The Hand of God Creates the Strongest Hidden Mist Village

Chapter 166 Taking Down Tsunade, the Famous Sword [Water Che]

Twilight.

The VIP room at Jinmanlou was in a complete mess.

Broken tables and chairs, torn screens, scattered chips.

All of this demonstrates the lingering effects of last night's intense gambling match.

Tsunade huddled in the corner, her tea-green outer robe long gone, leaving only a torn dark bodysuit barely covering her. Tears still clung to her face, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, as if she had lost all life.

Kato Shizune remained unconscious, her face pale, and she was still tightly holding the unconscious Ton-Ton in her arms.

"It was truly an unforgettable night. Normally, I should have killed you right after I finished."

The scumbag A-Cheng slowly straightened his clothes, looking down at Tsunade.

"But that would be too wasteful. I, Makoto Koji, dislike wasting things the most. I usually eat every single grain of rice in my bowl, so I don't intend to kill you."

"7

Tsunade's eyes were lifeless, and she remained silent, like a broken doll, limp and lifeless.

She cherishes emotions deeply, and places the greatest importance on love.

Even after her death, she never accepted another person into her heart, not even someone like Jiraiya, whom she always kept out of her heart.

But now, everything is ruined, even the most precious thing she had never given to Duan—

"asshole----"

Tsunade's voice was so hoarse that it was almost impossible to recognize her original tone.

"Don't put it so harshly. This is your own choice, isn't it?"

Makoto Kuriju squatted down, extended his finger, and lifted Tsunade's chin, forcing her to look at him.

Those once clear and bright light brown eyes were now filled with emptiness and despair.

"A bet's a bet. You lost, so you have to pay the price. Now that the price has been paid, we're even."

"Even if we settle accounts?"

Tsunade finally showed a reaction.

"You, you think this kind of thing—can be settled amicably?"

"Why not?"

Gouju opened his hands, stood up, and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"You live, I leave. From now on, you go your way, and I'll go mine. If you want revenge, you can come find me anytime. But—"

He looked down at Tsunade, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"The next time we meet, things won't be so easy to resolve."

"7

Tsunade stared intently at him, as if trying to etch his image into her very bones.

But Makoto Kujira didn't care at all.

He took out a specially made medical blood collection device from his ninja tool bag. He had asked Minazuki Yuki to prepare it before he set off, originally to collect blood samples from some special bloodline ninjas for research. He never expected it to come in handy now.

"Don't move."

He crouched down and aimed the needle of the blood collection device at Tsunade's arm.

Tsunade instinctively tried to dodge, but her body remained limp and powerless, and she could only watch helplessly as the needle pierced her skin.

The bright red blood flowed into the blood collection device through the transparent tube.

"What—what do you want my blood for?"

Tsunade's voice trembled, and a hint of unease flashed in her eyes.

"Doing research."

Gouju answered casually, his eyes fixed intently on the markings on the blood collection device.

"You are the granddaughter of the First Hokage, a direct descendant of the Senju clan. Your blood contains the most powerful life force genes in the ninja world. Of course, I want to keep a share of such a valuable thing."

Tsunade's pupils contracted slightly.

The bloodline of the Senju clan—indeed, as the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, she possessed the purest bloodline of the Senju clan.

That powerful vitality and chakra are something countless forces dream of.

Moreover, as the saying goes, all things in the world are about give and take.

Since we've already gone to the place, we should naturally take some back.

The stinging pain of the needle piercing her skin brought Tsunade's remaining consciousness back to a slightly clearer state.

She stared intently at Gouju Cheng: "You bastard, you'd better kill me now, or you'll regret it!"

"Okay, I'll wait. But I hope you won't go weak at the sight of blood next time."

Makoto Kujira nodded perfunctorily, carefully sealed the blood collection device filled with blood, and put it into his ninja tool bag.

After doing all this, he stood up, looked down at Tsunade huddled in the corner, and loosened his belt.

Shizune was still unconscious. The power of the Mangekyou Sharingan was something that a novice ninja like her could not withstand. If it weren't for Makoto Karatachi's dispelling effect, or if it had been broken by the extremely powerful eye power, she would probably have remained unconscious for the rest of her life.

"Alright, there's still half an hour left before this girl's illusion breaks. I should go now."

"As for today's matter—"

Gouju Cheng paused, his tone becoming meaningful.

"You lost the bet yourself. You have to accept the consequences of your bet; that's the rule of the casino. You've been in the casino business for so many years, you should know this better than I do."

"Afterwards, I also advised you not to even think about chasing after me. In your current state, chasing after me would just be suicide."

