Chapter 411 Identity Exposed

“I need to discuss this with my companions before I can give you an answer,” Muzuki said, not immediately stating his position.

The Amegakure Ninja expressed understanding and retreated a distance.

“Uncle Sōsuke, I think this is a great opportunity to quickly spread the ideals of our Shinobi Sect throughout the Land of Rain, and also to achieve our peace goals faster,” Yahiko excitedly expressed his thoughts.

He said this not because he admired Lord Hanzo and wanted to cooperate with him, but because Yahiko sincerely believed this was an excellent opportunity.

The Amegakure is the strongest Ninja force in the Land of Rain, and even in the Ninja World, it is considered one of the strongest groups below the Five Great Ninja Villages. Lord Hanzo, the leader of the Amegakure, is also a top-tier expert in the Ninja World. If they can cooperate as Lord Hanzo said in the scroll, then the Shinobi Sect’s influence will experience a qualitative leap.

After all, the Amegakure is the official force of the Land of Rain. Deep cooperation between the Shinobi Sect and the Amegakure would be equivalent to becoming semi-official, which could be said to be recognized by the Land of Rain.

If Lord Hanzo had invited Yahiko’s Akatsuki Organization instead of the Shinobi Sect, Yahiko would probably have agreed immediately.

“Indeed, the other party is the Demigod Lord Hanzo,” a Shinobi Sect Ninja next to Yahiko agreed.

Yahiko’s words gained the approval of the vast majority of people; they all believed this was a great opportunity for the Shinobi Sect and for them.

Kakuzu, who was nearby, showed a mocking expression as he looked at the excited Shinobi Sect Ninjas.

With his rich experience, he instantly sensed that something was wrong; this so-called cooperation definitely involved some kind of conspiracy.

“Although this is a good thing, I find it a bit strange,” Ikechou thought for a moment and voiced his inner doubts.

“If our Shinobi Sect is a child with talents far exceeding ordinary people, then the Amegakure is an already famous expert. No matter how much an expert thinks highly of a child, it’s impossible to directly put him on an equal footing and propose cooperation, right?”

If the Amegakure were to give the Shinobi Sect some subsidies, Ikechou wouldn’t find it strange; at most, he would just think that Lord Hanzo had good foresight to see the great potential of the Shinobi Sect.

But the meaning in Lord Hanzo’s scroll was to treat the Shinobi Sect as an equal entity, hoping that the Shinobi Sect could cooperate with the Amegakure to jointly maintain the peace of the entire Land of Rain. This really overestimated the current Shinobi Sect.

The current Shinobi Sect doesn’t even have a hundred Ninjas, and the strength of its internal members is uneven. Excluding experts like Muzuki, the Shinobi Sect can only be considered to have a promising future.

After listening to Ikechou’s words, many Shinobi Sect Ninjas were stunned.

No other reason, Ikechou’s expression was clear, logical, and well-reasoned, making it convincing.

“It seems to be true; this cooperation is too good for us,” some Shinobi Sect Ninjas who were originally rogue Ninjas also felt something was off after being prompted.

Usually, when something seems too good to be true, the ‘pie’ is a disguise, and the ‘trap’ is the real thing.

“I think this analogy completely underestimates our Shinobi Sect, and also underestimates Lord Hanzo’s magnanimity. Perhaps Lord Hanzo wants to use this method to help us grow faster, and then bring peace to the Land of Rain more quickly,” Yahiko retorted.

Yahiko was not someone who could be easily persuaded; he had his own convictions.

In fact, he also knew that Ikechou’s words made sense, but Yahiko felt that sometimes being too cautious could lead to missing opportunities, and boldly moving forward could bring unexpected gains.

When the Three Sannin fought Lord Hanzo, everyone else avoided them, fearing being caught in the powerful Ninjas’ battle, but Yahiko chose to search for the Three Sannin with Nagato and Konan.

Ultimately, they learned a great deal from Jiraiya and gained the power to fulfill their dreams.

After Yahiko finished telling his experience, the atmosphere in the room changed again.

“You finally succeeded once, boss,” Kyusuke gave Yahiko a thumbs-up.

Yahiko’s speech just now made him feel hot-blooded, wishing he could immediately agree to cooperate with Lord Hanzo and then fast-forward towards the dream of peace in the Land of Rain.

“Even Ninjas from enemy villages, as long as they show excellent qualities, Lord Hanzo will not only let them go but also help them gain fame in the Ninja World.”

“Although we are not Ninjas of the Amegakure, we are also Ninjas of the Land of Rain and are Ninjas from the same country as Lord Hanzo. Would Lord Hanzo be harsher on us than on enemy Ninjas?” Yahiko said with shining eyes, chest puffed out, and a very sincere expression.

