing Homura react this way, Koharu became interested and asked him for the intelligence.
After reading it, Koharu was shocked and could not help asking, "Is Mugetsu's Wood Release training speed truly this fast? He can already defeat most of the Mist Ninja by himself with Wood Release?"
She remembered that Hiruzen had previously said Mugetsu had only recently developed Wood Release and needed time to consolidate and train it. How was he already using it to dominate a battlefield?
"Mugetsu is not an ordinary Ninja, after all. He has profound understanding of other Nature Transformations and Ninjutsu," Hiruzen quickly found a reason to explain it.
For a Ninja, training one's first Nature Transformation and training a new one after already mastering several were completely different matters. The latter progressed far more quickly.
Chakra training had many common points. Even between different Nature Transformations, experience could be borrowed, and Ninjutsu practice was even more like that.
Because Mugetsu's image had always been that of a rule-breaking genius, Hiruzen did not overthink it.
He wished Mugetsu could be even stronger. Ideally, he would grow to the level of Hashirama Senju within a year, allowing Konoha to return to its peak.
Unfortunately, that was impossible. Even Hashirama Senju had not become the God of Shinobi at Mugetsu's current age.
"Since Mugetsu has achieved such a major result, we can contact the Hidden Mist for negotiations. At the same time, we can transfer Mugetsu to the Iwagakure battlefield to support Jiraiya. That should resolve the current deadlock," Homura quickly said.
Although such an arrangement would be rather exhausting for Mugetsu, it was the optimal solution.
Hiruzen and Koharu both agreed with Homura's idea.
"After Mugetsu returns from the Iwagakure battlefield, let him fill the vacant position of Hokage Assistant," Hiruzen suddenly said.
Unless a major accident occurred, Hiruzen intended to pass the position of Hokage to Mugetsu.
Letting Mugetsu gain experience as Hokage Assistant first would make the future succession smoother and avoid unexpected mishaps.
Koharu subconsciously wanted to refuse. Mugetsu was so young, so how could he hold such an important position as Hokage Assistant?
But thinking of the intelligence she had just read, Koharu finally closed her mouth and said nothing.
"Mugetsu is indeed capable. His achievements are enough to convince the masses," Homura nodded in approval.
After all, Mugetsu had already accumulated many war merits, both large and small. This time, he had even made an extraordinary contribution. Only the Sannin could suppress Mugetsu with seniority.
But Mugetsu had Hiruzen's support, so even the Sannin could not compete with him.
Seeing that Homura agreed as well, Koharu simply nodded.
...
Besides Konoha, the victor, Madara, who had sent White Zetsu to monitor the Konoha force, also quickly received the latest intelligence about Mugetsu.
"Madara-sama, I'm afraid we have to change our plan. This Mugetsu is too protective of his disciples. Every time he goes to the battlefield, he brings them with him," Black Zetsu said helplessly.
Originally, their plan had been to muddy the waters of the Ninja World and force Konoha into a siege, leaving Mugetsu with no time to watch over Obito and the others.
Unexpectedly, Mugetsu's desire for control was so strong. His disciples were already capable of slaughtering Jonin, yet he stubbornly refused to let them lead teams alone or even accept missions.
This left them unable to find a chance to act.
Because Mugetsu was powerful and had also mastered convenient Ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God, it was almost impossible to eliminate him with only their existing arrangements.
"Capture that Grass Ninja and use the backup plan," Madara said faintly, leaning on his cane with both hands.
"But that plan means you will..." Black Zetsu put on a worried expression.
"I don't have much time left, and this time, there will definitely be no problems," Madara said, his words filled with extreme confidence.
Because this time, he would personally take action.
How could there be any accidents?
"I understand, Madara-sama. I'll go right away," Black Zetsu said, withdrawing with a loyal appearance.
The aged Madara sat alone in the dim cave, looking like a helpless and lonely old man.
But if anyone saw his face, they would immediately overturn that thought.
That wrinkled face still carried an unmistakable aura of dominance.
"Mugetsu, the second Wood Release Ninja after Hashirama. Don't be too boring…"
[TL: Mugetsu's Pokemon Will Hatch Next Chapter]
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