The rain of sorrow, the rain of death, this is the current situation in the land of rain.
It rains everywhere in this country. Because of the year-round rainfall, this country has quite abundant water canal resources.
This must be something worthy of envy for the Sunagakure ninjas in the Wind Country, which is in a dry land all year round.
But beyond that, the country of Rain Country is very poor.
Although there is a ninja village like Amegakure that stands out among the small ninja villages, it cannot change the fact that it is weak.
People will only fear the power of Amegakure leader Sansho Hanzo, but not Amegakure Village.
This point has been seen through by the Sunagakure ninjas in many high-level meetings.
Once Hanzo falls, Yuyin Village will be destroyed.
At that time, all the dignity and value of this village will be stripped away by the outside ninjas.
The sorrow of a weak country.
However, the matter of defeating Hanzo cannot be solved casually by just talking.
If you want to defeat a ninja of this level, you can't do it without paying a certain price.
However, when it comes to the battlefield of Rain Country, the top management of Sunagakure has already concluded that the strategy is to delay until Konoha cannot afford the supplies of Amegakure Village. In this way, the alliance between Amegakure Village and Konoha Village will be destroyed.
This was the plan last year, but the plan could not keep up with the changes. The Chiyo siblings, who had originally planned to postpone it, changed their previous strategy at a high-level meeting and switched from defense to offense.
"Defeat Amegakure and Konoha from the front?"
According to the opinions put forward by the Chiyo siblings, the Sunagakure jounin, who had been preparing for long-term war preparations, also felt incredible.
To be honest, it is not a wise move to break the alliance between Amegakure and Konoha from the front.
Let’s not talk about whether we can win in a head-on conflict. Even if we can win, Sunagakure will lose a lot, which will make us unable to attack the Land of Fire in the future.
This kind of question should be obvious.
"This is information obtained through secret channels. Take a look."
Chiyo handed a secret letter to the jounin next to him, and then passed it on to others to read through.
After reading the contents of the letter, many Sunagakure jonins had different expressions, some were worried, some were happy, and some were hesitant.
"If the content of this letter is true, you can give it a try."
A Sunagakure jounin was eager to try.
"But I always felt it was too risky."
Another jounin expressed concern, but still wanted to focus on safe tactics.
"Yes, the opponent is Hanzo. There is also Orochimaru in Konoha, and there is Uchiha Fugaku, who is known as the evil eye. They are not simple ninjas."
Hearing that the opinions of the jounin could not be unified, Chiyo closed his eyes for a moment and then opened his eyes and said: "As I said before, this is a good opportunity. There is no harm in testing it. If things really work according to If we proceed as expected, then there is no need to delay the battle indefinitely. After all, our side can only delay it until March next year at most."
Chiyo's words silenced the Sunagakure jounin.
Indeed, the material supply for seven thousand ninjas is also an issue that cannot be ignored.
Moreover, Iwagakure's side in the Country of Grass, based on the information transmitted by Iwagakure, seems to be very eager, hoping that Sunagakure's side can put pressure on Konoha and crush the alliance between Amegakure and Konoha as soon as possible.
The reason why Iwagakure was so eager was because of one of Konoha's new ninja leaders - the yellow flashing Namikaze Minato.
A young hero who can perfectly control the time and space ninjutsu.
Even they from the Land of Rain have often heard the name Yellow Flash recently.
He destroyed the Iwagakure supply point by himself and walked in and out of the Iwagakure camp without any injuries.
When it comes to blitzkrieg, no one in the ninja world can surpass him.
Even more terrifying than Konoha White Fang back then.
The shadow of a famous tree, they would not underestimate the genius of Konoha.
When the White Fang of Konoha first rose to prominence, he was around the same age. Within a few years, he became a thorn in the side of every major ninja village.
If Iwagakure fails in the battlefield of the Land of Grass, Konoha will later transfer the yellow flash to the battlefield of the Land of Rain...the consequences will be disastrous.
At least how Sunagakure protects his supplies is an extremely difficult problem.
It is difficult for Konoha to maintain an alliance with Amegakure at the moment, and Sunagakure may not be any better.
Without Iwagakure's restraint, Sunagakure could not fight Konoha alone.
If the Third Kazekage was still alive... Thinking of this, all the Sunagakure ninjas in the meeting sighed in their hearts.
Joining the Third Kazekage did not disappear, but led them to fight against Konoha. Even if the Amegakure Village was involved, it would not be scary.
