"Release."
Hanzo of the Salamander formed a sword-finger seal and dispelled the Summoning Technique.
With a loud bang, Ibuse burst into a cloud of white smoke and disappeared from the battlefield.
Hanzo glanced at the devastated battlefield before turning and walking toward Amegakure.
A few minutes later—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A series of sharp sounds cut through the air as more than a dozen figures appeared in front of him, immediately kneeling on one knee.
They were Amegakure shinobi.
Because they feared being poisoned, they had not approached the battlefield where Hanzo and Uchiha Ren had fought. Instead, they had waited on the outskirts.
"Lord Hanzo, has the battle ended? Who was the enemy?"
The leading Rain shinobi asked impatiently as soon as he saw Hanzo.
"Stand up."
Hanzo swept his gaze across the group and replied calmly,
"The enemy has already been dealt with. Send people to seal off this area and prevent civilians from approaching. As for everything else—we'll discuss it back in the village."
"Yes, sir!"
The leading shinobi answered respectfully without hesitation.
Because of Hanzo's unique abilities, every battle he fought left behind large quantities of poisonous substances. It would take time for them to fully disperse.
To prevent anyone from being poisoned, Hanzo always ordered the battlefield sealed after a fight.
The Rain shinobi were already well accustomed to such procedures.
They immediately split up and began carrying out the order.
Hanzo paid no further attention to the matter and continued walking toward Amegakure.
Not long afterward, he returned to his residence.
After washing up and changing into ordinary clothes, Hanzo sat in his office and summoned the Rain shinobi who had spoken earlier—his most capable assistant, Tianyu.
"Tianyu, have there been any unusual developments recently on the fronts between Konoha and Iwagakure?"
Hanzo asked calmly, his face unreadable.
Tianyu thought for a moment before replying,
"Nothing major. If anything, the skirmishes between their squads have become more intense. The casualty rate has nearly doubled compared to last week."
A glint flashed through Hanzo's eyes.
"And the surveillance squads we sent out—have they been caught up in the fighting?"
Tianyu nodded.
"Yes. Two of our monitoring teams suddenly lost contact recently. After investigating the scene, it seems they were dragged into the clashes between Konoha and Iwagakure and were killed."
Hanzo fell silent.
But in his mind, calculations were already forming.
According to the intelligence Tianyu had just provided, Shimura Danzō had already begun his operations on the Rain Country battlefield.
Perhaps it would not be long before Danzō came knocking at his door.
Seeing Hanzo remain silent, Tianyu cautiously asked,
"Lord Hanzo… is there some hidden truth behind this matter? And today's intruder…"
Hanzo glanced at him and replied calmly,
"That person came to assassinate me. He carried identification belonging to a Konoha shinobi. The goal was likely to drag Amegakure into the war."
Tianyu's pupils shrank instantly, his expression turning serious.
He was no fool—otherwise he would not have been entrusted with assisting Hanzo in managing the entire village.
Connecting this information with the two questions Hanzo had just asked, Tianyu immediately sensed something wrong.
"Lord Hanzo… are you saying that besides Amegakure, Konoha, and Iwagakure, a fourth faction has entered the Land of Rain and is trying to ignite war among the three nations?"
Hanzo shook his head slightly.
"Not necessarily a fourth faction."
Tianyu froze.
Then his face filled with shock.
"Lord Hanzo… you mean this might have been done by someone from Konoha or Iwagakure themselves?"
Hanzo nodded and said meaningfully,
"Every village has… a few restless individuals."
Tianyu's expression darkened.
"What should we do about this? Should we inform Konoha and Iwagakure?"
He was deeply anxious.
Just as the two great villages seemed close to negotiating a ceasefire, something like this suddenly occurred.
If things spiraled out of control, a large-scale war might erupt again.
And the already impoverished Land of Rain simply could not withstand more warfare.
Hanzo poured cold water on the idea.
"Do you think they would believe what we say?"
"And even if they did… would they listen?"
Tianyu froze, a hollow feeling opening inside him like a bottomless abyss.
Yes.
In the eyes of the great nations, the opinions of the Land of Rain had never mattered.
Hanzo continued,
"The abnormalities we can detect—Konoha and Iwagakure may have noticed them as well. Not to mention, this situation may have been caused by their own people in the first place."
"Whether Konoha and Iwagakure choose war or peace ultimately depends on their own interests."
"Amegakure cannot influence their decisions."
"The only thing we can do now is restrain our own forces."
"Recall all monitoring squads except the visible sentries stationed outside the Konoha and Iwagakure camps."
"We cannot allow our shinobi to lose their reason in the hatred that continues to grow."
Tianyu nodded and accepted the order.
After a brief pause, Hanzo asked casually,
"By the way… is that Akatsuki organization still active lately?"
Tianyu nodded.
"Yes. Their ideals have gained the support of many people. Their membership has already grown to over a hundred."
"Although their ideas are overly naive," Hanzo said with a faint sigh, "their intentions are good."
"Their leader is called Yahiko, correct?"
Tianyu replied,
"Yes. But besides Yahiko, there are two other core members—Nagato and Konan."
Hanzo pondered for a moment before speaking again.
"Send someone to deliver them a message."
"I want to meet these three youngsters."
Tianyu was startled.
He found Hanzo's decision rather puzzling.
Normally, Hanzo would never waste time on an organization that seemed like little more than children playing at revolution.
Why had he suddenly changed his mind?
Hanzo seemed to notice Tianyu's confusion and, unusually, offered an explanation.
"Tianyu… although I don't like admitting it, I'm already over sixty years old."
"How long can this village continue relying on me?"
"Yahiko and the others may be naive… but at least they have ideals."
"And more importantly—they're actually putting those ideals into practice."
"That alone is not easy."
"It's time for Amegakure to receive some fresh blood."
Tianyu's body trembled.
He stared blankly at Hanzo, an indescribable feeling rising in his chest.
Hanzo's overwhelming strength had always made Tianyu forget his age.
But a man past sixty had long since begun declining.
Over the years, Hanzo had carried far too much of this village's burden on his shoulders.
"Lord Hanzo…"
Tianyu was overwhelmed with emotion, yet the words stuck in his throat.
"Go."
Hanzo waved his hand, signaling for him to leave.
"Yes, sir."
Tianyu's eyes reddened as he suppressed his emotions and turned away.
What he did not notice was that the moment he turned around—
Hanzo's eyes silently transformed into a pair of scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
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