Chapter 406: Strengthening the Ninja Sect

"Wild Fire Dragon Dance" is a Fire Release ninjutsu that Muyue improved and developed based on the Fire Dragon Flame Bomb; it can be considered a Super·Fire Dragon Flame Bomb.

The range, power, and flexibility of the Fire Release are all enhanced, and aside from consuming too much chakra and having excessive usage requirements, there are almost no other drawbacks.

The high-temperature flames spat out by Muyue devoured the combined ninjutsu used by Kakuzu at an extremely fast speed.

Feeling the heatwave rushing toward him, Kakuzu's pupils contracted.

He had originally thought the Fire Release ninjutsu Muyue used before was already strong enough, but he never expected Muyue had been holding back and hadn't used his full power earlier.

Kakuzu immediately wanted to withdraw his Earth Grudge Fear hearts, but the flames were too fast; the Earth Grudge Fear hearts hadn't managed to return to Kakuzu's body before they were burned to ashes by Muyue's flames.

Kakuzu clutched his chest in pain—this had taken two of his lives at once.

But Muyue's Wild Fire Dragon Dance was not over yet.

Under Muyue's control, the blazing sea of fire split into six fire dragons, surrounding and killing Kakuzu and his other two hearts from different directions.

Even though Kakuzu decisively chose to retract all his hearts from the start, in the face of such an assault, only the Lightning-natured heart successfully returned to his body, while the Water-natured heart was destroyed by the fire dragons.

Kakuzu's main body also suffered attacks from the fire dragons; the Earth-natured heart could not withstand such terrifying attacks and was burned to pieces.

In an instant, Kakuzu, who had five lives, was reduced to just one, and the battle situation completely reversed.

"Amazing! As expected of Sosuke-sama!" Yahiko exclaimed in delight.

Even at a certain distance from the flames, Yahiko could feel the terrifying temperature—this was the most powerful Fire Release ninjutsu he had ever seen.

"So Sosuke-sensei is this strong?" The ninja who recognized Kakuzu was astonished.

Kakuzu could definitely be called a legendary ninja of the black market, and for such a powerhouse to be nearly one-shot by Muyue's Fire Release was deeply shocking to him.

He even felt Muyue's strength surpassed Hanzo's, because he thought Hanzo probably couldn't one-shot Kakuzu with a Water Release ninjutsu.

"Can Hanzo really be ranked alongside Sosuke-sensei like this?" Chiya also confirmed that he had underestimated Muyue's power.

His imagination couldn't keep up with Muyue's strength.

In his impression, when it came to strong ninja, it was definitely Hanzo.

But from this moment on, Chiya declared that there was a new candidate for the strongest.

The power Muyue displayed was so overwhelming that some ninja even felt it was unreal.

They pinched their arms, and the faint pain from their arms confirmed that this was not a dream, but reality.

It wasn't that their mental fortitude was too weak, but that this was truly so wonderful it felt like a dream.

Without paying anything, just by following, they could receive such attentive guidance from a powerhouse like Muyue.

Although from Muyue's perspective, the ninja following him had all made a risky decision, for these wandering ninja, danger was an everyday occurrence—if they wanted to advance, danger was inevitable.

So in their eyes, being able to travel through the Land of Rain with Muyue like this was a dreamlike journey; not only did they learn skills, they also lived more like true ninja, achieving both material and spiritual fulfillment.

Looking at Kakuzu lying motionless on the ground, Muyue slowly walked over to him.

Although Kakuzu lay on the ground without moving a muscle, Muyue knew he was not dead yet, because Kakuzu still had one last heart.

If someone unfamiliar with Earth Grudge Fear information saw Kakuzu bearing such injuries, they would definitely assume he was dead.

But Muyue was different; he truly had intelligence on Muyue, could appraise and transform, and also knew the original story.

"Still want to keep playing dead?" As he was about to reach Kakuzu, Muyue said calmly.

Kakuzu, feigning death on the ground, immediately tensed up inside, but he still didn't move, thinking Muyue might be bluffing.

Because those who had seen him use Earth Grudge Fear were basically all dead; there was no reason Muyue would know his information.

"Think I'm bluffing? What can you do with just one heart left?" Muyue continued.

Kakuzu's forehead was covered in fine sweat; he felt like his secrets had been completely exposed. He could no longer stay calm and looked at Muyue with confusion.

Kakuzu was certain he had never met Muyue, let alone fought him; he couldn't understand why Muyue knew his information.

"Why do you know my information?" Exposed, Kakuzu stopped pretending and stood up directly, staring coldly at Muyue.

At this point, Kakuzu was no longer flustered—after all, the worst outcome was just death.

