Because the Hozuki Clan invested too many resources and efforts into Hozuki Mangetsu.
It's like an investment, but it went bankrupt.
On the other side, in the Hidden Sand Village, Sasori of the red sand, faces a similar situation.
Carrying the title of a genius puppetry master and being Chiyo's grandson, he was born with talent.
Many people thought Sasori of the red sand would be a suitable candidate for the Fourth Kazekage.
But the sudden disappearance of the Third Kazekage forced the Hidden Sand Village to choose Rasa as his successor.
Because Sasori of the red sand was too young, lacked strength, and didn't have enough experience.
At this point, many in the Hidden Sand Village believed Sasori of the red sand could not become the Fourth Kazekage but would make an excellent candidate for the Fifth Kazekage.
However, Sasori of the red sand disappointed their expectations.
Before the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, Sasori of the red sand would occasionally leave quietly but always returned.
After the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, Sasori of the red sand never returned.
All the resources and efforts invested in Sasori of the red sand by the Hidden Sand Village were in vain.
And when the future inhabitants of the Hidden Sand Village learn that the Third Kazekage was killed by Sasori of the red sand, they will only regret even more the village's investment in him.
The resources required for puppetry masters are much greater than those for normal ninjas.
In terms of the relationship between siblings, Bluebell and Hozuki Suigetsu share a great similarity.
"But now, Hozuki Suigetsu should only be one or two years old."
"Older than Naruto and Sasuke, but not by much."
"Sasuke has already been born, but Naruto hasn't."
"Based on previous experiences, there should be no problem with the compatibility between Pioggia and Hozuki Suigetsu."
"But there are two issues."
"One is that forming a contrat between Hozuki Suigetsu and Pioggia cannot be realized in a short time; it requires a long period of growth, much longer than Ameyuri Ringo, and cannot provide much help to the Hidden Mist Village."
"The second is that the ninja tool cannot be fully demonstrated, so the boost to my reputation isn't as significant..."
"Never mind, let's see how many enforcers are needed."
Uehara Soma once again pulled out the Blueprint and looked down.
There were two blank hexagram patterns on it.
"Two enforcers."
"Ao-senpai counts as one."
"Kisame and Juzo-senpai are both absent."
"Waiting would be unnecessary."
"Should I bring just one enforcer, or recruit another one?"
Uehara Soma hesitated.
A figure appeared on Forging Island.
The shark-faced youth now exuded a bit more fierceness compared to before.
"Soma."
"Kisame."
Uehara Soma took a few steps forward as Hoshigaki Kisame approached.
On the other side, Ao also stepped forward.
"Who's this?"
Hoshigaki Kisame appraised Ameyuri Ringo.
"This is Ameyuri Ringo, Juzo-senpai's disciple and Mayuko-senpai's granddaughter," Uehara Soma introduced.
Hoshigaki Kisame nodded, exchanged greetings, then turned his attention elsewhere.
Excitedly, he began recounting his experiences on the battlefield to Soma.
"Soma, do you know? Those Konoha ninjas actually gave me the nickname 'Bloodthirsty Shark', it sounds so unpleasant."
"I heard that the naming ability of Konoha's 'Golden Flash' is extremely poor, and since Hatake Kakashi is his disciple, maybe he's the one who came up with this nickname for me."
"I'll have to find an opportunity to change this nickname in the future."
Uehara Soma smiled.
"Indeed, it's not a flattering nickname, but Kisame, being given a nickname by the enemy proves that your strength has gained their recognition and instilled fear in them."
"I remember, even Konoha's Hatake Kakashi doesn't seem to have a nickname yet."
Hoshigaki Kisame shook his head.
"Just a title of genius."
"But there are so many geniuses."
"Even that Sarutobi Asuma can be called a genius, but in reality, Sarutobi Asuma is not as good as that little demon Momochi Zabuza, it's just that he has the identity of the Hokage's son."
Hoshigaki Kisame continued, "This time on the battlefield, I killed many Konoha ninjas."
"Mizukage-sama told me that based on my current performance, I could be given the title of Jonin."
Uehara Soma immediately offered his congratulations.
The strength of a Jonin level and the title of Jonin are two different things.
Just like in the original plot of Naruto.
His strength had already surpassed that of elite Jonin, but he still carried the title of a Genin.
Many people in Konoha were like this.
Hence, there's a saying—kill Konoha's Jonin casually, but don't provoke Konoha's Genin.
