Chapter 142: Terumi Mei's Choice!

[Congratulations to the host for completing the mission.]

[Do you wish to leave the Dungeon Instance?]

"Leave!"

Soma silently thought.

In the next moment, a gravitational force descended upon everyone.

Before Terumi Mei and the others could react, this force had already brought everyone back to Forging Island.

Soma recalled the scene just now.

At the moment when the Zudomon Beast truly died, its entire body shattered into countless fragments of light, dissolving into the air without leaving any remains.

However, before its death, the Zudomon Beast seemed to regain its calmness.

Looking at Soma and the others, its gaze was no longer fierce but rather gentle.

It was as if it didn't blame Soma and the others.

There was even a sense of gratitude towards Soma and the others.

This left Soma somewhat astonished.

After the Zudomon Beast completely disappeared, a black gear remained on the beach, slowly fading away.

Only then did Soma understand why he had felt something unusual from the Zudomon Beast before.

"A black gear..."

Everyone returned to Forging Island.

All eyes were on the Skeleton Emperor.

Beside it, a phantom figure hovered in the air.

It was the Third Mizukage.

However, compared to the Third Mizukage in the previous dimensional replica, the current phantom of the Third Mizukage was much smaller.

The fatal blow dealt to the Zudomon Beast caused a significant depletion in the Third Mizukage.

The Third Mizukage had originally intended to keep the information of his "survival" known only to Soma and a few others.

But now that it had been seen, there was no need to hide anymore.

"Mizukage-sama?"

Kaguya Masui stared wide-eyed at the phantom of the Third Mizukage.

The Third Mizukage nodded.

"It's me."

"I wasn't missing; I was assassinated."

"The ones who attacked me were Ninja from Konoha, but they were Ninjas that Konoha has never shown before."

"Therefore, I conclude that Konoha must be harboring considerable power, with a great conspiracy at play."

"I am already dead, existing in this state purely by chance."

"To Konoha, it appears that I am also deceased."

"That's why I've hidden away, allowing Konoha to confirm the news of my death."

"In this way, Konoha might expose vulnerabilities."

"Only then does our Hidden Mist Village have a chance to evade Konoha's schemes."

"I don't know if our Hidden Mist Village has undercover spies from Konoha hidden among us."

"To be safe, that's why the news of my 'survival' hasn't been widely known."

"I hope today's events won't be shared with anyone else, understood?"

Everyone exchanged glances and nodded.

Seeing this, the Third Mizukage continued, "The fact that you're all here proves that you're trusted Ninja of the village. The future of the village depends on you."

"Let's end it here for today."

"Remember, what happened today must not be told to anyone else."

Everyone left the vacant forging room.

The soul of the Third Mizukage returned to the Skeleton Emperor for recovery.

Soma carried the Skeleton Emperor as a hidden trump card.

Originally, the Third Mizukage had thought if others could handle the Zudomon Beast, then there would be no need for him to intervene.

But the Zudomon Beast's defense was too strong.

If it were in a terrestrial environment, wearing it down through attrition might eventually defeat the Zudomon Beast.

However, in the sea, that's not achievable.

Soma glanced at the semi-transparent panel in front of him.

"939."

This number made Soma raise an eyebrow involuntarily.

"A one-time increase of more than 400 reputation points?"

"What a pleasant surprise indeed."

Soma knew that the Third Mizukage using the Skeleton Emperor would undoubtedly bring him reputation gains.

But he didn't expect it would be this much.

After all, this was only within the Dungeon Instance.

"I'm not far from 1000 points now."

"Perhaps I can wait until it's over 2000 points before doing the Lottery."

"First, let's see how much reputation the Blacksmith recruitment activities can bring me."

Soma's gaze turned towards the pile of materials stacked like a small mountain.

"Forging Zudomon's Hammer is no easy task."

"Even just smelting it alone will probably take quite a bit of time."

"The difficulty is one thing, but the quantity is another."

Initially, Soma had planned to recruit Blacksmiths while simultaneously forging Zudomon's Hammer.

By the time the Blacksmith recruitment was over, Zudomon's Hammer would be completed as well.

This way, he could showcase Zudomon's Hammer to the newly recruited Blacksmiths and reap reputation.

However, upon seeing the materials in front of him, Soma realized this was impossible.

"Let's start with smelting."

Soma took out a piece of material and placed it into the smelting furnace.

"Chakra Smelting Technique!"

Soma infused his own Fire Chakra into the furnace.

