Wait a moment!
Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly stood up. "I think there's still been some misunderstanding."
A misunderstanding?
Hōzuki Mangetsu sneered. "Konoha has already decided that Kirigakure started the war. What misunderstanding could there be?"
"That's exactly what happened!"
Danzo sneered. "Several Kirigakure ninjas secretly infiltrated Konoha's border. That was an act of aggression against Konoha, and Konoha had every right to treat them as enemies."
Is that so?
Hōzuki Mangetsu stared at him. "So, Lord Danzo admits that Konoha killed our ninjas?"
Danzo!
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened with anger. "Enough. Leave. I'll handle this."
Danzo's eye twitched a few times. He gave Hōzuki Mangetsu a cold look, then slowly walked out.
"My apologies."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said apologetically, "Konoha wasn't responsible for this. We're investigating it with all our might, and we'll definitely give Kirigakure a satisfactory answer."
The village's leadership was currently at odds with the Uchiha, and war could break out at any moment.
It would be unwise to clash with the Land of Water at a time like this, so Sarutobi Hiruzen had initially planned to smooth things over.
But Danzo had ruined that plan.
Danzo had always been dissatisfied with Sarutobi Hiruzen's cautious policies.
Lord Third!
Hōzuki Mangetsu already knew the village's situation, so he dared to put on this show of force.
"I, Hozuki Mangetsu, can wait, but Kirigakure can't. Blood must be repaid with blood—that's always been Kirigakure's tradition. If you can't give us a satisfactory answer, Lord Third, then we certainly won't let this go."
Since he knew what the Konoha High Command was worried about, Hōzuki Mangetsu wasn't going to pass up this chance to squeeze them for more.
A small weight could still tip a massive balance.
Konoha was at a critical juncture, and the High Command certainly wouldn't risk a conflict with Kirigakure.
"Don't worry."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. "Konoha will give Kirigakure an explanation."
As he spoke, he took out a scroll and handed it to Hōzuki Mangetsu.
"These are Kirigakure prisoners captured during the last war. We'll return them to Kirigakure now."
He'd decided on this as soon as he learned Kirigakure planned to demand an explanation.
Everyone knew that Kirigakure didn't exchange prisoners, so capturing its shinobi was useless to other nations unless they wanted to lock them up.
Konoha had captured quite a few Kirigakure shinobi during the last war. They were just sitting in prison, so Konoha might as well return them now and use that to make up for the deaths of those five ninjas.
The older, the wiser.
The Third Hokage had played this move brilliantly. He'd resolved the immediate problem and passed the burden to Kirigakure.
After all, prisoners still had to be fed.
Hōzuki Mangetsu nodded to himself.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had ruled Konoha for so long; he was clearly no pushover.
Compared to Danzo's hardline approach, he seemed somewhat weak, but that apparent weakness concealed great wisdom.
Soft on the outside, sharp within!
That was Sarutobi Hiruzen's true nature.
But...
Hōzuki Mangetsu shook his head.
He wasn't someone who'd be satisfied so easily.
He'd use the village's name to make his demands, and get as much as he could.
"I appreciate your goodwill, Lord Third. But you know that Kirigakure doesn't accept prisoners of war. Even if Konoha handed them over to me, they'd be sentenced to death as soon as I returned."
Hōzuki Mangetsu smiled. "Using a few dead men to earn Kirigakure's forgiveness doesn't seem very sincere, does it?"
Is that so?
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, smiled faintly. "In that case, we'll keep Chukichi here. After all, Dark Release ninjas are rare."
Chukichi!
Hōzuki Mangetsu froze. It took him a while to remember who that was.
One of Kirigakure's most powerful sensory ninjas, Chukichi possessed the rare Dark Release kekkei genkai. He'd been captured by Konoha during the Third Shinobi World War.
Since Kirigakure refused to accept prisoners, he'd remained locked up in Konoha's prison until he died.
During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Yakushi Kabuto had brought him back with Impure World Reincarnation.
So it was him!
Hōzuki Mangetsu nodded to himself.
Dark Release was a special kekkei genkai that could theoretically absorb any ninjutsu. Its ability was similar to the Preta Path among the Six Paths of Pain. However, it couldn't absorb S-rank ninjutsu that combined shape transformation and nature transformation.
He'd be a powerful support who came with his own shield!
At the thought, Hōzuki Mangetsu grew excited.
He was short on help right now. If Chukichi joined him, he'd add a great deal of strength to their side.
Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to have read his mind. He smiled and said, "The Five Great Shinobi Villages suffered heavy losses in the last war. Now that peace has finally returned, we should cherish this hard-won opportunity."
Hōzuki Mangetsu smiled.
He wasn't interested in Sarutobi Hiruzen's platitudes.
If the Land of Fire and the Land of Water had switched places, it would have been difficult for either to resist making territorial demands of its neighbor.
Soon, the two sides reached an agreement.
Hōzuki Mangetsu would return to his village and wait for Konoha's investigation, while Konoha would release Chukichi, a shinobi from the Land of Water whom it had captured.
After leaving Konoha, Orochimaru immediately parted ways with Hōzuki Mangetsu.
That left only Chukichi.
At Hōzuki Mangetsu's request, Konoha secretly released Chukichi.
"Are you from Kirigakure?"
Chukichi looked at Hōzuki Mangetsu with delight.
He'd been imprisoned by Konoha for many years. Now, seeing a fellow villager again filled him with joy and disbelief.
Everyone knew Kirigakure didn't exchange prisoners, so its shinobi rarely met with a good end once captured.
To stay alive, most of them would reveal everything they knew.
But Chukichi was different. He'd held out stubbornly because he loved his country and his village.
"My name is Hozuki Mangetsu!"
Hōzuki Mangetsu smiled. "I've heard of the famous Dark Release ninja!"
At that title, a flicker of discomfort crossed Chukichi's face.
Back in Kirigakure, he'd been a prominent figure.
Not only did he possess the Dark Release kekkei genkai, which could absorb any ninjutsu, but he also had exceptional sensory abilities.
In Kirigakure, Chukichi and Ao were known as the village's two greatest sensory ninjas.
Unfortunately, Konoha had captured him during a mission, and he'd been locked up ever since.
"So you're a child of the Hozuki Clan!"
Chukichi nodded.
He was much older than Hōzuki Mangetsu, and he'd been captured many years ago, so it was only natural that he wasn't familiar with Mangetsu's name.
"How is the village? I heard Yagura became the Fourth Mizukage?"
Even in prison, Chukichi had heard bits and pieces of news about Kirigakure.
"That's right!"
Hōzuki Mangetsu nodded and briefly explained the village's current situation.
Chukichi listened carefully, afraid he might miss something. More than anything, he wanted to know whether Kirigakure had changed its rule against exchanging prisoners.
Unfortunately, the answer disappointed him.
The rule was still in place. In other words, even if he returned to the village now, they'd treat him as a rogue ninja and kill him.
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