Throughout the remainder of the journey, whether before or after meeting the Amegakure scouts, Shimura Danzo indeed refrained from making any further moves. After all, everyone was on the same side; there was no need to constantly brew crooked schemes to hurt one another.
Moving at a rapid pace, the Hidden Rain Village finally came into view.
Looking down at the shape of the Land of Rain's borders, it resembled something between a stomach and a kidney—capable of both digestion and detoxification. In short, it looked highly functional. The Hidden Rain Village itself was situated roughly in the center of the country.
The Konoha squad remained exceptionally cautious. If one were to talk about powerhouses, this place certainly had them. The most prominent threat they guarded against was Hanzo of the Salamander himself.
Then, there was Nagato Uzumaki, whom only Hagoromo knew about. Beyond that, even Sasori of the Red Sand was theoretically hiding within this country; hitting the jackpot and running into him again was technically possible.
The Rain ninja leading the way didn't play any games, guiding the Konoha party along the standard route directly to the Hidden Rain Village. There was no point in taking detours; no matter how much Amegakure valued secrecy, they couldn't hide an entire village. Even if Konoha's intelligence department consisted of only three Genin, they ought to be able to pinpoint a strategic "village-level target."
When the Hidden Rain Village first appeared in Hagoromo's sight... let's just say the architectural style had a very high level of recognizability.
Everything looked tall and slender. The outer walls of the buildings seemed to be composed of countless pipes, possessing a metallic texture veiled in the color of rusted iron. Furthermore, the foundations of many buildings were set directly into the water, giving it the feel of a floating city.
Would I run into Akari Mizunashi in a city like this? Hagoromo mused.
To Hagoromo, the Hidden Rain Village looked like a bunch of chopsticks standing vertically in a bowl. This style clearly wasn't born from culinary inspiration, but rather architectural adaptation to the climate. Since it rained here all day, every day, such "chopsticks" probably made drainage much easier.
The others didn't share Hagoromo's mindset for appreciating architecture. Danzo's group couldn't care less, while the remaining three of the Hagoromo Squad looked far too tense. This was, after all, the enemy's headquarters, and Amegakure had always been shrouded in mystery.
The village had long maintained an isolationist policy. In the future, even after the leader Hanzo was killed, no news would leak out for a long time—a testament to the severity of their information blockade.
At the village entrance, the guides performed a brief handover. Without any resistance, the seven of them walked into the village. Hanzo was surprisingly pragmatic, skipping any body searches or intrusive screenings. After all, if someone touched Danzo and he started screaming like a violated maiden before exploding, what then? A lowly thug would only get beaten to death by him.
In reality, the party wasn't led to the center of the village. Typically, as the leader, Hanzo should have resided in the tallest building at the center, yet the Konoha squad was led into a building of very average height just after entering the village.
This made Hagoromo a bit uneasy. Is there a ton of C4 buried under the floorboards?
Clearly, he was overthinking again. He tended to be relaxed when he should be tense and paranoid when he shouldn't be. If the Rain wanted to strike, they wouldn't have let them enter the village in the first place.
Hanzo was inside the building.
At this point, Hagoromo had to take a backseat, letting Danzo step forward for the negotiations.
"Shimura Danzo? The Third Hokage did not come himself?"
There was no doubt that the ninja wearing the gas mask with the raspy voice was Hanzo. He was flanked by only about ten ninja, ensuring a relative sense of fairness for the meeting. Had he brought too many, it would have been an intimidation tactic, which would have looked petty on his own doorstep.
But Hanzo certainly had high expectations. The Third Hokage's status wasn't equivalent to his; how could he personally come to the Rain? Did Hanzo think he was truly a Kage? Furthermore, even if their status were equal, the Hokage wouldn't come here. Danger aside, it was Amegakure surrendering to Konoha, not the other way around. Not forcing Hanzo to travel to Konoha was already enough respect for his shut-in habits. Expecting the Hokage to come to him?
Heh. Danzo was more than enough to play with him. The Third Hokage was a married man, after all.
"I am the plenipotentiary representative of Konoha, authorized by the Hokage," Danzo replied, his expression unchanging, refuting Hanzo with the cold facts. As for what he was actually thinking, heaven only knew. However, regardless of internal or external affairs, the most effective voice in Konoha remained that of the Hokage.
Hanzo didn't dwell on the issue. He had only mentioned it in passing and didn't actually expect the Hokage to show up. Setting aside the size of his ego, he still had a brain. He spoke directly.
"Plenipotentiary, is it... I intend to surrender to Konoha and end this war."
Danzo didn't respond immediately. He knew the man wasn't finished.
"But there is one condition. After peace is established, I hope to receive Konoha's assistance when necessary."
"Peace... we would certainly welcome that," Danzo said. "However, Amegakure at this moment... let alone the strategic goals of this war, the fact is that you can no longer hold on. Given that, what right do you have to set conditions?"
As the losing side, Konoha should be setting the terms for them, not vice versa—just as it had been with Sunagakure. However, the Land of Wind was a Great Nation, whereas Amegakure had been squeezed until there was practically nothing left to take.
Hagoromo glanced toward Danzo from behind his mask. Isn't this guy being a bit too blunt? While it was the truth, surely he should consider whether this attitude would tank the negotiations?
"Does that mean the negotiations cannot proceed?" Hanzo's demeanor shifted slightly.
There was a key problem here: Comrade Hanzo didn't seem to know how to haggle. Couldn't he tell Danzo was testing him? This was supposed to be a back-and-forth process.
As Hanzo's voice fell, the Konoha shinobi instantly tensed. Before his voice even faded, one of the ninja beside him lunged forward like an arrow released from a bow, as if following a silent command.
The target of the attack was, naturally, the Konoha party.
One disagreement and you start swinging?
BOOM!
However, the enemy's path was blocked by a large, black, round object.
Hagoromo gripped the neck of his gourd with one hand, swinging it like a giant baseball bat, slamming it violently into the attacker's path. It smashed down just inches from the enemy's nose!
Ideally, that strike could have crushed the opponent's head, but Hagoromo didn't follow through. He didn't launch a continuous assault.
Danzo, acting as if he hadn't even noticed the conflict, continued, "So, what exactly is this condition of yours?"
"Due to years of war, a rebel organization has risen within the Land of Rain that is outside my control, and it is growing rapidly... I hope to resolve them completely and thoroughly. But with the power Amegakure currently retains, I fear we cannot pull them out by the roots. Therefore, when the time comes, I hope to receive Konoha's cooperation."
Hagoromo's eyebrows twitched. He heard Hanzo's words loud and clear.