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Chapter 408: The Reincarnation of the Six Paths Sage Chakra?
Chapter 408: The Reincarnation of the Six Paths Sage Chakra?
Once again, Ninjutsu Master Sou Yuukai gained fame and became known to countless ninjas in a short period.
This time, it was different from before. Previously, it was because the experiences of his alias, Sou Yuukai, were too legendary and often sparked discussions. This time, it was purely due to his strength.
The ninja world is a place where strength reigns supreme, and the fastest way to gain fame is to defeat a renowned strong opponent. The stronger and more famous the defeated foe, the greater the impact.
Before Minato Namikaze participated in the Third Great Ninja War, he was only somewhat famous within Konoha.
But once the war began, the new AB combination proved their might by defeating veteran ninjas, and Minato single-handedly held his ground against them, showcasing his own formidable abilities. He became a feared presence on the battlefield, known as the Yellow Flash.
Of course, defeating a strong opponent doesn't always guarantee fame; it also depends on the circumstances and personal intentions.
It would be hard to remain unknown after achieving glory on the battlefield, just like when Mu Yue encountered and defeated Yokura. However, since neither side publicized the event, it didn't create a significant impact.
Although Mu Yue didn't intentionally market his alias this time, due to the "Ninjutsu Inheritance," too many people were paying attention to his every move. Moreover, his battle with Kakuzu was conducted out in the open, with both sides passionately clashing, so news of Mu Yue's victory over Kakuzu quickly spread.
The first to know were naturally the strongest forces in Rain Country—the Rain Ninja Village.
"He defeated Kakuzu and maintained the upper hand throughout the battle," said Hanzou, a thoughtful expression on his face.
In the ninja world, truly strong individuals were quite rare. Aside from those who chose to remain hidden in remote mountains and forests, even those who weren't particularly famous were somewhat known to each other.
Hanzou had heard stories of Kakuzu in the black market and was aware of his exceptional strength.
After all, Kakuzu specifically targeted ninjas with high bounties. Ninjas with high bounties were either exceptionally skilled or had unique identities. Kakuzu wouldn't have been able to operate in the black market for decades if he didn't possess the necessary skills to take them down.
Hanzou had previously engaged in an intense clash with Mu Yue, and he knew that Mu Yue was no ordinary ninja. However, he hadn't expected Mu Yue to defeat Kakuzu so quickly.
"It's a pity he's not a ninja from the Rain Ninja Village," Hanzou said, shaking his head slightly in disappointment.
Hanzou currently had a somewhat vexing problem—the Rain Ninja Village was lacking in talented youth.
By the standards of a typical small ninja village, the Rain Ninja Village was doing just fine. However, Hanzou always aimed to be on par with the five great ninja villages, and the next Rain Ninja Village leader had to be a top-tier powerhouse in the ninja world.
Unfortunately, Hanzou hadn't seen any ninjas among the younger generation in the Rain Ninja Village who showed potential to become a top-tier powerhouse.
Although Ichigo Kurosaki, who had recently joined the Rain Ninja Village, was quite promising, he wasn't trustworthy enough yet.
"I should be able to hold on for another twenty years. The Rain Ninja Village still has time," Hanzou said, his expression regaining its usual calm.
As one of the pinnacles of the ninja world, Hanzou had absolute confidence in himself.
Even with Mu Yue's victory over Kakuzu, Hanzou merely considered him an outstanding junior and not a threat.
Hanzou's confidence wasn't unfounded. Based on the battle records, Mu Yue's specialty was fire-style ninjutsu, while Hanzou's forte was water-style ninjutsu, which countered fire. Coupled with his more extensive battle experience and confidence in his taijutsu, Hanzou didn't think Mu Yue could be his match.
Apart from the Rain Ninja Village, several small and medium-sized countries bordering Rain Country, as well as various ninja organizations, also learned of Kakuzu's defeat.
Konoha, Root Organization Base.
Danzo Shimura, upon reading the latest intelligence report from Rain Country, cursed Hiruzen Sarutobi for his short-sightedness.
If they had strengthened their ninja forces in Rain Country, they could have taken action by now.
"I must find a way to obtain the Ninjutsu Inheritance," Danzo thought, contemplating how to smoothly acquire the Ninjutsu Inheritance from Mu Yue's hands.
With the wood-style ninjutsu user and the Ninjutsu Inheritance in his possession, becoming the Fourth Hokage would be a natural progression.
However, Danzo was currently facing a challenging problem—he lacked the necessary power.
The forces he had deployed in Rain Country were insufficient to take the Ninjutsu Inheritance from Mu Yue.
