https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-402-The-Legendary-Teacher-of-the-Land-of-Rain/12558525/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-404-The-Enticing-Legacy-of-the-Ninja/12558527/
Chapter 403: A Ninja Master on Par with Hanzo
Chapter 403: A Ninja Master on Par with Hanzo
Ikeno Chiyonobu ultimately chose not to flee out of guilt. He asked Kuroda to wait on the spot and instructed him to run at the first sign of trouble. Then, he went to Mu Yue's temporary residence.
"Sou Ysuke, I suggest you lie low for a while. Someone has been spreading your fame too widely, placing you on the same level as the demigod Hanzo. Now, not only have ninjas from the ninja organizations shown up, but even ninjas from Amegakure are here," Ikeno said solemnly to Mu Yue, his expression tinged with regret, as if he were saddened by the prospect of missing out on Mu Yue's lectures.
"Oh? And who do you think has been spreading my fame too far?" Mu Yue asked, a smile playing on her lips as she looked at Ikeno.
Mu Yue's gaze, which seemed to see through everything, made Ikeno feel a bit guilty. However, he maintained his composure and continued to appear concerned for Mu Yue.
"Feel free to write down your thoughts on war and peace and give them to me before I leave," Mu Yue said, before turning and walking towards the village entrance.
Regardless of Ikeno's intentions, he had, in the end, completed Mu Yue's task beyond expectations.
The fact that he notified Mu Yue to flee after realizing the magnitude of the situation he had caused showed that he still had some conscience.
And so, Mu Yue was willing to give Ikeno a chance—an opportunity that could significantly impact his life path.
Before the ninjas from those organizations could even get close to the small village, Mu Yue had already sensed their presence. She had used her White Eye to assess their strengths beforehand.
Most of the wandering ninjas were low-level genin who posed no threat to her, followed by a number of chunin from the ninja organizations and Amegakure, and only a handful of jonin, including the Konan trio and a barely-passing jonin from Amegakure.
"Are you really not considering lying low? Some of those ninjas don't look friendly, and they seem to be looking for trouble," Ikeno cautioned.
"Actually, your propaganda isn't that exaggerated," Mu Yue said, giving Ikeno a meaningful smile.
With her current strength, it was not an exaggeration to say that she was on par with Hanzo.
This made Ikeno, who had been preparing to flee, hesitate.
Mu Yue seemed genuinely confident, but Ikeno worried that she might be overestimating her abilities.
"Never mind, let's wait and see," Ikeno said after some thought, deciding to stay.
After all, given Mu Yue's current performance, she definitely wouldn't take revenge on him. If things went wrong, he and his good brother could just run away together.
"Where is Ninja Master Sou Ysuke? I heard he was teaching ninjutsu, but is this all just a scam?" asked a progressive wandering ninja.
"How dare he put himself on the same level as Lord Hanzo? I want to see how capable he really is," said a fanatical fan of Hanzo.
With too many ninjas gathered in one place, the scene was extremely noisy. The ninjas who had attended Mu Yue's lectures before were unable to maintain order due to their insufficient strength.
Nagato frowned, as he didn't like such a chaotic environment.
Yahiko, on the other hand, was in his element. He enthusiastically introduced the grand goals of the Akatsuki to a nearby ninja whom he didn't know, "Brother, have you heard of the Akatsuki organization?"
"Yes, but I'm not interested," the ninja beside him politely refused.
"Don't be hasty. Once I tell you about the dreams of our Akatsuki, you will see us in a new light," Yahiko continued passionately.
"Yahiko, aren't you supposed to be recruiting that Sou Ysuke guy?" Konan asked, seeing that the wandering ninja was getting a bit tense.
"The main target is Uncle Sou Ysuke, but with so many ninjas here, it's a great opportunity for the Akatsuki to strengthen our forces," Yahiko replied to Konan.
Just as Yahiko was about to continue promoting the noble ideals of the Akatsuki to the wandering ninja, he turned his head for a moment and found that the other man had disappeared without a trace.
"Hello everyone, I heard someone was looking for me. I am Sou Ysuke," Mu Yue introduced herself in the open space where people were gathering.
Instantly, all eyes turned to Mu Yue, and they sized her up with curious gazes. They could only describe her as daring and fearless—in the Land of Rain, comparing oneself to Hanzo was akin to saying one was on par with Hashirama Senju in the Land of Fire.
"So you're the one who claims to be a ninja master, comparing yourself to Lord Hanzo? " asked a ninja with orange hair, his face full of hostility.
"I am indeed Sou Ysuke, but I didn't give myself the title of 'ninja master'," Mu Yue nodded.