It's true that Hanzo is powerful, and their Third Kazekage is enough to contain them. As for the other ninjas of Amegakure, they are just a ragtag group and are nothing to worry about.
"Then, give it a try. Even if you fail, you won't lose anything. If you miss this good opportunity, there may not be another good opportunity like this before March next year."
"Seconded."
"Seconded."
All Sunagakure jounin are decisive people. Even if they were hesitant and worried at first, considering the actual situation, seizing the 'opportunity' on the secret letter was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Although there are certain risky behaviors, as long as Sunagakure operates properly, even if it fails, not many people will be lost and can be completely evacuated.
"Then it's decided. For specific arrangements, I will hold another meeting the night before the operation. Disband now. Control the people in the camp and don't let Hanzo and Orochimaru notice anything unusual on our side."
Chiyo looked solemn.
"yes."
◎
After reading the letter sent by Orochimaru, Hanzo fell into silence.
Konoha will stop providing material assistance to Amegakure next month.
Hanzo had expected this, but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
Indeed, neither Konoha nor Sunagakure can afford to delay it any longer. At this time, it is the best choice for Yugakure to stay out of the matter.
But... At this moment, Amegakure has a strong hatred for Sunagakure, and staying out of the matter is just a nonsense.
Even for him, the leader of Yugakure, his words may not be useful at this moment.
But when hatred arises, the fight will only end if one party is completely trampled under his feet.
Therefore, Yugakure could not stay out of the matter.
Orochimaru also saw this, and at the end of the letter, he also attached the decision to have a showdown with Sunagakure, as well as a marching route map.
"Are you blatantly forcing me to do so?"
Hanzo looked at the contents of the letter, and in addition to being filled with anger, there was also infinite sadness in his heart.
Once upon a time, as a demigod, he would be exploited to such an extent by a young man.
And it was his men who were defeated in the last great ninja war.
Orochimaru did not use conspiracy, but the general trend, the general trend of Konoha.
Faced with such a general trend, Hanzo could only compromise.
No matter how reluctant he was, reality would force him to follow the route Orochimaru had preset for him.
Hanzo had some doubts as to whether the bloody massacres that occurred in the Land of Rain more than a year ago were the work of Sunagakure.
Although all the evidence pointed to Sunagakure, Chiyo of Sunagakure was unable to refute that it was the ninjas of Sunagakure who massacred a large number of villagers in the Land of Rain.
"well……"
Hanzo sighed.
I am getting old.
"After defeating Sunagakure, it's time to think about the successor."
In the blink of an eye, he has reached this age.
However, Hanzo couldn't help but smile bitterly when he thought of Yu Yin's current situation.
Where to find an heir?
In other words, which young person in Yuyin Village can take the lead?
◎
Hanzo led dozens of Amegakure ninjas out to explore the way.
The main thing is to remove the nails of the nearby Sunagakure ninja.
He felt that a big war would soon sweep through the entire Kingdom of Rain.
Before that, adequate preparations must be made.
Once Konoha no longer provides Amegakure with supplies, Amegakure's situation will become even more worrying.
In order to pull him into the chariot, Konoha's third generation Hokage promised that after defeating Sunagakure, he would provide a large amount of funding to Amegakure in the name of Konoha.
Hanzo still trusted that ninjutsu doctor.
The other party is a shameless person and does not like to cause trouble. In order to ensure the safety around the Fire Country, appeasing Yugakure is indeed in line with his style.
The premise is to defeat Sunagakure. If the action fails, not only Konoha but also Amagakure will suffer major trauma.
"Lord Hanzo, there seems to be movement ahead."
The deputy beside him, Kanzo, pointed forward.
Hanzo also noticed that there was a group of people blocking the way ahead.
Noticed that they were not dressed as ninjas, but just ordinary villagers from the Land of Rain.
What are these people doing blocking the road here?
Hanzo came here with a few ninjas, not worried about the threat these ordinary people could pose.
"Hanzo-sama...is it Hanzo-sama?"
A skinny old man shakily walked out of the team.
With a skinny body, I was worried that I would suddenly fall down while walking.
Holding the crutch in his hand, he walked to Hanzo step by step.
"I'm Hanzo."
Hanzo answered him.
"Great, I'm Fang Zhu, do you remember? Thirty years ago you saved the lives of everyone in our village from the enemy."
The old man named Fang Zhu said excitedly.
To be honest, Hanzo didn't remember this old man named 'Fangsuke', but what he said did seem to have happened.
