They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 116 Hozuki Sage and the Upheaval in the Land of Rain

The village where the Earth Spider clan lives is located in a valley. Due to the sparse population, the surrounding area is filled with countless lush and verdant trees.

So despite the damage caused by the enslaved travelers, the surrounding forest remained vast and seemingly unchanged.

In this dense forest, Hozuki Shingetsu placed a round wooden board about one meter in diameter on the top of an ancient tree that was nearly a hundred meters tall. Then he sat quietly on the board, imitating Naruto Uzumaki's training process on Mount Myōboku, trying to feel the way of natural balance in these towering mountains.

Actually, when Hozuki Shingetsu saw this scene on the computer back then, he instinctively thought of the scene in the 86 TV series Journey to the West where Tang Sanzang competed in meditation with Deer Power Immortal in Chechi Kingdom.

In a sense, this experience of the natural mind is similar to meditation; both require maintaining inner peace and consciously overcoming various temptations.

Therefore, Hozuki Shingetsu specifically instructed Ao to release Wind Release ninjutsu from time to time to create some other sounds and artificially increase the difficulty of his training.

"You say Crescent Moon is so obsessed with this Sage Mode, even neglecting so many things in the village, traveling thousands of miles to come here, and going to such lengths to persuade the Earth Spider clan—is it all really worth it?"

Standing under the tree, Qing looked up at the Hozuki Crescent Moon, which had shrunk to almost a tiny black dot, and couldn't help but ask this question.

As a young ninja born after the First Shinobi World War, Ao had never witnessed the earth-shattering power of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

We can only learn about the Thousand-Handed Sage's terrifying exploits from past records and the accounts of some elderly people.

But... no matter what, he couldn't believe that the power to so easily change the landscape and subdue the Nine-Tails was really a power that a human could achieve.

Is it really not that later generations deliberately embellished the fact of their defeat in order to downplay it?

Therefore, he couldn't help but have some doubts about Hozuki Shingetsu's training method, which seemed to have made no progress despite Hozuki Shingetsu's daily routine over the past month.

"I haven't seen Sage Mode myself, so I don't know how real it is."

"But I am certain of one thing: if the records are all true, and Lord New Moon can truly master Sage Mode, then the rise of Kirigakure will be unstoppable!"

As the whirlpool sect member looked at the black dot above the tree, a fiery glint flashed in his eyes.

"Oh, why think so much? Even if this trip didn't turn out well, at least we brought back a member of the Earth Spider clan, so it wasn't a complete waste of time, was it?"

Yukinagi said with a chuckle.

Unlike the other two, as her personal secretary, Yukinagi had a very clear purpose for this trip: as long as Hozuki Shingetsu was happy, everything would be fine.

Especially without Kushina Uzumaki by her side, she felt incredibly relaxed and at ease.

Basically, every day she would proactively ask Hozuki Shingetsu what clothes he wanted to see the next day, and then she would happily change into new outfits.

Ao and Uzumaki Muto exchanged a glance, remaining silent in tacit agreement.

Splash!

Just as the atmosphere below fell silent because of Yukinagi's speech, a dark shadow flew in from a distance and landed on Ao's arm with practiced ease.

Ao raised his hand and stroked the ninja hawk's head, casually feeding it two pieces of meat, and then removed the intelligence document tied to the ninja hawk's leg.

"Information about the Land of Rain..."

Qing glanced at the intelligence information in his hand, his expression gradually becoming serious.

"No, this news must be shared with Crescent Moon."

After reading the intelligence, Qing made this decision immediately.

As Hozuki Shingetsu's confidant, he was well aware of how much Hozuki Shingetsu valued the Land of Rain, and this news needed to be known to him as soon as possible.

Just as Ao was about to rush forward and interrupt Hozuki Shingetsu's training, an unusual aura suddenly appeared above, attracting the attention of everyone present.

At the treetop, the Ghost Lantern Crescent Moon, which had been focused and closed its eyes, slowly opened them.

As his eyes opened and closed, golden eyeshadow quietly appeared, and a golden lotus flower slowly materialized between his eyebrows.

Hozuki Shingetsu stood up, clenched his fists, and felt the energy surging within his body.

"So this is what Sage Mode feels like... This feeling is actually not bad."