"The point is, you dare to think you're on par with Lord Hanzo," the orange-haired ninja said in a very dissatisfied manner. As he spoke, he burst his chakra and stomped on the ground, causing the powerful force to instantly crack the ground.
The ninjas near the orange-haired ninja were surprised and quickly kept their distance, realizing that he was there to pick a fight and that he was no weakling.
Upon seeing this, Ikeno pulled Kuroda back to a safer distance and shielded the other ninjas with his body.
"You are free to interpret it that way if you wish," Mu Yue said, surprisingly not rushing to defend herself or refute the orange-haired ninja's claim. Instead, she seemed to tacitly accept his statement.
A ninja from Amegakure in the crowd frowned, feeling that Mu Yue was too arrogant. Their Lord Hanzo was a powerful figure acknowledged by the entire ninja world.
If it weren't for the fact that the orange-haired ninja had displayed considerable strength, the jonin from Amegakure would have stepped forward to test Mu Yue's abilities himself.
Since someone was willing to take on the task, the jonin from Amegakure was happy to sit back and watch the show.
"Let me, Ichigo Kurosaki, show you what you're made of, daring to compare yourself to Lord Hanzo!" Ichigo Kurosaki coldly humphed, his chakra erupting from his body and his aura spreading to the surroundings.
The jonin from Amegakure sensed the oppressive aura emanating from Ichigo Kurosaki and was surprised, realizing that he was even stronger than himself.
"As expected of Lord Hanzo, even outside of Amegakure, he has admirers of such strength," the jonin from Amegakure thought, his admiration for Hanzo growing.
"It's almost time for class anyway, so let's make this a practical lesson," Mu Yue said calmly, accepting the challenge.
This Ichigo Kurosaki was not a ninja with the same name as a certain shonen manga protagonist; he was Mu Yue's shadow clone.
If Mu Yue wanted to demonstrate her strength, the best way to do it would be for a brainless villain to appear and get beaten up by her, showcasing her power and establishing her dominance.
But in the real world, there were no such brainless individuals, so Mu Yue had her shadow clone take on the role.
To prevent Nagato's Rinnegan from seeing through her, Mu Yue had her shadow clone use transformation to alter its appearance.
Since transforming and maintaining the transformation consumed a lot of chakra, and shadow clones couldn't handle such a drain, it would have been better if she had chosen to transform into an existing ninja from the Land of Rain.
"Shouldn't we help him? He looks pretty strong," Konan asked quietly.
Konan had not been present when Mu Yue visited Nagato, so she was unaware of Nagato's assessment of Mu Yue's strength.
"I believe in Uncle Sou Ysuke's strength. Since he acknowledged it himself, he must truly be no weaker than Hanzo!" Yahiko chose to trust that Mu Yue could handle the situation.
Mu Yue nodded in agreement.
"Three, two, one!"
As soon as they counted to one, they both sprang into action.
"Earth Style: Mud Spikes!"
Ichigo swiftly performed a series of hand seals, causing numerous thick, sharp spikes to erupt from the once-smooth ground. Each spike towered over the average person, posing a formidable threat.
Most of the wandering ninjas, unaccustomed to such a powerful jutsu, instinctively backed away further, fearful of being caught in the crossfire of the impending battle.
However, Mu Yue, as if anticipating this, swiftly dodged the onslaught of spikes with a Shunshin no Jutsu.
"Such speed!" The Amegakure jonin realized that this Sou Ysuke was not to be underestimated.
He hadn't even processed how Mu Yue had evaded Ichigo's earth-style attack so effortlessly.
The Amegakure jonin was grateful that Ichigo had taken the initiative, as failing to represent Amegakure well would surely result in punishment from Hanzo.
"Sharp lightning can pierce through the hardness of earth. Lightning-style chakra nature transformation counters earth-style chakra nature transformation. So, the best way to counter earth style is to use lightning style," Mu Yue explained as she began performing hand seals.
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
Mu Yue gathered a substantial amount of chakra in her mouth and unleashed a barrage of sharp lightning bolts that swept through the area.
BOOM!!
The terrifying lightning spears instantly obliterated the spikes on the ground, sending shards of rock flying in all directions. The residual force continued unabated, surging towards Ichigo.
Ichigo, seemingly caught off guard by the sheer power of Mu Yue's lightning style, struggled to defend himself.
"Such immense power! So, the rumors are true," exclaimed a wandering ninja, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he clenched his fists.
If he could learn such powerful jutsu, he wouldn't have to resort to ambushing ordinary people for their resources or taking on dangerous black market missions to make a living.
He wasn't the only one thinking this; many of the ninjas present felt that their trip hadn't been in vain.
