You Are Right, But

Night fell over a training ground within Kirigakure.

Moonlight spilled across the earth, and the forest rustled under the sea breeze, swaying like a dance of demons amidst the dappled shadows.

Hozuki Mangetsu sat by a babbling brook, absentmindedly flicking at the flowing water.

He had agreed in a moment of hot-headedness, but now that his mind had cooled, his grim, strange face was filled with nothing but helplessness and a throbbing headache.

The Hozuki clan head, plus about ten elite Hozuki ninjas—at this point in Kirigakure, perhaps only the Third and Yagura could handle so many people, right?

Hozuki Mangetsu stared at the shimmering stream under the night sky, contemplating whether he should resort to poison or a sneak attack.

"Who's there?"

Hozuki Mangetsu's expression suddenly turned stern; he quickly dissolved into the water using the Hydrification Technique and turned to face the dark forest.

Uchiha Chen walked slowly out of the woods, praising Hozuki Mangetsu:

"As expected of a genius prodigy of Kirigakure, what sharp perception!"

"Hmph!"

Hozuki Mangetsu let out a cold snort and licked his lips, a cruel and twisted smile appearing on his face:

"Whoever you are, you're out of luck! I'm not in a good mood, and I just happen to need a target to practice my ninjutsu on."

Hozuki Mangetsu raised his head and his hands blurred into seals. He had decided that no matter which clan or department the intruder belonged to, he would teach them a harsh lesson.

Drip!

Hozuki Mangetsu pointed a finger toward Uchiha Chen and declared haughtily: "Water Style: Water Gun Technique!"

A jet of water, compressed to the extreme, surged toward Uchiha Chen.

Uchiha Chen did not dodge or evade; he channeled a sliver of Kamui's Eye Power, and his entire body slipped into another dimension.

"This guy looks pretty strong, he won't die from just one hit, will he?"

Seeing the Water Gun about to strike Uchiha Chen, Hozuki Mangetsu couldn't help but worry, only to realize that his signature ninjutsu had passed through the man as if through thin air, piercing deep into the trees behind Uchiha Chen.

"What is going on?"

Hozuki Mangetsu's expression shifted. He performed the seals for the Summoning Technique, calling forth a bizarre-looking heavy blade.

It was the Twin Blades: Hiramekarei, which possessed two hilts and looked like two similar blades fused together.

Possessing exceptional combat intelligence, Hozuki Mangetsu understood that the opponent seemed to have a physical immunity technique similar to his own Hydrification Technique, so he instantly decided to test him with the energy attacks of Hiramekarei.

"Hiramekarei Release!"

Gas erupted from the two holes in the blade, and the entire weapon emitted a dazzling light as a sphere of Chakra shot toward Uchiha Chen.

The poof-poof of the Chakra airflow transformed into an incredibly powerful shockwave that leveled every tree within thirty or forty meters of Uchiha Chen, and even the nearby blue rocks were blasted into smithereens.

When the airflow subsided, only a deep crater remained, along with Uchiha Chen, who stood there with his hands spread in a shrug.

Go ahead and attack as you please; if you can actually touch me, consider it your win.

"You guy..."

Seeing another attack fail to yield results, Hozuki Mangetsu stood with his blade held high, asking with a grave expression:

"What kind of technique is that? And who exactly are you?"

"I'm here to help you, you clan-betraying Mangetsu!

As for the ninjutsu, I call it the Wind Transformation Technique; it's the counterpart to your Hozuki clan's Hydrification Technique!" Uchiha Chen spouted nonsense:

"But mine is the male version, and your Hozuki clan's Hydrification Technique is the female version, so my ninjutsu is naturally much stronger!"

Hozuki Mangetsu squinted at him, clearly not believing in any "Wind Transformation Technique," but since the other party knew his intentions, he must have been sent by the Third.

"Let's go! The commotion here is too loud; someone will come to investigate soon. Let's talk somewhere else!"

