Ike Masaya ultimately did not run away out of guilt. He instructed Kuroda to stay put and warned him to run if there was any commotion, then went to Mokgetsu's temporary residence.
"Lord Sosuke, shouldn't you lay low for a while? Some people have exaggerated your reputation, setting you on the same level as Half-God Hanzo. Now, not only have ninjas from various organizations come, but even those from the Rain Village."
Ike Masaya spoke to Mokgetsu with a serious expression, tinged with a bit of regret, as if saddened by the potential loss of future lessons from Mokgetsu.
"Is that so? Who do you think exaggerated my reputation?" Mokgetsu asked, smiling as he looked at Ike Masaya.
Mokgetsu's gaze seemed to see through everything, which made Ike Masaya a bit uneasy, yet his expression remained unchanged, still appearing considerate of Mokgetsu.
"Write down your thoughts on war and peace and give them to me before I leave," Mokgetsu said, then headed toward the village entrance.
Regardless of Ike Masaya's intentions, he had essentially exceeded Mokgetsu's task.
Notifying Mokgetsu to flee after realizing the magnitude of the situation showed he still had some conscience.
Thus, Mokgetsu was willing to give Ike Masaya an opportunity, one enough to affect the trajectory of his life.
Before those ninjas approached Xiaozhen Village, Mokgetsu had already sensed their presence, having earlier used Byakugan to assess their strength.
Most of the wandering ninjas were Genin, not posing any threat to him, and then there were some ninjas from organizations and Chunin from the Hidden Rain; there were even fewer Jonin, besides Yahiko's trio, only one borderline Jonin from the Rain Village.
"Aren't you considering laying low? Some ninjas seem hostile, like they're looking for trouble," Ike Masaya reminded.
"Actually, your promotion was not exaggerated," Mokgetsu gave Ike Masaya a meaningful smile.
With Mokgetsu's current strength, being on par with Hanzo was not an exaggeration.
This left Ike Masaya, who was ready to flee, in a dilemma.
Mokgetsu seemed very confident, but Ike Masaya feared Mokgetsu might be overestimating his own strength out of blind confidence.
"Forget it, let's wait and see," Ike Masaya, pondering for a while, decided to stay.
Anyway, from Mokgetsu's present demeanor, it seemed unlikely that he would settle scores with him, and if something did happen, he and his good brother could just escape together.
"Where is Ninja Master Sosuke? Wasn't he supposed to teach Ninjutsu? Could this all be a scam?" asked a diligent wandering ninja.
"Daring to compare himself with Lord Hanzo; I want to see how capable he really is," grumbled an ardent fan of Hanzo.
Due to the large number of gathered ninjas, the scene was quite noisy. Those who had attended the lessons previously couldn't maintain the order due to their insufficient strength.
Nagato frowned; he wasn't fond of such a noisy environment.
Yahiko, however, thrived among the chaos, even introducing the great goals of the Akatsuki to an unfamiliar ninja nearby, "Brother, have you heard of the Akatsuki?"
"I've heard of it, but I'm not interested in learning about it," the nearby ninja politely declined.
"Don't rush; once I finish telling you about our Akatsuki's dreams, you'll see us in a new light," Yahiko continued with enthusiasm.
"Yahiko, weren't you here to recruit that Sosuke?" Konan said as she saw the wandering ninja around Yahiko begin to show signs of impatience.
"The primary target is Uncle Sosuke, but with so many ninjas here, this is a great opportunity for the Akatsuki to boost its strength," Yahiko replied to Konan.
Just as Yahiko was about to continue sharing the grand ideals of the Akatsuki with that wandering ninja, he found that with just a single glance back, the ninja had disappeared without a trace.
"Hello, everyone, it seems someone was looking for me. I am Sosuke," Mokgetsu announced as he walked into an open area where the crowd had gathered.
Instantly, all eyes turned to Mokgetsu, scrutinizing this audacious Ninja Master with curiosity.
They couldn't help but use the word "audacious" to describe him; equating oneself with Hanzo in the Land of Rain was akin to claiming parity with Senju Hashirama in the Land of Fire.
"Are you the self-proclaimed Ninja Master who compares himself to Lord Hanzo?" A ninja with orange hair stepped out with an unfriendly face to question.
"I am indeed Sosuke, but Ninja Master is not a title I gave myself," Mokgetsu nodded.
"The point is that you dare to think you can be compared to Lord Hanzo," the orange-haired ninja said indignantly, then unleashed his Chakra, stomping on the ground, causing cracks to spiderweb from the force.
The ninjas around the orange-haired ninja showed surprise and distanced themselves, clearly recognizing that this one was here to stir trouble and possessed significant strength.
Ike Masaya, seeing this, pulled Kuroda back to a certain distance, positioning himself protectively in front of the other ninjas.
"You're free to think that way," to everyone's surprise, Mokgetsu didn't rush to argue or refute, instead tacitly acknowledging the orange-haired ninja's statement.
The ninjas from the Rain Village in the crowd frowned; too arrogant. Their Lord Hanzo was recognized as a strongman by the entire Ninja World.
If not for the formidable strength displayed by the orange-haired ninja, the Rain Village's Jonin would've likely stepped forward to test Mokgetsu's strength.
Since someone else was willing to do it, the Rain Village Jonin was happy to sit back and watch.
"Let me, Kurosaki Ichigo, see how capable you are to dare compare yourself with Lord Hanzo!" Kurosaki Ichigo snorted coldly, unleashing his Chakra, and the aura emanating from him spread around.
The Rain Village Jonin felt the oppressive force emanating from Kurosaki Ichigo's body and showed a look of surprise. This was much stronger than him.