Thirty years ago, it was not long after he took charge of Yuyin Village.
At that time, with an indomitable heart of justice and peace, he was determined to change this country that could only cry.
Therefore, he led a large number of Amegakure ninjas and fought with his colleagues several times in life-and-death battles, fighting with his scarred body to clear away all kinds of chaos in the Land of Rain.
As a result, he had a lot of hidden injuries on his body at that time, and now his strength has seriously declined.
There was no way, Yuyin Village was only supported by him at that time. He could not fall down, nor could he hide behind. He could only fight his way out with sword after sword and open up a bright future for the Kingdom of Rain.
At that time, he couldn't remember how many people he had saved and how many ninjas he had killed who were misbehaving in the Land of Rain.
This old man named 'Fang Zhu' and his village are just one of the targets he saved.
At that time, all he wanted in his heart was to fight, become stronger, and change the country. Therefore, Hanzo did not remember very clearly about other things.
He considers himself not a person who likes to recall sadness very much.
Looking at the deep wrinkles on the face of the old man Fang Zhu, his palms seemed to be wrapped in a layer of wrinkled skin. His skin color was dark, his eyes were cloudy, and his hair was sparse.
It is an image of poverty and weakness.
He looks older than his age.
This is all due to the continuous wars in the Rain Country and the lack of food to eat.
"What do you want from me?"
Hanzo asked in a gentle tone.
"I heard that Master Hanzo is teaching the ninjas of those big countries, so I want to contribute to Master Hanzo. It doesn't matter if we don't have enough to eat. You fighting people must have enough to eat before you have the strength to drive out the invaders. "
Fang Zhu said loudly.
As he spoke, two young and strong men reluctantly walked out holding the only food left in the village, and placed the bags containing the food in front of the Amegakure ninja.
The two men are also tall and thin, with pale complexions, caused by malnutrition.
"..."
The place was suddenly dominated by silence.
Hanzo looked at the two small half-bags of food on the ground in silence and sadness, without picking them up. For a moment, he had mixed feelings.
The other Amegakure ninjas were also silent, angry and humiliated, their eyes were a little hot, and something wanted to flow out.
The Kingdom of Rain...has it reached this point?
How can we feed a village with this little food?
"Lord Hanzo, please accept some of our wishes."
Fang Zhu said in a pleading tone.
It seemed that Hanzo looked down upon this small amount of food.
Hanzo still didn't speak, but scanned the villagers behind the old man.
The silent old man, the puzzled and helpless young man, the woman couldn't bear to hold the child, and the child reached into the bag of grain, giggling innocently, with a lot of dust on his face.
Hanzo picked up the two bags containing food. His move made the villagers look at them even more eagerly.
"Fang Zhu, right? I accept your wishes, but we can't accept these two bags of grain."
Hanzo put the two bags of food back into Fang Zhu's hands.
With that said, ignoring Kaosuke's shouts behind him, Hanzo turned around and left this sad place with the Amegakure ninjas.
"Go back and divide some of the food."
When Hanzo said these words, he felt like he had aged several dozen years again, his eyes were complicated, and there was no trace of strength in his body.
"Hanzo-sama!"
Kanzo wanted to say something, but Hanzo interrupted again:
"Everyone leaves dry food for five days, and then we have a showdown with Sunagakure! I don't want to delay it any longer. This battle can only be won, not lost!"
I can no longer retreat. Hanzo sighed inwardly.
Walking forward, Hanzo didn't dare to look back at the cute but sad villagers.
Afraid of their appearance.
Because the more he saw these people, the more ashamed Hanzo became.
He couldn't face himself now.
It will remind him of his past self, who was fearless, but now he is addicted to false honors and a sad power struggle.
He has become the kind of person he hated most in the past.
Since when did I become timid? Hanzo looked at the vast wind and rain, no one could answer his question.
◎
Except for the sound of rain, everything around seemed silent.
Looking down from the cliff, you can see the countless ditches on the ground, which are unique scenic spots formed by the confluence of rainwater.
Hanzo is soaked in the rain. Only in this way will he be more awake now.
My fingers were trembling, and my heart was nervous.
What can I do now...?
I feel that my body is getting worse day by day, and my fighting will is not as strong as before. In a few days, I will launch a general attack on Sunagakure with Konoha. Can I really win?
Hanzo was confused.
The determination that had been made in a moment of excitement due to the old man 'Fang Zhu' began to waver again.
