Chapter 412: Lord Hanzo's Conspiracy, Mugetsu's Suicide?
"Not even Yahiko and the others?" Nagato asked after a brief silence.
Nagato could tell how deeply Yahiko respected Mugetsu. To Yahiko, Mugetsu was not just a teacher, but a goal to chase.
"Not yet," Mugetsu replied, shaking his head. "The fewer people who know, the better. If it gets exposed too early, it will bring disaster down on the Shinobi Sect."
Mugetsu trusted Yahiko's character. But White Zetsu's information network was too terrifying. Before revealing anything, Mugetsu needed a barrier that could cut off prying ears. At this stage, to prevent exposure, he only planned to let Nagato know the truth.
"Then why tell me?" Nagato pressed, eyes fixed on Mugetsu. His fingers unconsciously kneaded the edge of the chair. "If you never said anything, nobody should be able to find out. Your Transformation Technique is perfect. I cannot see any flaw at all."
Nagato truly believed Mugetsu could hide it forever if he wanted.
Mugetsu looked at him quietly, then spoke with calm certainty.
"Like I told you before, I do not want to walk with everyone under a false identity. This disguise was never something I enjoyed. It was a helpless measure forced by reality." He paused, then continued, "That is why I believe at least one person must know my true identity."
"To keep the secret from leaking, that person can only be someone I trust the most inside the Shinobi Sect."
Mugetsu's gentle smile returned.
"And I believe that person is you, Nagato. You can keep my secret, just as you were willing to trust me with your own experiences."
Nagato's heart tightened slightly.
This trust was not random, and it had nothing to do with his Rinnegan. It was simple. He trusted Mugetsu, so Mugetsu trusted him back.
"I will do my best," Nagato promised seriously.
Mugetsu trusted him this much. Nagato could not betray that.
And deep down, Nagato agreed. Mugetsu's true identity really would bring trouble to the Shinobi Sect as it was now.
Then Mugetsu began teaching Nagato the Basic Breathing Technique.
Nagato had already mastered six chakra nature transformations, but none stood out as particularly dominant. Mugetsu had not decided which Breathing Technique suited him best yet, so he started with the foundation.
It was the safest choice.
Nagato already had plenty of ninjutsu from Jiraiya, so he did not urgently need more techniques. Meanwhile, Breathing Techniques were subtle in both cultivation and application, making them ideal for the current situation. More importantly, their potential was enormous.
[System: You taught your disciple the Basic Breathing Technique. Due to the disciple's extreme gratitude, a critical reward was triggered. Reward gained: Four Symbols Seal (Proficient Level).]
Mugetsu glanced at the panel and nodded inwardly.
Revealing the truth earlier had done more than prevent Nagato from suffering a devastating shock later. It had also strengthened trust. A small secret shared by only two people could deepen a bond faster than any speech.
When Mugetsu first revealed his identity, Nagato's trust level had dropped to one. After the explanation, it returned to two. Now, teaching had even triggered a critical reward. Overall, the relationship was moving forward.
… … … …
After learning that Mugetsu's side was willing to cooperate, Lord Hanzo immediately chose what he considered a geomantically auspicious location where Mugetsu and his group could rest in peace.
It was a valley.
Hanzo planned to lure Mugetsu and his people inside, then activate traps while Rain ninja struck from above.
Now that he regarded the Shinobi Sect as enemies, he intended to crush them by any means necessary, while minimizing losses on Amegakure's side.
"This is exactly how you deal with shinobi who preach peace while hiding malicious intent," Danzo said, clearly satisfied with Hanzo's approach.
Danzo had originally assumed Hanzo would disdain traps, but Hanzo showed no hesitation. It gave Danzo a faint sense of regret, as if he had met the wrong man too late.
Hanzo only nodded, expression indifferent. He was never rigid when facing an enemy.
Just then, there was a knock at the door of the Hidden Rain leader's office.
"Come in," Hanzo said.
A Rain ninja entered quickly. "Lord Hanzo, there are Iwagakure shinobi requesting an audience. They seem very angry."
