Promoting the Konoha threat theory, and talking about the Hidden Mist Belt!

The giant sword in Tachibana Higashihiko's hand suddenly grew larger, emitting a dazzling light. Intense chakra gathered on it, and an incomparably powerful aura erupted from his body.

Under Tachibana Haruhiko's control, this violent ball of chakra, amidst intense shaking, rapidly hurtled towards Hozuki Shingetsu!

"Water Release: Spirit Circle Slash!"

With a low shout from Hozuki Shingetsu, an extremely thin chakra compression disc rose from his right hand.

With a buzzing sound, the azure chakra disc spun faster and faster, its tiny serrations quickly disappearing. Then, with a flick of his right hand, the disc flew out of his grasp, arcing mysteriously as it hurtled towards the chakra sphere!

With his metabolism and nerve conduction speed greatly increased under Water Release Chakra Mode, Hozuki Shingetsu was able to incorporate Water Release nature transformation into his Destructo Disc. And after incorporating Water Release nature transformation, the Destructo Disc could be released from his hand, just as he had anticipated!

Under Hozuki Shingetsu's calm gaze and Tachibana Touhiko's incredulous gaze, the sphere that contained a large amount of Tachibana Touhiko's chakra was swiftly and decisively split in two by the thin disc!

boom!

This was the sound of the chakra hemisphere striking the ground after being severed. Within a ten-meter radius, not a blade of grass grew, and a deep circular pit was dug directly into the hillside.

In contrast, Hozuki Shingetsu's Qi Circle Slash pierced straight into the mountain, disappearing like a mud ox sinking into the sea, leaving no trace except for a tiny crack.

However, Tachibana Azuhiko showed no excitement whatsoever. With a solemn expression, he approached the crevice in the mountain and leaned down to look down.

A faint ray of light entered his eyes through the pitch-black gap.

"This mountain... has been pierced through."

Chapter 67 Trip to the Capital

Despite it being just a small hill, the fact that the Water Release nature transformation-infused Ki Circle Slash could penetrate it still amazed Tachibana Higashihiko.

"Based on the difficulty of mastering this ninjutsu, Water Release: Spirit Circle Slash can definitely be considered an S-rank ninjutsu," Tachibana Higashihiko commented.

Hozuki Shingetsu took it in stride. Admittedly, the Water Release: Spirit Circle Slash was very powerful, especially its penetrating power, which was several times that of the Rasengan. However, it had a fatal weakness—it was too slow.

In Dragon Ball, the success of the Destructo Disc is mostly based on surprise attacks; it's almost impossible to succeed if you use this move in front of the enemy.

Hozuki Shingetsu's move is the same. The Water Release: Spirit Disc Slash was several times faster than the regular Spirit Disc Slash, but with the reaction speed of a Jonin, without any restrictions, he could still dodge it.

"So... in the end, besides being used for surprise attacks, this thing is still meant to be used in handheld combat?" Hozuki Shingetsu just sighed at this, without expressing any further sentiment.

After all, his main purpose in fighting Tachibana Higashihiko was to test the power of his rudimentary Water Release Chakra Mode—and judging from the actual combat results, it was indeed quite good.

As an elite ninja selected by Hozuki Gengetsu and chosen as one of the first Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Tachibana Higashihiko was once an outstanding genius; otherwise, he would not have gained Hozuki Gengetsu's attention.

Now, at less than thirty years old, he has become an elite Jonin, which is enough to demonstrate his talent. Hozuki Shingetsu's ability to fight him to a standstill in sparring is already something to be proud of.

"Are we heading to the capital tomorrow?"

On the way back to Kirigakure, Tachibana Touhiko reminded Hozuki Shingetsu, "You should know why Ren sent you to the capital, right? I heard that he has secretly sent people to the capital to bribe important officials, all in order to get the daimyo to use you to confirm the rumors of Kirigakure's military budget cuts."

Hozuki Shingetsu nodded. Naturally, he already knew about this information that Tachibana Touhiko could access. Not only that, he even knew who the important minister Ren had bribed was—the very minister who had come to Kirigakure as a special envoy to announce the daimyo's decree.

Last time, this minister even accepted a gift from Hozuki Shingetsu and became his ally. Unexpectedly, this time the roles were reversed, and Ren stole his house.

"It's good that you know, then I won't say anything more."