Looking at Tsunade in front of him, Makoto Karatachi chuckled, perhaps thinking of something amusing, and turned to walk towards the window.

Pushing open the window, the cool morning breeze rushed into the private room.

"Well then, see you next time, Tsunade-hime, you're so radiant."

"7

A moment later, Shizune slowly woke up, saw Tsunade's appearance, and cried out as she rushed over.

"Lady Tsunade! Lady Tsunade, what's wrong?!"

Tsunade did not respond, but just stared blankly at the ceiling.

When Shizune saw the torn clothes on her body, her face turned deathly pale.

"That, that bastard—he, he—"

Tears welled up in her eyes, and Shizune hugged Tsunade tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Lady Tsunade—I'm so sorry—it's terrible—I failed to protect you—"

Tsunade remained unresponsive, as if she had lost all senses.

After an unknown amount of time, she slowly spoke, her voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"Mute—help me up."

"Lady Tsunade————"

Help me up.

Although Tsunade's voice was weak, it carried an undeniable firmness.

Jingyin quickly helped her to her feet.

Tsunade staggered, regained her balance, looked down at her torn clothes, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

"That bastard—Makoto Karatachi—"

She uttered the name through gritted teeth, as if she wanted to chew every single word to pieces.

"I'll make you regret this, I definitely will—"

But just then, a violent wave of dizziness hit her, and Tsunade swayed, nearly falling again.

Jingyin quickly helped her up, her eyes filled with worry.

"Lady Tsunade, please rest for a while. You look like this—"

"Shut up."

Tsunade took a deep breath and forced herself to stand up straight.

She knew that now was not the time to give up.

That bastard is right. In my current state, chasing after him would just be suicide.

She gritted her teeth and looked at Jingyin.

"Jingyin, find me some clean clothes."

"Yes, yes!"

Jingyin quickly ran out of the private room to find someone from the casino for help.

Tsunade stood alone in the same spot, her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.

Goji citrus sincerity —

She remembered that name.

One day, she'll make that bastard pay.

I swear in the name of the Thousand Hands.

On the roof of Jinmanlou, Gouju Cheng greeted the rising sun and took a deep breath of the morning air.

"call----"

He stretched his limbs, a complex expression flashing across his face.

Tsunade —

To be honest, he hadn't originally planned to go that far.

But an opportunity presented itself: to replicate her superhuman strength and medical ninjutsu, to obtain a bloodline sample from the Senju clan, and to incidentally, to taste the legendary Sannin—

Missing out on such a great opportunity would be a sin.

"Anyway, she's not a good person."

Gouju Cheng muttered something to comfort himself.

"She was an alcoholic and gambler, deeply in debt, and wandering around with a little girl. I'm helping her quit gambling and teaching her how to be a better person."

Yes, that makes sense.

As for whether she will seek revenge later—

Gouju Cheng shrugged.

Given the current situation in Konoha and Kirigakure, the possibility of Tsunade truly going all out to become his enemy is extremely low.

Moreover, given Tsunade's current state of mind and condition, it would take her at least several years to recover and seek revenge. Furthermore, she suffers from hemophobia, and if this is exploited, she poses no threat whatsoever.

"Moreover—"

Makoto Goji touched the blood sample in his ninja tool pouch, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

In his current experiments, thanks to the war and the Kaguya clan that Kirigakure already had, the materials for the Six Paths bloodline are quite abundant.

However, he still lacks the Thousand Hands clan, which is the core lineage of the Asura!

At this moment, Tsunade's appearance perfectly filled this gap!

"Brother Cheng!"

A familiar voice came from below.

When Makoto looked down, he saw Hozuki Mangetsu standing in the shadows of the back alley of Kinmanrou, waving excitedly at him.

"Why did you get on the roof? I heard you made a lot of money and then went to have a one-on-one date with someone."

"How was it? How much did you make, or did you lose it all and feel utterly dejected? I always said gambling is something you should do less of—"

Gouju Cheng rolled his eyes, leaped down, and landed in front of Manyue.

"Where's the knife?"

"knife?"

Full Moon paused for a moment, then realized what was happening, chuckled, and patted the scroll in her arms.

"That gambler was later beaten half to death by the casino staff. I intervened and saved him, and spent 360,000 taels of silver to buy that knife."

"Three hundred and sixty thousand taels?"

Makoto Koji raised an eyebrow. This wasn't expensive. Good weapons usually cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. The seven ninja swords of Kirigakure were priced at several million taels of silver on the black market, and the White Fang short sword was worth three million taels of silver. Moreover, they were all priceless.

