https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-409-Longmon-s-Rampage-8-4k-Part-1-/12558532/
Chapter 409: Longmon's Rampage (8.4k) (Part 2)
Chapter 409: Longmon's Rampage (8.4k) (Part 2)
"Yahiko, I'm sorry. I..." Nagato said, lowering his head.
There was no question that he had messed up.
Seeing Nagato's pale face, Yahiko sighed and smiled as he comforted him, "Didn't Juzo-san say that it's only right to give an equal retaliation to those who want to kill us? You didn't do anything wrong."
Nagato had only burst out to protect him, so Yahiko had no reason to blame Nagato.
"Nagato, are you feeling unwell?" Konan asked with concern.
"I'm fine. I just expended a bit too much chakra just now," Nagato shook his head in response.
"Given what happened, I think we should report this to Juzo-san. Let's head back early," Yahiko suggested after a moment's thought.
Everyone agreed, and the seven of them immediately made their way back to the village where Mu Yue was located.
After Yahiko's group left, several ninjas wearing Konoha's Root Organization uniforms appeared.
"It's the Rinnegan! I can't believe there's such power in the Land of Rain," Danzo Shimura said, looking at the dead Root members with surprise.
The Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki clans were all descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, and Konoha possessed a vast amount of information about the Sage. Danzo knew that the Sage of Six Paths was not a legend but a real person.
However, Danzo never expected to find the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan in the Land of Rain.
"Hanzo the Salamander, Ninjutsu Master Sozosa, and the Rinnegan. These three powers must not be allowed to unite!" Danzo's eyes flashed with intense wariness.
In his opinion, the overall strength of the Land of Rain had already surpassed their limits, and it was enough to threaten Konoha.
"Fortunately, I discovered this in time. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable," Danzo secretly criticized Hiruzen Sarutobi's incompetence.
Currently, Ninjutsu Master Sozosa had already joined forces with the Rinnegan, and if left unchecked, the fusion of these three powers would give rise to an existence on par with the power of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Although Danzo wanted Hanzo and Mu Yue to clash directly, his investigations revealed that the two were not enemies and had even met amicably once.
So, when Danzo discovered that Mu Yue's journey would end in the border region bordering the Land of Earth, he immediately brought his men here to stir up trouble, hoping to create a conflict between Mu Yue and the Iwagakure ninjas.
Now, Danzo felt that this was still insufficient, and he wanted to ensure that Hanzo and Mu Yue's cooperation would never come to fruition.
Danzo ordered his men to collect the corpses of the fallen Root members, and then he used a Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself and his men as Yahiko's team, hunting down a squad of Iwagakure ninjas. After staging the scene, Danzo brought the bodies of the Iwagakure ninjas to the Rain Ninja Village.
Upon learning of Danzo's arrival in the Rain Ninja Village, Hanzo received him personally.
In the eyes of other ninja villages, Danzo was Konoha's second-in-command, a figure who could represent Konoha.
"Hanzo, I am truly indignant for you," Danzo suddenly said with a look of righteous anger, as if Hanzo had suffered a great injustice.
"Why do you say that?" Hanzo asked, looking at Danzo with confusion.
Both men held similar positions and possessed comparable strength, so Hanzo did not address Danzo by his name.
"As you know, Konoha is currently engaged in a conflict with Iwagakure, not to mention our other rivals, Kirigakure and Kumogakure.
While Konoha is strong enough to face these challenges, a full-scale war between the Great Ninja Villages would bring great destruction to the ninja world. Konoha does not wish to see innocent lives lost, so we thought perhaps you, Hanzo, could mediate and facilitate peace talks between Konoha and Iwagakure." Danzo spun his tale, feigning righteousness.
There had been no talk of peace negotiations within Konoha, as they held the upper hand.
Hanzo nodded, acknowledging Danzo's reasoning.
However, he did not believe that Konoha was concerned about the welfare of the ninja world. He suspected that they simply wanted to eliminate one of their opponents to ease the pressure they were facing.
Hanzo saw no issue with Konoha approaching him to mediate. After all, he was the only leader of a small ninja village who stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world, revered by all.
"But our ninja discovered an unfortunate incident. Those who call themselves followers of Ninshu from the Land of Rain attacked and killed a group of Iwagakure ninja." Danzo's expression turned somber as he continued.
"At first, my subordinates thought they were Rain Ninja Village ninjas because they wore the village's forehead protector. But upon further investigation, we found that they were not."
