Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Losing Samehada Might Not Be a Bad Thing!
Just as Fuguki Suikazan, who had just returned to the Hidden Mist Village, was about to head to the Mizukage's Building to report to the Third Mizukage.
At that moment.
"Swoosh!"
With a sound, four or five figures appeared in succession.
All of them were elite ninjas from the Hozuki Clan.
"Hozuki Clan?"
Most ninja clans have their own emblems, their own clan attire.
The Hozuki Clan is no exception.
"What are you all planning?"
With one hand, Fuguki Suikazan was already gripping the handle of Samehada.
As an elite ninja, Fuguki Suikazan was very perceptive.
He could sense that these Hozuki Clan ninjas did not harbor good intentions.
"Suikazan Fuguki, we are here to reclaim Samehada."
A Hozuki Clan ninja said, "The Seven Ninja Swords belong to our Hozuki Clan, lent to the village for many years, but now you users have failed the Seven Ninja Swords. Therefore, we, the Hozuki Clan, have decided to take back the Seven Ninja Swords."
"This matter, Mizukage-sama has already agreed to. Hand over Samehada."
However, Fuguki Suikazan did not believe it, instead, he tightened his grip on the handle even more.
"When did the Hidden Mist Seven Ninja Swords become belongings of your Hozuki Clan? And Mizukage-sama has agreed? Impossible!
What are you Hozuki Clan planning to do? Rebel? Start a civil war?"
The faces of the Hozuki Clan ninjas immediately turned cold.
"Fuguki Suikazan, just because you've used something for a long time, does it mean it's yours? The Hidden Mist Seven Ninja Swords belong to our Hozuki Clan, is there any doubt about that?"
"If you don't believe, you can hand over Samehada first, then go to the Mizukage's Building and confirm with Mizukage-sama."
"Truth be told, now besides Samehada, the other six Ninjato have all returned to our Hozuki Clan."
"Now, hand over Samehada."
The atmosphere became extremely tense.
Suddenly.
An ANBU ninja approached at a very fast pace.
"Fuguki-sama, this matter is indeed true, Mizukage-sama has already agreed."
Fuguki Suikazan was stunned.
At that moment.
A Hozuki Clan ninja took the opportunity to approach and snatched Samehada away.
Before Fuguki Suikazan could react, the Hozuki ninja had already let go of the sword.
At the same time, on the other side.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
In the next moment, Samehada vanished.
Having obtained Samehada, the Hozuki Clan ninja left directly.
Unlike the other six Ninjato. The other six Ninjato were ownerless. But Samehada is currently being used by Fuguki Suikazan.
The Hozuki Clan retrieving Samehada will surely upset Fuguki Suikazan. Because for Fuguki Suikazan, not only would he lose the Ninjato he was using, but this incident might also cause him to be mocked by others.
In the Hidden Mist Village, regardless of right or wrong, the "weak" person will be ridiculed.
Therefore, the Hozuki Clan ninja left quickly. They were worried that Fuguki Suikazan might lose control in anger and spark a conflict. After all, Fuguki Suikazan is also an elite Jonin.
The Hozuki Clan ninjas did not want to engage in such unnecessary battles.
Fuguki Suikazan glanced at the ANBU ninja.
"I will personally seek confirmation from Mizukage-sama."
...
"Success!"
When Soma saw the flames in front of him turn into a mixture of gold and red.
The red was the flames.
The gold was Soma's Fire-attribute Chakra.
As the red flames burned, the golden Fire-attribute Chakra, like threads, penetrated into the molten metal, merging with the metal.
Soma knew then that his Chakra Smelting Technique had truly made progress.
"Phew!"
Soma let out a long breath.
"Having made progress means meeting the basic requirements for the Skeleton Emperor's forging. It will take about ten days to complete the smelting of the main materials, slow, still a bit slow."
"But it's unlikely for me to improve this Chakra Smelting technique significantly in a short time. So, starting the forging of the Skeleton Emperor now is the most appropriate action."
Exiting the forge, Soma was already feeling hungry.