Immediately, the temperature around rose sharply.

Ao stood at the entrance of the forging room.

However, things were different from before.

Soma had relocated his actual forging activities to a deeper location, leaving the previous forging room vacant.

Ao was now guarding the previously vacant forging room.

To say he was guarding the door was more accurate than guarding the path.

Daida returned to his post.

He led the members of the guard team on patrol.

The another squad, when Ao was occupied with other matters, it was led by Kaguya Izumi.

In addition, Ameyuri Ringo, in addition to her training, also participated.

In fact, this is also a kind of learning.

As a ninja, it is unreasonable to just focus on training.

Ninjas actually face many more problems than in training, and a lot can be learned during patrols, because Kaguya Izumi and others are experienced ninjas.

In fact, during this time on Forging Island, Ameyuri Ringo has made great progress.

She has completely shifted from the direction of a medical ninja to that of a combat ninja.

In other words, Ameyuri Ringo is now qualified to go to the battlefield.

However, the specifics of what to do next depend on Ameyuri Ringo's own ideas and Mayuko Ringo's decision.

Kaguya Masui returned to the Kaguya Clan Compound.

Going upstairs and looking out the window, he gazed towards Forging Island.

Kaguya Masui smiled.

"Lord Third is still alive."

"And Chief Uehara has allowed me to participate in such an important activity."

"I've also signed the Summoning Contract."

"This serves as proof of identity."

"Now, even if Yagura-sama is displeased with the Kaguya Clan, the Kaguya Clan doesn't need to worry too much."

"The situation won't become worse than before."

"I am now part of Chief Uehara's camp."

"If, in the future, another member of the Kaguya Clan can gain recognition from Zanpakuto and join the Shinigami Squad, then the Kaguya Clan won't have to worry at all."

Kaguya Masui felt that this trip to Forging Island had been very rewarding.

"If Chief Uehara can forge more Zanpakuto in the future."

"I, representing the Kaguya Clan, firmly stand by Chief Uehara's side. Perhaps we can even return the Kaguya Clan to a time long ago when there were no conflicts or disputes with the village."

"In that case, I would have no regrets."

"I would have fulfilled my duty to the Kaguya Clan."

"But..."

Kaguya Masui couldn't help but worry again, thinking about the intelligence Third Mizukage revealed about Konoha.

"Konoha hides things very well."

"If Lord Third was killed by Konoha's ninja, then likely the Third Kazekage was as well."

"But now, Hidden Sand Village is a close ally of Konoha."

A figure entered.

"Clan Head, the documents you requested have been organized."

Kaguya Masui turned to look at the woman.

"Thank you for your hard work."

The woman shook her head.

"Clan Head, this is what I should be doing."

The woman noticed the concern on Kaguya Masui's face.

"Clan Head, are you worried about the Fourth Generation Sama succeeding as Mizukage and the impact it might have on our Kaguya Clan?"

Kaguya Masui instinctively wanted to explain.

But as the words reached his lips, he realized he couldn't mention anything about Third Mizukage, so he forcefully swallowed them back down.

Finding other excuses could also explain it.

But telling one lie requires more lies to cover up.

If that's the case, then it's better not to say anything at all.

The woman hesitated for a moment and approached.

"Clan Head, don't worry too much. We, the Kaguya Clan, have persevered through situations like Kaguya Neko's before."

"Everything will surely be fine."

"Clan Head, don't keep everything burdened on your own heart."

"We will all support you."

The woman reached out and held Kaguya Masui's hand firmly.

Perhaps this was her way of giving strength to Kaguya Masui?

Kaguya Masui's body stiffened slightly.

"Alright."

Afterward, he calmly withdrew his hand from the woman's grasp.

The woman's expression dimmed.

"Clan Head, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's not your fault; it's mine."

...

Terumi Mei walked towards her home, lost in thought.

Today, she had encountered too much information to process all at once.

"Forging Master Spiritual Land... missions... Lord Third is still alive... the powerful Skeleton Emperor... Is this a Zanpakuto?... What conspiracy is Konoha hiding?... Who are the Konoha ninjas who killed Lord Third?"

Until she returned home, Terumi Mei couldn't snap out of it.

She almost bumped into the door.

"Mei!"

Genji's voice echoed.

"Sensei."

Upon hearing his voice, Terumi Mei regained her focus and looked at Genji.

"Why do you look so absent-minded?"

"I'm sorry, Sensei, I can't say."

Genji raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Not even to me?"

Terumi Mei lowered her head.

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