After finally achieving the Sage Mode he had always dreamed of, he did not experience the joy he had imagined.

Perhaps it was because of his connection with the energy of nature that he felt incredibly peaceful at that moment.

He closed his eyes, sensing the vibrant chakra within his body.

Unexpectedly, he did not feel the fullness of power he had imagined from within his body, the illusion that a single punch could shatter the heavens and earth. All he could feel at this moment was two words: "lightness".

His entire body seemed weightless, as if with a light leap he could merge into the wind and drift with it.

With a slight thought, he immediately began practicing Kirigakure taijutsu techniques on the wooden board where only the center point was subjected to force.

"Is this extreme control over one's own body a manifestation of the 'perfection' of Sage Mode...?"

At a height of nearly 100 meters, within this narrow space, Ghost Lantern Crescent Moon moved about as if on flat ground, without any obstacles whatsoever.

"In that case... then we can try out the amplification effect of Sage Chakra on ninjutsu."

With this thought in mind, Hozuki Shingetsu raised his right hand, pointing it at the distant lake in a gun shape.

"Celestial Art: Water Iron Cannon Technique!"

With a soft shout, a drop of water separated from his fingertip, drawing a fleeting line in mid-air before rushing towards the distant lake.

BOOM!

Like a cannonball hitting water, the distant lake surface was blasted into an astonishing wave, with a slight delay before the explosion finally arrived.

Under the tree, Uzumaki Munen and the others turned their heads warily toward the direction from which the explosion came. They were clearly very surprised by the strange sound that came from an unknown source, and did not know whether the person who made the sound was friend or foe.

"Hmm, the power is more than ten times greater than normal... This is the kind of power that truly deserves to be called the Water Gun Technique!"

Hozuki Shingetsu was quite satisfied with this power, thinking to himself that all his hard work in seeking Sage Mode had not been in vain.

Moreover, during the release of the ninjutsu, Hozuki Shingetsu clearly felt that not only was the power of the ninjutsu enhanced, but the chakra manipulation was also incredibly smooth compared to the past.

As soon as a thought arises, the chakra moves accordingly without any stagnation.

In high spirits, Hozuki Shingetsu unleashed several more ninjutsu in succession, enjoying himself immensely amidst the loud noises coming from all directions.

The poor Uzumaki clan members under the tree, hearing the booming sounds all around them, thought that the Tsuchigumo clan had leaked their information to Konoha, and that Konoha had sent people to surround and kill them!

Instantly, alarm bells rang in my mind, and my body went into high alert.

"Hmm... If we follow a normal battle simulation, the duration of this Sage Mode is roughly the same as Naruto's, around five minutes."

"In that case, there's only one last test left: the test of defensive capabilities."

Based on the ninjutsu he had just used, Hozuki Shingetsu made a rough estimate of how long he could maintain Sage Mode, and then prepared to conduct the final test.

As for the method of testing physical defense... Hozuki Shingetsu glanced at the several wary black dots dozens of meters below him, and a smile involuntarily flashed across his face.

Hozuki Shingetsu clasped his hands together and uttered a soft shout:

"Sage Art: Water Release Chakra Mode!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint wisp of crimson vapor rose up and enveloped Hozuki Shingetsu's entire body.

Within this blood mist, his hair gradually turned from white to red, and the golden eyeshadow and the lotus flower between his eyebrows were gradually stained dark gold by the blood vapor.

"Hmm... we can raise the stakes even further."

Hozuki Shingetsu sensed his own physical condition and communicated with the consciousness of the Six-Tails.

Immediately afterwards, the crimson mist surrounding him suddenly thickened, and six dark golden tails slowly rose from his back, swaying casually.

Hozuki Shingetsu's entire demeanor instantly became eerie; at this moment, he truly deserved the description of being both demonic and saintly.

Looking from afar, one could see a blood-red figure standing proudly atop the nearly 100-meter-high treetop, beneath the sky, with six dark golden tails swaying in the wind behind it, and a thick blood-red mist shooting straight into the sky.

Such a commotion naturally attracted the attention of the Whirlpool Clan members below, and even the Enma, who was staying in the village of the Earth Spider Clan in the distance, was drawn by this obvious phenomenon and rushed towards this place with a drastic change in expression.

