After dinner, Shisui and Obito went to Fugaku's house to invite Itachi for a walk.
In order to prevent Itachi from taking an extreme path and becoming the future destroyer of his clan, Shisui wanted Itachi to have a normal perspective on life.
However, the influence of strangers is limited, so Shisui was working hard to become Itachi's friend.
The Fugaku household had just finished dinner. Regarding these two prodigies in the family, Fugaku felt very reassured and did not stop them.
"Itachi, do you know about Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara?" Shisui asked with a smile.
Itachi thought for a moment, then shook his head in denial.
He was still young and hadn't received the full Uchiha family education.
"Senju Hashirama was one of the founders of Konoha, and the first Hokage. Uchiha Madara was once the Clan Head of the Uchiha and also one of the founders of Konoha," Shisui briefly explained to the two of them.
"In the Warring States period, the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan were mortal enemies..." As they walked, Shisui explained the history of Senju Hashirama's founding of Konoha.
Before coming here, Shisui had specifically spoken with Obito and asked him to limit his interaction with Itachi, leaving this conversation for him to handle.
Itachi listened attentively. Although he didn't fully understand, he felt that it was an interesting story.
Considering Itachi's young age, Shisui didn't go into too much detail but gave a rough outline of the difficulties and efforts Senju Hashirama faced when founding Konoha.
"Itachi, do you have any thoughts after hearing that?" After finishing, Shisui turned to Itachi. "Do you think the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara were amazing, being able to go so far for peace?"
Obito, still lost in thought about the test questions, subconsciously glanced at Itachi.
"I didn't really understand, so I don't have any thoughts. But Shisui, your story was very... clever," Itachi honestly replied.
He was just a one-year-old child. He knew that taking candy from an old lady was wrong, but asking him to understand concepts like war and peace was a bit too much.
"You're still too young, so it's normal that you didn't understand. But you can remember it for now. If you have any thoughts later, you can tell me," Shisui smiled and patted Itachi's head.
He didn't expect Itachi to fully understand. The reason he mentioned Senju Hashirama and Konoha's founding was because these stories were full of positive energy.
He hoped that by telling these historical tales, Itachi would come to admire figures like Senju Hashirama and learn from their qualities.
"I'll tell a story too," Obito suddenly had an idea.
"Materials one: In the early days of the Shinobi villages, Konoha captured the Tailed Beasts..."
"Itachi, why do you think Konoha sold the Tailed Beasts to other Shinobi villages, and what kind of impact did that have?"
Itachi looked completely confused at Obito, thinking, "Is this a story? Why can't I understand it?"
Shisui gave Obito an exasperated look. Asking a one-year-old Itachi to answer history questions—seriously, what was he thinking?
Obito probably realized he went a bit too far. As they walked through Konoha's commercial street, he bought some three-colored dango and treated Itachi to a skewer.
This helped improve Obito's image in Itachi's eyes, just a little bit.
From being the older brother who liked to bully old ladies and talk about things Itachi couldn't understand, he became the older brother who still liked to bully old ladies but at least treated him to dango.
Watching Itachi devour the dango, Obito smiled proudly. Kids were so easy to handle.
...
Land of Rain.
Two ninjas, chakra flowing at high speed, were rushing on their way.
"Is it really possible to learn Ninjutsu? There's not some kind of conspiracy behind this, is there?" One of the ninjas said, a hint of worry in his voice.
"Kuroda, you're overthinking it. Who cares about some conspiracy? Anyway, it's free. If we can't learn Ninjutsu, we can just leave," Ike Masaya said nonchalantly.
They were wandering ninjas from the area, and they'd heard that a ninja in Ozu Village was teaching Ninjutsu, so they came to check it out.
At first, Ike Masaya, like Kuroda, thought there had to be some kind of scheme behind it—charity wasn't usually done this way.
But when Ike Masaya saw a ninja he knew actually learn Ninjutsu, he couldn't stay indifferent anymore.
Kuroda thought about it for a moment, and he agreed with Ike Masaya. Since they were already here, if there was a chance to learn Ninjutsu, backing out would be a huge waste.
There were many types of wandering ninjas. Some were rogue ninjas from hidden villages, while others were ordinary people who accidentally came into possession of ninja heritage. The latter group lacked any formal ninja knowledge.
Kuroda and Ike Masaya belonged to the latter category, and even a decent C-rank ninjutsu would be a precious piece of knowledge for them.
After entering Ozu Village, the two quickly found the person they were looking for, mostly because he stood out so much.
In an open space, a brown-haired man in a white robe stood on a makeshift platform, while dozens of people of various appearances sat on the ground below, listening.
