Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Hozuki Mangetsu glanced coldly at Kumoko, who was throwing kunai from a distance, then ignored him and turned to Jiraiya, saying, "Continue."

Jiro took a breath and continued, "...Yakuno Gyoza planned to have his granddaughter become a disciple of the Hokage after he died. However, we were ambushed not far from the Daimyo's residence. Senior Yokuno Gyoza risked his life to allow us to escape to this place."

That's obviously a lie.

Sogen never said anything about taking on disciples. The En no Gyoza himself only said that he hoped Tsuchigumo Hotaru could study at the Konoha Ninja Academy. He never thought of having his granddaughter become Uchiha Sogen's disciple. Jiraiya is just talking nonsense.

The lie will be exposed as soon as he sees Zongxian.

However, Jiraiya didn't expect to be able to deceive Shirakumo and Hayama for long. As long as he could temporarily use the Uchiha clan leader's tiger skin to protect Tsuchigumo Hotaru, he would have already achieved his goal. As for the consequences after the lie was exposed... hehe! He might not even have the chance to worry about that.

beside,

Dunbei lowered his eyes, his face as pale as paper, as if he could barely stand.

It must be said that the old man's acting skills are remarkable. When he heard Jiraiya's lie, he showed no surprise or doubt. Instead, he quickly suppressed his emotions and maintained a look of being on the verge of death, not giving Shirakumo Hayama, Hozuki Mangetsu, and the others a chance to find a flaw in him.

Of course, in reality, he was in very poor condition; his appearance wasn't entirely due to acting.

"I see."

Hozuki Mangetsu nodded heavily. "Since she is the Hokage's disciple who assists you, we cannot stand idly by. Ameyuri, make your move!" The moment she finished speaking, Ringo Ameyuri handed the Tsuchigumo Hotaru to one of her subordinates behind her, who was also a young girl.

Then Ringo Ameyuri took down the [Raikage: Fang], her entire body wreathed in dazzling lightning, and met Yun Guang, who had already arrived and was swinging his sword at Jiroku.

situation,

It began to develop in an unexpected direction.

He never expected his lie to have fooled these Mist Ninja so easily... Did he have a talent for deception? Or were these Mist Ninja just the kind of people who were easy to fool?

The answer is of course—

neither.

Hozuki Mangetsu may be young, but as the 'prodigy' of Kirigakure, anyone who treats him as an easy fool is the real idiot.

The reason for 'believing' Di Lu's words is that regardless of whether what Di Lu said is true or false, it will not prevent him from making a move. If it is true, then saving that 'monster' disciple will undoubtedly be a very useful achievement.

Even if that girl wasn't Uchiha Sogen's disciple,

He wouldn't lose anything because of this, and putting aside the question of whether the girl was actually Uchiha Sogen's disciple, he could tell that Jiraiya and the old man next to him definitely had some connection with Konoha, and it was a friendly one at that.

Even if we take a step back,

If our actions cause trouble, we can easily use the excuse that "we were tricked, and our intention was to rescue the Hokage and assist his disciple" to deal with the unlikely criticism.

Therefore,

After careful consideration, Hozuki Mangetsu chose to believe Jiraiya's words and decisively launched an attack with Ringo Ameyuri. Yes, only the two of them made a move; the rest of the Jonin in the team had already been ordered to remain still to prevent anyone from targeting the Chunin in the team.

Furthermore,

Hozuki Mangetsu and Ringo Ameyuri are, after all, among the best of the younger generation of ninja in Kirigakure.

Even if they are not from the Uchiha clan,

That doesn't stop them from having the ability to take on two opponents at once.

Even two or three ordinary Jonin working together wouldn't be a match for any one of them.

Ringo Ameyuri entangled with Kumo, who was the first to charge forward, and wielded the Lightning Blade Kiba. She quickly suppressed Kumo. Both of them were skilled in Lightning Release techniques, but... it was obvious that Kumo's mastery of Lightning Release techniques was no match for Ringo Ameyuri, who was known as the "Genius Ninja of Lightning Release" in Kirigakure.

On the other side,

Hozuki Mangetsu intervened and stopped Kamanosuke and Kogitsunemaru.

