Chapter 395: Hanzo of the Rain Country

“Muzuki, it seems I’ve troubled you again today.”

Seeing Muzuki and Asuma walking together, Hiruzen Sarutobi took off his pipe and said with a smile.

Initially, Muzuki was just a tutor he hired, but later, due to various reasons, Muzuki couldn’t maintain a stable teaching schedule, and the relationship between Muzuki and Asuma became more like that of a master and disciple.

“How can a teacher guiding a student be considered trouble?” Muzuki replied with a gentle smile.

“Sandaime, I wonder if you have some free time today? I’ve encountered some difficult-to-understand problems in my Earth Release training and would like to ask for your guidance.”

“Right now will be fine.” Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and agreed.

To avoid being a filial son to his own son, and also because Muzuki’s questions would be quite difficult, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not bring Asuma along.

Among all the Chakra Nature Transformation that Muzuki had mastered, Earth Release was considered one of the weaker ones. This time, Muzuki didn’t ask about content he already knew, but genuinely inquired about problems he encountered in his training.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi also displayed the knowledge expected of a Ninjutsu professor, not only quickly answering Muzuki’s questions but also personally demonstrating solutions and directions for progress.

“Muzuki, how is your Flying Thunder God Technique training coming along? If it’s not going smoothly, I can help you switch to a different Ninjutsu.” Hiruzen Sarutobi remembered something and spoke.

It had already been half a year since he rewarded Muzuki with the Flying Thunder God Technique. If Muzuki couldn’t learn it in half a year, he probably wouldn’t be able to learn it at all.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t feel much about this; in his opinion, it was completely normal not to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique. After all, even he, who could skillfully use thousands of Ninjutsu and secret techniques, hadn’t learned the Flying Thunder God Technique.

“Although not as proficient as Minato, I have, for the most part, learned it.” Muzuki replied.

He had originally intended to reveal that he had learned the Flying Thunder God. Since Hiruzen Sarutobi asked directly, it saved him the trouble of deliberately guiding the conversation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Muzuki with some surprise, but he was, after all, the Third Hokage who had seen many storms, and he quickly regained his composure.

“Then it seems I underestimated your Ninja talent, Muzuki. Minato has, after all, been training for many years longer than you, so there’s no need to compare yourself to him.” Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his goatee and smiled.

Whoosh!

Muzuki took two Kunai, already marked with the Flying Thunder God Mark, from his Ninja tool pouch. He threw one forward to his side and stuck the other into the ground by his feet.

Whoosh!

When the Kunai had flown about seven or eight meters, Muzuki activated the Flying Thunder God, and his body instantly vanished from its original spot, appearing in the direction the Kunai was flying.

Whoosh!

After pausing for a moment, Muzuki quickly used Flying Thunder God again to return to where he had just been standing.

Watching Muzuki move freely back and forth, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes flickered.

“Muzuki, this isn’t just ‘for the most part’ learned; you’ve learned it very smoothly!” Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a cloud of smoke, praising him.

Although he couldn’t use the Flying Thunder God, Hiruzen Sarutobi had good judgment. The level of Flying Thunder God Muzuki displayed was nothing like a beginner; he was already quite proficient.

Of course, what Muzuki said was also true; he was indeed not as proficient as Minato.

Muzuki smiled and humbly replied. He had spent so many proficiency scrolls; of course, it went incredibly smoothly.

After achieving his goal, Muzuki chatted with Hiruzen Sarutobi about some Ninja Academy matters and Asuma’s training before leaving.

“He’s even mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.” Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled puffs of white smoke as he watched Muzuki’s retreating back.

He truly wished Muzuki could split into two people: one a unique talent with unparalleled abilities in education, and the other a genius Ninja with extraordinary strength, so they could be used separately.

Although Konoha’s current situation wasn’t yet dire, and they were even winning battles repeatedly, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew things weren’t that simple.

Right now, it was just minor skirmishes. If they truly fought with their full strength, Konoha couldn’t possibly defeat three major Ninja Villages.

Unless Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara were resurrected, they could single-handedly suppress a major Ninja Village, and Konoha would only need to withstand the pressure and defend its home to win.

Current Konoha did not have strong individuals of that caliber, so the current situation in the Ninja World was truly awkward and very passive for Konoha.

With Konoha’s strength, it was certainly possible to defeat one major Ninja Village by going all out, but Konoha truly didn’t dare to do so. The other two major Ninja Villages weren’t foolish; they wouldn’t wait for Konoha to defeat them one by one.

