Chapter 679: The Sixth Largest Ninja Force?
Land of Rain, Six Paths City.
Unlike when he left, Mugetsu had not informed Ninshū of his exact return time, so there were no Ninshū ninja waiting to greet them when they returned to Six Paths City.
However, news of Mugetsu and his group entering the city quickly spread. By the time they returned to Ninshū's base, a group of Ninshū ninja had already gathered.
"Sōsuke sensei, welcome back!" the Ninshū ninja shouted excitedly.
Although they all knew their leader was very strong, his opponent was, after all, the Third Hokage, a man who stood at the pinnacle of the Ninja World. It was impossible for them not to worry.
Therefore, seeing Sōsuke return completely unharmed, the Ninshū ninja were genuinely happy.
Theoretically, such adoration for a single person was not ideal.
But that person was Sōsuke, the founder of the New Ninshū.
In the eyes of many Ninshū ninja, Sōsuke was equivalent to the Sage of Six Paths of the new era, so he could not be judged by the same standards.
"As I said, I would be back very soon," Mugetsu said with a faint smile.
Kakuzu listened from the side, smiling without saying anything.
Who would have thought that Sōsuke's statements about his strength were all true, without a single word being comfort or morale boosting?
Sometimes, the truth sounded more absurd than lies.
No one asked about the outcome of the battle. All the Ninshū ninja tacitly avoided the topic, simply celebrating their leader's return.
It was not until Mugetsu returned to his office to work that some people subtly tried to inquire about the battle's outcome from Nagato, Rōshi, and the other accompanying ninja.
From the perspective of reputation and prestige, it was not shameful for Sōsuke to lose to Hiruzen, an elder who had dominated the Ninja World for decades.
However, losing was still not a good thing.
Their leader had been forced to fight for Ninshū and had finally returned safely, so they certainly could not actively rub salt into the wound.
"He won," the accompanying ninja replied concisely.
If Sōsuke had won with great difficulty, they might have avoided discussing the battle's outcome out of consideration for maintaining relations.
But Sōsuke had won far too easily. It had almost been a crushing victory, and Sōsuke had not specifically warned them not to reveal the challenge, so there was no reason not to speak of it.
What did Hiruzen and Konoha losing face have to do with them?
If Konoha was so capable, they should come and fight again.
The Ninshū ninja had not forgotten that Konoha's first demand had been "Sōsuke's suicide."
Clearly, Konoha wanted their leader's life, but they had not expected their leader to be so strong, and they ended up losing the battle themselves.
"He won? Teacher Sōsuke won against the Third Hokage?" Many Ninshū ninja showed surprised expressions and asked uncertainly.
They had thought it would already be good enough if Sōsuke could return safely after a narrow defeat. They had not expected such a pleasant surprise.
"Not only did he win, but he won very easily. Hiruzen was no match for Sōsuke at all," Kakuzu explained.
All the Ninshū ninja were dumbfounded.
It was not even a hard won victory, but an overwhelming one.
The accompanying ninja secretly nodded as they saw their reactions.
They had been incredibly surprised at the scene, and they should not be the only ones shocked.
"An easy victory! Teacher Sōsuke is that strong!" Even Yahiko showed a stunned expression.
He did believe that Sōsuke could defeat Hiruzen, but he did not expect it to be an easy victory.
"Did Konoha just watch the Third Hokage lose and do nothing?" Yahiko asked, puzzled.
He felt that Konoha had come for Sōsuke. According to his prediction, Konoha should have been willing to use any means to kill Sōsuke.
Had he been wrong?
"Of course not. They tried to interfere with the battle, but they didn't succeed," Kakuzu said, shaking his head disdainfully.
If Sōsuke had not held back, those Konoha ninja would all be dead.
"You all can disperse now. There's no need to worry about Konoha anymore. With Sōsuke here, the sky won't fall."
Kakuzu now completely disregarded Konoha.
Given the strength Sōsuke had displayed, even the Five Great Ninja Villages would have to seriously consider whether they could withstand Sōsuke's retaliation if they wanted to move against Ninshū.
The Ninshū ninja, filled with joy from the good news, left.
Their greatest hope had been Sōsuke's safe return. They never expected that Sōsuke would not only return, but also bring them such a huge surprise.
The more the Ninshū ninja thought about it, the happier they became, and unconsciously, their steps quickened as they left.
They were already impatient to share this great news with their companions who had not come for various reasons.
Thus, the news quickly spread within Ninshū.
Except for ninja on missions, almost all Ninshū ninja in Six Paths City learned that their leader had defeated the Third Hokage, Hiruzen.
As time passed, various rumors began circulating within Six Paths City.
This aroused the suspicion of the Iwagakure ninja.
"What exactly is going on? Sōsuke isn't dead. What is Konoha doing?"