Fear.
perturbed.
As long as he gives up fighting, he can still rule Yuyin for more than ten years, enjoy the respect of others and enjoy the wonderful taste of power.
Why do you want to fight?
Should I give up at this time?
After all, Sunagakure's goal is only Konoha. He only needs to bow his head to Sunagakure a little and compromise again, and maybe he can resolve the crisis.
That way, the fight could be avoided, and he would still be the demigod superior to Amegakure.
But then I think of the devastated Rain Country, where there are poor people who are hungry and hungry. The Rain Country has fallen to this point. Can I really compromise and give in again?
If he compromises to Sunagakure, will Sunagakure really let him go?
Hanzo felt that his mind was very confused.
One side wants to compromise, and the other side wants to fight.
"Hanzo-sama."
A strange voice called to him.
Hanzo turned around and saw three young people he didn't recognize, two men and one woman.
Not old, less than twenty years old.
Young people of all ages.
They are also a little thin, probably caused by not having enough to eat for a long time.
Wearing Amegakure's ninja forehead protector on his forehead.
"who are you?"
Hanzo asks about their identities.
"My name is Yahiko, and the two next to me are Nagato and Konan."
The young man at the head introduced himself.
Hanzo was sure that he had never heard of the names of the three people. They might be the lower-level ninjas of Hidden Rain Village. He stood there and waited for them to proceed.
"The names of the three of us, Hanzo-sama, have never been heard of. But we have wanted to communicate face-to-face with Hanzo-sama more than once, and now we finally found the opportunity. We are from an organization called 'Akatsuki', and I He is the leader of the organization."
Yahiko walked out of the queue and looked at Hanzo with neither humility nor arrogance.
dawn? Hanzo was startled and seemed to remember the name of this organization.
A ninja from Hidden Rain Village, an organization established spontaneously. It is said that peace is its mission, and it rescues people in distress in the Land of Rain, and has a lot of fame.
Looking at this young man named Yahiko, his body is thin, but his eyes are full of stubbornness that refuses to admit defeat. That is something called ideal, which is clearly reflected in his eyes.
Different from many young people in Amegakure.
This young man named 'Yahiko' is ready to sacrifice at any time for his ideals.
This will will not be defeated by any hardships or hardships.
Hanzo was in a daze.
In the past, I had been so high-spirited.
I have had such unwavering eyes.
I had this dream of not surrendering to anyone.
I once vowed to bring peace to this country and the world. I killed the evil party and shed blood. I was physically indomitable. I was young and energetic and thought I could change the world on my own.
Now, he is changed by the world.
"What's wrong with you?"
Hanzo didn't like Yahiko's look.
Fear, low self-esteem, disgust.
"I would like to ask Master Hanzo to give up fighting Sunagakure. Doing so will only lead to unnecessary sacrifices."
Yahiko spoke his mind.
"This is no longer an era that I can decide. This is the will of the entire Yugakure."
Hanzo shook his head.
"I know, so I want to get help from Lord Hanzo. With Lord Hanzo's reputation, he can definitely make Konoha and Sunagakure sit down, have a good discussion, and make peace. The consequences of war are too painful."
Yahiko said sincerely.
After finally getting close to Hanzo, you must tell him your peaceful philosophy.
Only in this way can the Kingdom of Rain be prevented from being harmed again.
"Sunagakure killed many innocent people in the Land of Rain. This is a battle of revenge!"
Hanzo replied.
"Hate will only bring hatred. If this continues, the Kingdom of Rain will never be peaceful. And according to our investigation, the massacre more than a year ago was very suspicious. I suspect that some conspirators are secretly planning to pull the rain. Hide in the water."
Yahiko also stood firm in his opinion.
"It has fallen into the water. The important thing now is not to find the truth, but to repel Sunagakure so that the Kingdom of Rain can restore people's livelihood as quickly as possible."
"But that would cost a lot of people."
"Isn't it normal for people to die in war?"
"So I want to use peace talks to resolve the war! I believe that as long as everyone can sit together, we will be able to understand each other!"
Yes.
This is what Yahiko thinks.
But he did not have such fame and strength, so the people of Konoha and Sunagakure kept him away.
But Hanzo is different. He is the leader of Amegakure, the demigod who shined in the Second Ninja War.
As long as they get his help, the people of Sunagakure and Konoha will definitely give Hanzo face and sit down to have a good talk.
This is the reputation and strength of demigods.
