Chapter 233: Kirigakure Rogue Ninja – Hōzuki Mugetsu
Too bad the notes Tobirama wrote when developing the Tandem Explosive Tags weren't there.
The Scroll of Seals only included the full creation and activation process for the technique.
The tags used in the Tandem Explosive Tags technique were different from standard ones—their formula was unique.
Li Yao's two shadow clones were currently analyzing the sealing scripts used in both Tandem Explosive Tags and Edo Tensei, hoping to discover any chakra transformations related to time.
Li Yao suspected Tobirama had discovered several special foundational scripts, and when combined in a certain way, they generated time-related effects. His goal was to find the thread of that time attribute.
But clearly, it wasn't going to be easy.
"Patience..."
Rushing wouldn't help. Fortunately, Li Yao was satisfied with his new body—it had abundant chakra, so spawning two clones for research was no problem.
At his current strength, once he obtained Obito's Kamui Sharingan, even Rinnegan-wielding Madara wouldn't be his match.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya wanting to resurrect? She could forget it.
Li Yao, knowing the plot, would never allow her to come back.
…
The next morning.
Eastern Land of Fire.
A small town.
Inside a tavern.
Koyoko was slumped over a table, several unopened bottles of liquor beside her.
The waiter and owner tidied up the tables nearby but didn't dare disturb her. Despite Koyoko's seductive figure and clothing, none of them dared look too long.
Bang—the tavern door opened.
"Welcome—" the waiter began to greet the guest but froze. So did everyone else in the tavern—except Koyoko.
Li Yao walked over to her, frowning slightly as he noticed the empty bottles on the floor beneath the table.
"Why're you drinking so much all of a sudden?"
Koyoko had long been awake, but certain things made her not want to face reality—she simply wanted to stay drunk.
Li Yao sat beside her and waited in silence, saying nothing.
He could tell something was on her mind, but he didn't know what.
A long time passed.
Finally, Koyoko rolled her head to the side, still lying flat, her eyes looking toward Li Yao. In a trembling whisper, she asked,
"Uncle… My mom… There's no way to bring her back, is there?"
Though framed as a question, her tone made it a statement.
Li Yao froze slightly, wanting to respond, but something flashed through his mind, and his expression shifted before he fell silent.
After a few seconds, seeing the glimmer of hope buried in Koyoko's despairing gaze, he merely nodded silently.
He confirmed her suspicion.
Heh… Koyoko laughed. Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes and vanished into her smile.
After Li Yao used the Inner Four Symbols Seal, he had never told her the truth about her mother's condition. She had started to suspect.
But they'd been traveling constantly, leaving her no time to think deeply.
This time, after they were separated, she finally had time to reflect and realized what the truth likely was.
Still, hearing it confirmed by Li Yao hurt more than she expected.
Li Yao gently embraced her. Ever since he used the Inner Four Symbols Seal himself, he knew exactly what became of those sealed by it.
Both body and soul were compressed into their most basic energy state by spatial nodes and dissolved into the natural world.
Not even Edo Tensei could bring them back. The soul was gone—no trace remained.
That's why he hadn't told Koyoko the truth right away. He hadn't expected she'd figure it out on her own.
"Don't worry. I won't let a single one of them get away with it. I'll make them all suffer a hundredfold in return."
Li Yao could only comfort her this way.
But he meant every word.
To the Five Kage and the daimyō families responsible for Kiyome's death, he would repay their cruelty—with interest.
Especially the Third Hokage. He deserved a thousandfold torment.
"I'm okay now, Uncle."
A few minutes later, Koyoko stood up and wiped her tears, flashing a bright smile.
At first, when she realized her mother could never return, she felt as though she had lost the will to live. But she still had her uncle.
Now that Li Yao was back, she had a reason to live again.
"Then let's go."
Li Yao smiled and patted her head. The two of them walked out of the tavern together, boarded the clay bird, and took off toward Kirigakure.
Li Yao still needed to leave one last Water Release clone in Kirigakure.
…
Land of Waves.
A small island nation along the Fire Country's coastline.
Deep in the island's forests, a squad of six Kirigakure ANBU surrounded a male ninja wearing a Mist Village forehead protector.
The man appeared to be in his twenties, with long pale blue hair and twin kunai in hand. He was panting heavily.
Clearly, this was not their first confrontation—he had already fought off earlier pursuers.
"Why did you do it? Why assassinate the Fourth Mizukage?!"
"Mugetsu!"
The squad leader shouted angrily. He seemed familiar with the rogue ninja—Mugetsu—suggesting they had once been comrades.
Which only added to his fury and confusion.
The Fourth Mizukage—a man who had ended the chaos after the Third's death, stabilized the village, and made Kirigakure stronger than ever.
He couldn't understand why a fellow ANBU would commit such a betrayal.
"Why?"
Mugetsu chuckled coldly.
"You only see the village's prosperity. You don't realize that while our shinobi are lowering their blades, Konoha, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure—even the minor villages—are sharpening theirs."
The captain retorted,
"When did we lower our blades? With money, our ninja tools and jutsu research improve. Our strength rises. And this is just temporary—once the Rain Country's daimyō line is secured, everything will move forward. Kirigakure will only get stronger."
"Heh..."
Mugetsu sneered, interrupting,
"You're too naive. You think the other nations will wait for us to grow strong again?"
"Stop dreaming!" he shouted. "You really believe that once a shinobi sets down their blade, it'll be easy to pick it back up? That no other village will attack us at our weakest?"
"Hōzuki Mugetsu, you're beyond saving."
The squad leader shook his head, saddened by his former comrade's twisted face.
"No matter your reasons, you had no right to try and assassinate the Fourth."
"Kill him."
With that command, the six ANBU launched their attack.
Clang clang—boom!
The sounds of blades clashing and jutsu exploding echoed through the forest.
Half an hour later—
The once-dense forest was now a flattened battlefield. Fallen trees and scorched earth lay everywhere.
Incredibly, Hōzuki Mugetsu still stood.
The six ANBU lay in pools of blood.
Mugetsu stood over his former teammates, staring into their eyes—eyes filled with disbelief that six elite ANBU had lost to one man.
He sneered,
"See? This is what happens when you lower your blades. It hasn't even been two years, and your combat instincts have dulled to this level? And you say the village will only get stronger? Don't make me laugh."
Shinobi exist to fight and kill.
The moment a shinobi stops living for battle, their skill begins to rot.
And this was the result.
Six elite ANBU, dead by the hand of one.
How could they possibly compete with the ANBU of Konoha or Kumogakure—villages that continued to battle in the shadows even after the last war?
Mugetsu had seen the decay that the Fourth's policies would bring to Kirigakure.
When persuasion failed, he tried assassination.
But the Fourth was no pushover. He had crushed the assassination attempt, forcing Mugetsu into exile.
Still, he hadn't given up. Once his secret jutsu was complete, he would return—kill the Fourth, and put Kirigakure back on the right path.
"You... won't… get… away."
"The Fourth… is… right..."
The captain forced out those final words through bloodied lips, even as life drained from him.
He died believing the Fourth's path was the correct one—because of the smiling faces hiding safely in the village.
(END CHAPTER)
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