Hozuki Mangetsu, as if presenting a treasure, took out a sealed scroll from his bosom and carefully broke the seal.

With a soft thud, an ancient-looking katana appeared in front of the two.

The blade is long and slightly curved, with a delicate and smooth blade pattern like water ripples. The knife is a simple sunflower shape, and the handle is wrapped with dark blue sharkskin. The overall style is simple and restrained, yet it exudes a sense of weight and depth that has been accumulated over the years.

"This knife—"

Gouju Cheng raised his eyebrows slightly.

Although he wasn't a weapons expert, he could still tell that this knife was extraordinary. Its restrained sharpness and mellow texture were something that no ordinary blacksmith could forge.

"Hehe, look closely, Brother Cheng."

Man Yue held the knife up with both hands, the blade reflecting a faint, cold light in the rising sun.

He flicked his finger lightly, and the blade emitted a clear, resonant hum that lingered long afterward.

"The material, the craftsmanship, the feel—it's absolutely the work of a master craftsman! And look at the inscription on the hilt."

Gouju Cheng leaned closer to take a look, and sure enough, there were a few small characters engraved at the base of the knife stem. They were a bit blurry, but Gouju Cheng still recognized the mark.

It was a regular hexagon with two curved edges on the left and right sides, like a blade cutting through.

"Goods from the Ninja Village of Craftsmen?"

"Yes, and it was forged by Seimei, the founder of the Craftsman Ninja Village!"

Full Moon blushed with excitement: "I asked that gambler, and he said it was passed down from his ancestors. His ancestor once saved Qingming, and this knife was a precious sword that Qingming personally forged for his ancestor back then. Although it's not a famous sword, its value is definitely not low!"

Gouju Cheng took the knife and weighed it in his hand.

With its moderate weight, reasonable center of gravity, and perfect proportion between the blade and handle, it feels like an extension of your arm when held, providing an indescribable comfort.

"Qingming Festival"

He murmured the name over and over again.

The founder of the Ninja Village, a legendary weapon-forging master. It is said that every weapon he forged was a masterpiece, and some of them were even comparable to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from various ninja villages.

If this guy were alive today, he'd be making a fortune just from taking on orders.

but----

"Thirty-six hundred thousand taels for a knife forged during the Qingming Festival?"

Gouju Cheng looked at the full moon with a strange expression.

"That's a pretty huge bargain. Is that guy out of his mind?"

"He wouldn't know anything about this!"

Full Moon chuckled and explained smugly, "That guy is a hopeless gambler. He only knows that this knife is an heirloom called 'Water Clarity,' but he has no idea of ​​its value. In his eyes, it's just an old knife that's still fairly sharp, and he's overjoyed that he can get 360,000 taels of silver to pay off his debts."

"Moreover, I saved him from being beaten to death by the casino people. He was extremely grateful, and the price of 360,000 taels was his own offer. I even pretended to decline!"

After hearing this, Gouju Cheng couldn't help but laugh.

Wow, not only did he save someone, but he also bought the precious sword at a low price, and in the end, he made people grateful.

That kid, Full Moon, is pretty good.

"Alright, you've done a good job."

Makoto patted Mangetsu on the shoulder and handed the knife back to him: "But speaking of which, you already have so many knives, are you even capable of handling this?"

First, he got the White Fang short sword from Kakashi, then the Hiramekarei twin swords, and now he's got the [Water Clarity] sword. Is this kid also Zoro, going for a three-sword style?!

"hey-hey."

Full Moon carefully accepted [Water Che], her eyes filled with reverence, as if she were looking at some priceless treasure.

"Brother Cheng, you don't understand. A good knife is like a good woman; you can never have too many."

When Makoto Goji twitched at these words, he felt a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

When did this kid learn to talk like that?

"Alright, alright, put it away." Makoto Goji waved his hand. "We can enjoy it slowly when we get back. Now let's go back to the hotel, pack up, and get going."

"Huh? They're leaving already?"

Man Yue paused, looking somewhat reluctantly at the bustling streets of Daming Prefecture. "You're leaving after only one day?"

"The mission is complete, what's the point of keeping us here?" Makoto Koji glanced at him. "Do you think we're here for vacation?"

"Uh... okay."

Although Man Yue was somewhat reluctant, he never dared to contradict Cheng-ge, so he obediently sealed the [Water Clear] back onto the scroll and put it into his ninja tool bag.

The two walked along the streets in the early morning toward their hotel.

On the way, Manyue couldn't help but ask, "Brother Cheng, who did you gamble with in the VIP room last night? How much did you win? You seemed to be in a good mood when you came out."

"How much did you win?"

