Chapter 408: The Reincarnation of the Six Paths Sage's Chakra?
Ninja Master Sosuke rose to fame again, becoming known to countless shinobi in an incredibly short time.
This time was different from before. Back then, it was because the life story of his Sosuke persona was so legendary that it naturally sparked endless discussion. Now, it was purely because of strength.
The shinobi world was a world where power ruled. The fastest way to become famous was to defeat a well known powerhouse. The stronger and more renowned the opponent, the bigger the shockwave.
Before the Third Shinobi World War, Minato was only mildly known within Konoha.
Once the war began, everything changed. The new AB Combo proved themselves by defeating veteran shinobi, while Minato proved his own terrifying strength by holding the AB Combo to a standstill alone. That was how the Yellow Flash was born, a name that made the battlefield tremble.
Of course, defeating someone did not automatically guarantee fame. Timing, circumstances, and intent all mattered.
It was hard not to become famous when your deeds happened on the battlefield. If Mugetsu met and defeated Pakura but neither side spread the news, the impact would be limited.
Mugetsu did not deliberately promote himself this time either, but because of the so called sage art inheritance, too many eyes were already locked on him. And when he fought Kakuzu, it was an open battle, both sides clashing head on with no room for tricks. So the news of Mugetsu defeating Kakuzu spread quickly.
The first to find out was naturally Amegakure, the strongest local force in the Land of Rain.
"He defeated Kakuzu, and he kept the advantage from start to finish," Hanzo murmured, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
There were not many true powerhouses in the shinobi world. Leaving aside those who hid in deep mountains and old forests and never emerged, even if some names were not widely publicized, the major figures still knew of each other.
Hanzo had heard of Kakuzu through the black market. He knew Kakuzu was far from ordinary.
Kakuzu specifically hunted those with high bounties. Shinobi with high bounties were either exceptionally strong or carried special identities. If Kakuzu lacked the ability, he would have been counter killed long ago. There was no way he could dominate the black market for decades.
Hanzo had already exchanged killing intent with Mugetsu before and knew Mugetsu was not a simple shinobi. Still, he had not expected Mugetsu to defeat Kakuzu so quickly.
"It is a pity he is not an Amegakure shinobi," Hanzo said, shaking his head with a trace of regret.
Hanzo currently faced a troublesome issue. Amegakure was suffering from a generational gap.
By the standards of a normal small village, Amegakure was fine. But Hanzo's goal had always been to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Five Great Villages, and that meant the next leader of Amegakure needed to be a top tier powerhouse as well.
Unfortunately, Hanzo had not seen anyone among the younger generation with the potential to reach that level.
Kurosaki Ichigo, who had recently joined Amegakure, was good, but Hanzo could not trust him yet.
"I should be able to hold on for another twenty years. Amegakure still has time," Hanzo said, his expression returning to its usual calm.
As one of the pinnacles of the shinobi world, Hanzo had that confidence.
Even though Mugetsu defeated Kakuzu, Hanzo still regarded him as an outstanding junior, not an opponent.
Hanzo was not arrogant without reason. Based on the combat information, Mugetsu excelled most in Fire Release, while Hanzo's strongest techniques were Water Release, which naturally countered fire. Combined with his superior combat experience and his confidence in taijutsu, Hanzo did not believe Mugetsu could match him.
Amegakure was not the only one to receive the news.
Large and small countries bordering the Land of Rain, along with countless shinobi organizations, also learned that Kakuzu had been defeated.
Konoha, Root base.
After reading the latest intelligence from the Land of Rain, Danzo silently cursed Hiruzen's shortsightedness.
If they had strengthened their presence in the Land of Rain earlier, they could have acted directly.
"I must find a way to get my hands on that sage art inheritance," Danzo thought, already calculating how to take it from Mugetsu cleanly.
With both Wood Release shinobi and the sage art inheritance, becoming the Fourth Hokage would be inevitable.
But Danzo faced a serious problem right now.
He lacked manpower.
The forces he had deployed in the Land of Rain were not enough to seize the inheritance from Mugetsu.
Mugetsu was strong enough to defeat Kakuzu, and he had seventy two shinobi following him. That was a considerable force.
Still, Danzo was not stumped. He quickly found a path forward by thinking from the other side's perspective.
"I can ally with Hanzo to deal with Sosuke," Danzo decided.