Seeing Hozuki Shingetsu nod, Tachibana Azuhiko said nothing more. As someone who had watched Hozuki Shingetsu grow up, he knew how meticulous this guy's mind was, just like Hozuki Gengetsu back then.

As they approached Kirigakure, Tachibana Higashihiko hesitated for a long time before finally adding, "If it's truly irreversible, then tell me! At that time, I dare not say much, but I should be confident that I could hold off three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

Seeing Hozuki Shingetsu's surprised look, he patted Hozuki Shingetsu's head and chuckled, "I'm an elite Jonin, you don't even have this much trust?"

Then, without waiting for Hozuki Shingetsu to reply, he disappeared from the spot, leaving only the echo of his voice.

"I am not the only one who has received kindness from Lord Huan Yue."

"Isn't this, in a sense, a case of people's hearts yearning for ghost lanterns?"

Hozuki Shingetsu chuckled softly and stepped effortlessly through the main gate of Kirigakure.

-

"Wow, how magnificent! Is this the capital of the Land of Water?" Yukina exclaimed, looking at the crowds on the street that were several times larger than those in Kirigakure.

After a three-day journey, Hozuki Shingetsu, Yukinagi, and Yagura Karatachi, as envoys from Kirigakure for their New Year's shrine visit, officially stepped through the gates of the capital of the Land of Water.

As the capital of the Land of Water, this large city, which gathers one-third of the entire Land of Water's population, is naturally unmatched by any other city that Yukinagi has ever visited before, hence her exclamation.

However, what Yukinagi considered an exceptionally magnificent capital city was just so-so to Hozuki Shingetsu—the overall architectural level of this capital was not even as beautiful as a random third-tier city in his previous life.

As envoys from Kirigakure, Hozuki Shingetsu and his two companions were given a formal audience time after their handover with the inner court officials. Three days later, at 11:00 AM, the daimyo would receive the Kirigakure envoys in a side hall of the castle tower.

Upon hearing the schedule, Hozuki Shingetsu immediately frowned.

In a normal diplomatic meeting, this 11 o'clock meeting could be understood as a lunch after negotiations to show the friendly relations between the two sides. However, in the case of Kirigakure, it could be interpreted as the daimyo not even wanting to meet with them in person, but just thinking of dealing with them while having lunch.

"If that's the case, then that's terrible..."

If the daimyo holds this mindset, then it is foreseeable that, with the minister's encouragement, he might not even be given a chance to speak, and after announcing next year's military budget cuts, he might be sent out.

In this way, although Hozuki Shingetsu could still deliver the eulogistic film to the daimyo through someone else, it would ultimately be less effective in changing the daimyo's impression than him personally explaining it to the daimyo on the spot.

Realizing something was amiss, Hozuki Shingetsu immediately decided to visit the high-ranking official who had previously served as the daimyo's special envoy, hoping to gain his assistance.

To his surprise, the minister was quite principled—despite Hozuki Shingetsu's hint that he could offer twice the price of Ren, he was still unmoved.

Enraged, Hozuki Shingetsu immediately tried to hypnotize him with illusion magic, but ultimately managed to control himself with immense willpower. He couldn't guarantee that, as a high-ranking official of the Land of Water, the castle tower didn't have any special methods to monitor the mental state of its ministers.

After all, this is a world with extraordinary powers like chakra, and any daimyo would instinctively be on high alert against genjutsu that can control people. Hozuki Shingetsu, whose genjutsu skills were only so-so, naturally didn't have enough confidence to avoid being exposed, so he could only leave in resentment.

"New Moon, if all else fails, then we can just give the movie the name on the spot, regardless of anything else."

Seeing Hozuki Shingetsu's discomfiture, Yagura, knowing about the Hozuki Shingetsu movie project, couldn't help but offer his suggestions.

"No, judging from various sources, our esteemed leader is someone who highly values ​​rules and has a very strong sense of self-respect. If he feels that our behavior is a transgression, then even if the movie wins his favor, the benefits we gain will be greatly reduced."

"Then what should we do? Are we really going to have to send it over through someone else?"

"No rush... Let's find out more information tonight."

Hozuki Shingetsu looked in the direction of the high-ranking official and narrowed his eyes.

Chapter 68 Kusaka Masato

Two o'clock in the morning, at the residence of Kusaka Masato, a favorite retainer of the daimyo of the Land of Water.