Hanzo's brows furrowed. If they came now, it could only be about the shinobi killed on the border.
Danzo put on an apologetic expression and sighed, as if he regretted that the cover up had not been thorough enough.
"It seems my subordinates missed something," Danzo said, looking toward Hanzo as if ashamed.
His expression was an act, but the situation itself was not his arrangement. Iwagakure appearing unexpectedly could create complications even for his plan.
"It is not your fault," Hanzo said in a low voice. "I misjudged them."
There was no alliance between the Land of Rain and Konoha. Danzo had no obligation to help him. Danzo had already done more than enough.
Hanzo then looked at the Rain ninja. "Bring them in."
Hanzo had planned to deal with Mugetsu first, then explain it to Iwagakure afterward. But now that Iwagakure had come knocking, he had no choice but to address it immediately.
"Iwagakure is still at war with Konoha," Danzo said, standing. "I will take my leave."
The peace talk had only ever been a convenient excuse. Danzo had no intention of facing Iwagakure shinobi.
Hanzo nodded.
Even if Danzo stayed, Hanzo would have to send him away. If Iwagakure saw Konoha's second in command inside the Hidden Rain leader's office, and then connected that to the incident, the Hidden Rain would never wash its name clean, even if it jumped into the sea.
Soon, the Rain ninja returned, bringing three Iwagakure shinobi into the office.
Hanzo observed them quietly.
The lead shinobi wore a red fitted combat suit, covered by brown jonin chainmail. He had a sturdy build, an ordinary face, and an unusually large nose.
"To send Kitsuchi," Hanzo thought. "Iwagakure takes this seriously."
He recognized the man at once. Kitsuchi, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki's son.
Kitsuchi's reputation was not as overwhelming as A's, but in this era, he was still widely known as a young prodigy.
"Recently, we discovered shinobi wearing Land of Rain headbands killed our Iwagakure shinobi," Kitsuchi said bluntly. "Iwagakure demands a reasonable explanation."
Even though Hanzo was renowned across the shinobi world, Kitsuchi showed no fear. He had Iwagakure behind him.
The Second Shinobi World War had already proven a cruel truth. One top tier shinobi could not decide the outcome of a war.
Of course, that did not mean an individual could not change history. It meant Hanzo, as a single strong man, was not strong enough to do it alone. Hashirama had already shown the shinobi world the true ceiling of individual power.
"Regarding this matter, the Hidden Rain expresses deep sympathy," Hanzo said. "But it was not done by Hidden Rain shinobi. It was done by a group of Land of Rain shinobi calling themselves the Shinobi Sect."
Hanzo explained the incident from start to finish. Because Konoha and Iwagakure were at war, he changed one detail, claiming the discovery came from patrolling Rain shinobi rather than Root.
"Even if they are not Hidden Rain shinobi, they are still Land of Rain shinobi," Hanzo continued, voice cold. "This incident grieves me. I will kill every one of those who tried to provoke war between the Land of Rain and Iwagakure."
"That is your solution?" Kitsuchi's gaze sharpened. "They were brave warriors of Iwagakure, carrying out important missions for the village. Lord Hanzo, you are renowned and you claim to be reasonable. Do you believe a life for a life can erase this?"
Kitsuchi had studied the Land of Rain. He believed Hanzo's story was mostly true. With the Hidden Rain in its current state, provoking a Great Village would be suicidal.
But that did not stop him from squeezing greater benefit from this situation.
Hanzo understood immediately.
They wanted money.
"This unexpected incident is indeed a dereliction of duty on our part," Hanzo said without expression. "We are willing to provide compensation for the fallen Iwagakure shinobi."
Inside, Hanzo was furious.
But the Hidden Rain lacked the strength to go to war with a Great Village. He could only pay.
And that only made him hate the Shinobi Sect more, because all of this stemmed from them.
Hanzo quickly set a meeting time, sent an envoy to notify the Shinobi Sect, then summoned Hidden Rain elites and issued orders.
