Chapter 261: , Kirigakure Village Has Successors

First of all, as the Cat King said, the final assessment of this stage was to obtain "something" from his hands.

And what exactly is this thing? Is it the so-called "Mizukage Scroll" mentioned in the mission?

Ryosuke noticed a detail.

In fact, the Cat King never directly said the name "Mizukage Secret Scroll," nor did he ever admit that there was such a thing as a "Mizukage Secret Scroll" in his hands.

It was just that under the influence of preconceived notions, both of them subconsciously thought that the thing the Cat King referred to was the "Mizukage Secret Scroll."

But in Mizunuki Ryosuke's heart, there was always a certain doubt about this; was everything really that simple?

Just as Mizunuki Ryosuke continued to think carefully about all the details of the mission, trying to find any flaws, the conversation between Hozuki Mangetsu and the Cat King became the final piece of the puzzle that inspired Ryosuke.

If it were really as Hozuki Mangetsu thought, that the "Mizukage Secret Scroll" truly existed and was, as described in the mission scroll, a secret scroll recording the secret techniques of the First Mizukage.

Then the Cat King had no reason to be indifferent to the price offered by Hozuki Mangetsu, given that the item could not be used in the Land of Cats.

Most importantly, the Cat King's firm attitude made Mizunuki Ryosuke completely realize that something was wrong.

The Cat King's refusal was the kind of direct and ruthless refusal without a moment's hesitation.

This showed that the Cat King was not moved in the slightest by the price offered by Hozuki Mangetsu, or even that the Cat King hadn't thought about this aspect at all.

Then what was the Cat King thinking, and did the Mizukage Secret Scroll really exist?

At the moment he thought of this question, Mizunuki Ryosuke suddenly became enlightened and understood the crux of the problem.

According to Ryosuke's own inferences, as well as the intelligence provided by the Cat Boss and Meow Taro.

For the village and the three of them, the content of this mission was an assessment to decide who would succeed as Mizukage.

Then what about the Cat King and the Land of Cats?

What significance did it have for them?

Throughout the assessment, the Ninja Cats of the Land of Cats spent time and effort, using a large amount of manpower and material resources.

Is it really worth it for the Land of Cats to do this just because of a favor from the First Mizukage, Bai Lian, many years ago?

This explanation is obviously unrealistic, so there is only one final answer, which is that the Land of Cats also has its own interests.

And this interest is known to the village's leadership and is not rejected by them.

Only under this premise could the village's leadership and the Land of Cats hit it off.

Then the question circled back again.

Returning to the current assessment, the Cat King's requirement was for Ryosuke and the other two to move the Cat King to exchange for "an item" in the Cat King's hands.

And only by knowing the Cat King's interests could one move the Cat King and exchange for "that thing" in the Cat King's hands.

As for what the Land of Cats' interests are, no one could guess out of thin air; only the Cat King himself knows.

So this question can only be answered by the Cat King himself.

Previously, in the conversation between Hozuki Mangetsu and the Cat King, he was blocked by the Cat King with the sentence, "What price can you offer?"

On the surface, this was just the Cat King's pride as a king.

But from another perspective, another explanation can be obtained.

That is, the matter is of great importance, and the Cat King cannot and will not be the first to put forward his own demands.

To put it in common parlance, it is "not releasing the hawk until seeing the rabbit."

So, how can the Cat King be made to see the possibility of his demands being realized, to see tangible benefits, to see the "rabbit"?

Hozuki Mangetsu's open and honest negotiation had already made one thing clear: the status of "Mizukage Candidate" was not enough to make the Cat King state his demands or trust the Cat King.

From this perspective, Ryosuke's status was exactly the same as Hozuki Mangetsu's.

Since Hozuki Mangetsu couldn't do it, Ryosuke naturally couldn't use his status to achieve all this either.

So, compared to Hozuki Mangetsu, what did Ryosuke have that Hozuki Mangetsu didn't?

Ryosuke already had the answer in his heart.

He had two things more than Hozuki Mangetsu.

The first thing: a favor.

The second thing: strength.

So next, Ryosuke showed these two things without reservation.

His oppression of the Cat King's aura was, on one hand, to show that he had the equal status to represent Kirigakure in listening to the Cat King's demands.

On the other hand, it was to prove that he had the strength to negotiate with the Cat King.

And the Cat King asked, "On what grounds?"

At first glance, it was just giving Ryosuke a show of force, but its deeper meaning was that these were not enough to make the Cat King open and honest.

Finally, Ryosuke brought out a request he hadn't used at the beginning, which was also his biggest trump card: a "favor" from the Land of Cats, or rather, a "Cat favor."

And this favor came from Ryosuke's sealing of the Spring of Extreme Yin, which helped the Land of Cats remove a hidden danger.

Because of this, the moment he saw Mizunuki Ryosuke, the Cat King offered to satisfy one of Ryosuke's requests, and even allowed the Cat Boss to become Ryosuke's summoning beast.

The reason Ryosuke chose to refuse in the end was also very simple; it wasn't that he wanted to carry forward the spirit of "doing good deeds without leaving a name."

It was that he wanted to save this "favor" for the most critical moment.

Undoubtedly, when the Cat King asked the three words "On what grounds," it was the best time to use this favor.

Sufficient strength, plus the status of Mizukage candidate, plus a "favor" owed by the Cat King.

Were these three things enough to make the Cat King completely open and honest?

First, he told Ryosuke the answer, which was—it was already enough!

·· Seeking Flowers ·· ··

Next was the process of the Cat King "opening his mouth like a dinosaur," and then Ryosuke directly "biting back" and succeeding.

Some people might ask, why not just follow the Cat King's request from the beginning and propose the matter of wanting to know the Cat King's demands?

A "favor" can be big or small.

Undoubtedly, the Cat King's current demands were a major matter concerning the entire Land of Cats and Kirigakure.

It was obviously unrealistic to have the Cat King directly reveal key intelligence for a single "favor."

Still the same saying: strength, status, and favor are all indispensable.

As Mizunuki Ryosuke explained everything thoroughly, Hozuki Mangetsu on the spot had completely lost his words, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Defeated by Ryosuke at this moment, he was convinced.

He never expected that it contained so many inside stories.

Even the Cat King on the throne listened to Ryosuke's account with great interest and did not spare his praise.

"Brilliant, truly brilliant!"

"Kirigakure can have a successor like you."

"In the future, in the Ninja World, Kirigakure Village will inevitably rank among the best."

Hearing the Cat King's praise, Mizunuki Ryosuke just smiled indifferently and didn't say much.

At the same time, the Jonin far away in the Kirigakure office were also speechless; hearing all the processes and judgments told by Mizunuki Ryosuke, all the Kirigakure Jonin revealed expressions of sudden realization, and couldn't help but show looks of approval in their eyes.

At the gathering, the smile on Maeda Yuanshi's zombie-like stiff face never faded. ===== CHAPTER 263 =====