Did Kakuzu want to die? Of course not; he still hadn't earned enough money.

But is Kakuzu afraid of death? Of course not. If he were, he wouldn't have gone to assassinate Hashirama Senju.

Dying as a ninja in battle, in Kakuzu's view, wasn't such a bad ending—better than being betrayed by comrades and dying in a cell.

"He's still not dead." The other ninja were astonished at Kakuzu's vitality.

Mu Yue's Fire Release technique just now had scorched most of this area into blackened earth. That Kakuzu could withstand such a terrifying attack and still stand up seemed ridiculously tenacious to them.

"This is ancient wisdom." Mu Yue smiled like a charlatan.

Whether it was the plot, the appraisal, or the transformation, none of it could be explained, so he had to be cryptic.

"Is that the so-called Ninshū inheritance?" Kakuzu continued asking.

Kakuzu was somewhat curious about what the Ninshū inheritance really was—so miraculous that it was no wonder those people had spent so much money on bounties.

"You can think of it that way." Mu Yue guided Kakuzu toward his own imagination.

Although Mu Yue's answer was vague, he had answered nonetheless. Kakuzu once again assumed a fighting stance, ready to meet his death.

Though the outcome of the battle was already decided, Kakuzu would not lie down and wait for death; he would fight until the very last moment.

Kakuzu quickly pulled apart the sutures on his wrists, then used the black threads of his Earth Grudge Fear to launch both fists toward Mu Yue.

Though it looked crude, it actually packed considerable power; an ordinary jōnin might have his body pierced and killed in an instant.

After unleashing the Fire Dragon Rampage, Mu Yue exited the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode and switched to the Rock Breathing he used most frequently in daily life.

With the enhancement of Rock Breathing, Mu Yue's strength increased and his skin became tougher, allowing him to easily deflect the incoming flying fists.

Whoosh!

Mu Yue's figure flickered as he appeared to the side of Kakuzu's body.

Kakuzu quickly used his Earth Grudge Fear black threads to defend.

Bang!

Mu Yue's heavy force directly shattered Kakuzu's defense, sending him flying backward like a broken kite and slamming heavily into the ground.

Mu Yue's fierce taijutsu was so swift that Kakuzu didn't even have time to launch a Lightning Release attack.

Kakuzu now felt like a punching doll that couldn't fight back, forced to endure Mu Yue's relentless taijutsu blows.

Kakuzu's consciousness gradually grew dim.

"Dying at the hands of such a powerful opponent isn't bad." After falling again, this thought surfaced in Kakuzu's mind.

Mu Yue's strength was formidable. In Kakuzu's long ninja career, he had only encountered one opponent stronger than Mu Yue: the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.

Even now, Kakuzu still thought his younger self had been a bit ridiculous.

After building up immense mental preparation to assassinate Hashirama Senju, he somehow ended up severely wounded, returned to the village in disgrace, and was imprisoned and heavily punished.

Back then, Kakuzu wasn't mature enough; he only thought they were despicable. Now, Kakuzu understood everything.

There was no special reason—it was simply reality, simply the world of shinobi.

He was too powerful and his contributions too great; the higher-ups feared their positions would be threatened, so they sent him on a suicide mission.

All talk of the village and the Will of Fire, but in their hearts it was all their own interests.

"I am Kakuzu." Kakuzu spoke his name with his last bit of strength.

At this moment, his condition was at its absolute worst—even more severely injured than when he had faced Hashirama Senju. He didn't even have the strength to stand.

Just as Kakuzu thought he was about to die, the final attack never came.

Kakuzu opened his eyes. Mu Yue stood beside him, quietly watching him.

Mu Yue was weighing the pros and cons.

His actions would usher in an unprecedented upheaval in the Rain Country. Mu Yue wanted the Rain Country to change for the better, but maintaining that required strength. Relying solely on Yahiko and his two companions was insufficient. Nagato still could not use the Rinnegan freely, and Mu Yue couldn't stay in the Rain Country forever. Therefore, it was necessary to strengthen the power of Ninshū.

If he started something and then abandoned it without care, Mu Yue would become the kind of person he once despised.

Kakuzu's strength as a ninja was beyond doubt. Even a minor Third Hokage was still a Hokage. If there were a means to prevent the Salamander's poison mist, Kakuzu could even go toe-to-toe with Hanzō.

After thinking it over, Mu Yue finally placed his hand on Kakuzu's chest.

Kakuzu thought Muyue was going to kill him for good, but nothing happened. Half a minute later, a complex sealing formula appeared on Kakuzu's chest.

"Why didn't you kill me? What are you trying to do?" Kakuzu looked at Muyue in confusion.

"If you left a device inside my body to blackmail me into working for you, then you've underestimated me."