The incident had come suddenly. Many Hidden Rain shinobi did not yet know Hanzo intended to eliminate the Shinobi Sect.
Hundreds of elite Rain shinobi gathered in a conference room. Hanzo's deputy spoke first, laying out the Shinobi Sect's wicked deeds.
The deeds of Ninja Master Sosuke and the Shinobi Sect had been spreading too widely across the Land of Rain. Hanzo feared some Rain shinobi might believe Sosuke, so he ensured they were shown the sect's so called true face first.
"The Shinobi Sect claims to preach peace," Hanzo's deputy said with indignation, "yet they killed Iwagakure shinobi and tried to provoke conflict between the Land of Rain and Iwagakure. Their intentions are despicable."
The Rain shinobi below were shocked. The Shinobi Sect's reputation among the people had been excellent since it appeared.
"I cannot believe Sosuke was that rebellious," said a Hidden Mist jonin who had once been ordered to investigate Mugetsu. "I even thought he might bring real change to the Land of Rain."
He turned to the person beside him.
"Ichigo, you must be unwilling, losing to someone like that."
Kurosaki Ichigo, seated next to him, smiled and nodded.
"Yes. Next time, I will definitely win," Mugetsu's shadow clone replied calmly.
Honestly, sitting in a room while others planned how to kill him was… oddly entertaining.
After the meeting, the shadow clone returned to its temporary residence in the Hidden Rain, dispelled itself, and sent its memories back to the main body.
That evening, Mugetsu was alone in his room, studying Sealing Technique.
Once he organized the incoming memories, he moved quietly toward the Hidden Rain. The moment he entered his sensory range, he used Flying Thunder God to appear at his temporary residence, created a new shadow clone, then used Flying Thunder God again to leave.
The clone's ability to achieve this effect exceeded even Mugetsu's expectations.
He had only intended for it to play a double role. He had not expected the Hidden Rain to value the clone's strength enough to recruit it formally.
Since it had just joined, the clone received few missions, and none were high level. That prevented excessive chakra consumption or injuries.
At the same time, Mugetsu now had an informant inside Amegakure itself.
With the shadow clone as an inside man, Mugetsu was effectively participating in the conspiracy against him, knowing every trap location and every mechanism in advance.
Three days later, the day for discussing great peace with Lord Hanzo arrived.
Many Shinobi Sect members were excited.
If Hanzo was not deceiving them, this cooperation would be a monumental leap forward. Not one leap, but several at once.
"Uncle Sosuke," Yahiko said after thinking it over, "are we all going together? Would that be inappropriate?"
He worried bringing too many shinobi might leave a bad impression, like they were suspicious and wary.
Mugetsu nodded. "You are right. We do not need too many people for a meeting."
Hanzo was a top tier expert. If too many people came, Mugetsu could not guarantee everyone's safety.
The surrounding Shinobi Sect members looked at Mugetsu with anticipation. No one wanted to miss such a major moment.
"Nagato, Yahiko, Konan, Kakuzu, Ikechou, Kuroda…" Mugetsu called out eight names in a row.
These were the ones he valued most, those with stronger combat ability and better survival instincts.
"Why do I have to go?" Kakuzu's eyelid twitched. "I am not even a Shinobi Sect member."
Mugetsu gave him a faint smile. "If you want to come, you can follow. If you truly do not want to, you do not have to."
Kakuzu fell into thought.
Yahiko's smile nearly burst off his face the moment he heard his name.
He had a strong sense of belonging to the Shinobi Sect. Being chosen for a landmark meeting made him thrilled. More than that, he had always wanted to speak to Lord Hanzo. He was intensely curious about Hanzo's views on peace.
Nagato felt less strongly. As long as cooperation could be established, he did not need to witness it personally.
Ikechou, however, showed a flicker of worry. The longer this dragged on, the more he felt Hanzo harbored ill intent.
"Boss, good luck," Kyusuke teased. "You are meeting your idol."
Yahiko scratched his head, smiling, and did not argue.
Amid cheerful farewells from dozens of sect members, Mugetsu's group set off toward the agreed valley.