Although he had never met Lord Hanzo, Lord Hanzo’s deeds alone were enough for Yahiko to know that Lord Hanzo was a respectable Ninja, so Yahiko was willing to believe that this was Lord Hanzo giving them an opportunity.

“Although I don’t worship Lord Hanzo, his character is indeed impeccable,” a Shinobi Sect Ninja agreed.

Lord Hanzo’s renown in the Ninja World was partly due to his strength and achievements, and partly due to his character.

Ikechou opened his mouth, unable to speak; he simply couldn’t refute Yahiko.

Because Yahiko admitted his point of view, this matter indeed didn’t conform to common sense, but Lord Hanzo was trustworthy.

There was only one way for Ikechou to defeat Yahiko: to prove that Lord Hanzo was not trustworthy.

But this was something Ikechou couldn’t do. The only negative point about Lord Hanzo right now was the failure of the war, which led to the Land of Rain becoming chaotic.

However, Lord Hanzo performed very well during the war; it was the Ninjas of the Amegakure, besides Lord Hanzo, who were defeated. Thus, this sole negative point also lost its meaning.

Kakuzu’s face showed an undisguised mocking smile. Yahiko was simply too naive, so naive that he found it laughable.

“Nagato, what do you think?” Muzuki suddenly looked at Nagato and asked.

The other Shinobi Sect Ninjas subconsciously looked at Nagato.

Suddenly going from being unnoticed to being the center of attention, Nagato was a bit overwhelmed for a moment.

“I think it’s fine,” Nagato said after steadying himself and hesitating for a moment.

He thought cooperation was acceptable not because of Yahiko’s decision, but as a result of his own thoughts.

Experiencing pain doesn’t mean inflicting immense pain on the other party or using revenge to make them feel pain; it’s about communication and understanding, allowing both sides to feel each other’s pain and thus understand each other.

They believed that the Shinobi Sect could use this opportunity to understand each other with the Amegakure, which would be a big step towards peace in the Land of Rain.

“Nagato, we really do think alike,” Yahiko said, excitedly putting his arm around Nagato’s shoulder and laughing.

He had been worried about influencing Nagato’s judgment, which was why he remained silent when Nagato was asked.

“Since everyone has different opinions, let’s have an anonymous vote, and the result of the vote will decide whether to accept Lord Hanzo’s cooperation,” Muzuki thought for a moment and said.

The Shinobi Sect Ninjas all nodded.

Each person wrote their thoughts on a piece of paper and put it into a simple wooden box handmade by Muzuki. Finally, Muzuki compiled and announced the results.

“The number of people who support cooperation with Lord Hanzo is forty-five, and the number of people who oppose cooperation with Lord Hanzo is twenty-nine,” Muzuki announced the final result after checking.

Yahiko’s face showed a smile, Ikechou sighed lightly, and Kakuzu’s face was full of mockery.

In fact, they could all guess the outcome before the drawing of lots. After Yahiko’s speech, it was clear that many people had been persuaded by him.

Muzuki walked up to the Amegakure Ninja. “Our Shinobi Sect is willing to work with the Amegakure to protect the peace of the Land of Rain.”

“That’s great! I’ll go back and report to Lord Hanzo right away,” the Amegakure Ninja said, not lingering, and quickly left.

Ikechou walked over to Muzuki’s side. Even though it had been decided to cooperate with the Amegakure, Ikechou still felt something was off.

“Teacher Sōsuke, you can say I’m overly cautious, but I really feel that this cooperation might involve a conspiracy,” Ikechou whispered.

Muzuki did not refute Ikechou’s words. He smiled and said, “Caution is not a bad thing. Even if we cooperate, we must remain vigilant.”

Ikechou felt a little relieved. It was good that Muzuki wasn’t getting carried away, after all, Muzuki was the core and soul of the Shinobi Sect.

“Can’t you even see through such a simple conspiracy? It seems you were right, I truly overestimated you,” Kakuzu said unceremoniously as he walked up to Muzuki.

No matter how good Lord Hanzo’s reputation was, Kakuzu believed that Lord Hanzo definitely had malicious intentions.

“Are you starting to actively care about the safety of the Shinobi Sect?” Muzuki said with a chuckle, not bothering with Kakuzu’s tone.

“The fate of the Shinobi Sect has nothing to do with me, but if you die, who will undo the Sealing Technique on me?” Kakuzu said with a dark expression.

He had tried many methods to undo the Sealing Technique on him, but all had failed.

Kakuzu had to admit that although Muzuki was very naive, his strength was not simple at all, and even in terms of Sealing Technique, he was a top-tier Sealing Ninja.

“You don’t need me to undo it; you just need to wait for the power of the Sealing Technique to be exhausted, and the seal will automatically release,” Muzuki voluntarily revealed a weakness of his Sealing Technique.

