Hoshigakure

After securing the eyes of Shisui Uchiha, Hōzuki Mangetsu immediately erased any traces of his presence in the forest and departed from the border with Ranmaru.

He had obtained Shisui's eyes, but they could not be used for the time being.

Unless he could successfully fuse them with the cells of Hashirama.

However, fusing with Hashirama's cells was a long and arduous process.

Before that, what Hōzuki Mangetsu needed to do was to strengthen his own power.

No matter how strong an individual's ability was, they could not overcome sheer numbers; Hōzuki Mangetsu, coming from a later era, understood this very well.

If he wanted to survive in Kirigakure, he had to build his own faction.

Counting everything he had, Hōzuki Mangetsu only had two children, Ranmaru and Shui Yue'er; they were incomparable not only to organizations like the Five Great Nations but even to a small village like the one Orochimaru would eventually build.

Strength!

Hōzuki Mangetsu sighed.

Although the Hozuki Clan was known as the strongest clan in Kirigakure, it had fallen into decline, and he and his brother were the only ones of this generation to stand out.

Even though he had formed an alliance with Terumi Mei on behalf of the Hozuki Clan, that venomous woman could not necessarily be trusted.

It was time to develop his own forces.

Kirigakure was already under the control of Tobi, and the current Hōzuki Mangetsu was simply not qualified to go head-to-head with Obito.

Not only that, he had to do everything in his power to avoid attracting the attention of Black Zetsu.

Black Zetsu was one of the final bosses; although he seemed to play a supporting role, he was absolutely not to be underestimated.

Therefore, Kirigakure was out of the question, and the other four great ninja villages were even more impossible; they would never let an outsider poach their own talent.

After much thought, Hōzuki Mangetsu had to set his sights on the wilderness, where there seemed to be some promising ninja seedlings—Ranmaru was one such example.

Ranmaru, when paired with Mirage, was absolutely the bane of sensory ninjas.

Beyond the five great ninja villages, there were some excellent ninjas in the wild, such as Haku and Kimimaro.

Calculating the time, Orochimaru should not have established Otogakure yet, so most of the talented ninjas under his command were likely still in their wild state.

Jugo, Guren, Karin, and the Sound Four.

Thinking of this, Hōzuki Mangetsu's heart suddenly grew fervent.

This was a great opportunity.

Although he lacked the perverted charisma of Orochimaru, he would have no problem tricking a few little girls and boys.

But soon, Hōzuki Mangetsu was defeated by reality.

Hōzuki Mangetsu was not the erudite type like Orochimaru; if these genius ninja seedlings fell into his hands, they might not necessarily reach the achievements they would have later.

Forget it!

Hōzuki Mangetsu shook his head; such heavy labor should be left to Uncle Snake. Although Uncle Snake was a pervert, he was indeed the strongest teacher in the ninja world.

After all, it only took Orochimaru three years to train Sasuke into a super S-rank expert. He would let Orochimaru collect those wild ninjas; in any case, Hōzuki Mangetsu already had Shisui's eyes, and he could just use Kotoamatsukami to snatch them away later.

Having figured this out, his mood improved significantly.

"Lord Mangetsu!"

Ranmaru asked respectfully, "Where are we going next?"

He had already adapted to this life.

Becoming Hōzuki Mangetsu's eyes and providing him with help seemed to have become Ranmaru's entire purpose.

"Land of Bears, Hoshigakure!"

A faint smile appeared on the corner of Hōzuki Mangetsu's mouth as his gaze drifted into the distance.

Although it was very remote and surrounded by miasma, Hoshigakure could not be ignored because they possessed a fragment of the Ten-Tails.

The fragment of the Ten-Tails allowed ninjas to materialize their chakra, much like the Tailed Beast Cloak and the Susanoo of the Uchiha Clan; it was a high-level form of chakra transformation.

Learning this transformation allowed one to materialize chakra and produce many wonderful effects, such as flight—this was a very impressive skill.

It seemed that there were not many ninjas capable of high-altitude flight.

However, the only drawback was that it caused great damage to the body, unless, of course, one possessed a Sage Body.

On the outskirts of Hoshigakure!

Two figures sped past, holding a box in their hands; inside was the treasure of Hoshigakure, the Ten-Tails fragment!

The two ninjas were naturally Natsuhiboshi and Hotarubi, who had stolen the meteorite.

They were among the few ninjas in the village who had mastered the Mysterious Peacock Method.

Although the power of the meteorite was great, it had massive side effects; the ninjas who practiced with them died in droves, and in the end, only the couple remained alive.

The couple immediately realized that this meteorite was a disaster, and for the sake of the village, they decided to steal it and seal it away.

After running wildly for a while, the two suddenly stopped, looking suspiciously at the vast white mist surrounding them.

The area around Hoshigakure was surrounded by miasma, and such a vast white fog was a rare sight.

An enemy attack?

The two of them immediately became vigilant.

At this moment, the scene before their eyes shifted once more, revealing the comrades who had died while practicing the Mysterious Peacock Method in the village.

"A genjutsu?"

Natsuhiboshi murmured to herself.

Just as she was about to weave hand seals to dispel the illusion, she saw the blood-stained figure of a small boy in the middle of the field.

"Smile!"

Natsuhiboshi let out a heart-wrenching scream, her eyes instantly glazing over. Concern had clouded her judgment; in that moment, she had fallen deep into the genjutsu.

"Natsuhiboshi!"

Hotarubi, standing to the side, was also taken aback and reached out to save his wife.

His strength was slightly superior to his wife's, allowing him to persist and avoid being deceived by the phantoms.

But the scene shifted again, and lying in the pool of blood were not only Smile, but also his wife Natsuhiboshi and all the people of the village.

A blood-drenched shadow appeared beside the corpses, holding that meteorite in its blood-stained right hand.

This isn't real!

Hotarubi shouted, weaving hand seals with one hand and letting out a loud roar.

All the illusions vanished, except for that shadow.

Hotarubi widened his eyes, staring at the sight in shock.

He was a jounin of the village; ordinary genjutsu could never affect him. Perhaps his wife had fallen for it because she had seen their child.

Hotarubi wove hand seals with one hand, attempting to dispel the genjutsu once more.

But the shadow still stood before him, the meteorite still resting in its hand.

Is this not a genjutsu?

Hotarubi was stunned.

Just then, another figure appeared behind him. Hotarubi felt a heavy blow to the back of his neck, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

The shadow vanished with a pop, revealing the figure of a child drenched in sweat and looking utterly exhausted—it was Red-Eyed Ranmaru.

"Lord Hōzuki Mangetsu, if you don't step in soon, I won't be able to hold on any longer."

He said, gasping for breath.

Not bad!

Hōzuki Mangetsu nodded in satisfaction.

This child truly had great talent.

Just now, Ranmaru had coordinated with the Giant Clam to cast the Hell Viewing Technique, taking out the Hoshikage Village jounin Natsuhiboshi in one fell swoop.

The Hell Viewing Technique was only a C-rank genjutsu.

Although it had the boost from the Giant Clam, the timing of the illusion had been precise.

This was Ranmaru's gift; he was a natural-born genjutsu-type ninja. With the help of the Giant Clam, this child's future achievements would likely be immeasurable.