Kakuzu frowned, but followed anyway.
He felt this meeting would turn into trouble. He did not want to go.
But Mugetsu was going, and Kakuzu had no choice. If something happened to Mugetsu, Kakuzu would have to wait fifteen years for the seal to release on its own.
At the valley entrance, they met Lord Hanzo waiting for them.
Hanzo brought even fewer people, only two shinobi at his side.
"Lord Hanzo, we meet again," Mugetsu greeted with a smile.
"I did not expect you to accomplish so many things in such a short time," Hanzo replied calmly.
He still remembered warning Mugetsu to be careful of black market shinobi. He had not expected Mugetsu to become his enemy so quickly.
Hanzo's eyes flicked to Kakuzu, a hint of surprise crossing him.
He was not surprised Kakuzu was alive. A man who survived the black market for decades would naturally have methods.
What surprised him was Kakuzu's position, as if he had joined the Shinobi Sect.
Hanzo's expression remained unchanged. One extra Kakuzu would not stop him from killing them all.
He had explosive tag traps laid out, and he personally was a top tier expert, leading a hundred elite Hidden Rain shinobi. Hanzo believed he could eliminate anyone in the current shinobi world.
His original preparations had been even more thorough. He had wanted to capture a Shinobi Sect member to threaten Mugetsu, but Mugetsu kept the sect close and tight. Hanzo abandoned the capture to avoid alerting them.
Iwagakure was also watching.
To avoid exposing his connection to Danzo, Hanzo had regretfully refused Danzo's direct assistance.
"Lord Hanzo, your deeds are what truly surprise me," Mugetsu replied with a faint smile.
The two sides walked deeper into the valley, chatting as if nothing were wrong.
Hidden in the shadows, Danzo smiled as he watched.
He had poured effort into driving Hanzo against Mugetsu and the Rinnegan, even losing a group of Root elites.
By now, Danzo had adjusted many details of his original plan.
He had intended to kill Nagato and frame Iwagakure. He had not expected Nagato to be so strong that he instantly slaughtered the entire Root squad.
On the other side, hidden Iwagakure shinobi watched silently.
After all, it was a clash between Ninja Master Sosuke and the Demigod Hanzo. Even without a mission, Kitsuchi was curious.
Though Sosuke had only recently risen to fame, his record was real. He had decisively defeated Kakuzu in direct combat.
"It is a pity this is not a fair fight," Kitsuchi thought.
Because this was a conspiracy from the start. Hanzo had prepared the ground. Mugetsu's group, as far as Kitsuchi knew, remained unaware.
Kakuzu's gaze swept the terrain.
Cliffs rose on both sides. The entrances and exits were narrow. It was the kind of place built to bury people.
"Lord Hanzo," Yahiko asked, unable to restrain himself any longer, "what are your thoughts on the Land of Rain right now? How do you think we can achieve lasting peace?"
The Land of Rain was filled with Hanzo's legends. Yahiko had admired him for years. If not for respect toward Mugetsu, he would have spoken sooner.
"Building shinobi strength is the fundamental way to resolve the Land of Rain's chaos," Hanzo answered, quietly gathering chakra as he spoke. "As for lasting peace, that depends on the situation of the great nations."
He continued, voice flat.
"And eliminating domestic ninja organizations that attempt to incite war is also very important."
"And what else?" Yahiko asked eagerly, expecting a grand speech about peace.
Hanzo did not continue.
He gave a look to the two shinobi beside him. Then he erupted with chakra and used Body Flicker, vanishing to the top of the valley.
The two Hidden Rain shinobi retreated at once and detonated the traps.
Boom!
A violent explosion roared through the valley. Smoke and dust swallowed Mugetsu and the others.
"Hanzo is cautious," Kitsuchi thought, frowning slightly. The real Hanzo felt different from the rumors.
He did not condemn the method. Shinobi were not samurai. Shinobi did not chase fair duels. Victory was victory.
But perhaps the rumors about Hanzo had been too idealized.
