Chapter 410: Identity Exposed

"I need to discuss it with my companions before I can give you an answer." Mu Yue did not immediately show her stance.

The Rain Shinobi Village ninja nodded in understanding and withdrew some distance.

"Uncle Sōsuke, I think this is a great opportunity to spread the philosophy of our Ninja Sect across the entire Land of Rain quickly, and to achieve our peace goal faster." Yahiko said excitedly, voicing his thoughts.

He said this not because he admired Hanzō and wanted to cooperate with him, but because Yahiko genuinely believed this was a perfect chance.

Rain Shinobi Village is the most powerful ninja force in the Land of Rain, and even in the shinobi world, it ranks among the strongest below the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Hanzō, the leader of Rain Shinobi Village, is also a top-tier powerhouse in the ninja world. If they could cooperate as Hanzō stated in the scroll, the influence of the Ninja Sect would make a qualitative leap.

After all, Rain Shinobi Village is the official power of the Land of Rain. A deep cooperation between the Ninja Sect and Rain Shinobi Village would essentially turn it into a semi-official organization, almost as if it were recognized by the Land of Rain.

It was only because Hanzō had invited the Ninja Sect. If he had invited Yahiko's Akatsuki, Yahiko would probably have agreed immediately.

"Indeed, he is the Demi-God Hanzō after all." A Ninja Sect ninja beside Yahiko agreed.

Yahiko's words won the approval of the vast majority, who all believed this was a great opportunity for the Ninja Sect and for themselves.

Beside them, Kakuzu looked at the excited Ninja Sect ninjas with a sneer on his face.

With his extensive experience, he immediately sensed something was off—the so-called cooperation definitely held some ulterior motive.

"Although this is a good thing, I feel there's something strange about it." Chi Changye thought for a moment and voiced his doubts.

"If the Ninja Sect is like a child with talent far beyond ordinary people, then Rain Shinobi Village is an already renowned powerhouse. No matter how much a strong man likes a child, would he really put the child on equal footing and propose cooperation?"

If Rain Shinobi Village offered some support to the Ninja Sect, Chi Changye wouldn't find it odd—at most, he would think Hanzō had insight into the Ninja Sect's enormous potential.

But Hanzō's scroll indicated that he regarded the Ninja Sect as an equal, hoping to cooperate with Rain Shinobi Village to jointly maintain peace throughout the Land of Rain. That was overestimating the current Ninja Sect.

The Ninja Sect didn't even have a hundred ninjas, and the strength of its members was uneven. Setting aside a powerhouse like Mu Yue, the Ninja Sect could only be considered promising for the future.

After hearing Chi Changye's words, many Ninja Sect ninjas were taken aback.

That was because Chi Changye's reasoning was clear and logical, convincing.

"That does make sense. This cooperation is almost too good for us." Some wandering ninja-turned-Ninja-Sect members also sensed something wrong after being prompted.

Generally, when something seems too good to be true, the good part is a disguise and the trap is real.

"I think making such a comparison completely underestimates our Ninja Sect and Hanzō's magnanimity. Maybe Hanzō wants to help us grow faster through this method, so the Land of Rain can achieve peace sooner." Yahiko argued in rebuttal.

Yahiko was not someone easily persuaded; he had his own convictions.

In fact, he also knew that Chi Changye had a point, but Yahiko felt that being too cautious sometimes caused missed opportunities, while bold moves could yield unexpected gains.

Back when the Sannin fought Hanzō, others kept their distance to avoid being caught in the battle of powerful shinobi, but Yahiko chose to search for the Sannin together with Nagato and Konan.

In the end, they learned a whole set of skills from Jiraiya and gained the power to fulfill their dreams.

After Yahiko finished recounting his experience, the atmosphere on the scene shifted again.

"That worked out for you once, boss." Kūsuke gave Yahiko a thumbs up.

Yahiko's speech just now had gotten him excited, making him eager to agree to cooperate with Hanzō right away and fast-forward toward the dream of peace in the Land of Rain.

"Even with ninja from enemy villages, as long as they displayed excellent qualities, Hanzō would not only let them leave but also help them gain fame in the ninja world."

"We might not be ninjas of Rain Shinobi Village, but we are shinobi of the Land of Rain—from the same country as Hanzō. Would Hanzō treat us more harshly than he would enemy ninjas?" Yahiko's eyes sparkled as he raised his head and puffed out his chest, speaking with an extremely sincere expression.