Konoha and Sunagakure cannot ignore his influence in the Land of Rain.
As long as they seize this opportunity, they can bring peace to the Kingdom of Rain.
There is no need to win victory in the form of war, as that will kill many people.
Yahiko didn't want to see more people become victims of war.
This country has sacrificed enough.
He wants to awaken the conscience of those big countries, or the justice that they have abandoned.
Then, we can use this to spread this concept to the world, so that all countries in the world will no longer start wars, and everyone can grow up happily and worry-free in peace.
Such a beautiful and pure ideal is Akatsuki's ultimate purpose.
After listening to Yahiko's words, Hanzo suddenly realized that the young man in front of him was different from his past.
Because although he was naive in the past, he was not naive to this extent.
Originally, he wanted to teach Yahiko a lesson, but after hearing his 'genius' idea... Hanzo couldn't bear to teach this innocent young man a lesson.
Who taught this stupid ninja?
That such innocent ninjas still exist in the Land of Rain is something Hanzo never expected.
I wanted to laugh but couldn't, and the corners of my mouth were bitter.
Sad, heartbreaking.
If the young ninjas of Amegakure Village are like this, how will they gain a foothold in the ninja world in the future?
Hanzo felt that the future of Yuyin Village was dark.
If the war can be resolved through peace talks, will the Land of Rain become like this?
"Lord Hanzo, do you agree with my idea by not speaking?"
Yahiko looked at Hanzo with hopeful eyes.
Hanzo did not speak. He walked next to Yahiko and when he passed by him, he slowly spoke:
"Lie in the coffin with such naive thoughts. I wasted a little time just to listen to your boring remarks. It's really shameful."
If, as a demigod, he abandoned his past beliefs as a ninja, then this young man named Yahiko's ninja beliefs went astray from the very beginning.
He is not suitable for this ninja world.
In this world of ninjas who are either madmen or murderers, people with such naive ideas will only die. Not only that, they will also drag others to die with them.
The smile on Yahiko's face stiffened.
Hanzo left the cliff and walked down the mountain back to the camp.
When he was halfway up the mountain, Hanzo suddenly heard footsteps approaching him from behind.
He turned around and thought it was the young man named Yahiko, but it turned out to be another man with long red hair.
The hair on his forehead covers his eyes.
"You are Yahiko's companion, right? Is there anything else? What I just said has made it very clear. You Akatsuki are not suitable for the battlefield. It is better to go back to the village and receive protection."
Hanzo gave a pertinent opinion.
This is because they are ninjas from Hidden Rain Village.
"Hanzo-sama, my name is Nagato. Did you just reject Yahiko's idea?"
Nagato asked.
"yes."
"Yahiko's idea is a bit naive...but is it really impossible to realize it?"
Don't want to answer this question.
Because Hanzo is very tired of this kind of ignorant person.
But at this time, he felt a very special feeling on Nagato.
When he asked this question, he was not questioning, but looking for some kind of answer.
Hanzo sighed and said, "I don't know why that person named Yahiko has such naive ideas... There were people like him in the past."
"past?"
"The God of Ninja—Senju Hashirama!"
Hanzo said a name of a ninja that everyone knew.
Nagato's expression changed.
"In the past, Senju Hashirama also advocated similar ideals, ending the war in the form of talks... But that was based on his invincible power. Otherwise, no matter how big-minded he is, he will not let others make people feel uncomfortable. Look at each other."
"But I heard that in the era when the Ninja God existed, there was indeed no war."
"What happens after that?"
Hanzo's question silenced Nagato.
after?
This kind of question does not need to be discussed, and the answer can be known.
Because Nagato himself is one of those who experienced it.
"The God of Ninja died. The First Ninja War broke out soon. His younger brother, the Second Hokage Senju Hashirama, died in the war. Then the Second Ninja War broke out. Now there is a third Ninja War. Three times... In more than ten years, there will be a fourth ninja war. It seems that he has changed something, but in fact nothing has changed. Young people, it’s time to wake up from your dreams, otherwise your future will be bleak. .”
Hanzo shook his head, not wanting to continue talking.
"...In other words, as long as that power called 'Invincible' exists, eternal peace can be guaranteed, right?"
Nagato suddenly asked this question softly.
Hanzo was startled. He didn't expect Nagato to ask such a question.
His widened pupils were filled with astonishment.
He saw Nagato looking straight at him and raising his head.
And... a pair of eyes under the red hair blown by the wind.
Samsara Eye! ?
