Drip! Drip!
Inside the tower, once quiet and rainless, there suddenly came the chaotic sound of rainfall.
No… that wasn't rain.
It was an immense volume of blood, blood squeezed out by him, pouring down from above like floodgates thrown open, cascading in a relentless stream.
As the warm blood soaked their bodies, instead of comfort, a chilling cold seeped into everyone's hearts.
Soon, as Arata released the shadow restraints, the web above seemed to transform into a high-powered meat grinder.
Chunks of flesh mixed with blood rained down, splattering across the ground, the walls, and at the feet of the Rain and Konoha shinobi below.
Such brutality, even for battle-hardened ninjas, struck directly at their minds.
"…"
Hanzo looked up at the black shadow above and said in a deep voice, "You're saying… these people were all 'rats' who infiltrated the Land of Rain?"
What the other party was doing now clearly meant to show him something,
The Land of Rain had already become a target. The great nations had set their sights on him.
More and more spies were infiltrating, all aimed at the Hidden Rain Village and at him, the so-called legend.
This was far more terrifying than Konoha's empty words.
"There's more than just these."
Arata's gaze swept across the Rain shinobi behind Hanzo with a faint, knowing smile.
As if understanding something, a few people in the crowd subtly changed their expressions.
"And what exactly do you mean by this 'deal'?" Hanzo asked, not catching the deeper implication.
"What Konoha can give you, we can also give. What Konoha cannot give you, we can still provide."
Looking down at the crowd, Arata smiled. "I only want to see the Hanzo and the Hidden Rain Village that once dared to resist the hegemony of the Five Great Nations, for the sake of peace and dignity."
Exchanging points for food was dirt cheap, easily enough to satisfy the needs of the Hidden Rain.
Of course, Arata wasn't being kind.
He simply needed the ninja world to become more chaotic, needed the Land of Rain to once again become the center of great power conflicts.
Before Orochimaru could find the "space-time rift," he had to complete all preparations for creating the "Hollow World."
That included a large number of souls filled with resentment, and a method to absorb and control those souls.
Arata had no intention of letting the "Hollows" he created turn against him.
So he needed test subjects in advance.
And now, he already had candidates in mind.
'The Six Paths ninja tool, the 'ox of Ultimate Bliss from the movie Blood Prison, can absorb human obsessions and emotions. With some modification, it should work.'
'As for test subjects…'
'If I remember correctly, Sakumo Hatake and Rin Nohara couldn't enter the Pure Land because of their lingering attachments… and have been stuck between the ninja world and the Pure Land.'
'If I turned Sakumo and Rin into Hollows…'
'What expressions would Kakashi and Obito make?'
That thought… was rather amusing.
At this moment, Kakashi had no idea that the man above had already set his sights on his deceased father and friend.
"Tch."
Including Kakashi, everyone present froze when they heard Arata claim he could offer everything Konoha could.
Then, despite the oppressive, bloody atmosphere, someone actually laughed.
His tone was simply too arrogant.
Some things… couldn't be bought with money.
Only Kakashi sharply caught the word "we" in his statement, his heart tightening.
'So it wasn't just one person, it was an organization.'
'That "monster"… might be one of them.'
"Lord Hanzo."
Thinking this, Kakashi looked at Hanzo and said in a low voice, "You should think carefully, whether to trust this unknown individual… or Konoha and the Land of Fire."
At these words, Hanzo and the Rain shinobi, who had been slightly moved, fell silent again.
Kakashi's dull, lifeless eyes narrowed slightly. He was just about to signal for action,
But Hanzo's gaze suddenly turned cold, as if he had sensed his intent.
"Once you leave the Hidden Rain Village and the Land of Rain, I don't care what you do," Hanzo said coldly. "But if you dare act here…"
Kakashi frowned, momentarily held in place.
"I don't care whether you believe me or not."
Arata's tone lowered, turning heavy.
"I just want you to understand this, "
"As long as the shinobi of the great nations roam freely across your land… you, and your families, will never have a future."
"As long as you keep deceiving yourselves… as long as people from other countries still mock the Land of Rain with that same contemptuous laugh… you will never live as real human beings."
"As long as this crying country remains weak on the map of the ninja world… your dignity as humans will never exist."
"Your land trampled. Your villages devoured by war. Your loved ones dragged into slaughter. Your fields destroyed. Your homes burned."
"After every war… all you are left with is devastation, and mountains of corpses."
At this point, Arata paused, then looked at Hanzo and the others again.
"Hanzo, tell me now."
"Can you… and the people behind you… accept that outcome?"
Outside the tower, the sky was suddenly torn apart.
Lightning flashed, bleaching everything in white.
Only Arata's deep shadow stretched downward, enveloping both Konoha and Rain shinobi.
BOOM!
Thunder roared as the rain grew heavier, more violent.
Arata's words struck deep into the nerves of the Rain shinobi, stirring the most violent and restless hatred buried in their hearts.
Resentment, anger, hatred, flowing through their veins as if they had taken physical form.
The great nations had never treated them as people.
When wars ended and the great powers sat at negotiation tables dividing interests and signing peace treaties, the suffering of the Land of Rain was ignored, or glossed over.
All they cared about was balance and benefits.
The Land of Rain remained nothing more than a buffer zone, a battlefield.
The deaths of its people meant nothing.
The resentment and despair of the Rain people, like the endless rain itself, kept accumulating with no outlet.
Being used, abandoned, ignored, these experiences were the breeding ground of extremism and rebellion.
Just like the Hanzo of the past.
Just like the Akatsuki of the past.
Just like the future "Pain."
"Lord Hanzo, he's right!"
Shenda, eyes bloodshot, finally gathered the courage to speak.
"We want to live, yes, living is important. But we want to live with dignity and freedom, as real human beings!"
"What we want is not the condescending pity of great nations, nor survival begged on our knees, "
"We want dignity. We want peace for the Land of Rain!"
"You already proved it once, these things must be fought for, not begged!"
"I would rather die fighting against the great nations than become cannon fodder for those bastards!"
His words ignited the others.
"Lord Hanzo! Cooperating with Konoha is like seeking a tiger's skin!"1
"Lord Hanzo! The great nations have no credibility!"
"Lord Hanzo! Please lead us to fight again!"
'Damn it, we can't wait any longer!'
Kakashi looked up at the figure above. His dull eyes sharpened.
Behind his back, he made a hand signal.
Its meaning was clear... Prepare to attack.
...
1: Make a deal with someone whose basic nature is predatory, ruthless, or inherently opposed to your interests.