"I wonder if the Rinnegan can be transplanted and used like the Sharingan," Danzo thought greedily, already imagining Nagato's eyes in his own skull.
It mattered that the enemy did not have the Rinnegan.
But it also mattered, perhaps even more, that Danzo himself did.
After all, those were the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, carrying an aura of mystery.
"Did the traps malfunction?" Hanzo, watching from above, suddenly realized something was wrong. "The explosion's placement is off."
He had meant to lead them into the center.
Instead, they had only been caught at the edge.
As the smoke thinned, a flowing wall of water appeared, shielding the group completely.
Mugetsu and the others stood behind it, unharmed.
The moment the explosive tags ignited, Mugetsu had condensed chakra and used Water Formation Wall, perfectly blocking the blast. Not even dust reached them.
Hanzo's brows tightened.
By his plan, the explosive tags should have killed everyone except Mugetsu and Kakuzu, while also injuring those two.
But now, the trap had only forced Mugetsu to spend chakra on a single Water Formation Wall.
That result made Hanzo uneasy.
Still, he did not panic.
With a hundred elite Rain shinobi plus himself, a top tier expert, he could still finish this through direct combat.
"What… what is going on?" Yahiko stared blankly at the valley floor, now ravaged by explosions.
His mind refused to accept it.
"What else could it be?" Kakuzu scoffed coldly. "Your beloved Lord Hanzo is trying to kill you. If you are still this naive now, it is honestly pathetic."
"As expected," Ikechou sighed quietly. "Something was wrong."
The moment he saw the terrain, he had nearly confirmed Hanzo's intent. When they entered, Ikechou had already warned Mugetsu in a low, subtle voice.
At that moment, beneath the eternally gloomy sky of the Land of Rain, rain began to fall.
Heavy drops struck everyone equally, cold and relentless.
"A gift from heaven," Hanzo murmured, a faint smile appearing. "No more surprises."
For a master of Water Release, rain was an advantage.
For Mugetsu, who specialized in Fire Release, it was the worst possible weather.
"Why… why did it become like this?" Yahiko looked up at Hanzo, shaken.
They had been speaking so smoothly. Why attack now?
Nagato and Konan were also stunned. They had supported cooperation, and neither of them had imagined this outcome.
"Did we not agree to work together to maintain peace in the Land of Rain?" Yahiko shouted. "Why are you doing this?"
At this moment, he regretted his passionate speech before the vote.
If not for him, perhaps more people would have opposed.
This cooperation was a trap. A trap meant to erase the Shinobi Sect.
But Yahiko still could not understand why. In his mind, killing them brought Hanzo no benefit.
"Am I not maintaining peace?" Hanzo replied calmly.
"If you truly desire peace for the Land of Rain, then die. The Land of Rain will be more peaceful without the Shinobi Sect."
Yahiko's fists clenched until his knuckles whitened.
He had not expected the man he admired to be so treacherous, so malicious.
From this day forward, Yahiko felt he might never trust rumors again.
Hanzo had taught him a lesson carved in blood.
"It is nothing more than petty fear," Kakuzu said with contempt. "He worries you will affect his authority."
"You truly desire peace and ask for nothing else, but others do not see it that way. They only believe what they think they see."
Watching Yahiko and the others face betrayal and danger, Kakuzu felt as if he were seeing his past self.
The details were different, but the nature was the same.
"Sensei… I am sorry," Nagato said, turning to Mugetsu with guilt. "I supported the cooperation too. I…"
"How is this your fault?" Mugetsu shook his head and gently patted Nagato's head. "You are victims."
If blame had to be assigned, Mugetsu himself carried it as well.
Because he knew what was happening, yet still allowed it to unfold.
Stopping it would not have been difficult. He could simply have refused to attend.
But that would not resolve the conflict. It would only delay it.
As long as the Shinobi Sect continued to grow, it would inevitably clash with the Hidden Rain, unless Hanzo and his people joined the Shinobi Sect.
And based on Mugetsu's understanding of Hanzo, that was almost impossible. Hanzo had his own beliefs and pride. Without special circumstances, he would never lower his head to a force founded by a junior.