Mugetsu was powerful and openly spoke of rebuilding the Shinobi Sect. If Danzo were Hokage and such a force appeared in the Land of Fire, he would never sleep peacefully. How could he allow someone else to lie down in his bed?
The more Danzo thought about it, the more perfect the plan seemed.
Hanzo would eliminate a major threat.
Danzo would obtain the sage art inheritance.
Everyone would win.
"I can also use this chance to deepen cooperation with Amegakure, have them join the war, and build momentum for my future Fourth Hokage election," Danzo nodded, satisfied.
If it succeeded, it would be the best possible outcome for both him and Konoha.
Once the plan was set, Danzo immediately issued orders, sending his subordinates into motion.
First, he needed to investigate the relationship between the two sides. If things were not as he assumed, then he would stir up hostility himself.
After assigning tasks to Root, Danzo also began planning how to leave Konoha in a way that would not raise suspicion.
For something this important, he needed to meet Hanzo in person.
Land of Earth, Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's office.
Onoki read the latest intelligence from the Land of Rain and showed an intrigued expression.
"Ninja Master Sosuke, the Shinobi Sect. Interesting."
He did not care about the legendary stories attached to Mugetsu. Onoki simply felt this shinobi was the type who excelled at causing trouble.
In just over a month, he went from unknown to famous in the shinobi world, and even gathered followers.
What Onoki found regrettable was that Mugetsu was only stirring things up in the Land of Rain. If Mugetsu were causing trouble in the other four great nations, Onoki would not hesitate to step in and fan the flames.
Onoki had little interest in the Land of Rain itself. Weakening Amegakure did not benefit Iwagakure.
He still wanted Amegakure to keep harassing Sunagakure and Kumogakure for him.
Although Iwagakure had more than ten thousand shinobi, Onoki was not rushing to strike hard. He wanted the other great villages to bleed first.
That was why he consistently implemented his stirring stick strategy, provoking conflicts and pushing villages into war.
Deep within a dim cave, Uchiha Madara listened to Black Zetsu's report and frowned.
"Have you investigated this Sosuke?" Madara asked in a low voice.
Nagato held a critical position in Madara's resurrection plan. A sudden powerful shinobi appearing near Nagato was naturally alarming.
"We investigated, but found nothing," Black Zetsu replied, shaking his head. "Perhaps he truly trained in seclusion as he claimed."
In truth, Black Zetsu was even more concerned about Mugetsu than Madara was.
Mugetsu had spoken of the Shinobi Sect and claimed to possess the sage art inheritance.
If there was one person Black Zetsu feared most, it was the Six Paths Sage.
Black Zetsu could be considered Otsutsuki Kaguya's third child, which made him the Six Paths Sage's brother.
Black Zetsu had no way to oppose the brother who sealed their mother. When the Six Paths Sage was alive, Black Zetsu did not dare stir trouble.
If a sage art inheritance truly existed, Black Zetsu would assume it was a contingency the Six Paths Sage left behind to prevent Kaguya's resurrection, not some inheritance tied to Indra and Asura.
Black Zetsu knew exactly what kind of people Indra and Asura were. Those two foolish boys were not worth fearing.
So Black Zetsu had seriously dispatched White Zetsu to investigate Sosuke's past.
But Sosuke seemed to have appeared from nowhere. All information led back to what Sosuke himself had said.
Black Zetsu even considered whether Sosuke was using a false identity.
Yet there were no traces of transformation on Mugetsu. Even if the name was fake, his appearance should have revealed something.
After a comprehensive investigation, Black Zetsu concluded Sosuke might really have been hidden in seclusion all along, which explained why nothing existed in the records.
"Strengthen surveillance on Nagato," Madara said after thinking.
He did not have a clean solution right now. He could not exactly go out and kill Sosuke himself.
Madara was confident in his strength, but time had indeed eroded his body. Killing Mugetsu might shorten his lifespan, which would affect the overall plan.
Madara was not panicked. A powerful shinobi had appeared near Nagato before as well. As long as Mugetsu did not recognize the Rinnegan, or show interest in the Rinnegan, Madara's plan would not be greatly affected.
Black Zetsu nodded.
In fact, he had already dispatched White Zetsu to watch Nagato's side twenty four hours a day. He was deeply worried Mugetsu might be a contingency left by the Six Paths Sage.
A wild guess even formed in Black Zetsu's mind.