"This direction... Could it be that Crescent Moon has succeeded?"

Before Yukinagi could utter her thoughts, a whooshing sound came from above.

She looked up and saw a blood-red unidentified object rapidly falling towards her from the sky.

Before the group could react, the black dot slammed into the ground and landed right in front of Yukina and the others' faces.

boom!

In an instant, dirt flew everywhere and dust filled the air.

Qing and the others looked warily at the dust and mist before them, watching for the figure slowly approaching them from within.

"……new moon?"

Soon, Yukinagi, who was most familiar with Hozuki Shingetsu, recognized the person who had come.

The newcomer was none other than Hozuki Shingetsu. He emerged from the dust and mist unharmed and displayed his new form to everyone.

"It seems that my physical defense, now at full power, is even capable of withstanding A-rank ninjutsu..."

Looking at his body, which had fallen from a height of nearly 100 meters and was completely unharmed, Hozuki Shingetsu couldn't help but sigh.

With the combined power of the Fairy Tailed Beast and Water Release Chakra Mode, Hozuki Shingetsu's defensive capabilities now feel almost on par with Susanoo.

"Well, this doesn't even include the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. If we include that ninjutsu, its defensive power might even surpass that of Susanoo."

When he used his cheat ability to connect with Modibi's mind, Hozuki Shingetsu had already secretly mastered the essence of Lightning Release Chakra Mode training.

However, at the time, because he was afraid of exposing his cheat ability, he only dared to practice it secretly and dared not apply it in practice.

However, now that he has mastered Sage Mode, Hozuki Shingetsu believes that unless the three great dojutsu in their complete forms reappear or Hashirama Senju is resurrected, no one in the ninja world should be his match.

Therefore, under these circumstances, the Lightning Release Chakra Mode can be used.

If anyone in Kumogakure were to question me... that I'm exceptionally talented, is that not allowed?

"So this is Sage Mode? It's really... cool!"

Upon seeing Hozuki Shingetsu's new form, Yukinagi immediately lowered her guard and went up to examine the sage mask on his face and the new color of his tail, groping him with great pleasure.

Yes, this confirms once again that it's not only men who enjoy cosplay.

Unlike the love-struck Yukinagi, Muneto and Ao are better able to understand Hozuki Shingetsu's current strength.

In his chakra perception with his eyes closed, Hozuki Shingetsu's location was lifeless, as if no one was standing there at all.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Hozuki Shingetsu standing there, and he could feel the immense power contained within his body just from his visible appearance.

The fact that such contradictory states of rage and tranquility, strength and weakness, could coexist in one person speaks volumes.

"By the way, Crescent Moon, take a look at this information, it's about the Land of Rain."

Ao suddenly remembered the information he had just received and quickly took the opportunity to hand it to Hozuki Shingetsu.

Just then, his Sage Mode chakra was completely depleted, and he exited Sage Mode. So, he took advantage of this time to recover his chakra and began to check the information.

He was initially pleased with the beginning, but his expression quickly turned serious.

"...Suigazaki Hozuki and the others found Nagato Uzumaki, but ran into Jiraiya and the others?!"

--------------

In a cave in the Land of Rain, all of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, except for Tachibana Higashihiko, were gathered, all looking wounded and in a sorry state.

"Judging by the time, the message should have reached Lord Crescent Moon by now. We've botched things; let's think of how to explain this to him!"

Seeing the group's morale waning, Kurozuki Raiga broke the silence in the cave with his words.

Ever since he was defeated by Hozuki Shingetsu last time, he has become a devoted follower of him, and his respect for Hozuki Shingetsu is beyond compare. His loyalty is almost on par with that of Suigetsu Hobuki.

"Explain? How can you explain that? The fact is, we six couldn't beat the other three. How do you explain that?"

Looking at the severed guillotine in his hand, Juzo Biwa replied irritably.

Thinking back to the battle he had just experienced, he couldn't help but recall that incredibly beautiful, voluptuous woman.

He really didn't want to recall that astonishing, monstrous strength that had broken his arm and knife together.

Raiga Kurosuki opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found himself speechless.

The cave, which had just been somewhat lively, fell silent once again.

(End of this chapter)