The two of them thought the man was already teaching Ninjutsu and hurried to sit down to listen. However, they quickly realized that he wasn't teaching Ninjutsu at all. Instead, he was talking about peace and the Ninja Sect.
"The Six Paths Sage created the Ninja Sect to bring about a world of peace without war..."
Ike Masaya now noticed that some of the people listening were just ordinary people. It wasn't that he had Sensory Ninjutsu; it was just that the man looked like a farmer who had finished his work.
"Didn't they say you could learn Ninjutsu here? What do we need to do to actually learn Ninjutsu?" Ike Masaya interrupted, asking directly.
He wasn't there to listen to mythical stories. If he couldn't learn Ninjutsu, he would have to continue finding ways to earn money to buy cultivation resources and Ninjutsu.
The next moment, Ike Masaya regretted speaking up, as all the eyes in the room turned to him. Some people even glared at him with visible displeasure.
The lesson was interrupted, but Mutsuki didn't show any displeasure. He smiled and answered Ike Masaya's question, "Ninjutsu is a reward for those who perform well in the lessons."
Although Ike Masaya felt a little uneasy under the intense stares, he had already asked, so he gathered his courage and continued, "What types of Ninjutsu are there? If it's something I can't learn, then it's useless."
Ninjutsu itself could be considered a resource, and if he couldn't learn it, he could sell it. However, Ike Masaya felt that selling Ninjutsu obtained in this way would offend people unless he got permission.
"Then you can relax and listen. I know a little about every type of Ninjutsu," Mutsuki replied with a faint smile.
For this plan, Mutsuki had specifically developed several C-rank and B-rank Ninjutsu.
Although he called it development, it was more like imitation because these Ninjutsu didn't have any special qualities of their own.
Ike Masaya instinctively thought that Mutsuki was bragging. How could someone know Ninjutsu from every attribute? Even the powerful Jonin of the Five Great Shinobi Countries usually only mastered two or so.
"Then how can one be considered to have performed excellently?" Ike Masaya didn't immediately refute Mutsuki, but instead asked one final question.
He didn't believe that Mutsuki knew that many Ninjutsu, but he thought Mutsuki must have something valuable, otherwise he wouldn't be able to attract so many Ninjas.
Ike Masaya decided to give it a try. If he could get a Water Release Ninjutsu, it would be a win; if not, he would leave.
"After the lesson, write down your thoughts, and I will select the best reflections," Mutsuki replied, then continued with the lecture, discussing the history of Six Paths Sage's pursuit of peace.
Ike Masaya and Kuroda both listened attentively to Mutsuki's explanation for the sake of Ninjutsu.
Mutsuki didn't mind making a profit for himself while bringing about some positive changes for the residents of the Land of Rain.
But change requires a foundation, and the current Land of Rain hadn't reached that foundation yet. Simply transferring knowledge from his past life wouldn't be very meaningful, as it would just be empty talk.
So Mutsuki only shared the existing history of peace in the Shinobi World, encouraging them to reflect on the history that already existed.
This was the decision Mutsuki made after analyzing the intelligence of the Land of Rain. A region plagued by years of war, the Land of Rain yearned for peace and stability more than any ordinary country.
After the lecture ended, Ike Masaya wanted to discuss his thoughts with Kuroda, but he noticed that many of the listeners had gathered together.
Ike Masaya immediately pulled Kuroda over to join them. When they couldn't get through, he asked someone nearby.
Although the person initially didn't want to respond due to Ike Masaya interrupting the lecture, they couldn't resist Ike Masaya's persistence and eventually told him.
"His name is Miname. At that time, Sosuke-sama had just started teaching, and no one believed he would actually give out Ninjutsu. Only Miname listened carefully, wrote his thoughts, submitted them, and ended up receiving a Fire Release Ninjutsu."
"He is also the only one who learned three Ninjutsu from Sosuke-sama."
"Three Ninjutsu so easily!" Kuroda was both shocked and envious.
How long would it take to save up enough money to buy three Ninjutsu?
"No wonder so many people are asking, turns out he's received three 'excellent' ratings," Ike Masaya said, looking enlightened.
Ike Masaya noticed a small detail: the person had used the word "learned" rather than "received," meaning the individual even guaranteed mastery.
Ike Masaya thought this was a rare opportunity. He patiently squeezed his way in and listened to their discussions, eventually staying up all night to write an enthusiastic testimonial praising the Six Paths Sage.
Unfortunately, when the winners were announced the next day, he wasn't selected. However, Ike Masaya wasn't too upset, because no one had been chosen as excellent.
This meant it wasn't just him, everyone else had failed too.
"Although I'm telling you history, you should focus more on the present state of the Land of Rain," Mutsuki hinted.
He didn't have much time, so he couldn't afford to train slowly.
