The ten loquats, covered in blood, fought their way out of the encirclement.
Tongcao Ye'erren ran in the lead.
As Suigetsu Hozuki ran, he kept looking back until he was sure that the Sand Village ninjas were not chasing him and that they were not far from the Hidden Mist army. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
But his complexion was still extremely unpleasant.
This plan has failed completely.
Not only did they fail to kill Yekura, they didn't even seriously injure her.
However, the Hidden Mist Village ninjas he led were all killed in pursuit by the Hidden Sand Village ninjas.
Only the three of them and a small number of others escaped.
The Watermelon Pufferfish Demon didn't blame himself for causing these people's deaths; rather, he felt that their deaths were meaningless.
The deaths of these people also served as irrefutable proof of the failure of their plan.
Once the news reaches Kirigakure, he will surely be punished.
For Suigetsu Hobutsuki, who was single-mindedly focused on improving himself, this was the last thing he wanted to see.
"Gengetsu Hozuki, it's all Gengetsu Hozuki's fault!"
But Hozuki Gengetsu is already dead, and Suigetsu Hozuki has no way to vent his pent-up anger on Hozuki Gengetsu.
"This Ghost Lantern Xuan Yue is very strange."
"Either he has a serious illness, or he did it on purpose."
Watermelon Mountain Fugu Demon narrowed his eyes, not intending to let the matter rest.
Hozuki Gengetsu is dead, but there might still be people in Kirigakure who he cared about.
Suddenly, a familiar figure came into the line of sight of Suigetsu Hozuki.
Suigetsu Hozuki remembered that this person was the captain of the squad that Hozuki Gengetsu used to belong to.
"May I have your name?"
"Replying to Lord Fugu Demon, my name is Kojima Kazuo."
Kojima Kazuo was somewhat uneasy.
Normally, Kazuo Kojima might not act this way, but Kirigakure had just experienced a failed operation, resulting in the deaths and injuries of dozens of elite ninjas.
This plan was devised by Suigetsu Hobutsuki.
Kazuo Kojima didn't think that Suigetsu Fuguki was looking for him because it was something good.
"Kazuo Kojima, how much do you know about Gengetsu Hozuki?"
Kojima Kazuo considered it carefully.
"Reporting to Lord Fuguki, Hozuki Gengetsu is usually very pretentious, as if the Hozuki clan is still the same as it was during the Second Mizukage's time. He doesn't show much respect to me, the captain."
"He was fond of ease and averse to work, and extremely greedy for credit."
Kojima Kazuo denigrated "Hozuki Gengetsu" as utterly worthless.
The Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon narrowed its eyes slightly.
"So, you think that Hozuki Gengetsu was the first to rush out and shout those words because he was greedy for credit?"
Kazuo Kojima nodded.
"That's right, Lord Fuguki, Hozuki Gengetsu is such a person."
Just then, another figure appeared.
He was a member of Kojima Kazuo's squad, specifically a teammate of "Hozuki Gengetsu".
"Lord Fugu Demon, I have something to report."
"explain."
The Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon looked over.
Kojima Kazuo had a subconscious premonition that things weren't going well.
"Lord Fuguki, I want to report Kojima Kazuo. During his tenure as captain of Hozuki Gengetsu, Kojima Kazuo repeatedly targeted, suppressed, and insulted Hozuki Gengetsu."
"Gengetsu Hozuki has suffered mental damage from being treated like this for so long,"
"I often see Hozuki Gengetsu muttering to himself, his eyes lifeless."
Kojima Kazuo's expression changed drastically. He looked at his teammate with a hostile gaze, wishing he could immediately strike and kill him.
However, Kazuo Kojima noticed that Suigetsu Hobutsuki was standing right next to him, staring at him coldly.
This made Kazuo Kojima completely afraid to move.
"Lord Fugu Demon, that's not how it is. This person is talking nonsense."
"He's talking nonsense, he's framing me, he's slandering me."
Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon's face was gloomy.
Now he finally understood why "Gengetsu Hozuki" did that.
"Gengetsu Hozuki" wasn't seriously ill or mentally unstable at all; he did it on purpose to take revenge on Kirigakure.
Because "Gengetsu Hozuki" deeply hates Kirigakure.
Besides the decline of the Hozuki clan, the more important factor was the long-term suppression and bullying by Captain Kazuo Kojima.
"I see!"
"So that's the reason!"
Suigetsu Hobutsuki calmly watched Kojima Kazuo.
"Master Pufferfish Ghost?"
Even though Suigetsu Hozuki had no expression and said nothing, Kojima Kazuo couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
One wave after another.
"Kazuo Kojima, do you know how long I've been preparing for this plan?"
"Do you know how much effort I've put into this plan?"
"My plan failed because of you."
"Dozens of elite ninjas died in one fell swoop."
"Kichio Kojima, you are a sinner of Kirigakure!"
"It's all because of you!"
Kazuo Kojima looked terrified and repeatedly tried to explain himself.
"Lord Fugu Demon, it's not my fault, it's all Hozuki Gengetsu's fault."
However, Suigetsu Hobutsuki completely ignored Kazuo Kojima's explanation.
From the moment the plan failed until now, fueled by pent-up anger, Suigetsu Hozuki has finally found the real culprit behind the whole thing. His eyes, fixed on Kojima Kazuo, are filled with icy killing intent.
"Die!"
Kazuo Kojima did not react.
Suigetsu Hozuki gripped the hilt of his greatsword Samehada and slashed fiercely down at Kojima Kazuo.
"Pfft!"
The sharkskin's sharp scales instantly sliced through Kojima Kazuo's flesh, piercing into his blood and flesh.
At the same time, an extremely strong attraction fell upon Kazuo Kojima.
Samehada's incredible chakra absorption ability nearly drained all of Kojima Kazuo's chakra in an instant, leaving him limp and powerless.
After all, Kazuo Kojima was only a Chunin.
However, the Watermelon Pufferfish Demon was still not satisfied.
Instead, he slashed down hard on Kojima Kazuo's neck with another blade.
"Pfft!"
A huge head flew up.
His eyes widened, filled with resentment and disbelief.
"No."
Kazuo Kojima never imagined that he would die because of bullying "Gengetsu Hozuki." But isn't the Hozuki clan now just for bullying?
It was only then that Suigetsu Hobutsu looked at the young man beside him.
"May I have your name?"
"Reporting to Lord Fugu Oni, my name is Taketori Yuga."
Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon nodded.
"From today onwards, you are the captain of the thirteenth squad."
"Yes, Lord Fugu Demon!"
I, the bamboo cutter, will stand tall with my chest held high.
He glanced in the direction of Kojima Kazuo's body and a smile appeared on his lips.
"Captain, farewell."
"Oh no, I'm the captain now!"
...
...
Sunagakure Village.
Rasa's consciousness returned to his body, and he couldn't help but touch his neck, recalling the scene and images before "Hozuki Gengetsu" died.
"My wife can be really ruthless when she gets going."
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