After killing Suigetsu Hozuki, Mizuki immediately returned to the Hidden Cloud Village.

Mizuki himself did not directly participate in the subsequent operation to hunt down Shigeo, but only checked the results of the physical clone's processing through mental connection.

In comparison, when Chougo transformed into a murderous demon, his resistance was much more fierce than that of Hozuki Suigetsu.

In addition to the fact that Mizuki's real body was not present, the biggest reason was that the cursed Chougo was better at dealing with "non-humans" instead of relying solely on weapons to show his strength in front of the weak like ordinary swordsmanship.

In the cursed state, Shigeo's recovery ability and instantaneous explosive power left a deep impression on Mizuki. It took the four physical clones a lot of effort to completely destroy Shigeo's vitality.

Especially the gun barrel formed by the mutated arm, which fired continuous chakra shells with astonishing power. If it weren't for the fact that space ninjutsu could sometimes escape the attack range at any time, the physical clone might have suffered serious injuries.

Comparing the resumes of these two people, Shigeo is kind and simple at heart, and is a person who can live in harmony with nature; while Hozuki Suigetsu is a child prodigy who has been called "the reincarnation of a demon" since he was a child. He has a strong obsession with "cutting off" and his fighting methods are cruel. Many enemies who were defeated by him had their hands and feet chopped off and then beheaded by him.

But in fact, Jūgo killed far more people than Hozuki Hozuki. Although he lost control and killed people after the curse went out of control, his negligence cannot change the fact that he committed countless unforgivable crimes.

There are very few ninjas who are perfect and without fault, and they all have the fate of dying to some extent.

"Master Okisuke, as a samurai, what do you think about killing people?"

"Be loyal to peace, unite with sword and man, never give up, and never regret even if you die!"

Well, asking these stubborn warriors is just asking for trouble.

"Is this what it means to kill those who need to be killed for the sake of ideals and goals?"

"almost!"

Okisuke nodded.

"This is the teaching of Master Mifune. A samurai relies on faith to persist in training, hone himself, and explore his own potential. Now our goal is to protect peace!"

This answer did not surprise Shuimu.

Killing for justice, belief, truth, to help others, for companionship, for friends, for self-defense or even for revenge, in essence, is not that different.

Nagato chose to kill in order to eliminate pain and war; Uchiha Obito destroyed the world for love; Uchiha Madara killed countless people for the sake of peace in the ninja world, just to escape into illusion and avoid pain.

Either killing for oneself, or killing for others or for justice, it is always just an excuse and means to justify one's own behavior.

What about Mizuki himself?

Self-preservation, family affection, and friendship?

All of them!

salvation?

This may be true. People are always unsatisfied and will always unconsciously pursue higher levels of self-satisfaction.

But one thing is certain, Shuimu will never kill or be killed for the so-called ideals of others.

The strong ones who can reach the top of the ninja world are those who have ideas and the power to impose their will on others.

If you don’t want to become a victim of other people’s dreams, you have to eliminate those who conflict with your goals.

Now that you have stepped onto this stage, there is no turning back.

"I want to become stronger!"

Thinking of this, Shuimu couldn't help but laugh!

"Mr. Shuimu, do you have a different opinion about us?"

Okisuke asked Mizuki, who didn't agree, with some displeasure.

"Ah, sorry, I was rude. I didn't mean to mock the way of the samurai. I just couldn't help but think of some past events."

In comparison, Mizuki envied people like these dull-headed samurai or Uzumaki Naruto even more. Being able to stick to the beliefs he held without any doubt was an incredible talent in the ninja world.

Okisuke did not delve into Mizuki's explanation. There were some inconsistencies in the concepts between samurai and ninja.

"We failed in this mission, and the Raikage still hasn't changed his mind. Should we leave now?"

"Ah, well! I have indeed been nagging for too long."

Two days ago, Mizuki felt a familiar and powerful chakra fluctuation entering the Hidden Cloud Village. That should be the Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yubokuto.

Not long after that, he left again and his whereabouts are unknown.

Not only that, Darui has also had unusually frequent contact with Shuimu in the past two days, as if he wanted to obtain some information.

However, Mizuki didn't care much about it. There were very few people in the ninja world who could hold Mizuki accountable. As far as he knew, there was no one in the Hidden Cloud Village who deserved his special attention.

There were people who could distinguish between the physical clone and the original body, but the ninjas who were watching from afar did not have this ability, and the two samurai knew even less.

After Shuimu returns, it will be impossible to find any clues.

"Since the Hidden Cloud Village isn't too enthusiastic, let's just forget about it this time. Good intentions sent to one's doorstep are always ignored."

"Well, let's just call it a test this time. We'll have another chance to meet again in the future!"

The Iron Country, as the central party, is the main force in the negotiations, so Mizuki will not get involved. Now is not the time to have in-depth exchanges with the Hidden Cloud Village.

…

A week later, Mizuki said goodbye to Okisuke and Rikkaku after walking out of the border of the Land of Lightning. He did not use the Flying Thunder God Technique to return, but like an ordinary traveling ninja, it took him quite some time to return to Konoha Village.

After submitting the mission report to Tsunade as soon as possible, he answered some questions as a matter of routine. At the same time, he handed in the proof of mission completion - Jūgo's body, and the mission was completed. As for Kizuki, all that was left was the two long swords that had been completely scrapped, and the Mist Ninja rebel forehead protector that had been melted by the flames and was almost unrecognizable.

"The strange-looking corpse is unrecognizable, and the belongings are hard to identify. It's not difficult to be cautious when dealing with it, right?"

Tsunade complained casually.

"I didn't stop myself right away. I'm sorry!"

"Forget it. I sent you there just to be on the safe side. Since we didn't run into any key figures, this is the only option."

Several key members who were targeted did not show up, and the importance of the mission dropped sharply. However, the Raikage did not flatly refuse the accompanying diplomatic mission, but instead showed signs of hesitation, which was an unexpected surprise.

As long as the mission is completed, Shuimu’s trip will not be in vain.

"Excuse me, is Master Jiraiya back?"

Tsunade shook her head.

"It's already this late, it should be about time. I don't know what he's dawdling about..."

Summer is here again, the days of careless preparation are over, and it’s almost time for the protagonists to be in place.