If Konoha dared to concentrate its Ninja forces on a certain battlefield, then the defenses in other areas would inevitably suffer a huge impact, and it wasn’t impossible for their home base to be attacked.

Since they couldn’t appear too aggressive, they could only defend, keeping the enemies outside the Land of Fire, minimizing losses, and seeking opportunities.

As he left, Muzuki used his transformation skill to scan the information on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Perhaps because he had mastered too many Ninjutsu and secret techniques, Hiruzen Sarutobi became the Ninja with the largest amount of information Muzuki had scanned so far. The information from Kushina and Tsunade combined was only about the same as Hiruzen Sarutobi’s.

The Chakra consumption required to transform into Hiruzen Sarutobi was also exaggeratedly high.

After transforming, Muzuki looked at the dense array of skills and felt it was reasonable. Hiruzen Sarutobi knew too many skills, and many of them were at high proficiency.

After training his disciples normally in Konoha for a period, Muzuki accepted a B-rank mission located in the Land of Rain.

However, this time was different from before; in addition to Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara, Shisui would also participate in this mission.

Shisui had graduated and become a Genin during the time Muzuki was on a mission in Rouran. Due to Shisui’s excellent performance, he also contributed a Ninjutsu Mastery Scroll to Muzuki.

Although he had graduated, Muzuki performed a special operation: Shisui was not assigned to a three-person squad like ordinary Genin, but instead followed Muzuki on missions, just like Tsunade and Shizune.

Anko and Kotetsu Hagane, who also underwent internships, did not choose to graduate early but opted to advance to third grade and continue studying at the Ninja Academy.

This was also Muzuki’s suggestion. Although the three of them were indeed superior to ordinary graduates, they couldn’t compare to Shisui at all. In the current Ninja World situation, it was best not to graduate early unless absolutely necessary.

After all, the Ninja Academy had already voluntarily shortened its schooling time; normally, it would take six years.

With Shisui joining Muzuki’s team, Muzuki’s team composition was one Jonin, three Chunin, and one Genin, which fully complied with Konoha’s regulations for accepting B-rank missions.

“Shisui, this is your first B-rank mission, right? But you don’t need to be nervous, with me around, there will definitely be no problems.” On his first mission with Shisui, Obito wanted to show some senior demeanor.

Although he had been frequently pinned down and rubbed into the ground by Shisui in previous training battles, Obito was, after all, two years older than Shisui, and significantly taller. He felt he needed to take on the responsibility of a big brother.

“You’re going to take care of Shisui? Are you serious?” Kakashi looked at Obito in surprise.

Since they were both Muzuki’s disciples, Kakashi had a fair amount of contact with Shisui. Shisui was the only peer who made him feel inferior in terms of Ninja talent.

While Obito might currently be stronger than Shisui in terms of raw power, other aspects were another matter entirely.

“What’s the problem? Haven’t I done many B-rank missions?” Obito said righteously.

“Nothing, I just think it’s terrifying when people lack self-awareness.” Kakashi said blandly.

“You’re the one who lacks self-awareness, you mere Kakashi.” Feeling underestimated, Obito started to get heated.

Rin Nohara smiled helplessly at Shisui; this was just their team’s daily routine.

Shisui nodded in understanding; such scenes were not uncommon in the South Border Forest.

“I am indeed a newcomer to missions, so please guide me.” To avoid delaying Muzuki’s matters, Shisui stepped forward to end the argument.

Obito chuckled and put his arm around Shisui’s shoulder, thinking they could form an Uchiha brothers duo to deal with Kakashi.

“Check one more time. If there are no problems, we’ll go find the client.” Muzuki said.

This mission was one that Muzuki had carefully selected.

The Land of Rain had once again become a battleground for the great nations. Although there wasn’t a large-scale war like the Second Shinobi World War, the domestic situation could still be described as chaotic.

As a small country, and not yet a full-blown battlefield, the Land of Rain didn’t have many powerful Ninja, making it suitable for Kakashi and their level.

Besides training his disciples, Muzuki would also go to see Nagato, to test whether his transformation could be seen through by the Rinnegan and whether his transformation could replicate the Rinnegan.

Additionally, Muzuki also planned to gather some intelligence on the Land of Rain. If he wanted Nagato to become his disciple, he would certainly need to take some actions in the Land of Rain.

“Target: Land of Rain! Let’s go!” Obito, having finished his checks, shouted excitedly.