He set his disciples a two-month training plan, leaving them with Shadow Clone and Flying Thunder God techniques before departing from Konoha. These two months were the time Mutsuki had allocated for himself.
Originally, Mutsuki's available time would have been even shorter, as Shadow Clone couldn't maintain itself for long without refining Chakra. However, his Yang Seal had made a small breakthrough. After creating a Shadow Clone, the main body could now use the Clone's Yang Seal to supply Chakra, allowing the Clone to last longer.
Although it didn't have much use in battle, this was a great help to the busy Mutsuki.
Mutsuki actually had faster ways to make a name for himself, but it would cause some hardships for the people of the Land of Rain.
If Mutsuki didn't set any conditions and freely taught Ninjutsu across the Land of Rain, using his abilities, he could quickly become famous.
But the wandering Ninjas who grew stronger would do things beyond Mutsuki's control.
So Mutsuki set up thresholds. The first was requiring a written reflection on the lesson to filter out those with ulterior motives.
However, some people were very good at pretending, so Mutsuki had a second threshold.
Mind Body Switch Jutsu allowed him to transfer his thoughts to another person. Mutsuki used this method to teach Ninjutsu and also took a glance at the learner's memories.
Those who had committed minor wrongdoings would be given a chance to reform; if they couldn't be reformed, their memories would be sealed and discarded. Those who were truly evil would be sent to be reincarnated. Only those who were deemed free of malice would Mutsuki immediately teach Ninjutsu.
With Mutsuki's guidance, the situation improved significantly on the third day.
A reflection on the causes of war in the Land of Rain was chosen as the excellent piece, and after a check for correctness, Ninjutsu was taught to the author.
Having witnessed someone earn Ninjutsu and successfully learn it, Kuroda and Ike Masaya were even more motivated.
However, on the fourth day, Mutsuki stopped the lessons.
"Sosuke-sama, how many days will you be resting?" Ike Masaya respectfully asked.
He thought that Mutsuki no longer wanted to teach and was taking a break.
Ike Masaya could understand this very well. Before having power, one worked hard to earn money and get stronger; once one had power, why not rest as much as possible?
"When one hundred Ninjas gather here, I will resume teaching," Mutsuki stated, setting his condition.
He wanted those who attended the lessons to go out and recruit new people to accelerate the spread of his fame.
"Is Sosuke-sama someone who cares a lot about his reputation?" Ike Masaya pondered Mutsuki's character.
The initial attendees weren't surprised. They packed up their things and left, preparing to go to more distant places to help Mutsuki with his promotion. This wasn't the first time Mutsuki had requested such a promotion.
This was a remedy for the thresholds Mutsuki had set, a way to speed up his rise to fame.
Although there were no rewards for bringing in new people, some of the attendees had already been writing reflections for over ten days, and they were definitely not going to give up the opportunity to learn Ninjutsu.
However, not everyone was so committed. Some chose to give up, though they were in the minority.
The effect of dozens of Ninjas promoting together was quite good, especially since everyone had their own networks. Even a little word-of-mouth spread between them could reach Rain Ninja Village.
To bring in more people, Ike Masaya spared no effort in hyping Mutsuki.
He painted Mutsuki as a hidden master, comparable to the Demigod Hanzo, someone who had mastered all Chakra Nature Transformations, capable of using hundreds of Ninjutsu, and who was very willing to teach others. He even gave Mutsuki the title of "Ninja Master."
If it had been just Ike Masaya blowing the trumpet, it wouldn't have had much impact. But as Ike Masaya spread the word, dozens of other Ninjas were doing the same, lending more credibility to the story. The title of Ninja Master Sosuke quickly spread throughout the entire Land of Rain.
Yahiko, who had been trying to recruit Mutsuki, heard the rumors and immediately led a group toward the village of Ozu.
He didn't doubt the rumors, especially since Mutsuki had been acknowledged as a powerful figure by Nagato.
The Akatsuki Organization, now far from being insignificant, had their actions further spread the rumors of the so-called Ninja Master.
Hanzo also took notice of these rumors and sent Rain Ninjas to investigate the situation in the village of Ozu.
A powerful figure suddenly appearing in the Land of Rain—he certainly wanted to understand what was going on.
A large number of wandering Ninjas, hoping for a stroke of luck, made their way to Ozu village, hoping to learn Ninjutsu.
Thus, the promotional effect exceeded everyone's expectations.
"This seems to have gone a bit too far," Ike Masaya thought, feeling a bit guilty as he watched the Ninjas all discussing "Ninja Master Sosuke."
Before the promotional effect kicked in, Ike Masaya never expected that his exaggerated words would be believed by anyone. In such a small place as the Land of Rain, if there were a powerful figure like Hanzo, they would have already become famous.
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