Perhaps Mugetsu was the reincarnation of the Six Paths Sage's chakra.
It was possible. What normal shinobi stayed hidden in the mountains training for years, only to emerge and speak of restoring the Shinobi Sect?
Still, it was too bold, and Black Zetsu also felt the probability was low. Although Mugetsu's methods were powerful, they still seemed within the realm of the normal.
"It seems I need to speed things up," Madara decided, preparing to use his arrangements to further destabilize the shinobi world.
Plans never kept up with changes. To prevent a major unexpected variable, Madara wanted to accelerate the plan so he could pass away peacefully and wait for resurrection.
Mugetsu defeating Kakuzu drew too much attention.
His black market bounty more than doubled, exploding to an astonishing forty million ryo.
It was a frightening number. In Konoha, it could fund forty S rank missions.
Yet even as the bounty skyrocketed, Mugetsu faced fewer attacks instead.
Most bounty hunters, once they heard Kakuzu had been defeated, did not dare act rashly.
They loved money, but they also valued their lives. If you died, no matter how much you earned, you had nowhere to spend it.
After defeating Kakuzu, Mugetsu and the group did not change their pace much.
The only difference was that there was now one more person traveling with them.
Because Kakuzu's body was unusual, Mugetsu specifically bought him a long robe so he would not frighten ordinary people.
"Why should we care about ordinary people?" Kakuzu did not care what he wore, but he was confused.
"It is just basic respect," Mugetsu answered seriously. "Everyone is human. No one is nobler than anyone else."
Kakuzu sneered.
"Easy for you to say. Then why do nobles exist? Are nobles not inherently superior?"
"Nobles are born with land and privileges," Kakuzu continued. "What kind of equality is that?"
The other shinobi all looked at Mugetsu, curious how he would answer.
Among shinobi, this question was not as sharp. Clan shinobi had more resources and secret techniques than civilians, but the gap between commoners and nobles was far greater.
"You are right," Mugetsu said with a faint smile. "That is why I believe the system that grants nobles privilege should be abolished."
Kakuzu stared at him, eyes widened.
This was not the answer he expected.
Mugetsu did not refute him.
Instead, he said something outright treasonous.
"Do you understand what you are saying?" Kakuzu scrutinized him, as if seeing him for the first time. "The daimyo is the greatest noble of all."
The most privileged group in the shinobi world was the daimyo. Their descendants did not need to do anything to enjoy wealth and luxury, and a single decision from them could decide the life or death of countless common people.
The other shinobi also stared at Mugetsu, shocked.
It was the boldest thing they had ever heard.
"The Shinobi Sect I want to create will not be identical to the historical Shinobi Sect," Mugetsu said, shifting the topic back. "It will be a new Shinobi Sect, one that learns from past failures."
Kakuzu thought Mugetsu was dodging the point and was about to mock him, but then Mugetsu's next words were even more explosive.
"Although the Six Paths Sage was far sighted, the Shinobi Sect he created still could not escape the limits of its era. The most inappropriate part was adopting a hereditary system."
Mugetsu openly criticized the Six Paths Sage's shortcomings.
The shinobi were stunned. Everyone knew Mugetsu had always praised the Shinobi Sect and elevated the Six Paths Sage before.
"We must learn and absorb what was good about the Six Paths Sage and the ancient Shinobi Sect," Mugetsu continued. "But we must also discard the dross, and we must dare to criticize boldly."
"No matter who it is, a mistake is a mistake," Mugetsu said sincerely. "Do not blindly follow just because someone is an authority."
"And if one day you find that I am wrong," he added, "you can point it out as well, and let me correct it."
For a moment, Kakuzu had no words.
He could only keep Mugetsu's statements in his heart, waiting for the day Mugetsu contradicted himself. Kakuzu did not believe such a person truly existed.
The other seventy two shinobi also gained a new understanding of Mugetsu.
"Uncle Sosuke is right," Yahiko said with a grin, turning to the members of Akatsuki. "If I make a mistake in the future, you have to point it out immediately. Do not hold back just because I am the leader."
He felt Mugetsu was absolutely right, but he also knew he would never have been able to say those words on his own.
His respect for Mugetsu deepened even further.
From that day onward, the content of Mugetsu's lectures changed.
Alongside shinobi knowledge, he began explaining certain ideas from his previous life, blending them with the ancient Shinobi Sect and the harsh reality of the shinobi world.
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