Not only was Mu Yue a formidable opponent who could defeat Kakuzu, but he also had seventy-two ninjas following him, which was a considerable force.
But Danzo wasn't discouraged. By putting himself in Mu Yue's shoes, he quickly devised a countermeasure.
"I can join forces with Hanzou to deal with Sou Yuukai," Danzo thought.
With Mu Yue's strength and his ambition to rebuild the Ninjutsu Sect, if Danzo were the Hokage and Konoha had such a group of ninjas within its walls, he wouldn't be able to rest easy. One should not allow the growth of another power base right under their noses.
The more Danzo thought about his plan, the more brilliant he found it.
Hanzou would eliminate a thorn in his side, he would obtain the Ninjutsu Inheritance, and everyone would have a bright future.
"I can also take this opportunity to deepen our cooperation with the Rain Ninja Village, get them involved in the war, and have them support me in the upcoming election for the Fourth Hokage," Danzo nodded in satisfaction.
If his plan succeeded, it would be the best outcome for both him and Konoha.
After refining his plan, Danzo immediately assigned tasks to his subordinates and set things in motion.
First, he needed to investigate the relationship between Mu Yue and Hanzou. If it wasn't as he expected, he would need to stir up some mutual hatred between them.
In addition to assigning tasks to the Root members, Danzo also began devising a way for him to reasonably leave Konoha.
For such a significant matter, he would have to meet with Hanzou in person.
Earth Country, Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Office.
Upon receiving the latest intelligence report from Rain Country, Onoki's face lit up with interest. "Ninjutsu Master Sou Yuukai, Ninjutsu Sect... This is intriguing."
He didn't pay much attention to the legendary stories surrounding Mu Yue. Instead, Onoki had a hunch that this ninja was someone who knew how to stir up trouble.
In just over a month, Mu Yue had gone from being unknown to gaining fame in the ninja world and acquiring a group of followers.
However, what disappointed Onoki was that Mu Yue was causing trouble only in Rain Country. If Mu Yue had been creating problems in any of the other four great countries, Onoki wouldn't have hesitated to get involved and make a mountain out of a molehill.
Rain Country didn't hold much interest for Onoki, and weakening the Rain Ninja Village went against Iwagakure's interests.
He intended to take advantage of the Rain Ninja Village to cause some trouble for Sunagakure and Kumogakure.
Even though the number of ninjas in his village had already surpassed ten thousand, Onoki wasn't in a hurry to strike with full force. He wanted to weaken the other great ninja villages first.
Thus, Onoki had been consistently carrying out his "stir the feces stick" plan, inciting conflicts between the various ninja villages and letting them wage war against each other.
In a dimly lit cave, Uchiha Madara furrowed his brows as he listened to Black Zetsu's report.
"Have you investigated this person called Sou Yuukai?" Madara asked in a deep voice.
Since Pain held such a crucial position in his resurrection plan, Madara was naturally concerned about the sudden appearance of a strong individual by Pain's side.
If there was one person Black Zetsu feared the most, it was undoubtedly the Sage of the Six Paths.
Black Zetsu could be considered the third child of Kaguya Otsutsuki, making him the younger brother of the Sage of the Six Paths.
He had no means of countering his mother's seal, and while the Sage of the Six Paths was alive, Black Zetsu dared not act out.
If there truly was a Ninja Sect inheritance, Black Zetsu believed it to be the Sage's backup plan to prevent Kaguya's resurrection, rather than an inheritance from Indra and Ashura.
Black Zetsu was well aware of the nature of Indra and Ashura; those two foolish boys were nothing to fear.
Thus, Black Zetsu earnestly dispatched White Zetsu to investigate Sou Yuukai's past.
However, Sou Yuukai seemed to have appeared out of thin air, and all the information Black Zetsu could gather was what Sou Yuukai had revealed himself.
Black Zetsu considered the possibility of a fake identity, but found no traces of transformation jutsu on Mu Yue, and even if the name was fake, there should be some information based on his appearance.
After a comprehensive investigation, Black Zetsu concluded that Sou Yuukai might have truly been in seclusion all this time, hence the lack of information.
"Strengthen the surveillance on Nagato," Uchiha Madara said thoughtfully.
At the moment, he didn't have a better solution; he couldn't very well take care of the problem himself.
Although Madara was confident in his strength, his body had been eroded by time, and killing Mu Yue might shorten his lifespan, affecting his overall plan.
Madara wasn't overly anxious, as there had been a powerful ninja by Nagato's side before, and if Mu Yue didn't know about the Rinnegan or had no interest in it, it wouldn't impact his plan too much.
Black Zetsu nodded.
