Gonggong (共工), in Chinese mythology, is a water god known for his destructive nature and association with cosmic disasters.
The moment Su Mu appeared, the entire tavern erupted in cheers.
"Master Su is so handsome! Almost as much as me!"
"Can't wait! Hurry up and begin!"
Su Mu gave a small smile, opened his folding fan, and took a seat on the high platform.
A pot of tea was already waiting on the table—everything was prepared.
"Everyone, please settle down,"he said calmly."Today's story is titled… Immortality."
At that, the tavern fell completely silent.
In the corner, Orochimaru's golden snake-like eyes snapped open.
"Imm… immortality?!"
Su Mu continued,
"The protagonist of this tale is named Zhong Shan, an ordinary man from a world called Blue Star."
"He was transported into a small cultivation realm, where he learned that the path to eternal life truly existed."
"Though his talent was abysmal, he lived to eighty through sheer determination and business genius, building a massive commercial empire."
"He adopted over a hundred sons, raising them with the hope that one day they would enter the immortal sects and acquire a pill that could help him break through to the Innate Realm."
Gasps and wide eyes filled the tavern.
In the Shinobi World, there were only two types of people—shinobi, and civilians.
Shinobi could refine their bodies' energy into chakra, or absorb natural energy to produce more.
Civilians… could do neither.
But hearing about a path to true immortality had planted wild, dangerous seeds of thought in everyone's mind.
And this was just the beginning.
Su Mu's next words made Orochimaru's entire body tense with uncontrollable emotion.
"So, what is immortality?"
"To understand the heavens and step onto the path of Qi Refining—that is the road to eternal life."
"In this world, there existed a group known as Cultivators—practitioners who sought immortality. They absorbed the energy of the heavens and earth, known as spiritual qi, and comprehended the laws of the dao."
"With each breakthrough, their lifespan extended—by decades, centuries, thousands, even tens of thousands of years!"
The moment he said that, disbelief erupted from the crowd.
"Come on! That sounds like a fairy tale!"
"So what, they just suck in air and live for ten thousand years?"
Su Mu ignored the noise and kept going.
"And that's not all. High-level cultivators could fly on swords, and those at the Great Ascension Realm could traverse the entire ninja world in a single day."
Orochimaru's eyes blazed with intensity.
Because what Su Mu described—was the very thing he had chased for most of his life.
He had researched countless methods of achieving immortality, and the best he could manage was soul transference via body-hopping.
But every transfer became more painful, and the time he gained in each new body grew shorter.
In his lab, Orochimaru had even mapped the human body part by part.
"I once theorized that another kind of energy exists in this world…"
"But no matter what I tried, I couldn't tap into it."
He clenched his fist, a rare trace of regret flickering across his face.
Next to him, Kabuto sat frozen in awe.
If what Su Mu said was true… then in comparison, chakra, ninjutsu, even bloodlines—were utterly meaningless.
"Tch! Master Su, your stories are getting more and more ridiculous!"
"If that kind of power existed, what's the point of being a ninja?!"
"I came all this way for this? I want my money back!"
"Live for ten thousand years? What kind of joke is this?!"
The tavern exploded into shouts and grumbling.
But Su Mu remained calm, sipping tea as if none of it bothered him.
"Master Su,"Orochimaru suddenly spoke from the corner,"if these cultivators really became gods—can you name a few?"
The crowd quieted instantly.
Su Mu calmly set down his teacup and answered.
"When the world was first formed, the gods were born from heaven and earth. I can name two of the oldest."
"In the northwest sea, at the far edge of the world, lies a mountain that once stood as a pillar supporting the heavens—it's called Mount Buzhou."
"One of the gods is Gonggong, the Water Deity, a sovereign of the ancient era who controlled the waters of the world. He was angered and deliberately struck Mount Buzhou. The impact caused the mountain to collapse, which in turn damaged the heavens and created a tilt in the earth's surface, causing rivers to flow towards the southeast."
"The other is Zhurong, the Fire Deity, lord of all flame."
"These two gods have lifespans of several million years… and they still live to this day."
The moment Su Mu said that—
"PFFFF—HAHAHAHA!"
A loud laugh rang out from the entrance.
Everyone turned.
A tall man stood there, dressed in a black cloak with red clouds, his back carrying a massive sword wrapped in bandages. His skin was bluish, shark-like.
He grinned with jagged teeth.
"Kisame Hoshigaki?!"
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. The name instantly surfaced in his memory.
He had studied the Akatsuki in depth to protect Naruto.
And if Kisame was here… it meant Uchiha Itachi couldn't be far behind.
"This is bad…"
Jiraiya glanced at Naruto beside him, heart heavy.
Kisame walked calmly into the center of the tavern, staring up at Su Mu with a shark-like grin.
"Water God, huh?"
"Funny. Tell me something—can your Gonggong use Water Style?"
Suddenly—a cloud of crows burst from the ceiling, scattering in every direction.
Panic spread through the tavern as patrons fled in terror.
Su Mu merely smiled and flicked his fan.
"Scatter."
A wave of chakra pressure exploded from his body.
In an instant, the crows were blown away—not a feather remained.
From within the dispersing crows, a figure with crimson eyes slowly stepped forward.
"Such powerful chakra…"
Even Jiraiya was startled. His eyes widened.
"Wait... Master Su knows ninjutsu?!"
"What're you talking about?! That wasn't a jutsu—that was raw chakra pressure!"
"That's insane…"
Tsunade stared at Su Mu in shock.
She had thought he was just a traveling storyteller.
But now?
"I… I really can't see through him anymore."
Su Mu took a slow sip of tea.
Looking down at Kisame and Uchiha Itachi, he smiled faintly.
"The two of you don't seem to be here for good news."
Kisame scoffed, gripping his sword Samehada.
"Stories about you are spreading across the whole ninja world."
"I came here out of curiosity."
"They say no one in the ninja world has stronger Water Style than me."
"But then I hear about a so-called 'Water God'?"
"Your story was great—until it turned into a joke."
The atmosphere thickened like smoke.
Most of the crowd didn't know what was going on—only that a fight might break out at any second.
In truth, Kisame and Itachi hadn't come to pick a fight with Su Mu.
They had followed the trail of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—Naruto.
But just as they arrived, Kisame overheard Su Mu's story… and couldn't resist stepping in.
Meanwhile, beside him, Itachi's Sharingan spun quietly—locked directly on Naruto.