Uehara Soma now possesses the strength of a Special Jonin, but his ninja title remains Genin.
However, Uehara Soma doesn't need it now.
As the head of the forging department, ninja titles are no longer relevant.
"It's all thanks to you, Soma, for crafting the Kiriichimonji," said Hoshigaki Kisame.
"The power of Kiriichimonji is strong. Even though they may have the intelligence on it, they still fear it. Except for a few, not many dare to engage me in close combat."
"Moreover, because of the power changes brought by Kiriichimonji, I can now participate in more High-level battles."
"This has brought me many gains."
"Now I can attach the Chakra Absorption Technique to long-range Water Release."
"The effect is slightly inferior compared to close combat, but it can still threaten many."
"By the way, Soma, I heard about the Dragon-Bone incident..."
Hoshigaki Kisame comfortingly patted Uehara Soma's shoulder.
"I never expected Kaguya Neko to be that kind of person, stealing the Dragon-Bone you crafted, and killing so many members of the Kaguya Clan. He's utterly ruthless, inhuman."
"Don't be too upset, Soma."
"Since Mizukage-sama has issued a warrant, Kaguya Neko won't be able to swagger around for long."
"I heard that Kaguya Hikari and others have already left the battlefield to search for Kaguya Neko."
"Their actions are somewhat irresponsible towards their comrades on the battlefield and go against the village's orders, which could affect the village's interests and the situation on the battlefield."
"But they are all elite members of the Kaguya Clan, so there's a high probability they can defeat Kaguya Neko and bring back the Dragon-Bone to the village."
Hoshigaki Kisame didn't know the truth about the Kaguya Neko incident and Uehara Soma didn't explain.
"I didn't pay much attention."
However, Uehara Soma felt it was unlikely that Kaguya Hikari and others would kill Kaguya Neko and bring back the Dragon-Bone, as mentioned by Hoshigaki Kisame.
There were more than just Kaguya Neko targeting the Kaguya Clan.
The Third Mizukage would never allow Kaguya Hikari and others to return alive to the Hidden Mist Village.
Otherwise, all previous efforts against the Kaguya Clan would be in vain.
Kaguya Hikari and others' dereliction of duty conveniently allowed the Third Mizukage to deploy ANBU ninjas.
It's highly probable that Kaguya Hikari and the others have already been killed.
"Kisame, besides Hatake Kakashi, is there anyone else worth your attention on the battlefield?"
Hoshigaki Kisame thought for a moment.
"Konoha has quite a few top-tier fighters, actually."
"From the Three Sannin: Orochimaru, Jiraiya."
"The 'Golden Flash' Minato Namikaze."
In this aspect, we, the Hidden Mist Village, have to admit a slight disadvantage. However, the number of our core ninjas in the Hidden Mist Village is greater than that of Konoha, and Konoha has more enemies."
"Not only are they in conflict with our Hidden Mist Village, but also with the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Rock Village."
"Previously, we had the support of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
"After the defeat of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, we experienced a period of instability and disadvantage."
"But fortunately, Yagura Senpai stepped up."
"Among the younger generation on Konoha's side, aside from Hatake Kakashi, there's someone worth noting. I know there's Uchiha Shisui, who is quite young but strong."
"It's said that he's a genius among the younger generation of the Uchiha clan."
"Not yet ten years old, already excelling in Body Flicker Jutsu,"
Uehara Soma's brow twitched slightly.
Uchiha Shisui, that's a familiar name to Uehara Soma.
In the original plot, he didn't appear much, but his presence was strong.
Moreover, concerning the Kaguya Clan's situation, the sense of familiarity that Uehara Soma felt from Kaguya Masui came from Uchiha Shisui. Uehara Soma felt that the two were very similar.
Their stance, attitude, thoughts, were all alike.
Even their names were similar.
Hoshigaki Kisame continued, "I heard he has already activated his Sharingan."
"In the future, this Uchiha Shisui might very well become a major adversary for our Hidden Mist Village."
With that thought, Hoshigaki Kisame suddenly had a bizarre idea.
"Soma, they say that our Hidden Mist Village's Kaguya Clan and Konoha's Uchiha Clan are quite similar."
"Do you think if there was someone in the Uchiha Clan similar to Kaguya Neko, there's a possibility of heavy damage to the Uchiha Clan? Does such a possibility exist?"
"If that were the case, it would be great."
Without knowing the truth, on the surface, Kaguya Neko does indeed seem ruthless.
