By the time Hatani arrived, Minato was already locked in a bitter struggle. His opponent was alone, yet the pressure was immense.
The surrounding landscape bore witness to the violence. The earth was gouged with jagged scars, littered with shredded flak jackets, scattered shuriken, broken blades, and splatters of fresh blood. It was clear that Minato hadn't been the only one fighting moments ago.
Nearby, the Hokage Guard lay in ruins. Of the three, two were sprawled in pools of their own blood, their fates unknown. The third, his face as pale as parchment from blood loss, was barely standing, acting as a final human shield for Hiruzen Sarutobi. The Hokage himself was down, a kunai buried in his chest. His skin was tinged with a sickly dark hue—a clear sign of potent poison.
However, the source of that poison wasn't a Suna ninja as Hatani had initially expected. It was someone he never thought he'd see here.
Hanzo of the Salamander! What the hell is he doing here? Shouldn't he have fled back to the Land of Rain with his broken army?
Hatani was stunned, but beyond the shock, a cold suspicion began to crawl up his spine.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength was top-tier. On the main battlefield, Hanzo hadn't just failed to gain any ground; Hiruzen had heavily wounded his summon, Ibuse, crippling the legend's combat effectiveness. How could Hanzo, acting alone, have slaughtered two elite guards and mortally wounded the Third Hokage?
Despite his racing thoughts, Hatani didn't hesitate. He lunged forward to back Minato up.
While Minato's Flying Raijin was incredibly fast, Hanzo was a master of the Body Flicker, trailing only a hair's breadth behind in terms of speed. Combined with his lethal Salamander poison, Hanzo was a nightmare to pin down. Even with a speed advantage, Minato couldn't find a clean opening; he had to stay constantly vigilant against the toxic mists Hanzo exhaled with every breath.
"Minato, what happened?" Hatani asked, his voice low as he used a Wind Blade to force Hanzo back for a split second.
"Akimitsu betrayed the village," Minato replied, his voice thick with a rare, venomous rage. "He used Hanzo as a distraction and stabbed Lord Third in the back."
Hatani's heart skipped a beat. Unlike Minato—who was still a relatively sheltered "good boy" yet to witness the true filth of the village's inner workings—Hatani knew exactly what was going on. Akimitsu hadn't "betrayed" the village; he was a sleeper agent, a Root fanatic planted by Danzo from the very beginning.
He had always known Hiruzen was a master of the "long game," usually keeping Danzo firmly under his thumb. He never expected Danzo to be bold enough—or capable enough—to plant a suicide pawn directly into the Hokage's personal guard.
"Hmph. So, you two must be the Namikaze brothers Danzo mentioned in his report?"
Hanzo didn't press the attack immediately. Instead, he let out a cold snort, eyeing the two brothers with a curious, predatory gaze.
Minato's brow furrowed at the mention of the name, his mind racing to connect the dots. Hatani, however, immediately realized why Hanzo was suddenly playing the "chatty villain" instead of finishing the job.
If Hiruzen died, Konoha would fall into chaos. The most likely candidate to restore order would be Danzo, the "Darkness of the Shinobi," who had spent years handling the village's dirty work in the shadows. But if the witnesses to the assassination returned with proof that Danzo was involved, his dreams of becoming Hokage would shatter. Konoha would be leaderless, fractured, and vulnerable.
In that vacuum of power, the Hidden Rain could tear a massive chunk of flesh out of the "Leaf" while it was still bleeding.
"The heart is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant," Hatani said coldly, meeting Hanzo's gaze. "Be careful not to choke on your own greed."
"Heh. You're a sharp one, kid," Hanzo replied, his eyes gleaming with interest, unfazed by the insult.
"Minato, take the Third and get back to Lady Tsunade," Hatani said urgently, having no patience for Hanzo's mind games. "She needs to neutralize the poison and treat the wound. I'll hold him off."
"Hmph. You think it's that easy to leave?!" Hanzo's calm facade vanished.
In three minutes, the toxin would be irreversible, and Hiruzen Sarutobi would be a corpse. Even if he wanted to screw Danzo over, his primary objective was to eliminate the biggest threat: the Hokage. He knew how to prioritize.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed here at top speed to intercept the Hokage despite having already been burned by Danzo's schemes once before.
"Body Flicker!"
Hanzo vanished, and the heavy chain of his kusarigama whistled through the air, aimed directly at the space between the brothers. Knowing how the Flying Raijin worked, he focused his killing intent squarely on Hatani.
"Go!" Hatani barked.
He caught Minato's eye, silently refusing the offer to be teleported away. Instead of retreating, Hatani lunged forward to meet the attack head-on.
Reckless brat.
Hatani ducked under the initial swing of the sickle, but Hanzo let out a mental sneer. With a flick of his left wrist, he yanked the chain. The blade, which had seemingly missed its mark, whipped back in a vicious arc toward the base of Hatani's skull, intending to decapitate him in a single motion.
Whir!
A flash of white light, wreathed in crackling blue electricity, tore through the air. It streaked toward Hanzo, forcing him to shift his focus from the chain. Sakumo Hatake had finally arrived.
Without Minato's teleportation, Sakumo was arguably the fastest shinobi in the village. Even so, he had been shocked to find himself trailing behind. He never expected Minato's speed to eclipse his own, but seeing Hatani also outpacing him by a margin was a blow to his ego.
Because he was a second too slow, he arrived just as the sickle was about to claim Hatani's life. With no other choice, Sakumo hurled his White Fang tantō like a projectile to intercept the strike.
Surprisingly, Minato—whom Hanzo assumed would rush to save his brother—didn't move toward the fight. Instead, he blurred to the side of the unconscious Hiruzen. He scooped the Hokage up, took a sharp breath, and vanished in a flicker of yellow.
Minato was worried, yes—but he trusted his brother. Hatani wasn't the type to throw his life away for a heroic gesture. If he said he had it handled, he had it handled.
More importantly, Minato knew that Hatani hadn't used his "Blink" yet.
Flash!
Just as Minato disappeared with the Hokage, Hatani's form blinked out of existence as well.
Hanzo, who had been willing to take a hit from the White Fang's blade just to secure the kill, stared at the empty space where the boy had been, his eyes bulging in disbelief.
"Don't tell me... this Namikaze knows the Flying Raijin too?!"
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+120 chapters on: patreon.com/Shinobi_Scrolls