“How long will that take?” Kakuzu asked directly.

“It should be around fifteen years,” Muzuki replied with a smile.

Kakuzu’s face grew even darker. Being sealed for fifteen whole years, let alone making money, whether he could even survive was a question.

Feeling that Muzuki was playing with him, Kakuzu snorted coldly and went off to ponder by himself.

However, Kakuzu soon had no choice but to return to Muzuki’s side, because Muzuki started teaching Sealing Technique again today.

Kakuzu wanted to learn Muzuki’s Sealing Technique, attempting to find inspiration to break the Sealing Technique.

In the evening, Nagato was called by Muzuki to a house filled with various jutsu formulas.

Nagato curiously surveyed the special room.

“This is a barrier set up to prevent accidents,” Muzuki briefly explained.

Nagato nodded, not paying too much attention.

“Let’s eat first. It’s good to train after a full meal,” Muzuki said, pointing to the ramen on the table.

Nagato originally wanted to say that he had already eaten grilled fish with Yahiko and the others and was not hungry yet.

But Nagato remembered the indescribable deliciousness of the ramen last time, so he silently swallowed the words he wanted to say, then sat down at the table and quickly finished the ramen.

Nagato found it very strange. Usually, no matter how delicious the food was, as long as he was full, Nagato would not have the desire to eat it, and even if he ate it, he wouldn’t find it delicious.

But Muzuki’s ramen was different; even when not hungry, he wanted to eat it, and it tasted just as delicious.

“Actually, my name isn’t Sōsuke,” Muzuki said suddenly as he collected Nagato’s empty bowl.

Nagato was stunned for a moment, then looked at Muzuki in confusion.

In fact, he didn’t think much of it; a name was just a code, the person was what mattered.

“My name is Hayate Mugetsu, and I am a Konoha Ninja,” Muzuki canceled his transformation, revealing his true appearance.

Trust gained through deception is not true trust. If it weren’t for various troubles, Muzuki wouldn’t have wanted to take on disciples under a disguise.

So, Muzuki had planned from the beginning to tell Nagato his true identity after confirming him as a disciple.

Muzuki felt that the more Nagato trusted him, the greater the harm would be when his identity was revealed. Being deceived by a stranger would at most cause anger for a short while, but being deceived by the most trusted person could cause a fragile person to collapse directly.

Nagato’s expression became confused; Muzuki had revealed too much information in a short time.

A perfectly good Shinobi Sect teacher suddenly turned into a Konoha Ninja, and his face was fake.

“Why?” Nagato had a lot to say, but in the end, it condensed into a simple question.

“I know you have many questions now, and I can tell you all of them one by one,” Muzuki began to tell his story.

“First, my actions have nothing to do with Konoha; they are my personal, independent actions, whether it’s traveling through the Land of Rain or establishing the Shinobi Sect.”

“I came to the Land of Rain just as I said, because I want peace. It’s very difficult for me to promote the peace plan I want to carry out in Konoha.”

“This isn’t to say Konoha is bad or the Land of Fire is bad; Konoha and the Land of Fire are both very peaceful. But Konoha’s strength is too great; if the Shinobi Sect were promoted in the Land of Fire, it would definitely be met with a thunderous strike from the Konoha Ninjas.”

Muzuki wasn’t deceiving anyone. Even with his current strength, it would be difficult for him to cause too much trouble in the Land of Fire.

The Land of Fire’s strength was too great, not just Konoha, but also other Ninja forces.

“If I acted in the Land of Rain as a Konoha Ninja, not only would Konoha take action against me, but the Amegakure would also consider it a provocation. That’s why I went into hiding and founded the Shinobi Sect as Sōsuke. I didn’t want to deceive everyone with a false identity, but my identity is too troublesome,” Muzuki said with a sigh.

He did not reveal Uchiha Madara’s intelligence. For the current Nagato, knowing it would not help him do anything, it would only make him feel worse, and if he showed any abnormalities, it would make Uchiha Madara even more vigilant.

“Nagato, I hope you can temporarily keep this secret for me. I really want to interact with my Shinobi Sect companions with my true identity, but it’s not the right time yet,” Muzuki said, looking into Nagato’s eyes, his gaze full of sincerity.

Nagato’s expression changed repeatedly; his mood was truly complex now.

Muzuki using a fake name didn’t bother him, but when Muzuki canceled his transformation, Nagato began to get angry and suspicious of Muzuki, which implied that everything about Sōsuke might have been fabricated.

But when Muzuki explained everything clearly and then asked him to keep the secret, Nagato felt that Hayate Mugetsu and Sōsuke were no different. Although his appearance had changed, Muzuki still gave Nagato the feeling of that elegant and gentle Teacher Sōsuke.

Muzuki telling him this secret alone made Nagato feel a strong sense of trust from Muzuki.