Although he had never met Hanzō, Hanzō's deeds were enough for Yahiko to know that Hanzō was a respectable ninja, so Yahiko was willing to believe that Hanzō was giving them a chance.

"I may not worship Hanzō, but his virtue is indeed impeccable." Another Ninja Sect ninja agreed.

Hanzō's fame in the ninja world came partly from his strength and achievements, and partly from his character.

Chi Changye opened his mouth but couldn't speak; he had no way to refute Yahiko.

Because Yahiko had acknowledged his point—that this situation was indeed not normal—but Hanzō was worthy of trust.

The only way Chi Changye could counter Yahiko was to prove that Hanzō was not trustworthy.

Unfortunately, that was something Chi Changye could not do. The only thing that could be criticized about Hanzō now was that his war failures had led to chaos in the Land of Rain.

But Hanzō had performed well in the war; it was the other Rain Shinobi Village ninjas who had been crushed. So even that single fault became meaningless to criticize.

Kakuzu's face showed a sneer he didn't bother to hide. Yahiko was far too naive—naive to the point of being ridiculous.

"Nagato, what do you think?" Mu Yue suddenly turned to Nagato and asked.

The other Shinobi Sect ninjas all instinctively looked toward Nagato.

Suddenly he went from lurking to being the center of attention, and Nagato was at a loss for a moment.

"I think it's okay." Nagato steadied his mind and said after a moment of hesitation.

He believed that agreeing to cooperate was not because of Yahiko's decision, but the result of his own thinking.

Making others feel pain does not mean striking them into immense agony or using revenge to make them feel pain; it is about exchange and communication, letting both sides feel each other's pain and thereby understand each other.

They believed that the Shinobi Sect could use this opportunity to understand the Rain Village, which would be a major step towards peace in the Land of Rain.

"Nagato, we really think alike." Yahiko excitedly put his arm around Nagato's shoulders and laughed.

He had just been worried that he had influenced Nagato's judgment, so he remained silent when Nagato was asked.

"Since everyone has different opinions, let's conduct an anonymous vote. The result will determine whether to accept Hanzo's cooperation." Muyue thought for a moment and said.

The Shinobi Sect ninjas all nodded.

Everyone wrote their thoughts on slips of paper and placed them in a crude wooden box handcrafted by Muyue. Finally, Muyue tallied and announced the results.

"The number in favor of cooperating with Hanzo is forty-five, and the number opposed is twenty-nine." Muyue checked and announced the final result.

Yahiko had a smile on his face, Chichang also let out a light sigh, and Kakuzu's face was full of mockery.

In fact, they could guess some of it before the vote results came out. After Yahiko's speech, it was obvious that many people had been convinced by Yahiko.

Muyue walked up to the Rain Village ninja and said, "Our Shinobi Sect is willing to protect the peace of the Land of Rain together with the Rain Village."

"That's really great. I'll go back now and report to Lord Hanzo." The Rain Village ninja did not linger and quickly left.

Chichang also walked over to Muyue's side. Even though it had been decided to cooperate with the Rain Village, Chichang still felt something was off.

"Teacher Sōsuke, call me overly cautious if you will, but I really feel that this cooperation might be a conspiracy." Chichang said in a low voice.

Muyue did not refute Chichang's words. He said with a smile, "Caution is not a bad thing. Even if we cooperate, we must remain vigilant."

Chichang felt somewhat relieved. As long as Muyue wasn't getting carried away, it was fine, after all, Muyue was the core and soul of the Shinobi Sect.

"Can't you see such a simple conspiracy? It seems you were right—I indeed overestimated you." Kakuzu walked up to Muyue and said bluntly.

No matter how good Hanzo's reputation was, Kakuzu believed that Hanzo definitely had no good intentions.

"Are you starting to take the initiative to care about the safety of the Shinobi Sect?" Muyue didn't mind Kakuzu's tone and said cheerfully.

"The life or death of the Shinobi Sect has nothing to do with me. But if you die, who will undo the sealing technique on me?" Kakuzu said with a dark face.

He had tried many methods to undo the sealing technique on his body, but all failed.

Kakuzu had to admit that although Muyue was naive, his strength was by no means simple, and even in sealing techniques, he was a top-level sealing ninja.

"You don't need me to undo it. You just have to wait until the power of the sealing technique is exhausted, and the seal will automatically release." Muyue proactively revealed a weakness of his sealing technique.

"How long will it take?" Kakuzu asked directly.

