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Chapter 596: An Intricate Situation
Chapter 596: An Intricate Situation
The response from the Ninja Sect came faster than Lao Zi expected.
"Teacher Souyuokai has agreed to meet with you, but he's been busy preparing for a large lecture event," Nagato said as per Mu Yue's request. "He won't be able to meet with you until after the lecture is over."
"Another unlimited lecture like the previous one?" Lao Zi's curiosity was piqued, and he quickly asked.
The last time Souyuokai held a lecture, Lao Zi had heard about it but didn't attend.
Firstly, he didn't have the time, and secondly, he wasn't interested at the time.
Back then, Lao Zi believed that Souyuokai wouldn't teach any real skills and would, at most, cover basic and common knowledge.
For ninjas, knowledge truly is power, in a physical sense.
Ninja clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, who could stably awaken their bloodline limits, were rare. Most ninja clans relied on the inheritance of advanced ninja knowledge to form their ninja forces.
Take Konoha's Ino-Shika-Cho, the Aburame, the Akimichi, and the Sarutobi—all these clans were well-versed in advanced nature transformation knowledge, showcasing the importance of knowledge.
Although Mu Yue didn't directly teach any secret techniques in his lectures, he analyzed the nature transformations of various attributes in depth and explained the essence of ninja techniques and secrets.
For an ordinary ninja, this was knowledge that was difficult to come by, yet Mu Yue freely imparted it to those who came to listen to his lectures.
After learning about the specifics of Mu Yue's lectures, Lao Zi admired him greatly. It took a broad mind to do something like this.
"That's right," Nagato nodded.
"This is indeed a big deal, much more important than meeting me," Lao Zi said seriously.
Although meeting Souyuokai had been his initial motivation for coming to the Land of Rain, Lao Zi didn't mind waiting if it meant attending this lecture. In fact, he considered himself lucky.
He had missed the first unlimited lecture due to various reasons, but now, his trip to the Land of Rain coincided perfectly with the second one. What else could this be if not good luck?
"Does he truly have no ill intentions towards the Ninja Sect?" Nagato was a little surprised by Lao Zi's reaction.
He then asked if Lao Zi wanted to return to Rikudou City with him.
As the Ninja Sect had established its own town, it would naturally hold such a large-scale event there.
Lao Zi declined Nagato's offer. Going to Rikudou City held no appeal for him at the moment—he couldn't meet Souyuokai, and the unlimited lecture hadn't started yet.
He wanted to take his time and make the journey on his own, experiencing the customs and culture of the Land of Rain along the way, and perhaps even helping out unlucky villages plagued by rogue ninjas.
Nagato only asked once and didn't bring it up again. With Lao Zi's chakra levels, it was impossible for anything to happen to him on the road.
Bidding Nagato farewell, Lao Zi continued his journey through the Land of Rain.
He traveled from the northern region to the central region and finally entered the southern region of the Land of Rain.
Along the way, Lao Zi couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between the southern and northern regions.
In his first village in the northern Land of Rain, he had encountered rogue ninjas committing robberies, and he had also come across mountain bandits.
However, as he made his way towards Rikudou City in the southern region, he didn't come across a single rogue ninja causing trouble, nor did he see any bandits or thieves. Instead, he met quite a few ninjas who were on their way to attend the lecture.
"Souyuokai, who are you truly?" With these questions in mind, Lao Zi quickened his pace towards the town in the distance.
...
When the news spread that Souyuokai would be holding another unlimited lecture, it caused quite a stir in Amegakure.
Many ninjas from Amegakure had attended the previous lecture, as the Land of Rain was relatively close.
A group of ninjas from Amegakure had refrained from going due to the previous conflicts between their village and the Ninja Sect. However, when the content of the lecture spread, many of them regretted their decision.
Now, with the second unlimited lecture about to begin, those who had attended the first one wanted to go again, and those who had missed it the first time were eager to go. This led to a lot of secret discussions among the ninjas of Amegakure.
With so many people discussing it, even though they were doing it quietly, it might as well have been out in the open.
Some of the higher-ups in Amegakure thought that this was inappropriate and needed to be stopped, as it made it seem like the lecture was a grand event for their village.
However, their concerns were dismissed by Hanzou, who felt that it would be detrimental to the peace of the Land of Rain.
Hanzou didn't really need a reason to overrule the higher-ups of Amegakure—the village was under his control, and when he was angry, those so-called higher-ups didn't dare to look him in the eye.
But Hanzou didn't want it to seem like he strongly supported Souyuokai's lectures or enjoyed listening to them.
He felt that this wouldn't do.
"Should I go this time?" Hanzou hesitated.
He wanted to go, but at the same time, he didn't.
He wanted to go because Souyuokai was knowledgeable and an excellent lecturer, and he was curious about what Souyuokai would talk about this time. Would it be as impressive as the last lecture?
He didn't want to go because he was worried that Souyuokai would recognize him again.
The last time he had sneaked into the lecture, Souyuokai had identified him, which had led to him being forced to attend the Youth Ninja Competition. There, he had endured Kakuzu's sarcastic remarks and constant talk about the Fire Dragon Dance, followed by his humiliating defeat.
To this day, Hanzou had no idea how Souyuokai had accurately recognized him, as there had been so many people at the lecture, and his disguise had been good.
"Come in." Danzo lifted his head and replied in a flat tone.