Inside a dome shaped stone house in Six Paths City, built in the style of the Land of Earth, an Iwagakure jonin expressed his confusion to his companion.
"Who knows? Maybe, as the rumors say, Sōsuke defeated Hiruzen and returned safely," a burly Iwagakure ninja said with a frown.
Sōsuke's successful return had disrupted their plans.
Originally, their plan was to take advantage of Konoha's desire to kill Sōsuke, put some pressure on Ninshū, and make Ninshū a secret pawn of Iwagakure.
It was not for Konoha's sake, but to plan for the next fifty years.
If they could not defeat Konoha, which had the second God of Shinobi, then they would slowly endure and let Konoha enjoy themselves for the first fifty years.
"Brother Hikari, how credible do you think this news is?"
The Iwagakure ninja who spoke first looked at Jonin Hikari, who was sitting at the head of the conference table, and asked.
"Most likely true," Jonin Hikari said after thinking for a moment.
"Since even the common people in Six Paths City have learned of it, then it is only a matter of time before the news spreads throughout the Ninja World.
"If this were false news, it would inevitably deepen the conflict between Ninshū and Konoha, increasing the likelihood of Konoha deploying troops against Ninshū. Only brainless fools would speak quickly without considering the consequences, and Sōsuke is clearly not such a fool.
"That can only mean Sōsuke isn't afraid of a conflict with Konoha. So Sōsuke must have won against Hiruzen, and not just by a simple margin."
"This is not good news for us. We must quickly mobilize our forces to investigate thoroughly and then report to the Village," Jonin Hikari said with a serious expression.
Previously, Iwagakure had attached great importance to Ninshū largely because of Sōsuke's personal strength.
Now, Iwagakure wished Sōsuke would die sooner.
Because they had discovered that with Sōsuke present, Iwagakure would never be able to control Ninshū.
Even though Ōnoki had offered considerable benefits, Sōsuke's attitude remained firm.
Economic cooperation was acceptable.
Anything else was out of the question.
Sōsuke's firmness, combined with Ninshū's conflict with Konoha, led Ōnoki to change his strategy.
Sōsuke was very strong, but Ninshū also had Nagato, a top genius who might become even stronger than Sōsuke once he matured.
However, Ōnoki also knew that as long as Sōsuke was alive, let alone Nagato, even ordinary Ninshū ninja would never side with Iwagakure.
Therefore, Sōsuke's death was very important.
Sōsuke, dead at Konoha's hands, would have been Iwagakure's good partner.
"Yes!" The Iwagakure ninja nodded one after another.
Verifying the information was faster than Jonin Hikari had imagined. The Ninshū ninja did not treat this as a secret at all.
Ninshū's attitude made Jonin Hikari believe it even more.
So he quickly consolidated the gathered intelligence, added some of his personal thoughts, and sent it back to Iwagakure.
Ōnoki placed great importance on the arrangements in the Land of Rain. Upon learning that important intelligence had arrived from the Land of Rain, he immediately put aside other relatively less important matters.
"Hmm?"
Seeing that Sōsuke had defeated Hiruzen, a question mark appeared in Ōnoki's mind.
He carefully checked it and confirmed that this was indeed important intelligence from Iwagakure's people in the Land of Rain, not someone's prank.
Ōnoki continued reading the intelligence with a solemn expression, meticulously going through every single word.
"Sōsuke actually possesses such strength."
Ōnoki's fingers drummed rapidly on the table, and his expression turned somewhat grim.
Upon seeing this intelligence, Ōnoki's first thought was not about controlling Ninshū, but about regretting that Sōsuke had not agreed to his plan to encircle and kill Mugetsu.
If Sōsuke had joined them, then even if the Third Mizukage had betrayed them, they should still have been able to kill Mugetsu.
However, Sōsuke not only did not agree to the encirclement plan, but now he also refused to die properly, disrupting Iwagakure's arrangements.
"If only Hiruzen had died," Ōnoki sighed.
If Hiruzen had died, it would have been another excellent opportunity to cause trouble.
But Ōnoki knew that Hiruzen definitely had not died. Otherwise, Konoha would not be completely inactive.
Ōnoki was truly speechless.
If either Sōsuke or Hiruzen had died, it would have benefited Iwagakure, but neither of them died.
Now, Ōnoki's Ninshū arrangements had been disrupted and he could not move, while he also could not stir up trouble with Konoha.
He could not do anything.
"Ninshū, Konoha…"
Ōnoki fell into deep thought.
Konoha, with its continuous emergence of talented individuals and its acquisition of vast wealth and resources through war, was bound to flourish if nothing unexpected happened.
Ninshū, with the powerful Sōsuke at its helm and an excellent geographical location, visibly had great development potential.
"No, we need to confirm the details of the battle." Ōnoki felt that Iwagakure still needed to take action.
It was unlikely for Iwagakure to contend with Konoha for the title of strongest Shinobi Village, but Ōnoki also did not want Iwagakure to fall too far behind Konoha.