The outer courtyard was brightly lit, with gleaming lanterns hanging high everywhere, illuminating the entire mansion without a single blind spot. Fully armed guards patrolled the outer courtyard frequently, their focused and diligent demeanor a testament to the ruler's skillful management.

In contrast, the inner courtyard was quiet, with no guards patrolling, no lanterns hanging, and very few maids serving and cleaning.

In this silent environment, a thin mist rose from an unknown place, slowly enveloping the entire inner courtyard. As the mist formed, a shadow quietly appeared in Kusaka Masato's bedroom.

"This environment...it's not quite what I expected!"

Hozuki Shingetsu frowned as he looked at Kusaka Masato, who was lying peacefully asleep alone in bed. He surveyed the bedroom and found it rather unbelievable.

When did these important figures in the ninja world become so health-conscious? They don't even have a few beautiful women by their side when they sleep; how can they call themselves a favored retainer of a daimyo?

And... this bedroom is so shabby!

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at the bedroom. It wasn't as luxurious as he had imagined. Forget about luminous pearls or gold decorations. The only decoration in the room was a wooden print hanging above the bed.

The bed that the Prime Minister slept in was made of the most ordinary wood, and the mattress was just a thin layer. The overall layout of the room was completely at odds with his status.

Hozuki Shingetsu was certain that the person before him was a favorite courtier of a daimyo he had met. Unable to figure it out, he could only attribute it to the fact that everyone has their own unique quirks.

So Hozuki Shingetsu came to the bedside and secretly released an illusion, intending to get some information about the daimyo from Kusaka Masato.

Under the influence of the illusion, Kusaka Masato, with his lifeless eyes, told Hozuki Shingetsu everything he knew.

Just as Hozuki Shingetsu had expected, the daimyo was already displeased when he learned that Kirigakure had sent an envoy. In particular, when he learned that the leader of the delegation was a member of the Hozuki clan, he was reminded of Hozuki Gengetsu's unannounced and presumptuous behavior in the past, and became even more dissatisfied with this envoy whom he had never met before.

So, with the encouragement of the Prime Minister, he decided to take advantage of the time before lunch to finish explaining the matter of cutting Kirigakure's military budget for next year, and then he planned to have Hozuki Shingetsu pack his things and get out of there—he didn't even want to see what gifts they brought, which shows how much the Daimyo hated Kirigakure.

After hearing this explanation, Hozuki Shingetsu, aside from feeling a headache over the daimyo's affairs, actually looked at Kusaka Masato with new respect. Regardless of his character, at least he took the money and actually did the job!

Not only did he go to great lengths to offer advice and strategies, but he also resolutely resisted the financial offensives of his competitors—he's practically a model official, isn't he?

If it weren't for the fear of being detected by the castle tower, Hozuki Shingetsu would have loved to use illusion magic to manipulate him right now and whisper in the daimyo's ear.

However, Hozuki Shingetsu could only sigh regretfully, dispel the illusion, erase all traces, and leave.

Time passed quietly, and as the sky began to lighten, Hikaru Masato slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he did after getting up was not to wash up, but to pick up the woodblock print hanging by his bed, habitually stroking the scratches on its back, and then closing his eyes to recall it.

After a long while, he opened his eyes and muttered to himself, "Two marks are missing. Was someone here last night...? A ninja? A daimyo? Or Hozuki Shingetsu?"

-

After returning to the embassy district, Hozuki Shingetsu shared the information he had gathered with Yukinagi and Yagura Karatachi, emphasizing the daimyo's dissatisfaction with Kirigakure and their current predicament.

"Judging from the information we have now, this daimyo's obsession with face has truly reached a pathological level!" Yagura Karatachi said, feeling somewhat incredulous after hearing this.

After all, even if the daimyo didn't take the ninjas seriously and thought that Kirigakure had offended his authority, it shouldn't have come to this, right?

This is practically a blatant declaration to other countries that I am very dissatisfied with Kirigakure and that Kirigakure has no support from the daimyo.

Even if a daimyo lacks political acumen, it's still unreasonable for him to make such a gesture towards the armed group responsible for protecting the country.

Hozuki Shingetsu had the same doubts, but unfortunately, before he had the power to overturn the table, he had to follow these rules.

After much deliberation, they could only come up with one way to break the deadlock: to launch a financial offensive, sending several ministers to speak well of the daimyo in hopes of persuading him to change his mind.

I don't ask for anything else, I just want a normal opportunity to meet.