Chapter 216: I Already Said, Don't Thank Me
Watching Muku turn into "Muku paste" right in front of her, Ryūzetsu's pupils shrank slightly, yet her expression didn't change.
Just as mentioned before, Ryūzetsu still had a clear head about things.
In her heart, her close friend had already died, so she was willing to do anything to stop Mui from reviving a fake Muku.
The reason she'd walked over to speak to what was left of Muku's corpse was essentially the same as talking to a tombstone during the Tomb Sweeping Day.
It wasn't really a conversation with the dead, just giving herself psychological comfort.
Her pupils contracted mainly because the scene was too stimulating.
Even though Kusagakure was a small village that wasn't exactly peaceful, she'd never seen something like this.
And Uchiha Hikari's move wasn't random either.
Her battle experience from the Warring States era had taught her that in situations like this, you eliminate the roots completely.
And in reality, that was exactly right.
Muku had already lost all his chakra and was barely clinging to life, yet when Ryūzetsu walked over, he still tried to attack.
When Susanoo smashed him into minced flesh, that weak strike was interrupted, and a small spike rolled to Ryūzetsu's feet.
Seeing that spike, Ryūzetsu understood.
The last trace of attachment in her heart disappeared completely. She stepped on it, crushing the chakra-deprived, fragile thing into powder.
Muku trying to kill Ryūzetsu in his final moments wasn't strange at all.
Because he hadn't been "talk-no-jutsu'd" into redemption.
In the original story, after reviving, this guy first pierced his own father Mui straight through, then later pierced both Ryūzetsu and Naruto.
Killing his father was understandable, after all, Mui had tried to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss back then, but ran out of chakra and ended up having Muku absorbed into it.
Now killing his dad as revenge made sense.
But what about everyone else?
Satori didn't have some grand ambition like other bosses to conquer the ninja world.
He simply liked killing.
Like Cao Cao killing Lü Boshe out of fear he'd report him, and then killing the donkey too.
That was pure bloodlust taking over his brain.
"Thank you… for letting Muku rest in peace."
Ryūzetsu walked over and thanked Uchiha Hikari.
See? She even had to thank us.
From Ryūzetsu's perspective, it made perfect sense.
It was Hikari's Susanoo that saved Yugito.
It was Hikari who defeated Satori, killed Satori, and stopped Muku's sins.
But in Hikari's ears, the meaning was completely different.
"I already said you're not allowed to thank me! This was all Shiromo! If you want to thank someone, go thank him!"
Hikari covered her ears and hid behind Shiromo.
That left everyone else completely confused.
This didn't look like someone being thanked, it looked more like someone being chased for revenge.
Why was she in such a hurry to "pass the blame"?
Yugito noticed too, Uchiha Hikari was especially afraid of people thanking her.
What kind of logic was that?
Everyone returned to the high platform.
"Um… should we maybe treat this one too?"
Omoi, who had been guarding Mui, awkwardly pointed at the castle lord lying on the ground.
Mui had tried to attack earlier and had been subdued by the three of them together.
After Karui's devastating blow to his 'family jewels', he'd fainted on the spot.
"No."
Tsunade refused without hesitation.
"Not treating him is the right call. Omoi, just go find some bandages and wrap him up."
The Raikage nodded in agreement and instructed Omoi.
At this point, both sides understood without saying it, Mui was definitely getting removed as the lord of Hōzuki Castle.
Whether this counted as internal affairs of Kusagakure no longer mattered. Kusagakure Village had lost the right to decide.
As the castle lord, Mui had lured the Raikage here with false information, deceived the Hokage into staying, and attempted to offer two Kage and two Tailed Beasts as sacrifices to the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
That was his crime.
Whether he'd succeeded or not was irrelevant, his intent was clear enough.
Omoi carried Mui away to bandage him.
"Thank you, Hokage, and also you, miss..."
After thanking Tsunade, the Raikage turned his gaze to Uchiha Hikari.
Tsunade had healed Yugito, but Hikari had saved her life directly.
Without Hikari's Susanoo blocking the attack, even if Tsunade were a god, she'd first have to reassemble Yugito before she could heal her.
Who knew, she might've ended up just like Muku earlier, turning into "Yugito paste."
"Mm, it's nothing. Just a small favor."
"?"
Yugito was confused again.
Why was Hikari perfectly fine accepting the Raikage's thanks?
"By the way, didn't Itachi wipe out the Uchiha clan?"
"I heard only Uchiha Sasuke was left…"
The Raikage cautiously probed for information.
There was no other reason, Hikari's strength, even if just the tip of the iceberg, was already terrifying.
Even a weakened Two-Tails wrapped in Susanoo could unleash that level of power and speed and instantly kill Satori.
"That's right. This is Uchiha Hikari, but she doesn't belong to the Uchiha clan."
"Just like how the Uzumaki clan's country was destroyed, does that mean Uzumaki bloodlines disappeared too?"
Tsunade's explanation immediately put the Raikage at ease.
That was true.
The Uchiha didn't have clan rules as strict as the Hyūga.
If someone formed bonds with ninja from other villages on the battlefield and left behind some bloodlines, that was normal enough.
"As for what to do with Lord Mui and Hōzuki Castle, we're all in agreement, right?"
The Raikage shifted the conversation back to serious matters.
"Little girl, do you want the job?"
Tsunade nodded, then turned her gaze to Ryūzetsu, who had followed along quietly.
"Huh? Me? No, no, no."
Ryūzetsu froze for a moment, then hurriedly waved her hands.
"That's true. Letting a young girl serve as a prison warden, dealing with those vicious criminals, isn't appropriate."
Tsunade rubbed her chin and nodded slightly.
Ryūzetsu meant she lacked seniority and ability.
But Tsunade had been thinking of something else entirely.
"It's better to send someone to Kusagakure Village and pick a new one."
The Raikage offered his suggestion.
He also felt that having a woman run Hōzuki Castle wasn't ideal.
Though his concern wasn't for Ryūzetsu's safety, he just worried a woman wouldn't be able to keep this place under control and would constantly end up causing trouble.
With that exchange, the fate of Mui and Hōzuki Castle was essentially sealed.
Shiromo didn't interrupt.
For people with rebellious personalities, they'd probably want to destroy Hōzuki Castle outright and free everyone inside.
Like the protagonists in some heroic dramas.
And in the original story, Naruto had met a prisoner in Hōzuki Castle.
That prisoner seemed pitiful and innocent.
He said he'd only been sent there because he'd been soft-hearted and spared a child.
When listening first—Wow, what a kind and compassionate hero!
But think about it more carefully—Why did he spare the child?
Oh, because he had slaughtered an entire village and let one child live.
Good grief. By that time, Kirigakure was already under Mei Terumī's control, and even they weren't carrying out village-wide massacres anymore.
This man's slaughter definitely hadn't been an official mission.
The fact that he wasn't executed outright but merely imprisoned in Hōzuki Castle was already merciful, yet he still acted wronged?
(End of this chapter)