Hoshigaki Kisame doesn't want someone like that in the Hidden Mist Village.
Even though Hoshigaki Kisame himself doesn't like the Kaguya Clan.
But to Hoshigaki Kisame, the Kaguya Clan is still a part of the Hidden Mist Village.
However, concerning the Uchiha, Hoshigaki Kisame even hopes for someone like that to appear.
"It's possible."
Uehara Soma said.
But in his heart, Uehara Soma was thinking—not that it's possible, but that something like that will indeed happen.
As long as there isn't too significant of a butterfly effect caused by him.
Uehara Soma felt that the likelihood of him influencing the Uchiha clan massacre was slim.
One reason was that Uehara Soma belonged to the Hidden Mist Village; it wasn't plausible for him to involve himself in the affairs of the Uchiha.
The second reason was that even if he did get involved, it might not change anything.
After all, the conflicts between the Uchiha and the Konoha Elders were longstanding, not just a recent development.
Many things were not coincidental but predestined.
"Kisame, have you already returned to the Hoshigaki Clan?"
Hoshigaki Kisame nodded.
"I've already returned."
Hoshigaki Kisame couldn't help but quip,
"I originally didn't want to come back this time. The time had come, but according to Mizukage-sama, as long as I wanted, I could continue to stay on the battlefield."
"But my family asked me to return. I also heard about the Kaguya Clan's situation, so I hurried back, thinking that my family might also have been affected by the Kaguya Neko incident."
"I didn't expect that when they asked me to come back, it was actually to betroth me to a woman from the Karatachi clan."
Upon hearing this, Uehara Soma was also taken aback.
Uehara Soma remembered that in the original storyline, Hoshigaki Kisame didn't have any fiancée.
He only had some interaction with a female shinobi from the Intelligence Division during Konoha's intelligence transport missions.
Hoshigaki Kisame showed no interest in women.
But after some thought, Uehara Soma thought it was reasonable for the Hoshigaki clan to arrange this.
The Hoshigaki clan was a small ninja clan, but still a ninja clan.
For ninja clans, offspring and inheritance were crucial.
Moreover, compared to the original storyline, the current Kisame's performance was much more excellent.
In the original storyline, Kisame's performance among the younger generation of the Hidden Mist Village was indeed commendable, but in terms of reputation, he couldn't compare to someone like Kakashi.
Now, Kisame's reputation in the ninja world surpasses Kakashi's.
"Bloodthirsty Shark!"
"Eighth Blade of the Mist!"
It can be said that as long as he doesn't fall, everyone will believe that Hoshigaki Kisame in the future can become one of the renowned ninjas in the ninja world and enter the ranks of the Hidden Mist Village Elders.
Therefore, the Hoshigaki clan is particularly concerned about Kisame's marital status.
Other ninja clans are also interested in Kisame.
Uehara Soma pondered inwardly.
"The Hoshigaki clan definitely wants to leverage Kisame to expand the family's influence and enhance its strength."
"So, another good ninja clan alliance is a good choice."
"Family alliances create mutual benefit groups."
"And the reason for choosing the Karatachi clan is probably because of Yagura Karatachi."
Just as Kisame said.
After the defeat of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Hidden Mist Village's morale plummeted to the bottom, the front line kept retreating, and the situation fell into disadvantage. It was indeed Yagura who stood up at this time.
The situation hasn't been reversed, but at least it's being held up.
After that, there was the "young generation's battle" arranged by the Third Mizukage.
Thanks to the performances of Kisame and Zabuza, some momentum was gained.
As for entering the village Elders, Yagura is a sure bet.
Moreover, with the Third Mizukage being old, among the ninjas of the Hidden Mist Village, after the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist suffered a disastrous defeat, it seems that only Yagura is qualified to succeed as Mizukage.
It's quite normal for the Hoshigaki clan to seek marriage with the Karatachi clan.
"Now that the war is not over and the situation is uncertain, how can I waste time on such matters?"
"To come back for such trivial matters."
"People of the clan are narrow-minded."
Uehara Soma didn't agree with Kisame, but said,
"They may have such thoughts, which is understandable. By the way, Kisame, do you have a girl you like?"
The people in this world matures early so Kisame could already considered to be of age.
"I don't."
Hoshigaki Kisame said firmly, "I just want to become stronger, help the village, and win this war."
Then, Kisame looked at Uehara Soma with a doubtful expression.
"Soma, you're not starting to like some girl, are you?"
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