Chapter 100: Ghost Lantern Full Moon’s Desperate Escape【subscribe】
A gentle breeze blew through the thick fog, causing Shura’s black robe to flutter in the wind, with the cape embroidered with the Nine-Face Sūvarṇa pattern gently rising.
He strode to the corpse of Suigetsu Hozuki, pulling out the Kubikiribocho.
As the Kubikiribocho was pulled out, Suigetsu Hozuki’s obese body lost support and split into two segments like a cleaved giant watermelon, with its internal organs including blood and intestines falling to the ground.
The blade, pitted and cratered from the earlier battle with the Explosive Blade·Splash, began to slowly self-heal after absorbing Suigetsu Hozuki’s blood.
This was the trait of the Severing Blade·Kubikiribocho: absorbing iron from the enemy’s blood to repair itself while also restoring the user’s stamina, thus it had another title, “The Blade That Will Not Break.”
Menma lowered his head; Suigetsu Hozuki was deader than dead.
Activating Kagura Shingan, he sensed Mangetsu Hozuki’s chakra rapidly fleeing the battlefield amid the thick fog.
Mangetsu Hozuki, in his water transformation state, launched no further attacks from the thick fog; not only did he abandon the corpses of Suigetsu Hozuki and Jūzō Biwa, he even left behind the Kubikiribocho and Samehada, directly making a “windy retreat.”
“Pretty decisive.” Sensing Mangetsu Hozuki’s escape route with Kagura Shingan, Menma gave a light hum and had no intention of pursuing.
If he truly wanted to clash openly in Kirigakure, he could have caused major chaos within Kirigakure during the Kaguya Clan’s rebellion, or directly exposed the scandal that their Fourth Mizukage was being controlled to Kirigakure’s ninja clans including Mei Terumi.
“Hmm hmm hmm~” Menma began humming a tune softly, looting the corpses of Jūzō Biwa and Suigetsu Hozuki to see what spoils there were.
——————
Meanwhile, Mangetsu Hozuki’s water-transformed body raced through the dense forest.
Only after escaping a certain range did he dare revert to human form, leaning against a withered tree, clutching his left shoulder wound and panting heavily, hurriedly using water transformation healing to treat the injury.
Cold sweat mixed with undried water droplets dripped from his jaw; Mangetsu Hozuki looked back toward the depths of the thick fog, his purple pupils still trembling slightly from fear.
After being slashed by Shura earlier, Mangetsu Hozuki immediately entered water transformation state and suddenly realized Suigetsu Hozuki had abandoned him and fled!
It was exactly the same shameful escape method as when four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were kicked to death by a Konoha genin years ago!
Thus, taking advantage of the gap while Shura pursued and killed Suigetsu Hozuki, Mangetsu Hozuki, this genius of the Hozuki Clan, fled without any hesitation.
“That guy… is he really human?” Mangetsu Hozuki recalled the brief yet heart-pounding battle every moment.
Only now did Mangetsu Hozuki realize that the opponent had always been at ease, seemingly not exerting full strength, always reacting passively, just like… just like…
Mangetsu Hozuki couldn’t help recalling the feeling from childhood training under the family elders, being fed moves.
But the enemy showed no mercy, while he had to go all out; one misstep and he could end up killed like Suigetsu Hozuki and Jūzō Biwa!
“Damn it! That guy didn’t even go all out! He was probing our combat power and fighting style?” Mangetsu Hozuki finally realized, a sense of humiliation rising from his heart.
“And Jūzō Biwa and Suigetsu Hozuki are dead, plus we lost two ninja swords…” Thinking of the losses in this battle, Mangetsu Hozuki’s mood grew even heavier as he raced toward Kirigakure.
Ever since four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were kicked to death by that Konoha ninja during the Third Great Ninja War, Kurotsuchi Raiga defected with the Lightning Blade·Fang, and no second successors for the other ninja swords had been selected.
Kirigakure now had only three Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and two died in this one battle!
Even more critically, the Kubikiribocho and Samehada had been seized by the enemy!