As for Ninshū, Ōnoki dared not underestimate it now.
If Sōsuke's strength approached or even reached the level of Senju Hashirama, then Ninshū was very likely to become the sixth major ninja power, and it was not impossible for the Land of Rain to become the sixth great nation.
Of course, Ōnoki would absolutely not sit by and watch all of this happen.
The Ninja World's cake was only so big. If another major power emerged, then Iwagakure's share of the cake would become even smaller.
…
Land of Fire, Konoha.
The day after the jonin meeting ended, Kakashi finished his morning exercise and went to the shopping street to buy breakfast. He saw that the Leaf Newspaper had published its latest issue, so he bought a copy.
The newspaper's headline was "From Chunin Teacher to Hokage Assistant."
Kakashi thought to himself that the Leaf Newspaper knew how to write headlines. Even if he did not know Mugetsu and did not know who the newspaper was reporting on, seeing such a headline would pique his interest and make him want to read it.
There was no other reason than the vast difference between these two identities.
A chunin teacher was a profession that ordinary ninja could generally take on if they were willing to do it.
A teacher's salary was lower than the commission for missions, and while the work was not busy, it was not easy either. Ambitious chunin generally would not choose to become Ninja Academy teachers.
But Hokage Assistant was different. It was a high level position that could determine Konoha's direction, and only ninja with strong abilities and sufficient contributions could hold it.
Walking into the breakfast shop, Kakashi skillfully ordered his breakfast, then ate while reading.
"Eighteen year old Hayate Mugetsu was a young teacher who had just entered the Ninja Academy. Lacking teaching experience, he first consulted his seniors and then made improvements during actual teaching activities…"
The newspaper began by recounting Mugetsu's deeds within the Ninja Academy.
For example, he had proposed large classes, with multiple classes attending simultaneously. This alleviated the busy situation of the teachers caused by insufficient teaching staff at the Ninja Academy at the time.
He had also established a holiday tutoring and internship system, which significantly improved the quality of the genin who graduated that year.
Most commendable was the performance of the class Mugetsu had taught, which held a landslide lead over all other classes.
Even if one looked back through the records to the very establishment of the Ninja Academy, no class could compare to the one Mugetsu had taught.
Let alone compare, there was not even one slightly inferior class. This perfectly demonstrated Mugetsu's teaching level.
Teaching a few genius disciples could be attributed to Mugetsu's good eye for talent, but for an entire class of so many people to all be excellent, there was no explanation other than his ability.
Kakashi had graduated early. When Mugetsu was a teacher at the Ninja Academy, Kakashi had already graduated for about three years, so he found Mugetsu's experiences at the Ninja Academy quite interesting.
The Leaf Newspaper did not spend too much ink on the Ninja Academy. After clearly detailing Mugetsu's various contributions, it quickly shifted to the Third Shinobi World War.
"The Strongest Konoha Hero of the Third Shinobi World War."
Just this subheadline alone made Kakashi feel Hiruzen's support for Mugetsu. They had even used the word strongest.
However, given Mugetsu's battle record, using strongest was perfectly reasonable.
On the Hidden Mist battlefield, Mugetsu first slew Haku, a renowned Ice Release ninja of the Hidden Mist, and several members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Then, in a crucial battle during a Hidden Mist surprise attack, he slew a Jinchuriki and turned the tide.
In the war with Iwagakure, Mugetsu turned the tables by using Iwagakure's spies to set a trap for them, accomplishing the feat of winning with one thousand against two thousand.
In the second engagement with the Hidden Mist, Mugetsu used Wood Release to capture more than a thousand Hidden Mist ninja, laying the foundation for victory in the final battle.
Any one of Mugetsu's contributions, if given to any Konoha ninja, would be enough for that person to achieve fame and success.
When all of them were reported together, the effect was simply explosive.
After Kakashi finished breakfast, he could hear many people on Konoha's streets discussing it.
"No wonder Assistant Mugetsu became Hokage Assistant at such a young age. It turns out he made so many contributions."
"Yes, it's hard to imagine how difficult these past few years would have been for Konoha without Assistant Mugetsu."
Kakashi listened for a while and felt that the votes of ordinary ninja and civilians might show an even greater disparity than the jonin vote.
After all, there might be staunch supporters of Orochimaru among the jonin, but that was not necessarily the case for the larger base of ordinary ninja and civilians.
"I heard from a traveling merchant who came yesterday that there are rumors outside saying our Hokage sama was defeated by that Sōsuke of Ninshū."
"These small ninja powers are truly detestable, even fabricating such rumors to slander our Sandaime sama."
"Yes, and defeating Sandaime sama? What a boast. Why doesn't he just say he's the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths?"
Kakashi paused slightly. Then, after a brief thought, he walked toward the South Border Forest.
....
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