Hanzo's face betrayed a hint of embarrassment. This was likely an inevitable consequence of the Rain Ninja Village's predicament following the Second Great Ninja War.
The village had suffered devastating losses during the war, with many ninjas killed and others defecting. This left them short-handed for completing missions and maintaining law and order within their borders.
To address this, Hanzo implemented a policy allowing ninjas from the Land of Rain to take an exam and obtain a Rain Ninja Village forehead protector to carry out missions for the village. However, they could only accept D-rank or lower missions, and the mission fees were higher than for regular village ninjas. Those who performed well could become official Rain Ninja Village ninjas.
So, ninjas wearing the Rain Ninja Village forehead protector were not necessarily from the village itself. Only those wearing the protector and the village uniform were confirmed members.
"Although they are not Rain Ninja Village ninjas, they are still ninjas from the Land of Rain, and they bear your village's symbol. Iwagakure will likely hold the entire Land of Rain accountable for their actions." Danzo sighed, as if saddened by the prospect of failed peace talks.
Danzo then instructed his men to bring out the bodies of the Iwagakure ninjas.
Hanzo examined the bodies carefully and confirmed that they were indeed Iwagakure ninjas.
Most ninjas from Iwagakure specialized in Earth Release jutsu, and the signs of their training were evident on their bodies.
Hanzo's suspicions began to grow, as he knew someone of Danzo's caliber wouldn't make baseless accusations against unknown individuals.
"In my opinion, this Ninshu Master, Sozosa, is not a benevolent person. His ideas seem more geared towards inciting an unprecedented war in the ninja world rather than rebuilding the Ninshu religion." Danzo continued to plant seeds of doubt in Hanzo's mind.
"Among his followers, there are even those who speak of abolishing the nobility. How outrageous!"
Danzo was well-prepared, and his words held a ring of truth. Not only were the bodies of the Iwagakure ninjas genuine, but most of the information he shared was also accurate, obtained through thorough investigations.
"My teacher, the Second Hokage, greatly respected the Sage of Six Paths. If he were still alive, he would never tolerate someone tarnishing the Sage's name like this. It's appalling that the origin of ninjutsu, Ninshu, is being sullied in such a way." Danzo shook his head in dismay.
"While the prospect of peace talks with Iwagakure may now be unlikely, if you ever need to deal with Sozosa or face opposition from Iwagakure, Konoha is willing to stand as your ally." Danzo's demeanor exuded righteousness.
"I appreciate your concern, Danzo, but this matter is grave and concerns the internal affairs of the Land of Rain. I will need to dispatch ninjas to investigate further." Hanzo replied gravely, expressing his gratitude.
Danzo's words held a high degree of credibility, but Hanzo couldn't afford to take them at face value without conducting his own inquiries.
Danzo's expression remained unchanged, as he had anticipated this response.
After all, Hanzo had been the leader of a ninja village for a long time, and blindly trusting others was not an option. If he did, Danzo would secretly disdain him and continue to exploit him as a free agent.
Danzo wasn't concerned about Hanzo's decision to investigate, as he had covered his tracks meticulously. Even Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan believed that they had killed the Iwagakure ninjas themselves.
…………
"Master Sozosa, we encountered a bit of an unexpected situation." After locating Mu Yue, Yahiko and his companions immediately reported what had transpired.
"We came across a squad of Iwagakure ninjas, and they attacked us for no apparent reason. In our defense, we accidentally killed them all." Yahiko scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed as he relayed the events.
He himself found his words strange—how could they have 'accidentally' killed them all? Yet, it was the truth, as bizarre as it sounded.
"Are you certain they were Iwagakure ninjas?" Mu Yue asked after hearing their account.
"I believe so. They wore the Iwagakure attire and used Earth Release jutsu." Yahiko had no reason to doubt their identity.
After all, the village was located on the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth, so encountering Iwagakure ninjas wasn't unusual.
Mu Yue shook his head. "Uniforms and forehead protectors can be easily replicated, and Earth Release jutsu is not exclusive to Iwagakure. Did you examine the bodies carefully?
"However, we should still find out who they are. Take me to where it happened."
Yahiko and the others quickly led Mu Yue to the site of their battle.
Upon their return, Yahiko and the others were stunned to find that the Iwagakure ninjas' bodies had disappeared.
"Let's ask the villagers nearby. Maybe they disposed of the bodies," Konan suggested.
