Naruto: The Abstract Strategist of the Akatsuki

Chapter 217 The Story of Muwa and Hozuki Gengetsu

With Ghost Lantern City leaderless, Bai Mo and his group had no choice but to stay there for a few days.

The new lord of Hozuki Castle has already sent someone to Kusagakure Village to summon him.

The movie's ending didn't mention who the new castle lord was, but the lord of Hozuki Castle in the Boruto era was named Mujō.

Wuchang looks very similar to Wuwei, and they are about the same age. I wonder if they are related.

"strangeness."

Bored, Yukito picked up the intelligence information on the table and looked at it for a while. After reading Wuchang's resume, he discovered a problem.

"By the way, are there any families in Kusagakure with the surname 'Mu'?"

Hozuki Castle, isn't the Hozuki clan from Kirigakure?

He had no surname and I'd never heard of any famous people before…

Yukito said, stroking his chin.

"No, actually there is."

Samui shook his head slightly, "The Second Tsuchikage, none."

"Then it's even less of a problem? One is Iwagakure, and the other is Kirigakure. They're worlds apart, and their relationship isn't even that good."

Yukito picked up a glass of milk from the table and took a sip.

Yes, Yugito's favorite foods are dorayaki and milk.

This preference for cats feels like it comes from Doraemon?

"If it's wrong, then it's even more correct."

Karui took out a book with the word "Forbidden" on it from the ninja tool bag behind her.

"What is this? And why is it correct?"

Yukito curiously leaned closer.

"Do you remember that day? Samui and I found that book, and we even showed it to you."

"...Is this the book?"

Yukito remained silent for a moment.

Back when "Kingman Paradise" was first published, Raikage personally read its contents in his office.

After seeing the storyline involving the transplantation of the purple bow and arrow, and the bond formed between Onoki and others, the Raikage angrily threw the book away.

Of course, the magnanimous Raikage did not ban the book.

However, the people of Kumogakure are quite sensible; at least no one would openly read this book.

After the book was thrown out, it was picked up by the three members of Samui's team who had just completed their mission and were preparing to submit it.

To be precise, it was Karui who found it.

After sharing some of the content with Samui, I found Yukito, who was training outside, and forced her to watch some of it.

Yugito was naturally uninterested in such boring content and had no idea what happened next.

She now wanted to know why Karui was bringing up the old story.

Could this book contain some secret information?

"Of course not that book."

Karui shook his head and tore off the "Forbidden" label from the book, then opened it. "This is the sequel to that book, the second edition!"

"..."

The wooden figure remained silent.

What's the difference between a sequel and a movie?

"This contains the connections you want to know~ You know, there's no smoke without fire. Someone who would write something like this must have some special information to be able to write it."

Karui's expression suddenly turned serious as he spoke.

Why?

Sam was puzzled.

Yugito looked at Karui with the same puzzlement.

"I once heard a scholar say that what happens in reality is often more outrageous than the stories described in novels, because stories need to be logical, while reality does not."

"Think about it carefully, are the various stories in there really plots that humans could come up with?"

Since that's not the case, then there's only one possibility.

These events must have actually happened, but they were modified by someone who had access to the information.

We can completely filter out the real information and eliminate the false information...

That makes sense.

"Um."

Samui and Yukiren realized it was true, so they sat down on either side of Karui and began to read it.

"No need to look anymore, I've already finished reading this book. What you want to know is on this page—"

Karui smiled confidently, counted a few times on the side of the book with his finger, and flipped it over in one go.

The truth has emerged—

There are very few records in the history of the ninja world about the Second Tsuchikage Mu and the Second Mizukage Hozuki Gengetsu.

All we know is that the two seem to have a bad relationship. The fact that he was covered in bandages means he was burned and injured by Hozuki Gengetsu's Steam Explosion.

This book reveals the truth.

It turns out that Mu and Hozuki Gengetsu were a pair of star-crossed lovers, forced to become enemies because of their village.

There's more to the story than meets the eye that he wasn't injured by the steam blast.

When Iwagakure and Kirigakure were at war, the inherently evil Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, came to try and reap the benefits.

Even if Mu and Hozuki Gengetsu stopped in time, they couldn't salvage the situation.

To buy time for his cherished friend, and to deal with the inherently evil Tobirama Senju, Mu used his Split Technique, tightly embracing Tobirama and desperately shouting at Gengetsu Hozuki, "Gengetsu, explode! Explode! I, Mu, am yours in life and in death! Don't let me look down on you!"

In order to protect the Iwagakure ninjas whom he had no regard for, and the Kirigakure ninjas whom he cherished, Hozuki Gengetsu painfully detonated the Steam Explosion.

At this moment, Hozuki Gengetsu felt as if his heart was being torn apart.

He killed his beloved with his own hands.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the Sharingan, otherwise he could have activated the Mangekyou Sharingan in no time.

It hurts, it hurts too much.

What's even more painful is that Tobirama Senju, who was born evil, also knew space-time ninjutsu, and managed to escape with a Flying Thunder God Technique at the very end.

Only one person survived the explosion of the steam-powered explosive.

Thus, in later records, it became known that the Second Mizukage suffered burns all over his body in the explosion.

Fortunately, he didn't die in the end, but he was burned and disfigured all over his body.

But Hozuki Gengetsu doesn't love Mu's appearance, but Mu's heart.

The two confided in each other after the war, but their relationship was ultimately not tolerated by Iwagakure and Kirigakure, so they fled overseas and found a secluded paradise where they lived for a while.

During this time, Mu used the secret technique, the Fusion and Splitting Technique, to separate Hozuki Gengetsu's body from her own, successfully giving birth to their child.

The child's surname is "Wu," which means nothing.

The island where they lived, through Wu's earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels), rose into the shape of a city, which was named Hozuki Castle, representing Hozuki Gengetsu.

After living on the island for a while, the two still couldn't let go of their sense of responsibility to the village.

In the end, the ill-fated couple chose to leave this paradise and return to the ninja world.

But for the sake of their children, they built a new ninja village next to Iwagakure – Kusagakure.

Grass, corresponding to Wood Release, is the product of the combination of water and earth, symbolizing the love between Mu and Hozuki Gengetsu.

At the same time, since Mu possesses the three attributes of earth, fire, and wind, it is reasonable for Mu, the lord of Hozuki Castle, to be skilled in fire-style lantern techniques.

The Ghost Lantern was also a ninjutsu that Mu developed for the descendants of Kusagakure in memory of his lover.

"Isn't it a touching story?"

"Yes, it is indeed a tragic love story."

"I never imagined that the previous Kage of Iwagakure and Kirigakure had such a past."

Yumu and Samui were somewhat moved.

"Karui, you're right. Reality doesn't need logic. If the story were to follow the novel's plot, shouldn't the Second Mizukage, who is female, be disfigured? How come it's the Second Tsuchikage, who is male?"

Yugito, still savoring the plot she had just watched, picked up her hot milk and took another sip.

"Huh? Who said the Second Mizukage was a woman? Hozuki Gengetsu is a man!"

Karui paused for a moment, flipped through two pages, found an illustration of a small mustache, and showed it to Yugito.

Yukito: "..."