Upon receiving Danzo's nod of assent, the Amegakure ninja entered and approached the desk, head lowered, placing a letter on it. "Leader Danzo, this is a letter from the Ninja Sect."
Danzo nodded expressionlessly and, after the Amegakure ninja left the room, closed the door behind him.
Danzo tore open the envelope and found that the letter was from Souyuokai, its content simple: an invitation to attend his lecture.
"Could he have guessed my thoughts even now?" Danzo wondered, his emotions mixed.
With an official invitation from the Ninja Sect, Danzo wouldn't have to hesitate.
The reason he had concealed his identity during the previous lecture was that he didn't want the Amegakure ninjas to know of his presence.
Although he was slightly inferior to Souyuokai in battle, he was, after all, a demi-god of the ninja world, well-known for a long time. Attending Souyuokai's lecture of his own accord would be like lowering his head to the younger generation.
But with an invitation, it was a different story—he would be reluctantly giving Souyuokai face by attending the event.
However, Danzo still couldn't immediately decide whether to go or not.
If he went just because Souyuokai had invited him, wouldn't that be giving him face?
After all, Souyuokai had stepped on him to rise to fame in the ninja world. Whenever someone mentioned Souyuokai or his famous jutsu, Danzo was inevitably brought up as a backdrop.
In the end, Danzo picked up his pen and began to write a reply.
Listening to Souyuokai's lecture was secondary; the primary purpose was to ease the tensions between the Ninja Sect and Amegakure, thus stabilizing the situation in the Land of Rain.
As time passed, news of Souyuokai's upcoming lecture once again spread throughout the ninja world.
The neighboring countries of Wind, Fire, and Grass Villages learned of it first, with the more distant Steam and Lightning Villages receiving the news slightly later.
Perhaps because the previous lecture had been so successful, even some ninjas from the Water Country, located on an island, expressed interest in the announcement.
However, due to various reasons, it was unlikely that ninjas living outside the continent would take action.
The main participants would still be ninjas from the Land of Rain and its surrounding countries.
...
Fire Country, Konoha Village.
The lecture by the famous ninja instructor, which was a hot topic of discussion throughout the ninja world, failed to create much of a stir in Konoha. While many villagers talked about it, they treated it more as gossip, and few expressed any interest in attending.
On the one hand, Konoha had recently been in a state of tension, with many ninjas stationed at the borders or on missions in smaller countries. Additionally, Konoha had Mu Yue, who had conducted various training sessions, and through word-of-mouth, most Konoha ninjas knew of her extraordinary teaching abilities.
However, Mu Yue's students weren't interested in attending Souyuokai's lecture. There was one disciple, though, who was eager to go to the Land of Rain.
"What Souyuokai teaches definitely can't compare to Teacher Mu Yue," Obito remarked once more during a training break, reiterating an opinion he had expressed several times.
He was the disciple who wanted to go to the Land of Rain. However, unlike ordinary ninjas who wanted to attend the lecture, he intended to prove that Mu Yue was the best teacher and expose Souyuokai as a fraud.
"If you want to go, just apply. I, for one, won't be going," Kakashi said indifferently.
Ordinarily, he might have been curious enough to make a trip to the Land of Rain, especially since there was also the issue of the corrupted Akatsuki organization there.
But lately, with his significant power boost from mastering the Yang Seal, Kakashi's mind had been occupied with further refining his skills and challenging Might Guy.
"I didn't say I wanted to go," Obito said, using his peripheral vision to observe the expressions of those around him. Sensing a lack of interest in Souyuokai's lecture, he temporarily dropped the subject.
Going alone would be too boring, and the thought of Kakashi and the others using this opportunity to train diligently made him feel like he would be missing out.
In the Root base on the other side of the village, Danzo Shimura was analyzing new intelligence.
In reality, he was the Konoha ninja who paid the most attention to Souyuokai's lectures.
However, for Danzo, the lectures themselves weren't the main focus; instead, it was the individual or organization behind them.
If the lectures were hosted by Amegakure, Danzo wouldn't have given them a second thought.
"Get our agents in the Land of Rain to act quickly and take this chance to infiltrate Rikudou City," Danzo instructed, recognizing this as an opportunity to gather intelligence on the Ninja Sect.
With so many ninjas attending the lecture, and the Ninja Sect's numbers being limited, it would be the perfect opportunity to exploit any lapses in their vigilance.
Although he had obtained information about the Ninja Sect's heritage from "Uchiha Madara," the ever-suspicious Danzo Shimura wanted to conduct his own investigation.
At the thought of "Uchiha Madara," Danzo frowned involuntarily.
Ever since the day they had discussed their cooperation, "Uchiha Madara" hadn't contacted him again, and Danzo lacked the means to get in touch with him. This left Danzo feeling like he was being toyed with.
Shaking his head, Danzo pushed those thoughts aside. Regardless of "Uchiha Madara's" situation, he was determined to obtain the Rinnegan and the Ninja Sect's heritage.
Even without the Wood Release jutsu promised by "Uchiha Madara," his Root still had a Wood Release ninja, so it wasn't a significant issue.
PS:
I finally finished writing two chapters by enduring until 5 a.m., but my state is truly a bit exhausted.
I took a day off today (not for writing, but from work).
At the beginning of a new month, I ask for the minimum monthly tickets.
I hope to get my sleep schedule back on track within a week; otherwise, it will be hard to bear.
(End of Chapter)
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