"That's possible, but it's more likely that their companions took them away. Recovering the bodies is also an important task for ninjas," Mu Yue said, trying to temper their expectations.
As Mu Yue had expected, Yahiko and the others' frantic inquiries in the surrounding villages yielded no information about the bodies' whereabouts.
Longmon wore a guilty expression. If it weren't for his loss of control, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
"Even though Jiraiya-sensei taught me so many ninjutsu, I still can't control my power well," Longmon said, feeling disappointed in himself.
Jiraiya had said that he might be the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths and the savior of the ninja world, but Longmon felt that he was far from being a capable savior.
"Master Sojiro, what should we do now?" Yahiko asked, looking at Mu Yue.
Yahiko was also feeling a bit weary. He realized that he might not have what it takes to be a leader. If Mu Yue had been there, he was sure the incident wouldn't have escalated like this.
"Since we've lost the trail, let's focus on what's at hand. If they were indeed Iwagakure ninjas, someone from the village will surely come looking for us," Mu Yue said after some thought.
In truth, Mu Yue knew everything that had transpired.
He had sent a shadow clone to follow Yahiko's group.
So, he knew that the supposed Iwagakure ninjas were actually Danzo Shimura's Root Organization ninjas.
Mu Yue could guess that Danzo was trying to stir up conflict between them and Iwagakure, and possibly even Hanzo.
However, instead of exposing Danzo's plot, Mu Yue decided to turn it to his advantage. He would use this opportunity to train the members of his ninja sect and Akatsuki, enhancing their abilities.
After all, he was still in the Land of Rain and could provide backup if needed.
Mu Yue also had a personal motive. He believed that crises were opportunities to strengthen bonds, and he wanted to increase Longmon's favor toward him.
"I guess that's all we can do for now," Yahiko said, feeling that Mu Yue's words made sense.
Seeing Yahiko's helpless expression, Longmon felt even more guilty, and he remained silent on the way back to the village.
Yahiko and Konan noticed Longmon's mood and tried to comfort him.
Longmon didn't want them to worry, so he pretended to be fine until he returned to his room, where he finally let his true emotions show.
Knock, knock!
Just as Longmon was curled up with his legs in his arms, lost in his gloomy thoughts, there was a knock on his door.
Longmon hastily adjusted his expression and opened the door, thinking that Yahiko or Konan had come to check on him.
However, to his surprise, it was Mu Yue, holding a bowl of ramen.
Longmon looked at Mu Yue, confused.
Mu Yue placed the ramen on the table in the room. "Eat up. Having something delicious will make you feel better when you're upset."
"But isn't it a bit narcissistic to say that something you made is delicious? Good thing Kakuzu isn't here," Mu Yue teased himself.
As culinary skills were one of Mu Yue's notable traits, he rarely cooked during their journey in the Land of Rain.
"Well, what about it? Don't you like ramen?" Mu Yue asked curiously, seeing Longmon's inaction.
"No," Longmon shook his head. His long period of homelessness had made him far from picky.
Longmon was just surprised that Mu Yue had noticed his mood and even taken the time to make him ramen.
"Eat it while it's hot. It won't taste as good when it's cold," Mu Yue said with a smile.
Longmon looked at the steaming bowl of ramen, inhaling the delicious aroma. His stomach rumbled, and he realized he was quite hungry, as using the Rinnegan took a lot of energy.
Longmon thanked Mu Yue and began to eat, soon becoming engrossed in the delicious meal.
His eyes widened as he savored the best ramen he had ever tasted—no, the best food he had ever tasted.
Longmon, who was usually reserved, couldn't find the words to describe how he felt. With each bite of noodles and sip of broth, he felt his entire body warm up, as if he had been reborn.
This moment of bliss lasted until he realized he had finished the entire bowl without even realizing it.
"Master Sojiro, thank you," Longmon said again.
If two 'thank you's could get him a bowl of this incredibly delicious ramen, Longmon thought that the line of people wanting to express their gratitude to Mu Yue would stretch from the Rain Ninja Village to the borders of the Land of Rain.
"If you trust me, tell me what's bothering you. Keeping your troubles to yourself will only make you feel worse," Mu Yue said, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
Longmon fell silent for a moment, his mind replaying Mu Yue's journey through the Land of Rain, the care he showed his followers, and the incredibly delicious bowl of ramen he had just eaten.
PS: This chapter is 8.4k, and there's another one coming up.
(End of Chapter)
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