"Probably about fifteen years." Muyue replied with a smile.

Kakuzu's face turned even darker. Being sealed for a full fifteen years—forget making money, even surviving was a problem.

Feeling that Muyue was messing with him, Kakuzu snorted and went off to ponder on his own.

However, Kakuzu soon had to return to Muyue's side, because Muyue had started teaching sealing techniques again today.

Kakuzu wanted to learn Muyue's sealing techniques, trying to find inspiration to break the seal.

In the evening, Nagato was called by Muyue to a room filled with various formulas.

Nagato curiously looked around this special room.

"This is a barrier set up to prevent accidents." Muyue briefly explained.

Nagato nodded, not paying too much attention.

"Let's eat first. Only when you're full can you train well." Muyue pointed at the ramen on the table and said.

Nagato originally wanted to say that he had already eaten grilled fish with Yahiko and the others and was not hungry now.

But Nagato remembered the indescribable deliciousness of the ramen last time, so he silently swallowed his words, sat down at the table, and quickly finished the ramen.

Nagato found it amazing. Usually, no matter how delicious the food, once he was full, he would have no desire to eat, and eating it wouldn't taste good either.

But Muyue's ramen was different; even if he wasn't hungry, he wanted to eat it, and it tasted just as delicious.

"Actually, my name is not Sousuke." Muyue put away the bowl Nagato had finished eating from, then suddenly said.

Nagato was stunned for a moment, then looked at Muyue with confusion.

Actually, he didn't think it was a big deal; a name was just a code, what mattered was the person.

"My name is Hanyu Muyue, a ninja from Konoha." Muyue cancelled his transformation, revealing his true appearance.

Trust gained through deceit was not true trust. If not for various complications, Muyue would never have wanted to use an alternate identity to take on disciples.

So from the very beginning, Muyue had planned to tell Nagato his true identity once the disciple slot was confirmed.

Muyue felt that the more Nagato trusted him, the greater the harm of revealing his identity would be to Nagato. Being deceived by a stranger would at most make one angry for a short while, but being deceived by someone you trusted most could cause a fragile person to completely break down.

Nagato's expression became dazed; Muyue had dumped too much information in a short time.

The perfectly fine Ninja Sect teacher had suddenly turned into a Konoha ninja, and even his face was fake.

"Why?" Nagato had a lot to say, but in the end it condensed into a simple question.

"I know you have many questions right now, I can tell you one by one." Muyue began to tell his own story.

"First point, my actions have nothing to do with Konoha; they are my personal solo actions, whether it's traveling through the Rain Country or founding the Ninja Sect."

"As I said, I came to the Rain Country wanting peace. In Konoha, it is difficult for me to advance the peace plan I want to carry out."

"That is not to say Konoha or the Fire Country is bad; Konoha and the Fire Country are both very peaceful, but Konoha's strength is too great. If I promoted the Ninja Sect in the Fire Country, it would definitely be met with a thunderous crackdown by Konoha ninja."

Muyue was not fooling anyone; even with his current strength, it would be difficult to stir up much trouble in the Fire Country.

The Fire Country's strength was too great, not only Konoha but also other ninja forces.

"If I acted in the Rain Country as a Konoha ninja, not only would Konoha take action against me, but the Rain Ninja Village would also see it as provocation. That's why I hid my name and founded the Ninja Sect as Sousuke. I don't want to deceive everyone with a false identity, but my identity is too troublesome." Muyue said with a sigh.

He didn't reveal the information about Uchiha Madara. For Nagato as he was now, knowing it wouldn't help him do anything, it would only make his mood worse, and if he showed any signs of abnormality, it would make Uchiha Madara more vigilant.

"Nagato, I hope you can help me keep this secret for now. I really want to interact with the Ninja Sect comrades under my true identity, but now is not the time." Muyue stared into Nagato's eyes, his gaze full of sincerity.

Nagato's expression changed again and again; his feelings were really complicated now.

He didn't mind that Muyue used a fake name, but when Muyue cancelled his transformation, Nagato started to get angry and doubt Muyue, because it meant that everything about Sousuke might have been fabricated.

But when Muyue explained everything clearly and asked him to keep it secret, Nagato felt that Hanyu Muyue and Sousuke were no different. Although he had changed his appearance, the feeling Muyue gave Nagato was still that of the gentle and easygoing Teacher Sousuke.

Moreover, Muyue telling him this secret alone made Nagato feel a strong sense of trust from Muyue.