Kirigakure

"Where are we going next?" Tsunade asked just after they left Amegakure.

"I want to visit Kirigakure and see what's going on," Richard said.

"Does Kirigakure have some great secret too?" Tsunade asked.

"A great secret? Does the Fourth Mizukage being controlled by genjutsu count?" Richard said.

"Who could control..." Tsunade quickly caught on. There really were people capable of controlling the Mizukage: Uchiha Madara and that one called Obito Uchiha. With the Mangekyō Sharingan's, or perhaps even stronger, ocular power, forcibly controlling someone was indeed not difficult if they caught them off guard.

There were more than just the two of them on the road. Their little tagalong Shizune and Katsuyu were also with them. But Shizune was truly quiet. Despite hearing so many secrets that could shock the entire Ninja World, she showed no unusual reaction. She had never interrupted either, merely listening in silence.

Katsuyu had already learned all this from the plot Lin Feng had uploaded. Still, she did not quite understand why Richard was going to Kirigakure, so she asked directly.

"Lord Richard, is there anything in Kirigakure worth paying attention to? As I recall, there doesn't seem to be anything important there. Other than the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, what else is there? Are you planning to collect the Ten-Tails?"

"No. Whether I'll collect the Ten-Tails is still uncertain. I'm merely interested in the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique." Richard waved a hand.

"The Hydrification Technique? With your strength, you're interested in a secret technique like that?" Tsunade was genuinely puzzled. The Hydrification Technique was indeed a decent secret technique, but its upper limit was only so high. Richard could actually value it? Or was there some hidden secret behind it as well?

"It has nothing to do with strength. Besides the Wind Element, I also cultivate the Water Element as my main path. I want to look into the concepts behind this Water Release Secret Technique," Richard said. The Hydrification Technique's upper limit was indeed not high, but there was the Water Body Profound Mystery among the Laws of Water. It sounded somewhat connected to the Hydrification Technique, so he had to investigate. Perhaps it might truly inspire him and aid his comprehension of the Laws.

He knew very well that things like the Rinnegan, Tenseigan, and Ten-Tails were not truly that important to him. They were merely tools for comprehending the Laws. At his current level, comprehension of the Laws was fundamental; other external things were not so important. It was not that there were no external treasures in the Heavens and Myriad Worlds that he could use—only that the Chat Group did not currently possess anything of that caliber.

"You cultivate the Wind Element and Water Element as your main paths?" Tsunade truly had not known that. This guy had already displayed formidable Taijutsu, Yang Release, Space-Time Ninjutsu, and exceptional Forging Technique. Yet now he was saying that Wind Release and Water Release were his main paths? Even things he did not cultivate as his main paths were this powerful. Just how powerful were his main paths?

"Didn't I mention it?" Richard froze.

"Did you?" Tsunade shot back.

"Fine. The Slug Sage knows, so I assumed you knew too. The one currently appearing in the Ninja World is my Wind Element Divine Clone," Richard said.

"A Divine Clone? Is it something like a Shadow Clone?" Tsunade studied him closely. She truly could not tell that he was a Clone.

"No, it's far more complicated than that. Mine is a permanent Clone, constructed from a Godhead and Divine Power," Richard said.

A Divine Clone could be injured and bleed, and if it died, it would be permanently lost. Even if he refined another Wind Element Godhead, it would only mean that his main body had become a god; the Divine Clone would still be gone. Naturally, there was no point telling Tsunade that.

"I see. You're also skilled in the Water Element? Does that mean you have a Water Element Divine Clone too?" Tsunade probed.

"Well, take a guess." Richard smiled without answering.

The others had been following Richard from the start, so naturally, they went wherever he said.

More than ten days later, after drifting at sea for over a week, they set foot on land once again.

Kirigakure stood alone overseas, and outsiders approaching it were easily discovered. However, Richard used genjutsu to conceal their traces. Having comprehended the Profound Mystery of Fog Illusion and attained considerable insight into it, he actually possessed fairly respectable genjutsu as well. He simply had little use for it in the Coiling Dragon World.

As they drew closer to Kirigakure, they also noticed that something was off about its atmosphere. It appeared peaceful, yet elite shinobi passed by from time to time. It was clearly under martial law.

Obito Uchiha was dead, and the Fourth Mizukage had broken free of his control. What would he do now? Though he did not know who had controlled him, he certainly knew it had been the Sharingan.

Speaking of which, Kirigakure had truly suffered. Two successive Mizukage had been controlled by outsiders, stirring up turmoil within the village and throwing it into chaos, causing its talent pool to wither away. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Kirigakure had barely participated in the Ninja World Wars, yet it still ended up with a severe gap between generations. More than a decade later, it had declined to the point of being inferior even to Sunagakure, while the shinobi clans within the village had been wiped out as well.

Of course, now that the Sharingan's control had been lifted more than a decade early, Kirigakure's losses were not so severe. The shinobi clans were all still intact; one could even say its foundations remained undamaged. After all, Obito Uchiha had not controlled the Fourth Mizukage for very long.

However, because of Obito's manipulation, the conflict between the Fourth Mizukage and several major shinobi clans had already become extraordinarily intense. It had reached the point where only one side could survive.

Even if the Fourth Mizukage went to those clans and said, "I was controlled by the Sharingan before. Let's make peace," it would be impossible now. One side had to bleed and make sacrifices before this could end.

Richard found the Hozuki Clan, easily hypnotized one shinobi, and obtained the Hydrification Technique. Yet he did not hurry to leave afterward. Instead, he had that controlled shinobi repeatedly use the Hydrification Technique. Still finding it insufficient, he even had him perform it in a lake, all so Richard could comprehend the Laws contained within it.

These Ninjutsu were actually quite interesting. Some seemingly ordinary Ninjutsu were not something an ordinary superhuman could accomplish if one truly examined them closely. Take the Transformation Technique, for example. In the Ninja World, even children at the Ninja Academy could use it, yet achieving a similar effect through another supernatural system would be difficult.

It was not that shinobi themselves were so extraordinary, but that Chakra inherently possessed remarkable properties. This power system did not flaunt itself and appeared plain and unremarkable, but closer examination revealed that it was truly complete. It was a highly mature energy system.

The more he learned, the more he felt that the Ninja World truly had little hope against the Otsutsuki Clan. Even though saviors emerged in the original story every time to defeat the villainous Otsutsuki Clan, the protagonist's plot armor would one day fade.

His former self had been too arrogant. He had thought the Ninja World was shallow, and by extension had assumed that the Otsutsuki Clan was nothing special either. He had even thought the Slug Sage was not decisive enough. But if his current self truly faced the powerful Otsutsuki in the stars, the outcome would likely not be much better.

He was still too arrogant. The Coiling Dragon World was certainly a high-level supernatural world, but worlds stronger than the Coiling Dragon World would surely join the group in the future. If he failed to adjust his mindset by then, he might easily suffer a terrible loss.