He didn't even use the [Dual Blades - Hiramekarei], but simply used his clan's water transformation secret technique to block Kamanosuke and Kogitsunemaru. Without needing to form hand seals, his [Water Gun Technique], which he unleashed at will, left Kamanosuke and Kogitsunemaru in a sorry state. Meanwhile, Hozuki Mangetsu's water-transformed body was completely unaffected by Kamanosuke's hardened fists or Kogitsunemaru's wind-blade-infused slashes.

"What the hell is going on?!"

this time,

It was Baiyun Yeshan's turn to have a splitting headache.

[Chapter 284. The Lies Continue]

Shirokumo Hayama was in a real headache. Why had things turned out this way so suddenly... in a way he couldn't have imagined? He, a Konoha Jonin, hadn't even prepared to intervene, yet the Kirigakure ninja had already stepped in to rescue Jiraiya and the others, making it seem like he, a Konoha Jonin, was some kind of cold-blooded ruthless person.

Although--

He also understood that the phrase "Hokage's assistant" did indeed possess a magic that made people willing to take risks.

As a member of the army that participated in last year's war against the Cloud Ninja, Shirakumo Hayama still can't help but reminisce about the exhilarating victory when drinking with his friends. Originally, Konoha was fighting on all sides, which resulted in them being at a disadvantage in terms of troop strength on a single front.

They were forced to retreat in disarray by the Yun Ninja, and were in a truly sorry state.

until--

The newly appointed Hokage's assistant led a reinforcement force of only a thousand men to the front lines.

The tide of defeat was turned in one battle. Konoha, outnumbered, achieved an unprecedented victory, and even the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was taken prisoner. Since then, the popularity of the young Hokage's assistant has skyrocketed. Even the Uchiha surname did not hinder the admiration of the village's boys and girls for the Hokage's assistant.

Baiyun Yeshan is no longer a teenager.

He wouldn't call it worship or anything like that—that would be an exaggeration—but if we were to describe it as admiration, he would generally agree.

As for that young, exceptionally powerful Hokage's assistant,

He admired it greatly.

"I'm definitely going to get a scolding after this mission, really... But this way, maybe we can cut the Gordian knot quickly." Looking at the scene in front of him, which was already fiercely fighting, Bai Yunyeshan muttered to himself. He gripped his long sword tightly, like a leopard on the hunt, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

Ringo Ameyuri and Kumo were fighting at a speed that made the Chunin watching the battle's eyes twitch. However, even the Chunin-level Kirigakure ninjas whose eyes were about to twitch could see that Kumo was at a disadvantage, and their village's 'genius girl of Lightning Release Technique' was firmly in the lead.

the other side,

Hozuki Mangetsu overpowered Kamanosuke and Kogitsunemaru, proving that the 'prodigy' of Kirigakure was indeed worthy of his reputation, and this was without him even using his ninja sword.

Baiyun Yeshan wasn't the only one initially bewildered by this scene.

"How...how did it turn out like this?" Tianmu muttered to himself, looking utterly exasperated.

Of the four who were chasing Jiraiya, only Tenmoku had not yet made a move. As a sensory ninja, he either provided support from the center or acted as a backup when carrying out missions. Accustomed to acting later, Tenmoku was not as eager as Kamanosuke and the others to try to kill Jiraiya and the others as quickly as possible.

So that

For no apparent reason, he found himself in a bystander position.

However, unlike Shirakumo Hayama, Tenmoku had not yet decided whether to intervene against Kaminosuke and the others. Even the Kirigakure ninjas who were only Chunin-level could see that Kaminosuke, Kogitsunemaru, and Unko were at a disadvantage. After all, he was a Jonin, and not the worst among Jonin.

He clearly saw the predicament that Kamanosuke and the others were in.

So he hesitated whether to lend a hand or turn around and retreat... In any case, completing the mission was already impossible. Putting everything else aside, that old man named Dunbei had quickly infiltrated the Kirigakure team and was guarding the still unconscious Tsuchigumo Hotaru without leaving her side.

As for the land... hiss!

Tianmu gasped.

[Come to welcome·Thousand-hand killing]

This is the choice between land and sea.

Without the Tsuchigumo Hotaru dragging them away, Dunbei also kept his distance. Jiriku, who had been chased all the way, was not going to just sit down and catch his breath while watching the show. As the saying goes, revenge is the best revenge, and Jiriku and Kamanosuke had a lot of old and new grudges.