The Land of Rain was a country he had never visited. Obito was curious if there would be scenery he hadn’t seen before, like the deserts of the Land of Wind or the glaciers of the Land of Snow.

After all the disciples confirmed they were ready, Muzuki led them to find the client. This was an escort mission.

Because he was bored on the way, Obito often asked the client about the Land of Rain.

“There aren’t any special sights in the Land of Rain; after all, it rains frequently, so that’s not really a sight, is it?” The middle-aged client replied.

Obito’s expectations dropped a bit, but he was still excited. Even if there were no special sights, there should still be unique plants or something.

The middle-aged client Muzuki and his team encountered this time was quite talkative. After Obito started the conversation, the middle-aged client proactively shared a lot about the Land of Rain.

“Hanzō is a failed Ninja Village leader. The Land of Rain falling to this state is half his doing.” The middle-aged client was very dissatisfied with Hanzō.

“Originally, the Land of Rain’s strength was only slightly inferior to the Five Great Nations, but now it can’t even guarantee domestic security.”

For people like him, the Ninja of the Ninja Village were not very dangerous, because Ninja battles had little to do with ordinary people like him.

But rogue Ninja were different; they had nothing to lose and lived day by day.

As a crossroads for the three great nations, the Land of Rain needed strength to be stable, and currently, it simply didn’t have it.

Hanzō’s failure also disappointed many Rain Ninja, causing them to leave the Amegakure.

Among these people, those with a bit of conscience went to Ninja Organizations, while those who let themselves go became rogue Ninja, further leading to the deterioration of public order in the Land of Rain.

“Hanzō, why does that name sound familiar?” Obito scratched his head, feeling the name was somewhat familiar.

“He’s a very strong Ninja. Some say he’s the Demigod of the Ninja World. Anyone who survives a battle with him gains immense fame.” Shisui explained to Obito.

It wasn’t that Shisui knew too much, but rather that Hanzō’s reputation in the Ninja World was indeed very great.

Although the Amegakure suffered a great defeat in the Second Shinobi World War, Hanzō’s prestige among Ninja did not diminish much, as Hanzō himself did not lose that war; it was the Rain Ninja other than him who were defeated.

“Sounds pretty strong.” Obito stroked his chin.

He was a little curious: who was stronger, the Demigod or Muzuki the Sage?

Although they hadn’t fought, Obito felt Muzuki would be stronger. His intuition told him so.

“Lady Tsunade was defeated by him once during the Second Shinobi World War, even when she was allied with Orochimaru-sama and Jiraiya-sama.” Rin Nohara, worried that Obito might impulsively challenge Hanzō, reminded him.

Although Rin Nohara thought Obito and Kakashi were not bad, they were still too young.

“He defeated the Toad Hermit, huh.” Obito became energized.

Obito decided that ten years from now, he would challenge Hanzō once, and if he won, he would boast immensely in front of Jiraiya.

Although Jiraiya was his teacher’s teacher, due to Jiraiya’s abstract behavior, Obito found it difficult to treat him as a grandmaster.

Obito still remembered the scene where Jiraiya made him and Minato fight one-on-one.

After entering the Land of Rain, Muzuki activated his Byakugan.

To this day, Muzuki had visited quite a few small countries, and the Land of Rain was the most chaotic small country he had ever seen.

Obito and the others might not have this feeling, but Muzuki, with his extremely wide field of vision, could see too many things.

In Muzuki’s opinion, calling the Land of Rain a land of chaos was not an exaggeration.

Muzuki saw several times how rogue Ninja hovered around them before finally retreating. One should know that Muzuki and his team were not disguised; they were dressed as Konoha Ninja.

Besides rogue Ninja, Muzuki also saw Cloud Ninja disguised as Iwagakure Ninja, and Iwagakure Ninja disguised as Cloud Ninja, as well as Sand Ninja investigating them.

Muzuki could only say that the people of the Land of Rain were too blessed, so much so that they couldn’t handle it.

After entering the Land of Rain for some distance, Muzuki’s main body left the team, letting a Shadow Clone lead the team to continue the mission.

Cautious Muzuki, to prevent any mishaps, searched for traces of the Akatsuki Organization at the extreme range where his Flying Thunder God could teleport, ensuring that if anything happened with Kakashi’s group, he could provide support immediately.

PS: My sleep schedule has been messed up again recently. I hope to fall asleep before 2 AM today. It’s really hard to write when I don’t have the energy to type. I’m also worried about side effects from medication; one of my author friends is drinking traditional Chinese medicine and says that if he stops, he’ll have insomnia again.