Mangetsu Hozuki leaped over the village rooftops, occasionally seeing ninjas cleaning the battlefield in the devastated village, collecting the corpses of the Kaguya Clan, with medical ninjas shuttling around treating the injured ninjas.
Some buildings were also damaged by the ninjutsu fallout from this rebellion, and the distant Mizukage’s Office had half its top floor blown off due to Zabuza’s rebellion, with broken walls and ruins still emitting some smoke.
The morning sunlight failed to dispel the haze shrouding the village; the faint blood scent in the air made the title “Village of the Bloody Mist” even more glaring.
“Mizukage!” In the half-collapsed Mizukage’s office, Mangetsu Hozuki knelt on one knee on the ground.
Kagura Yagura stood with his back to him by the collapsed window, his short figure elongated by the morning light, casting a distorted shadow.
“Mission failed?” Kagura Yagura’s voice was cold, but he seemed unsurprised.
“Yes.” Mangetsu Hozuki lowered his head and reported the battle outcome: “The enemy was very powerful; Jūzō Biwa wasn’t even a match for him, and the Water Prison Technique had no effect on the enemy. The opponent’s chakra was so vast that even Samehada rebelled…”
While reporting the battle results, Mangetsu Hozuki slightly raised his head to observe, but saw only Kagura Yagura’s back.
“After I was injured, Suigetsu Hozuki saw the tide turning and tried to flee, but was pursued and killed by the opponent.”
There was no need to say the rest.
Whether it was the deaths of the two jonin or the loss of the Kubikiribocho and Samehada, he, as captain of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, bore undeniable responsibility.
“You’ve disappointed me greatly.” Kagura Yagura’s icy voice came from above, making Mangetsu Hozuki’s heart skip a beat.
“Go back and reflect in seclusion, awaiting the village’s judgment.” However, Kagura Yagura did not punish Mangetsu Hozuki directly, merely ordering him to reflect in seclusion.
“Yes!” Mangetsu Hozuki responded and then departed with Body Flicker.
After Mangetsu Hozuki left, Obito Uchiha emerged from the shadows.
“Even three Kirigakure jonin couldn’t stop Shura? It seems they didn’t inflict any injuries on him, and even the ninja swords were taken.” Obito’s wrinkled face under the tiger mask was full of gravity.
“What a bunch of trash…” Obito mocked the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Though he hadn’t fully gauged Shura’s strength in their last encounter, Obito had cautiously manipulated Kagura Yagura to send three jonin wielding ninja swords, with Suigetsu Hozuki and Mangetsu Hozuki being elite jonin.
The trio’s combat power, plus three ninja swords with varying abilities, could even fight a tailed beast.
“Hmph, if not for worrying about pushing the Hozuki Clan into rebellion too, that kid Mangetsu Hozuki…” Though no injuries were inflicted on Shura, the deaths of Jūzō Biwa and Suigetsu Hozuki had greatly weakened Kirigakure’s strength.
Obito Uchiha walked to the edge, looking down at the village riddled with holes from last night’s battle, so similar to the Nine-Tails Attack he launched in Konoha four years ago.
Following the extermination of the Yukigakure Clan, the Kaguya Clan had also been rooted out; several jonin dead, Jūzō Biwa and Suigetsu Hozuki killed, Zabuza defected, two ninja swords seized by Shura.
Kirigakure was now at its weakest!
If not for worrying about pushing the Hozuki Clan into rebellion, Obito would have controlled Kagura Yagura to eliminate Mangetsu Hozuki under the pretext of this mission failure!
But the Hozuki Clan wasn’t as isolated as the Kaguya Clan, nor as marginalized as the Yukigakure Clan.
Most ninja clans in Kirigakure had good relations with the Hozuki Clan, and civilian ninjas also held the Hozuki Clan in high regard.
Because the Hozuki Clan had produced a highly prestigious Mizukage.
“Rin…” The Sharingan under the tiger mask stared at the ruined Kirigakure.
Obito clenched his fist, a surge of vengeful pleasure sweeping through his body.
Busy day today, only two updates, forgive me.