Mugetsu's logic here was the same as how he had watched his disciples fight a Hidden Mist jonin during the Chunin Exams.
When he was one hundred percent sure there would be no accidents, he would let them fight, let them learn, then catch them if they fell.
Here, he was not only training disciples. He was training the Shinobi Sect itself.
If conflict was unavoidable, then he would resolve it while extracting the maximum benefit.
Mugetsu believed that after this, Yahiko and the others would mature. The Shinobi Sect as a whole would be forced to transform.
Under his protection, their rise had been too smooth. Some members had become overly optimistic.
Whoosh.
Hanzo threw a sharp kunai. It embedded into the ground in front of Mugetsu.
"Sosuke," Hanzo said calmly, "you are the founder and leader of the Shinobi Sect. If you are willing to commit suicide, I can spare the others."
Hanzo wanted to end this cautiously. Any chance to reduce pressure was worth taking.
Of course, even if Mugetsu committed suicide, Hanzo had no intention of sparing Nagato and the others. He simply wanted to save effort.
Hanzo's words shattered what remained of Yahiko's idol worship.
Before, Hanzo had been a great shinobi with lofty ideals in Yahiko's heart.
Now, Hanzo was a treacherous, despicable scoundrel.
"Uncle Sosuke, do not listen to him," Yahiko snarled. "We fight!"
At this moment, Yahiko wanted nothing more than to rush up and punch Hanzo in the face.
Hanzo was strong, but Yahiko still believed they had a chance.
Even if Mugetsu could not defeat Hanzo alone, adding Kakuzu would change everything. And their seven could easily crush the two Hidden Rain shinobi.
"Perhaps cooperation with Hanzo will be possible in the future," Danzo thought, pleased. Hanzo's methods grew more agreeable by the second.
A shinobi who pursued victory by any means was, in Danzo's eyes, a true shinobi.
"I do not recommend you make that choice," Hanzo said flatly. "Because that is seeking death."
The moment he finished speaking, the hundred elite Rain shinobi hidden along the cliffs revealed themselves, surrounding the valley and looking down at Mugetsu's group.
Yahiko's expression stiffened.
He had not expected Hanzo to go this far, traps and a massive ambush.
Ikechou and Kakuzu were not surprised at all. If this was Hanzo's conspiracy, there was no way he would bring only two subordinates.
For a moment, Mugetsu's group looked trapped in a dead end.
"I am the one who learned Uncle Sosuke's ideals best," Yahiko said, grabbing the kunai from the ground. "I will die in his place."
If his death could buy a path for Mugetsu and the others to live, Yahiko would not hesitate.
After everything that happened, he felt responsible.
His blind admiration had made him trust Hanzo too much.
"You are not qualified," Hanzo replied coldly. "Only Sosuke, as the leader, is qualified."
Among the eight present, only Mugetsu and Kakuzu were worth attention in Hanzo's eyes. Everyone else was an existence he could kill at will.
"Sensei Sosuke, you absolutely must not commit suicide," Ikechou said urgently. "Even if you do, Hanzo will never let us go!"
Ikechou did not believe a word of Hanzo's promise.
To eliminate the Shinobi Sect, Hanzo had used deception and ambush. There was no chance he would release anyone who walked into the noose.
If Ikechou were Hanzo, he would not only kill everyone in the valley, he would also wipe out every sect member who stayed behind, cutting the problem off at the root.
"Sosuke," Kakuzu sneered, eyes locked on Mugetsu, "you are naive, but you are not stupid. Do not make me look down on you."
Kakuzu believed Mugetsu should never choose suicide, but he could not be certain.
After all, Mugetsu had still come to this obvious trap.
"Ninja Master Sosuke," Kitsuchi, watching from the side, wondered with real curiosity, "how will you break out of this?"
Kitsuchi placed himself in Mugetsu's position and reached a grim conclusion.
If he surrendered, Hanzo would not spare the others.
If he fought, he could not win against a prepared ambush led by Hanzo.
Either way, it looked like death.
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