"Haruko-san, is there anything to eat?"
Biwa Haruko looked back at the ingredients and then at Soma's condition.
"Are noodles okay?"
Noodles were the quickest dish to make, Haruko thought Soma wouldn't want to wait too long.
"That's fine."
"Just wait a moment, it'll be ready in a few minutes."
Soma sat down in the dining room.
Before long, a fragrance wafted from the kitchen direction.
Soma immediately felt his stomach's hunger alleviated to some extent.
"Having someone specialized in cooking is indeed a good thing for Forging Island."
"It can improve the happiness of the members on the island."
This was also a good thing for Haruko.
With Juzo's skills, providing for the family was definitely not a problem.
An elite Jonin in the ninja world is also undoubtedly among the high-income population.
However, people always have things they want to do. Haruko staying alone at home is not as good as being on Forging Island.
At least here, she can often see Juzo. Moreover, compared to other places in the Hidden Mist Village, Forging Island's security is much higher.
The matters concerning the Kaguya Clan and the current situation of the Hozuki Clan have made the internal situation of the Hidden Mist Village somewhat unstable.
And this job can also provide Haruko with a generous income.
"Soma, here's your noodles."
"Thank you, Haruko-san."
"It's the least I can do."
Soma took the noodles, took a sip of the soup first to warm his stomach, and then picked up the chopsticks to eat the noodles.
The soup base was made from shrimp and crab, carrying the fragrance and freshness of seafood.
As for the meat, it's a type of water buffalo that can dive into the sea and eat seaweed.
Because it can adapt to the environment of the Hidden Mist Village, and also because it produces a large amount of meat, it has been determined by the Hidden Mist Village as the primary breeding target for beef production.
"Soma, how does it taste?"
"It's very good."
Soma praised generously.
In fact, the cooking skills in this dish were only average, but it was clean, hygienic, and made with good materials.
So the taste wasn't far off.
Haruko looked at Soma and smiled.
Not because Soma approved of Haruko's cooking. But because of Juzo.
After the disastrous defeat of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Haruko was very aware of Juzo's state at that time.
It was like he had become a different person. Filled with intense negative emotions.
Self-blame, guilt, unwillingness... Haruko tried various methods, but couldn't help Juzo get out of it.
Juzo seemed to be trapped in a abyss. Until, under the arrangement of the Third Mizukage, Juzo came to Forging Island.
Haruko noticed that Juzo's condition finally changed slightly. From then on, gaining recognition from the Blue Rose Sword. And in the recent battle with Sand Pakura. Juzo was severely injured, but Haruko knew that he was very happy.
Haruko felt that Juzo had returned to the state before being defeated by that Konoha Genin. No, he was in an even better state than before. Positive, determined, full of vitality. And all of this, Haruko knew, was brought to Juzo by Soma.
Therefore, Haruko was very grateful to Soma.
"Soma, Mizukage-sama is here."
Ao arrived at the door of the dining room.
Just then, Soma finished the last bite of noodles, picked up the bowl, and took another sip of soup.
"Mizukage-sama?"
Soma quickly stood up and wiped his mouth.
"Haruko-san, could you tidy up a bit? Ao-senpai and I are going to see Mizukage-sama."
"Sure, I'll take care of it."
As Soma walked into the meeting room on Forging Island, which had been converted from an empty house, he noticed that besides the Third Mizukage, there was another figure sitting there.
A chubby person.
With long red hair, slightly orange.
Has jagged teeth that bear many characteristics of Hidden Mist Village ninjas. Wearing green stripes painted on his face.
The whole person exuded an aura that was not easy to provoke and he seemed to have just experienced something unpleasant, with subdued emotions.
A name floated in Soma's mind. "Fuguki Suikazan!"
Soma recalled information about this person.
Like Juzo, he was also one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and like Juzo, he narrowly escaped death when facing Might Duy, the other being Kurosuki Raiga.
But compared to Juzo, Suikazan seemed to have a better mindset.
Despite facing such a disastrous defeat, he could still function normally after returning to the village.