"So what if you can counter my earth style? I'm not limited to just that!" Ichigo retorted, unwilling to admit defeat as he performed hand seals once more.
This time, he unleashed a fire style jutsu, spewing forth a massive fireball that hurtled towards Mu Yue.
"The best counter to fire style is water. Water can extinguish fire," Mu Yue continued her explanation.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Mu Yue gathered chakra in her mouth and released a giant water bubble, not only dousing the incoming fireball but also soaking Ichigo thoroughly.
"Don't think that you're the only one who knows water style!" Ichigo's face reddened as if he felt humiliated.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Taking advantage of the residual water from Mu Yue's Great Waterfall Technique, Ichigo quickly formed an abnormally thick and long water dragon.
Witnessing the sheer size of the water dragon, far surpassing that of a regular Water Dragon Bullet, the onlooking ninjas backed away even further.
Many of them were only marginally stronger than the recent Konoha graduates, and their survival in the chaotic Land of Rain depended on their caution. They knew that maintaining a safe distance was crucial when spectating a battle.
The Amegakure jonin contemplated recommending Ichigo to Hanzo. Although he was from another village, his strength was undeniable, having demonstrated proficiency in three nature transformations, each with a decent level of mastery.
"Of course, in a battle, nature countering is not absolute. If the strength gap is too vast, it becomes irrelevant. A sufficiently powerful flame can still evaporate water," Mu Yue explained as she chose not to counter but to be countered instead.
"Fire Style: Hard Work Pays Off!"
Mu Yue spat out a highly compressed, fist-sized fireball towards the charging water dragon.
Initially, the fireball was small, but upon colliding with the water dragon, the compressed flames erupted, engulfing the area in a sea of fire. The thick water dragon rapidly dissipated under the intense heat.
The Amegakure jonin's pupils contracted as he realized the profound implications of this jutsu clash.
To be able to overpower an opponent despite being at a disadvantage meant that one's strength far surpassed the other's. Ichigo's performance had already exceeded that of a typical jonin.
The Amegakure jonin was astonished to discover that aside from Hanzo, Amegakure might not have another ninja capable of defeating this Sou Ysuke.
"No wonder he dares to put himself on par with Hanzo," the Amegakure jonin murmured, no longer finding Mu Yue's bold claim arrogant.
Such was the reality of the ninja world—strength was the foundation of everything.
While the Amegakure jonin doubted that this level of power could defeat their demi-god Hanzo, he conceded that Mu Yue was undoubtedly the second strongest in the Land of Rain.
Considering that Mu Yue had never fought Hanzo, it was understandable if her assessment of her own strength was slightly off, so he didn't view her claim as arrogant.
"As expected of Uncle Sou Ysuke!" Yahiko exclaimed, feeling the heat wave wash over him.
As a ninja specializing in water style, he could better appreciate the prowess behind Mu Yue's fire style jutsu.
"Was he telling the truth earlier?" Choza Shimura stared at Mu Yue, who was effortlessly instructing a powerful jonin, his eyes widening in disbelief.
A terrifying thought crossed his mind—perhaps Mu Yue hadn't been boasting earlier, and she truly had mastered all seven chakra nature transformations.
Choza's heart raced as he recalled Mu Yue's words from a few minutes ago. Although she had asked him to write down his thoughts, it was evidently different from the previous requests.
Mu Yue proceeded to showcase her exceptional taijutsu skills to the onlooking ninjas, pointing out Ichigo's weaknesses during the battle and offering suggestions for improvement.
Not only were the newcomers taken aback, but even the elders who had been following Mu Yue for some time were surprised by her strength.
In their minds, reaching the level of a Great Nation jonin was already an incredible feat, as such strength was beyond their grasp.
"Your strength is indeed formidable, and I admit defeat. However, this does not mean that you are stronger than Lord Hanzo," Ichigo conceded, unable to bear the humiliation any longer, yet still speaking up for Hanzo.
The Amegakure jonin was deeply touched by Ichigo's words. It was rare to find a ninja with such integrity in these times. He knew he had to recommend Ichigo to Hanzo now.
The other onlooking ninjas also showed their respect, acknowledging Ichigo's defeat but honoring his valor.
Without another word, Ichigo turned and walked away.
The Amegakure jonin quietly noted his name, intending to investigate further. Mu Yue's display of strength had been too impressive for him to ignore, and he needed to stay and gather more information.
"Ninja Master, please teach me ninjutsu!" One of the ninjas immediately called out in reverence.
This sparked a chain reaction, as others quickly followed suit, expressing their admiration for Mu Yue and assuming the posture of students.
(End of Chapter)
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