In fact, he had already dispatched White Zetsu to keep an eye on Nagato 24/7, as he was worried that Mu Yue might be the Sage of the Six Paths' backup plan.
Black Zetsu even had a wild theory that Mu Yue might be the reincarnation of the Sage of the Six Paths' chakra.
This was possible, as a normal ninja wouldn't seclude themselves in the mountains and then suddenly emerge wanting to restore the Ninja Sect.
However, this speculation was too bold, and Black Zetsu himself thought it unlikely. While Mu Yue had displayed impressive abilities, they were still within the realm of normalcy.
"It seems we need to speed up our plans," Uchiha Madara said, preparing to use his arrangements to further confuse the situation in the ninja world.
Plans often couldn't keep up with changes, and to prevent any major accidents, Madara wanted to accelerate his plan so that he could rest in peace and await his resurrection.
Mu Yue's defeat of Kakuzu had attracted too much attention, and his bounty on the black market had skyrocketed to a staggering 40 million ryo.
This was an incredibly high number; in terms of S-rank missions, it was equivalent to 40 S-rank missions in Konoha.
Despite the surge in bounty, the number of attacks on Mu Yue decreased.
The vast majority of bounty hunters had heard of Kakuzu's defeat by Mu Yue, a legendary figure in the black market, and didn't dare act rashly.
While bounty hunters loved money, they also valued their lives, as death meant they couldn't spend their earnings.
After defeating Kakuzu, Mu Yue and his group continued their journey without changing their pace, except for the addition of a new member.
Due to Kakuzu's unusual body, Mu Yue specially bought him a long robe to avoid scaring ordinary people.
"Why bother about those ordinary people?" Kakuzu asked, indifferent to what he wore but curious about the reason.
"It's about showing respect," Mu Yue replied seriously. "We're all just people, and no one is inherently superior to another."
Kakuzu let out a cold laugh. "That sounds nice, but then why do nobles exist? Aren't they born superior?"
"Nobles are born with privileges and estates. How is that equality?" Mu Yue countered.
All the ninjas looked at Mu Yue, curious about his response.
While this question was fine among ninjas, with clan ninjas having more resources and secret techniques than civilian ninjas, the gap between ordinary civilians and nobles was significant.
"You're right," Mu Yue said with a faint smile. "I believe the system of nobles enjoying privileges should be abolished."
Kakuzu stared at Mu Yue, his eyes wide. This wasn't the response he had expected.
Instead of refuting him, Mu Yue had said something even more "blasphemous."
"Do you know what you're saying? The feudal lords are the biggest nobles," Kakuzu said, studying Mu Yue as if seeing him in a new light.
The feudal lords were the most privileged group in the ninja world, as their descendants enjoyed wealth and power without having to lift a finger, and their words held the power of life and death over countless people.
The other ninjas also looked at Mu Yue with shock, as these were the boldest words they had ever heard.
"The Ninja Sect I aim to create won't be an exact replica of the one in history," Mu Yue said, steering the topic back to the Ninja Sect. "It will be a new Ninja Sect that learns from the failures of the past."
Kakuzu had expected Mu Yue to sidestep the issue, and just as he was about to mock him, he heard something even more explosive.
"The Sage of the Six Paths was far-sighted, but the Ninja Sect he created was limited by the times," Mu Yue said. "The most problematic aspect was the adoption of a hereditary system."
Mu Yue was actually pointing out the Sage of the Six Paths' shortcomings.
The ninjas were surprised, as Mu Yue had previously praised the Ninja Sect and the Sage of the Six Paths.
"We should learn from the Sage's strengths while also recognizing and eliminating the negative aspects," Mu Yue continued. "We must be bold enough to criticize and not blindly follow just because someone is an authority figure."
"No matter who it is, a mistake is a mistake," Mu Yue said sincerely. "If any of you ever find that I'm wrong, please point it out so that I may correct my errors."
Kakuzu was at a loss for words and could only silently remember Mu Yue's words, waiting for the day when Mu Yue would go back on his word. He didn't believe that such a person could exist in this world.
The other 72 ninjas also saw Mu Yue in a new light.
"Big Brother Sou is right," Yahiko said to his Akatsuki members with a smile. "If I ever make a mistake, you all must point it out immediately. Don't hold back just because I'm the leader."
He felt that Mu Yue's words were spot on, but he knew that he would never have been able to come up with such words himself. Yahiko's respect for Mu Yue grew even deeper.
After that day, Mu Yue's lectures changed slightly. In addition to ninja knowledge, he incorporated some knowledge from his previous life, blending it with the ancient Ninja Sect and the reality of the ninja world.
(End of Chapter)
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