Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 100 Hozuki Mangetsu's Miserable Escape [Please Subscribe]

A gentle breeze blew through the thick fog, causing Shura's black robe to flutter in the wind, and his cloak embroidered with a nine-faced Suvaha pattern to rise gently.

He strode over to the corpse of the Watermelon Pufferfish Demon and drew his guillotine.

As the decapitation sword was pulled out, the obese body of Suigetsu Hozuki lost its support and split in two like a watermelon that had been chopped open, falling to the ground with blood and internal organs such as intestines.

The blade, which was dented and battered from the battle between the Executioner's Blade and the Exploding Blade: Frozen Blade, began to slowly heal itself after absorbing the blood of Suigetsu Hozuki.

This is the unique characteristic of the Executioner's Blade: it absorbs iron from the blood of its enemies to repair itself and restore the user's stamina. Therefore, the Executioner's Blade also has another title: "The Blade That Never Breaks".

Menma bowed his head; the Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon was dead beyond any doubt.

With Kagura's Mind's Eye activated, Hozuki Mangetsu's chakra was rapidly moving away from the battlefield through the thick fog.

The water-transformed Hozuki Mangetsu did not launch another attack from the thick fog. Not only did he abandon the corpses of Suigetsu Hozuki and Biwa Juzo, but he also abandoned the Kubikiri and Samehada swords, and simply made a hasty retreat.

"That's quite decisive." Menma snorted softly, sensing Hozuki Mangetsu's escape route with Kagura's Mind's Eye, and made no intention of giving chase.

If he really wanted to cause a major conflict in Kirigakure, he could have made some big moves within the village during the Kaguya clan's rebellion, or he could have directly exposed the scandal of his Fourth Mizukage being controlled by someone else to the Kirigakure ninja clans, including Mei Terumi.

"Hmph hmph hmph~" Menma began to hum a song softly, scavenging the corpses of Juzo Biwa and Hozuki Suigetsu to see what spoils he had.

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On the other side, Hozuki Mangetsu's water-formed body sped through the dense forest.

Only after escaping to a certain distance did he dare to revert to human form. Leaning against a withered tree, he gasped for breath, clutching the wound on his left shoulder, and hurriedly used a water-based healing technique to treat the wound.

Cold sweat mixed with dampness dripped from his chin. Hozuki Mangetsu turned back to look into the depths of the thick fog, his purple pupils still trembling slightly with fear.

After being injured by Shura, Hozuki Mangetsu immediately entered a water-based state and suddenly realized that Suigetsu Hozuki had abandoned him and run away!

It's exactly the same way they escaped when four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were kicked to death by Konoha genin back then. How shameful!

Taking advantage of the moment when Shura was chasing after Suigetsu Hozuki, Hozuki Mangetsu, a genius of the Hozuki clan, slipped away without hesitation.

"Was that guy... really human?" Hozuki Mangetsu recalled the brief but terrifying battle he had just fought.

It wasn't until this moment that Hozuki Mangetsu realized that his opponent had been completely at ease, seemingly never unleashing his full power, and had been constantly on the defensive, as if... as if...

Hozuki Mangetsu couldn't help but recall the feeling of being trained by the clan elders when he was a child.

However, the enemy will not show any mercy, and you need to go all out. If you are not careful, you may be killed like Suigetsu Hobutsuki and Hibiki Juzo!
'Damn it! That guy didn't even use his full strength! Was he testing our fighting ability and fighting style?' Hozuki Mangetsu finally realized, and a sense of humiliation rose from the bottom of his heart.

'Moreover, Juzo Biwa and Fuguki Suigetsu are dead, and we also lost two ninja swords...' Thinking of the losses in this battle, Mangetsu Hozuki's mood became even heavier, and he sped off towards Kirigakure.

Since four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were killed by that Konoha ninja during the Third Shinobi World War, Raiga Kurosuki defected with his Raiju sword Kiba, and the second successors of the other swordsmen have yet to be selected.