As Jiraiya assumed the starting stance of a celestial being, an unseen fist force, like a storm, assaulted Kamanosuke, who was fighting Hozuki Mangetsu. The powerful fist force shattered Hozuki Mangetsu's body, turning it into water droplets that splashed everywhere.

The force of the punch, delivered from an unexpected angle (passing through Hozuki Mangetsu's chest), landed squarely on Kamanosuke.

Kamanosuke didn't have time to use any substitution techniques or anything like that. He hadn't expected it to be played like this at all. Caught off guard, he was caught off guard by Jiraiya's attack. Fortunately, in order to guard against Hozuki Mangetsu's Water Gun, he was always ready to release the Hardening Technique. He successfully used the Hardening Technique before the fist force made contact with his body.

but,

He was still beaten until he vomited blood.

Unlike Hozuki Mangetsu's Water Gun, which only fires one shot, Senju Kill is a technique that can deliver dozens or even hundreds of punches in a single move. It is said that the name "Senju" comes from this technique. Of course, there is another theory in the temple that the name Senju Kill is related to the Senju clan. To be precise, the immortal talent of the Fire Temple has a very deep connection with the Senju clan.

Ahem, we've gotten a bit off-topic.

Getting back to the main point,

In short, Kamanosuke successfully used the hardening technique, but the conversion of chakra takes time. In such a rush, there was simply no time to cover the effects of the hardening technique to all parts of his body; he could only prioritize protecting his head and internal organs.

As a result, he was beaten to the point of vomiting blood by Jiraiya's all-out, furious Thousand Hands Kill, and also broke several bones, one of which was his right tibia, the long bone on the inside of his lower leg. The fracture of his right tibia was undoubtedly a terrible blow to Kamanosuke.

This was practically a declaration of his demise.

When Kamanosuke fell to the ground, he could no longer use his legs as nimbly as before. All he felt in his right leg was a wave of pain that seemed endless. This pain made him realize that he had probably reached the end of his life and could no longer continue.

"Is this the end?"

He thought to himself silently, feeling neither regret nor much fear. He had anticipated this outcome from the beginning, but... he hadn't expected it to come so quickly. He had been the victor in hunting down Di Lu, so how did he end up like this?

At that moment, Kamanosuke deeply understood what it meant for fate to be so capricious.

but,

He wasn't going to surrender so easily. Even if there was only a sliver of hope, he would try to seize it. Lying on the ground, he began to form hand seals, and he struggled to mobilize the chakra within his body.

"I say... Di Lu, are you trying to steal my prey?"

The splashed water flowed back together. Hozuki Mangetsu was very dissatisfied with Jiraiya's behavior of stealing his prey, but he didn't care at all about his body being shattered by Jiraiya. While speaking, he didn't forget to swing the water whip in his hand to meet Kogitsunemaru's slash.

"I'm sorry, these guys killed my friend, and I just can't bear to watch them get away with it."

The image of the wrathful Myō-ō that appeared behind Jiraiya perfectly expressed his feelings. He strode towards Kamanosuke, who was lying on the ground, still unwilling to give up and forming hand seals.

"Tsk! A personal grudge?"

Hozuki was speechless at the sight of the full moon.

He glanced at the Angry Myō-ō behind Jiraku, but said nothing more. In any case, his purpose in making a move was to curry favor with the Hokage and assist him. He didn't have a strong desire to take these prey that had come to him. If they were taken from him, so be it!

Since there's no way to get it back, we might as well hurry up and take down another prey.

【Water Release: Water Whip】—Hozuki Mangetsu swung his newly generated water whip, lashing out and deflecting Kogitsunemaru's sharp wind blade, which was sharp enough to cut through steel.

The saying goes, "If you try to cut water with a knife, the water will flow on its own."

The Hozuki clan is probably the most hated opponent by all sword masters in the ninja world who are not good at lightning release techniques. It's not just sword masters; taijutsu masters also dislike the Hozuki clan for their cunning and ruthless nature. Whether it's a slash or a punch, it's completely useless against the Hozuki clan.

Kogitsunemaru's mood at this moment was absolutely infuriating.

This belligerent and bloodthirsty battle maniac was honestly furious. He craved the feeling of cutting through his opponent's flesh and severing his enemy's bones, the sensation of going from smooth to rough and then back to exhilarating, rather than this empty, tasteless feeling of cutting through flesh, like water.

Such an opponent... is simply disgusting.