Gouju Cheng thought for a moment, then a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

"I won a lot. Money is secondary; the key is that I won other things too."

"Something else?" Full Moon asked curiously. "What is it?"

"Don't ask so many questions, kid."

Gouju Cheng tapped him on the head, a playful glint in his eyes.

"In short, this trip to Daming Prefecture has yielded far more results than expected."

His real goal was to use the three nobles to finally bring down the scythe on the daimyo of the Land of Fire, but then Tsunade suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

Now that he has Tsunade's cells and has accomplished something amazing, wouldn't it be pointless for him to stay in the Daimyo Prefecture?

The wind is strong, let's get out of here!

The two returned to the hotel, packed their belongings quickly, and then left.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived at the hotel, several figures were already waiting at the door.

He was a well-dressed middle-aged man, wearing a tall eboshi hat, a hunting robe, and a sword at his waist—a typical nobleman's attire. Behind him followed two guards dressed as samurai, their demeanor composed and their gaze sharp; they were clearly no ordinary men.

Upon seeing Makoto Gojibana and Mangetsu Hozuki approaching, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up, and he quickly stepped forward to greet them, bowing deeply.

"May I ask if you are Lord Makoto Karatachi, the assistant of the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist?"

Gouju Cheng paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the newcomer.

That outfit, that demeanor, that attitude—

"Indeed. And you are?"

"I am the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Daimyo Prefecture. I have come on the orders of His Highness the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to invite Lord Makoto Karatachi to the Daimyo Palace for a discussion."

The middle-aged man raised his head, his face full of respectful smiles, but his tone carried an air of unyielding authority.

"His Highness the Daimyo has long heard of Lord Gouju's performance in the war and admires him greatly. Knowing that Lord Gouju is now in Daimyo Prefecture, he has specially ordered me to invite Lord Gouju to his residence for a chat, so as to fulfill the duties of a host."

"Oh?"

Gouju Cheng looked surprised.

His original plan was to use the three noble families as stepping stones to spread his reputation and wait for the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to come to him.

But Tsunade's appearance disrupted the rhythm, so much so that he was prepared to retreat. He didn't expect the Daimyo's efficiency to be even higher than he had imagined!

Or.

The name Makoto Kariju holds a higher value in the eyes of the daimyo than Makoto Kariju himself realizes!

"Your Highness is too kind."

Gouju Makoto chuckled lightly: "I am but a mere warrior, how could I possibly deserve such a personal audience with His Highness the Daimyo?"

"Lord Gouju is too modest."

The internal affairs officer smiled broadly, "Your formidable reputation on the battlefield is known throughout the entire ninja world!"

"His Highness said that a young talent like Lord Gouju is exactly the kind of person the Land of Fire needs to befriend. If you have the time, please do me the honor of visiting."

"this----"

Gouju Cheng looked hesitant.

Seeing this, the palace official quickly added, "His Highness said it was just a simple chat to catch up, and there was absolutely no intention to force anything."

"If you find this inconvenient, or have any concerns, please feel free to bring them up. His Highness will certainly do his best to resolve your worries."

Having said all that, it would be inappropriate to refuse now.

Koji Makoto nodded slightly: "Since Your Highness has so kindly invited me, how could I dare to refuse? Please allow me to pack my things, and then I will go with you."

"Please do as you please, sir. I will be waiting here."

The steward bowed again, his attitude impeccably respectful.

Makoto Kujira led Mangetsu into the inn and returned to his room.

As soon as the door closed, Man Yue couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy crap, Makoto-san, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire actually took the initiative to see you! You two, Kirigakure and Konoha, just finished a war. Although it wasn't a fight to the death, your relationship wasn't exactly good either, was it?"

"It's precisely because we just finished fighting that he wants to see me."

While packing his luggage, Gouju Cheng casually explained.

"The war is over, and now it's time to distribute the spoils. Although the Land of Fire, as the defeated party, signed a peace treaty, there are still many details to be finalized regarding its implementation. At a time like this, my role as the Mizukage who personally ended the war carries significant weight."

"Moreover, the Daimyo is the head of the civil service system, while Konoha is the military system. The relationship between the two is much more complicated than you imagine. His desire to see me may not be for official business, but could also be for personal matters."

"Besides, do you really think my visits to these three nobles these past few days were just to swindle that sixty million taels?"

"It's difficult, isn't it?"

Hozuki Mangetsu was a little dumbfounded. That was 60 million taels! Wasn't that enough?!

Looking at Hozuki Mangetsu's appearance, Makoto Karutachi chuckled softly.

"So you're still too young."

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