"Fire! Water Release! Use Water Release, quick!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A water dragon surged into the flas—but it also smashed straight through the wooden buildings.
"You idiot! You don’t know how to use Water Colliding Wave? Why would you use Water Dragon Bullet? Didn’t your teacher teach you anything?!"
The ninja shot back angrily, "I learned killing techniques on the battlefield, not firefighting! Use it yourself if you care so much!"
The others didn’t know how to respond.
A few more Mist shinobi arrived to help extinguish the flas. But by the ti the fire was under control, the foul-mouthed ninja from before had already vanished.
Kiyosuke, now transford into an adult man, blended in as he wandered through the streets of Kirigakure. He looked just like another drifter.
Mist ninja passed by constantly, but none recognized him—most were still focused on putting out fires.
"Looks like I’ll have to find the Hōzuki clan’s territory myself."
He had originally planned to stake out the hospital, but that no longer seed viable. There was no guarantee Genzuki would even show up.
But then again, the Hōzuki clan’s base would be crawling with elites. If he showed up, he might not make it out. Their physiology was practically the opposite of his—it wouldn’t be surprising if they were a natural counter to his abilities.
"Whatever. I’ll just take it one step at a ti. First, I need a place to sleep."
He found an inn that was still intact enough to offer shelter and stayed the night.
Just as he was sleeping soundly, the door creaked open and a snake slithered into the room, crawling across his face.
Its cold, clammy body made him uncomfortable, rousing him from sleep. Half-awake, he groggily removed the snake from his face. The snake opened its mouth and spat out a tiny scroll.
Forcing himself awake, he opened it and saw a ssage from Orochimaru.
[No need to rush. Stay in Kirigakure a few more days. If possible, bring back more kekkei genkai users.]
"...You’re kidding. One Hōzuki isn’t enough? He wants more?"
He squeezed the scroll in his hand. Wisps of smoke drifted from between his fingers. A short while later, he went into the bathroom and flushed the ashes away.
After washing his hands, he pulled out a small scroll and wrote down the intel he had gathered in Kirigakure—most importantly, that he had taken out Jinpachi Munashi.
He fed the ssage to the snake, then crawled back into bed and went right back to sleep.
The little snake slithered out of the room, disappearing into the sewers...
...
Konohagakure Encampnt
During breakfast, Anko walked in holding a snake in her arms.
"Orochimaru-sensei, I’ve got a ssage."
"Give it here."
The snake spat out a scroll. Anko caught it and handed it to Orochimaru.
Opening it, Orochimaru’s mouth twitched slightly—then he smiled.
"Not bad. He didn’t manage to capture the specin I wanted, but now the Seven Ninja Swordsn of the Mist won’t be reforming any ti soon."
There had been only one left. And now, thanks to Kiyosuke, he was gone. Rebuilding the group was practically impossible.
"He even took down the last one?" Anko’s eyes lit up, clearly impressed.
"Yes. Excellent performance. He won’t be coming back anyti soon though. Kirigakure’s gone into lockdown. The Third Mizukage is still holding the village. War can’t break out just yet. Co, Anko—let teach you a few new jutsu."
"Yes, sir!"
The two of them walked out of the tent together.
...
At that mont, Kiyosuke was brushing his teeth and washing his face. After finishing dinner downstairs, he went out for a walk.
He ended up spending the entire day lounging in a gambling den, while Mist ninja were still running themselves ragged trying to find him.
That evening, he strolled over to a fish noodle shop with a bulging wallet.
The fragrant fish broth and springy noodles made a delicious combo—but in his heart, it still didn’t compare to Ichiraku Ran.
After eating his fill, he stepped back outside for another stroll.
He wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings when a drunkard stumbled out from a nearby alley and crashed into him.
"You okay?"
He brushed the dust off himself and reached down to help the drunk man up.
"Get your damn hands off !"
Unexpectedly, the drunkard shoved him away. Wobbling to his feet, the man cursed under his breath.
"You think you’re hot shit?! Who do you think you’re ssing with?! Do you even know who I am?!"
A nearby middle-aged passerby whispered,
"It’s that Hōzuki Shingetsu again. Always throwing his weight around because he’s the Second Mizukage’s youngest son. Total disgrace to his father’s na."
"Yeah, seriously."
Hmm?
Hōzuki?
The Second Mizukage’s youngest son?
Talk about a stroke of luck.
If he was really the Second Mizukage’s son, he must’ve inherited that kekkei genkai. But judging by the way he acted, he was a total ss. As the youngest, he probably had no real standing in the clan. The family head was likely descended from the main line, and Shingetsu got left behind—drinking his sorrows away because he had no future.
Kiyosuke instantly imagined an entire family drama in his head.
He cleared his throat and forced a wide smile.
"So it is Shingetsu-sama! What a coincidence! Surely you rember —Sakata Gintoki, your old drinking buddy! We t at the izakaya, rember?"
"Huh? Sakata? Who the hell are you?! Never heard of you!"
Man, I really wanna deck this guy.
"Hahaha! You really are forgetful, Shingetsu-sama! I even bought you drinks last ti! Fujimaru-san was there too!"
"I don’t rember! But I wanna drink now! You—drink with !"
The drunken Shingetsu grabbed Kiyosuke without a second thought and dragged him along.
The overwhelming stench of alcohol made Kiyosuke frown, but he forced a grin and said,
"Of course, of course, Shingetsu-sama—easy now!"
He played the lackey role perfectly. The nearby onlookers quickly lost interest and walked away.
"...Wait a second. This isn’t the road to the izakaya, is it?"
"Of course it’s not."
Kiyosuke narrowed his eyes—and slamd Shingetsu’s head into the wall.
Splash!
Shingetsu’s head burst into water and scattered.
"Kekkei genkai that actually counters my abilities... how inconvenient."
While Shingetsu’s body was still reforming, Kiyosuke quickly ford hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A massive snake burst into the narrow alley, nearly filling it from wall to wall.
Kiyosuke pulled out a red sealing talisman, covered in tiny black script. At the center was the kanji for "Seal".
A special creation from Orochimaru. It wouldn’t last forever—but it would do the job.
Shingetsu’s body finished reforming. He had sobered up a bit and turned toward Kiyosuke, ready to curse him out—only for the tag to slap onto his forehead.
In an instant, sealing runes spread across his body, locking him in place.
"This is just bad luck for you," Kiyosuke muttered. "Can’t bla anyone else."
He straightened Shingetsu’s paralyzed body, wrote up a scroll, and tucked it into his clothes.
"Open up."
The snake obediently opened its mouth. Kiyosuke shoved Shingetsu’s body inside, limbs and all.
Poof!
The snake vanished.
Kiyosuke transford again and stepped out of the alley, disappearing into the crowd as if he’d been there all along...
----------------
Pls Drop so Power Stones
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