You're Right, But...

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Night fell over a training ground in Kirigakure.

Moonlight spilled across the earth. The forest rustled in the sea breeze, its branches dancing like demons as they mingled with patches of moonlight.

Hozuki Mangetsu sat beside a babbling brook, absently stirring the running water.

He'd agreed in a moment of passion, and readily at that. But once he'd calmed down, all that remained on his fierce, grotesque face was helplessness and a pounding headache.

The Hozuki Clan head, plus around ten elite Hozuki shinobi... In all of Kirigakure, surely only the Third and Yagura could handle so many people?

Hozuki Mangetsu gazed at the brook shimmering beneath the night sky, wondering whether he should poison them or launch a sneak attack.

"Who's there?"

Hozuki Mangetsu's expression suddenly turned serious. He swiftly used the Hydrification Technique to merge with the water, then turned to face the dark forest.

Uchiha Chen slowly emerged from the forest and praised Hozuki Mangetsu:

"As expected of Kirigakure's child prodigy. What keen senses!"

"Hmph!"

Hozuki Mangetsu snorted and licked his lips, a cruel, menacing smile spreading across his face.

"Whoever you are, you're in for a bad time! I'm in a foul mood, and I just happen to need a target to practice my jutsu on."

Hozuki Mangetsu raised his head and rapidly formed hand seals. He'd decided that no matter which Kirigakure clan or department the visitor belonged to, he was going to teach him a harsh lesson.

Drip!

Hozuki Mangetsu pointed a finger at Uchiha Chen and declared arrogantly, "Water Release: Water Gun Technique!"

A stream of water, compressed to the utmost, shot toward Uchiha Chen.

Uchiha Chen neither dodged nor evaded. He summoned a trace of Kamui's Eye Power, and his entire body slipped into another dimension.

He looks pretty strong. I hope I don't kill him with one shot.

As the Water Gun was about to hit Uchiha Chen, Hozuki Mangetsu couldn't help worrying. Then he saw his signature jutsu pass right through his opponent as if through thin air, punching a hole through the trees behind him.

"What's going on?"

Hozuki Mangetsu's expression shifted. He formed the hand seal for the Summoning Technique and summoned an oddly shaped blunt sword.

It had two handles, as though two similar swords had been joined together: the Twin Sword Hiramekarei.

A shrewd fighter, Hozuki Mangetsu understood that his opponent seemed to have a physical immunity jutsu similar to the Hydrification Technique. In an instant, he decided to test him with Hiramekarei's energy attack.

"Hiramekarei: Release!"

Gas issued from the two round openings in Hiramekarei, and the entire blade began to glow brilliantly. A ball of Chakra shot toward Uchiha Chen.

The puff-puff of Chakra currents became an immensely powerful shockwave, flattening every tree within thirty or forty meters of Uchiha Chen. Even the nearby blue-gray rocks were blasted to pieces.

When the currents passed, all that remained was a deep crater and Uchiha Chen, shrugging like a little bear.

Hit me all you like. If you manage to land a blow, you win.

"You..."

Seeing another attack fail, Hozuki Mangetsu stood with his sword in hand, his expression grave as he asked,

"What kind of jutsu is that? And who are you?"

"I'm here to help you, Mangetsu, the traitor to your clan!

"As for my jutsu, it's called the Wind Transformation Technique. It's the counterpart to your Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique!" Uchiha Chen made it up on the spot.

"But mine is the male version, while your clan's Hydrification Technique is female. So my jutsu's stronger!"

Hozuki Mangetsu gave him a sidelong glance. He clearly didn't believe in any "Wind Transformation Technique," but his opponent knew about his plan, so he must have been sent by the Third.

"Come on! There was too much noise here. Someone will come to investigate any minute. Let's find somewhere else to talk!"

On the rooftop of a tall building,

Uchiha Chen sat on the edge, enjoying the night breeze as he looked down at Kirigakure's nighttime scenery.

"So, after all that thought, your plan is to claim you invented a new jutsu, invite the group over to your house, poison them, and kill them?"

"I'll also put a soundproofing barrier around my courtyard."

Hozuki Mangetsu sounded a little uncertain. He clearly knew his plan was full of holes.

"Sounds good. I'll help you when the time comes."

Uchiha Chen didn't care whether the plan would work. What he had in mind was simple:

Take advantage of the chaos to collect a few Hozuki shinobi corpses—and, if possible, capture a couple of living test subjects.

Among the Shinobi World's many secret-technique clans, generations of practice and refinement over hundreds of years had gradually selected for descendants naturally suited to their techniques.

For example, Akimichi children weighed over ten pounds at birth, Nara children were clever from a young age, and the Hozuki Clan was among the most exceptional of the secret-technique clans.

The Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique could even be said to have created a "secret-technique constitution," with some traits of a Kekkei Genkai:

The Multi-Size Technique and Shadow Imitation Technique could be learned even by people outside the Akimichi and Nara Clans. But no one outside the Hozuki Clan could master the Hydrification Technique.

At the thought, Uchiha Chen's scalpel was already itching to get to work.

"Hey! What are you thinking about?"

Hozuki Mangetsu noticed Uchiha Chen spacing out and called out to him. At the same time, he suddenly made a sly move and reached for Uchiha Chen's arm.

But, just like all his previous attacks, his hand passed straight through.

"Tch!"

Hozuki Mangetsu pursed his lips, clearly still unconvinced.

"Didn't you have a younger brother? Was his name Suigetsu?"

Coming out of his daze, Uchiha Chen gathered himself and suddenly asked.

Hozuki Mangetsu's expression changed instantly.

His fists clenched with a crackling sound. He glared at Uchiha Chen in furious disbelief and gritted his teeth.

"Bastard! He's not even three years old! If you dare lay a hand on Suigetsu, I'll make you pay, even if it costs me my life!"

So he really is a doting big brother!

Uchiha Chen wore a mischievous grin.

"You've got it wrong. I mean, even if your little brother can't match you, the once-in-fifty-years genius of Kirigakure, he must still be pretty talented, right?"

"Of course. Suigetsu's a genius."

Hozuki Mangetsu instinctively spoke up for his little brother, his voice turning proud.

"You're definitely going to defect. So tell me, if your little brother became someone who sought revenge on you, wouldn't he grow stronger at an astonishing pace? Maybe even surpass you in the end?"

"What do you mean?"

Hozuki Mangetsu's eyes filled with confusion.

"Under the protection of a parent's wings, a fledgling can never grow up. Under normal circumstances, your brother could never surpass you. Unless you gave him a reason—a reason he had to defeat you and surpass you."

Dark Night.

Hozuki Mangetsu stood alone on the rooftop.

He gazed at the night sky, torn inside.

Clouds drifted across the sky, veiling the moonlight that fell on him and leaving him completely in the dark.

At last, he made up his mind. He would become the kindling that let his little brother shine.

According to the Anbu operative who called himself "Chen," it went something like this:

You're right, but Suigetsu's Revenge is a brand-new, open-ended revenge epic, written and starring Hozuki Mangetsu himself.

The story takes place in Kirigakure. Suigetsu plays a revenge-seeker who bears the glory of his clan and is determined to kill his scumbag of an older brother. He trains hard alongside his companions and hunts down Mangetsu—all while gradually ascending to the seat of Mizukage.