Kakuzu had his own pride. He would rather die than live so humiliatingly.

"You have quite the imagination." Muyue reached out his hand to Kakuzu.

He had only left a sealing technique inside Kakuzu's body to interfere with chakra. With this seal, it would be very difficult for Kakuzu to gather chakra, rendering him unable to use ninjutsu.

He planned to take Kakuzu along on his journey through the Rain Country. If Kakuzu could accept and sincerely join the Shinobi Sect, then all would be well; otherwise, Muyue would let Kakuzu die painlessly.

Muyue disliked using devices to blackmail people, because it could easily lead to accidents. If the device were to be broken or the other party wanted to end in a deadlock, it would be hard to resolve.

Kakuzu looked at Muyue in confusion, not understanding what he was thinking.

"How about joining us? After we finish the journey through the Rain Country, I will establish the Shinobi Sect." Muyue extended the invitation.

"Shinobi Sect? You don't mean that Shinobi Sect where a ninja's duty is to protect peace, do you?" Kakuzu seemed to hear a very funny joke.

In fact, Kakuzu had not known about the Shinobi Sect before, after all, it was history from thousands of years ago.

He had learned about it while investigating Muyue's information, which was why Kakuzu thought Muyue was naive.

In Kakuzu's view, the kind of ninja Muyue talked about only existed in fantasies. Real ninjas prioritized profit above all else. Forget protecting the peace of the entire ninja world, even protecting their own village or country, they would still scheme about how to gain benefits.

"More than that, but you can understand it that way for now." Muyue replied with a smile.

How could he really establish the same Shinobi Sect as the Sage of Six Paths? He was just using a banner.

The Sage of Six Paths' Shinobi Sect itself had failed, so how could Muyue create an identical one?

"In the ninja world, profit is eternal. You will never succeed." Kakuzu denied.

"How do you know if it can work without trying?" Muyue still wore a relaxed smile, unchanged by Kakuzu's words.

"Can a single drop of water extinguish a flame? There are things that you know are impossible without trying." Kakuzu still did not approve of Muyue's idea, believing he would definitely fail.

"Why not?"

Muyue entered the Water Breathing Chakra Mode, compressed a large amount of water-nature chakra into a single droplet, and shot it toward the still-burning flames, directly extinguishing all the fire.

Kakuzu fell silent. This level of control was somewhat beyond his understanding.

"Teacher Sosuke, you should stop wasting your effort. A profit-driven bounty ninja like him can never become a true ninja." Chichang also thought for a moment, stepped forward and said.

Kakuzu gave Chichang a faint glance. "A ninja of your strength wouldn't even be worth my time. No one would put a bounty on a weak brat like you."

Kakuzu was already over seventy years old. If he could be provoked by such a simple taunt, he would have lived all these years for nothing.

"You and your group, if you keep staying by his side, sooner or later you will die along with his naivety." Kakuzu said mercilessly.

If it weren't for his miscalculation of Muyue's strength and his policy of not killing anyone other than bounty targets, Kakuzu could definitely have inflicted casualties on this team.

Kakuzu did not think that his death would make the bounty on Muyue disappear. On the contrary, Muyue's bounty would definitely increase, and by a large margin.

By then, perhaps it wouldn't be just a single bounty hunter attacking Muyue; ninja organizations might set their sights on Muyue's Shinobi Sect inheritance.

"That's just your fantasy. The reality is that Teacher Sosuke is moving toward success. The ones who fail are you and people with the same goal as you." Chichang retorted.

"Everyone knows about danger. Teacher Sosuke has already warned us. It is human instinct to avoid danger, but there is something that can surpass that instinct."

"So naivety is contagious?" Kakuzu sneered, but a strange thought arose in his heart.

This team was indeed a bit different from what he had imagined.

Even though some had recognized him, they did not flee.

Kakuzu could tell that the wandering ninjas following Muyue also did not know Muyue's true strength; they were also shocked when Muyue released the Fire Release.

Kakuzu wondered what gave them courage. Despite being so weak, instead of running away, they even dared to attack him.

"You keep talking arrogantly about this and that. Since you think we will fail, then watch and see if we fail." Yahiko also joined the verbal sparring.

"Come with us on the journey through the Rain Country. When we're done, you can decide whether to join or keep trying to cash in my bounty." Muyue said finally.

"But I won't remove the sealing technique on you during the trip, for everyone's safety."

A hint of hesitation flickered across Kakuzu's face.

"I want to see what tricks you have besides naivety." After thinking it over, Kakuzu agreed to Muyue.

Because he felt that refusal and agreement were just a difference between dying early and dying later; his naive self had died long ago, on the day he returned to the village severely injured.