Leaving

"Otherwise, even I cannot be sure what your future will hold."

Outside Kirigakure's gates.

As Byakuren's words fell, Hozuki Gengetsu's face showed clear displeasure, and his fists clenched unconsciously.

Byakuren saw everything, but he said nothing.

After all, at his age, he had seen through many things. People could not teach people, but one lesson from experience was enough.

Thus, Byakuren also wanted to see when his disciple would truly realize where his problem lay.

And so, the two did not go to the Kaguya Clan. They merely admired the scenery outside Kirigakure for half an hour before returning to the Mizukage Building office.

At that moment, Takenaka sat beside Yuko Kaguya with his eyes closed, thinking about what to do next. He knew very well that Hozuki Gengetsu was the one behind Motosawa Kaguya. He could understand why Hozuki Gengetsu had done it, but that did not mean he could forgive him.

Suddenly, the Mizukage's office door was pushed open. Byakuren was the first to enter. With a guilty expression on his face, he looked at Takenaka and said, "I'm sorry, Takenaka, Yuko. You have suffered injustice.

"I am incompetent. I have no way to persuade the Kaguya Clan head to return the house to you. However, I can make the decision to arrange another residence for you in the village. I guarantee it will not be worse than where you live now."

At those words, Yuko Kaguya frowned and looked at Takenaka beside her. "Takenaka, what do you think?"

"Aunt, let's leave the village."

As he spoke, he turned to Byakuren and cupped his hands. "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Byakuren, but we both wish to stay farther away from the Kaguya Clan.

"If Half-Moon Island can be given to us, we will go there. If not, then we will not trouble you any further, Lord Byakuren.

"After all, you have only just become the First Mizukage. Asking you for Half-Moon Island would indeed put you in a difficult position.

"How about this? We will find somewhere ourselves. It is only Aunt and me, after all. The world is vast; there will always be a place for us to settle."

As his words fell, Byakuren felt somewhat uncomfortable. Of course, he knew that with Takenaka's potential, he would surely become a pillar of the Land of Water in the future.

However, if Takenaka remained, given his disciple's temperament, he might very well continue causing trouble behind the scenes.

If Hozuki Gengetsu and Takenaka were pushed completely onto opposing sides, things would become troublesome.

Yet the meaning behind Takenaka's words just now made him hesitate.

Because he could tell that Takenaka held no sense of belonging toward either the Land of Water or Kirigakure.

This meant that if Takenaka left, he might very well be recruited by people from other nations.

If he went to a small country, it would not be much of a problem. No matter how powerful Takenaka became in the future, without the support of a strong national power, he would still be inferior to the Land of Water.

But if Takenaka went to one of the other Five Great Nations, he would surely become a grave threat in the future.

After a long silence, Byakuren finally sighed and said, "Sigh, if that is the case, then I shall help you one last time. Half-Moon Island can be given to you. I only hope that when the village encounters trouble in the future, you will lend it a hand."

Hearing this, Takenaka neither agreed nor refused. He merely cupped his hands in thanks. "Then thank you, Lord Byakuren. We will leave now and will not disturb your work."

As he spoke, Takenaka rose and left the Mizukage Building with Yuko Kaguya.

A moment later, Hozuki Gengetsu watched Takenaka and Yuko Kaguya walk out of the Mizukage Building, anger appearing on his face. He looked at Byakuren and said, "Teacher, what does Kaguya Takenaka mean by this? Is he planning to become a rogue Ninja?"

"Enough, Gengetsu. Calm down and let him go. We, master and disciple, have wronged him. The village has wronged him as well." Byakuren barked, then sighed helplessly.

Hearing this, Gengetsu's brows furrowed deeply. Though he was very displeased, he ultimately did not argue with Byakuren again.

Meanwhile, on Takenaka's side.

After leaving Kirigakure with Yuko Kaguya, Takenaka looked back at the village gates. As he sighed, his heart felt somewhat bitter.

Though he was a transmigrator and did not feel much attachment to Kirigakure, he had never expected that after earning so many military merits for the village, he would one day end up like this.

"Let's go, Takenaka. Let the past be the past. Once we leave here, we will have a new life," Yuko Kaguya said with a sigh.

"Alright."

Hearing this, Takenaka nodded. Without pausing, he headed straight for the harbor.

More than ten minutes later, just as Takenaka and Yuko Kaguya arrived at the harbor, his eyes suddenly narrowed slightly. The Chakra in his body showed signs of erupting, but after sensing who stood ahead through Observation Haki, his Chakra receded like floodwaters.

"Aunt, wait here for me a moment. I'm going to meet someone," Takenaka said.

"Alright."

Then Takenaka's figure flashed, and he vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

A moment later, in a forest beside the harbor, Takenaka smiled and cupped his hands. "I did not expect you to come see me off personally."

"Sigh, Takenaka, there was actually no need for you to be so passive.

"With your Shili, even if Byakuren personally moved against you, you should have been able to deal with him calmly," the man said with a sigh, his face filled with puzzlement.

"Hehe, I could have done that, but there was no need.

"The war has just ended, and everything is still in ruins. At a time like this, no one wishes to fall into war again.

"Besides, you know me. I have always regarded power lightly, so it would be better to use this incident as an opportunity to leave the village for the time being.

"First, I can find a quiet place to train and continue improving my Shili.

"Second, without me, the village can become more stable.

"However, doing so has caused you and the seniors to suffer injustice," Takenaka said with a chuckle, then cupped his hands.

After hearing his explanation, the other party smiled bitterly, then shook his head and sighed. "You need not worry about us. With me here, Byakuren would not dare make a move against us.

"It is only that we all feel indignant over what you have gone through.

"Unfortunately, we are Ninja of Kirigakure and remain hostile toward the other four great nations. Otherwise, I would have wanted to suggest that you live in one of those nations.

"With your Shili, even Konohagakure of the Land of Fire, which has Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, would surely welcome you gladly."