In the original plot, Suikazan was killed by Kisame. Because Kisame heard about Suikazan's betrayal of the village.
And he received confirmation from the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. Kisame, who had just killed his comrades and even jumped off a cliff himself for a mission, could not accept Suikazan's betrayal of the village. So he took action.
However, Soma couldn't be sure if Suikazan's betrayal of the village was true. After all, the Fourth Mizukage is involved in this.
And the Fourth Mizukage was under the control of Uchiha Obito's Genjutsu at that time.
Different from Uchiha Madara. Uchiha Madara's intentions towards the Hidden Mist Village were more about utilization.
While Uchiha Obito's intentions towards the Hidden Mist Village involved not only utilization but also retaliation for Rin's incident.
"Mizukage-sama."
The Third Mizukage pointed to Fuguki Suikazan.
"Soma, this is Fuguki Suikazan, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
"Fuguki-senpai"
"This is Soma, the head of the forging department, and also the forger of Kiriichimonji, Blue Rose Sword, and Dragon-Bone."
"Chief Uehara."
The Third Mizukage's gaze returned to Soma.
"Soma, is Pioggia still around?"
"It's still here."
"Can Fuguki give it a try? Fuguki has great talent in Water Release, and perhaps his personality might be appreciated by Pioggia."
"Of course."
Soma immediately understood the purpose of Third Mizukage bringing Fuguki Suikazan.
He also understood why Fuguki Suikazan seemed to be in low spirits.
The Hozuki Clan wants to reclaim the Seven Ninja Swords. So, Samehada in Fuguki Suikazan's possession is naturally one of them.
Now, it's obvious that Samehada in Fuguki Suikazan's hands has been taken by the Hozuki Clan.
Even as an elite Jonin, he couldn't protect his Ninjato. No matter how good Fuguki Suikazan's mindset is, he couldn't bear it.
"Mizukage-sama, please wait a moment. I'll go get it."
"No need to hurry, take your time."
Soon, Soma returned with Pioggia.
"Fuguki-senpai, please, just lightly touch it with your fingers, and you'll know if it's a fit."
Fuguki Suikazan nodded.
He reached out his hand and touched it.
No response.
This was inevitable.
Pioggia had already completed a contract with Suigetsu.
Moreover, Pioggia was a special presence among the ninja tools created by Soma. Without a contract, the power of the Shonisaurus couldn't be invoked, which meant it couldn't be used.
Now, there were only two people who could use Pioggia's power.
One was Suigetsu. The other was Soma.
However, Soma certainly couldn't tell anyone about the contract between Pioggia and Suigetsu.
"Chief Uehara, how is it?"
Fuguki Suikazan looked at Soma, his eyes showing some tension.
Soma shook his head.
"Unfortunately, it's not working."
Fuguki Suikazan released his fingers, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
Third Mizukage looked at Soma and said, "Soma, then Fuguki and I will take our leave."
"Goodbye, Mizukage-sama, Fuguki-senpai"
Fuguki Suikazan replied. "Goodbye, Chief Uehara," and added "Thank you for today, Chief Uehara."
"You're welcome, Senpai."
An ANBU ninja rocked the boat over, and Third Mizukage and Fuguki Suikazan boarded it.
Fuguki Suikazan still seemed puzzled.
"Mizukage-sama, why did you agree to let the Hozuki Clan take all the Seven Ninja Swords? Their reasons are untenable. Lord Second and the Great Blacksmith belong to the village, not solely to the Hozuki Clan."
Third Mizukage lowered his head, looking at the water's surface.
"The Hozuki Clan possesses scrolls that can summon those seven Ninjato. So, as long as they wish, they can find opportunities to take away those swords. The village can no longer afford to go through civil war."
"Moreover, launching a civil war against the Hozuki Clan for such reasons is insufficient."
"Furthermore..."
Third Mizukage's tone suddenly became somewhat solemn.
"The era of the Seven Ninja Swords has passed."
"Next, it will be the era of Zanpakuto and the Shinigami Squad in the Hidden Mist Village so let them enjoy their happiness while it lasts!"
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