There were only three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in Kirigakure, and now two of them have died in this battle!
More importantly, the Executioner's Blade and Samehada were taken by the enemy!
Hozuki Mangetsu swept across the rooftops of the village, and from time to time, one could see the devastated village, where ninjas were cleaning up the battlefield, collecting the corpses of the Kaguya clan, and medical ninjas were moving around treating the wounded.

Some buildings were also damaged by the ninjutsu used in the rebellion. The Mizukage Building in the distance was also damaged because Zabuza's rebellion, with half of the top floor blown off and smoke still rising from the ruins.

The morning sunlight failed to dispel the gloom that shrouded the village; the faint smell of blood in the air only made the name "Village of Blood Mist" seem even more glaring. "Lord Mizukage!" In the half-collapsed Mizukage office, Hozuki Mangetsu knelt on one knee.

Yagura stood with his back to him by the collapsed window, his short figure elongated by the morning light, casting a distorted shadow.

"The mission failed?" Yagura's voice was cold, but he didn't seem surprised.

"Yes." Hozuki Mangetsu bowed his head and reported the battle results: "The enemy is very powerful. Biwa Juzo was not even a match for them, and the Water Prison Technique was useless against them. Their chakra is so vast that even Samehada betrayed them..."

When reporting the battle results, Hozuki Mangetsu slightly raised his head to observe, but only saw the back of Yagura Karatachi.

"After I was injured, Suigetsu Hobutsuki saw that things were not going well and tried to escape, but was chased down and killed by the other party."

There's no need to say anything more.

Whether it was the deaths of two Jonin or the theft of the Executioner's Blade and Samehada, he, as the captain of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, bore inescapable responsibility.

"You've disappointed me greatly." Yagura's cold voice came from above, making Hozuki Mangetsu's heart skip a beat.

"Go back and reflect on your actions behind closed doors, awaiting the village's decision." However, Yagura Karatachi did not directly punish Hozuki Mangetsu, but only ordered him to reflect on his actions behind closed doors.

"Yes!" Hozuki Mangetsu replied, then vanished in an instant.

After Hozuki Mangetsu left, Obito Uchiha emerged from the shadows.

"Even three Kirigakure Jonin couldn't stop Shura? It seems they didn't even inflict any damage on him, and even his ninja sword was taken away." Obito's wrinkled face beneath his tiger-striped mask was full of solemnity.

"What a bunch of useless trash..." Obito mocked the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

Although he hadn't figured out Shura's strength in their last encounter, Obito still cautiously manipulated Yagura Karatachi to send out three Jonin wielding ninja swords, among whom Suigetsu Hozuki and Hozuki Mangetsu were elite Jonin.

With the combined fighting power of the trio and the three ninja swords each possessing different abilities, they could even put up a fight against a tailed beast.

"Hmph, if it weren't for the fear of driving the Hozuki clan into rebellion, that brat Hozuki Mangetsu..." Although he didn't inflict any serious injuries on Shura, the deaths of Kirigakure Juzo and Suigetsu Hozuki greatly weakened the village's strength.

Obito Uchiha walked to the edge and looked down at the village, which was riddled with holes after last night's battle. It was so similar to the Nine-Tails attack he had launched in Konoha four years ago.

Following the extermination of the Yuki clan, the Kaguya clan was also wiped out. Several Jonin died, as did Juzo Biwa and Suigetsu Hozuki. Zabuza defected, and his two ninja swords were taken by Shura.

The Hidden Mist Village is now extremely weak!
If it weren't for the fear of provoking the Hozuki clan to rebel, Obito would have wanted to control Yagura Karatachi and use the excuse of this mission's failure to eliminate Hozuki Mangetsu!
However, the Hozuki clan is not as isolated and helpless as the Kaguya clan, nor as marginalized as the Yuki clan.

Most of the ninja clans in Kirigakure have a good relationship with the Hozuki clan, and commoner ninjas also have a high regard for the Hozuki clan.

Because the Hozuki clan once produced a highly respected Mizukage.

'Rin…' The Sharingan beneath the tiger-striped mask stared at the dilapidated Kirigakure village.

Obito clenched his fists, a surge of vengeful pleasure washing over him.

　I'm a bit busy today, so only two updates today. Sorry.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)