On the rooftop of a tall building.

Uchiha Chen sat on the edge, letting the night wind blow past as he overlooked the night view of Kirigakure.

"So, the plan you spent all day thinking about was to use the excuse of inventing a new ninjutsu to invite these people to your home, then poison them and finish them off?"

"I was also going to set up a sound-dampening barrier around my courtyard."

Hozuki Mangetsu felt a bit lacking in confidence, clearly aware that his plan was riddled with holes.

"That's fine. I'll help you when the time comes."

Uchiha Chen didn't care whether the plan succeeded or not; his thoughts were actually quite simple:

Take advantage of the chaos to collect a few corpses of Hozuki clan ninjas, and if possible, capture two more as experimental subjects.

The many secret-technique clans of the Shinobi World often spent hundreds of years practicing their arts, constantly selecting and evolving until their descendants were naturally adapted to them.

For instance, children of the Akimichi clan were born weighing over a dozen pounds, the kids of the Nara clan were clever from a young age, and the Hozuki clan was among the best of these secret-technique clans.

The Hozuki clan's Hydrification Technique could even be said to have formed a "secret-technique constitution," possessing some characteristics of a Kekkei Genkai:

The Multi-Size Technique and the Shadow Imitation Technique could be learned by those outside the Akimichi or Nara clans, but the Hydrification Technique could not be mastered by anyone outside the Hozuki clan.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Chen's scalpel was already feeling a bit restless.

"Hey! What are you thinking about?"

Hozuki Mangetsu watched Uchiha Chen daze off, and while calling out to remind him, he suddenly made a cunning move to grab Uchiha Chen's arm.

However, just like all the previous attacks, it passed right through.

"Tch!"

Hozuki Mangetsu curled his lip, clearly still feeling unconvinced.

"I remember you have a younger brother, his name is Suigetsu, right?"

Recovering from his trance, Uchiha Chen composed himself and suddenly asked.

Hozuki Mangetsu's expression changed instantly.

His fists clenched, cracking audibly, and he glared at Uchiha Chen with uncontrollable rage, gritting his teeth as he said:

"Bastard! He's just a child not even three years old! If you dare lay a finger on Suigetsu, I will make you pay the price even if it costs me my life!"

He really is a brother-complex!

Uchiha Chen revealed a smile full of malicious intent.

"You've misunderstood. What I meant was, even if your brother's talent can't compare to yours—a genius who only appears once every fifty years in Kirigakure—it shouldn't be too bad, right?"

"Of course, Suigetsu is a genius."

Hozuki Mangetsu instinctively affirmed his brother, his tone even turning proud and boastful.

"You are determined to defect, aren't you? Then tell me, if you let your brother become an avenger seeking revenge against you, do you think he would grow stronger at an unimaginable speed? Perhaps even surpass you in the end?"

"What do you mean?"

Hozuki Mangetsu's eyes were filled with confusion.

"Under the protection of wings, a fledgling can never grow. Under normal circumstances, your brother would never be able to surpass you, unless you give him a reason that forces him to defeat and transcend you."

Dark Night.

Only Hozuki Mangetsu remained standing alone on the rooftop.

Hozuki Mangetsu looked up at the night sky, his heart filled with immense conflict.

In the night sky, dark clouds drifted by, obscuring the moonlight that had been shining on him, leaving him completely engulfed in darkness.

Finally, he made up his mind to let himself become the firewood that would allow his brother to shine.

According to what that Anbu who called himself 'Chen' had said, it would go something like this:

You're right, but the Suigetsu Revenge Saga is a brand-new, open-ended revenge drama independently scripted and performed by Hozuki Mangetsu.

The story takes place in Kirigakure, where Suigetsu will play an avenger who carries the honor of his clan and is single-mindedly determined to kill his scumbag brother, training diligently with his companions to hunt down Mangetsu—while simultaneously ascending, step by step, to the throne of the Mizukage.