Demigod of the Shinobi World

At this time, in Amegakure of the Land of Rain.

Hanzo of the Salamander listened grimly as his subordinates reported on the events that had taken place within the country recently.

"Lord Hanzo, we can't let the Three Great Hidden Villages continue running rampant across our land."

"Just this past month, more than a hundred civilians have died after being caught up in battles between the ninjas of the Three Great Hidden Villages."

"They were all civilians of our Land of Rain. They hadn't done anything. They were simply eating at home when a Water Release technique suddenly came crashing in, washing away their entire house and killing them."

"They shouldn't become sacrifices in the struggles of the Three Great Hidden Villages."

There were five of Hanzo's trusted subordinates in the office, and every one of them wore an expression of intense hatred.

They hated the ninjas from the great hidden villages, who treated their small country as if it were beneath notice.

After hearing them out, Hanzo remained silent for a long time. Then he made his decision, ordering three of the five men to carry his letters to Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha, presenting them to the leaders of the three great hidden villages.

If possible, Hanzo still hoped to resolve the matter peacefully. He truly did not want to resort to force.

Because no one understood the strength of the Five Great Hidden Villages better than he did.

When he was young, in order to raise the Land of Rain to the same standing as the Five Great Nations, he traveled among the Five Great Nations and other small countries, constantly strengthening himself and challenging opponents everywhere.

In the end, his formidable strength earned recognition throughout the shinobi world, winning him the title of Demigod of the Shinobi World.

He had thought that becoming the Demigod of the Shinobi World would allow the Land of Rain to join the ranks of the Five Great Nations.

Yet one person's strength was ultimately limited.

He was merely the Demigod of the Shinobi World, not its god.

Thus, the Land of Rain remained the same Land of Rain. No matter how powerful he became, the country's influence did not increase.

In the end, he came to understand.

Only by producing more powerful people like himself could the Land of Rain gain the right to speak with the Five Great Nations as equals.

So over the years, he had worked tirelessly to cultivate more ninjas.

The facts proved that his approach had been correct.

Under his training and influence, Amegakure had produced a large number of jonin who met the standards of the Five Great Hidden Villages. Its ranks of chūnin and genin were likewise considerable.

Although it still could not match the strength of any one of the Five Great Hidden Villages, combined with the Land of Rain's unique terrain and his Salamander Poison, he believed that as long as they remained within the Land of Rain, no one could defeat Amegakure.

But now, that confidence was being challenged.

"Let's wait and see."

Hanzo sighed inwardly. As the Demigod of the Shinobi World, his confidence could not be challenged. But as the leader of Amegakure, he had to consider the villagers and people of the Land of Rain.

If they rashly went to war with the Three Great Hidden Villages, even if they won in the end, the Land of Rain itself would suffer the greatest losses.

If they could avoid fighting, then they would avoid it.

But if the time truly came to fight, Hanzo would not hesitate. His title as the Demigod of the Shinobi World was not empty boasting—it had been earned through real battles across the nations.

Half a month later.

The envoys sent to the Three Great Hidden Villages returned with letters from their leaders for Hanzo.

In their letters, the Kazekage and Tsuchikage, along with the Third Hokage, expressed a measure of respect for Hanzo's statement as the Demigod of the Shinobi World.

This was enough to show that Hanzo of the Salamander's strength had indeed been recognized by the Five Kage.

Ninjutsu, taijutsu, swordsmanship, Body Flicker Jutsu, Summoning Technique, poison-making, combat experience, and battle talent.

No matter the field, Hanzo of the Salamander had no weaknesses. He had reached the pinnacle of the shinobi world in every respect.

None of the Five Kage of the Five Great Nations dared claim they could defeat Hanzo with certainty.

The Third Hokage, Ōnoki, and the Third Kazekage all showed a certain degree of respect toward a powerhouse at the peak of the shinobi world.

But... it was only a certain degree of respect.

As for Hanzo's demand that they withdraw all their ninjas from the Land of Rain, none of the three Kage mentioned it at all.

They merely said that they had already ordered their village's ninjas in the Land of Rain to avoid harming civilians as much as possible during battle.

If any buildings were damaged by them, they were also willing to provide compensation.

Aside from Konoha stating that if Sunagakure and Iwagakure withdrew from the Land of Rain, they too would withdraw immediately.

Neither Sunagakure nor Iwagakure said anything about leaving.

This left Ōnoki, far away in Iwagakure of the Land of Earth, utterly baffled.

"What's going on with Sunagakure?" Ōnoki asked his Anbu subordinate.

"Reporting, Lord Tsuchikage, we have yet to discover why Sunagakure appeared in the Land of Rain," the Anbu ninja answered honestly.

Ōnoki grew even more confused.

The reason they had mobilized ninjas at the border and sent them into the Land of Rain was to draw Konoha's attention and cover up their plan to wipe out the Uzumaki Clan.

Besides Iwagakure, Kumogakure and Kirigakure were also pressuring Konoha in the various small countries bordering it, all to divert its attention.

The three hidden villages had planned everything perfectly.

Yet Sunagakure had suddenly pulled this stunt, making it seem as though they had conspired with them as well.

Having Sunagakure join them was not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it would make wiping out the Uzumaki Clan even easier.

But it also meant one more party taking a share of the spoils.

The three hidden villages had already divided things up more or less. Ōnoki did not want another one joining in.

That was also the Raikage and Mizukage's position.

So the question was this.

What did Sunagakure mean by suddenly getting involved in the Land of Rain?

He didn't understand.

Ōnoki truly didn't understand.

To prevent any unexpected developments that he might fail to react to in time, he could only order the Anbu to keep a close watch on Sunagakure's every move.

After the hidden villages of the Lands of Fire, Earth, and Wind refused to withdraw their ninjas from the Land of Rain, the atmosphere across the shinobi world rapidly advanced toward a Ninja World War.

In truth, by this point.

All the major hidden villages had realized that a Ninja World War was unavoidable, and they were quietly making preparations in secret.

At the same time, an old man hidden in the shadows silently watched everything happening in the shinobi world, especially the Uzumaki Clan on the Land of Whirlpools.

The old man's purple-blue eyes, black rings within black rings, were waiting for their vessel.

Konoha.

All the ninjas and major ninja clans could feel war drawing near.

Soldier Pills, Explosive Tags, kunai, Shuriken, and other basic supplies were being stockpiled in large quantities.

The major ninja clans that possessed secret techniques were also actively storing supplies related to those techniques.

Everyone was prepared for war.

Within the Uchiha Clan, everyone, including the clan head, was like a pack of wolves that had tasted blood, their scarlet eyes gleaming as they licked their lips with bloodthirsty anticipation.

Everything Uchiha had once lost, they would win back in this Ninja World War.

Every Uchiha Clan ninja looked forward to war.

Root Base.

While everyone outside was preparing for war, Danzo was immersed in his experiments involving the Sharingan and Li Yao's body.

However, his experimental results were far from ideal.

As the one-year deadline he had agreed upon with Hiruzen drew near, Danzo still had not obtained the answers he wanted from Li Yao's cells and Chakra.

Even now, he had no way to break the state that made Li Yao's Chakra immune to genjutsu.

Inside Lab One, Danzo stared at the Sharingan floating in the solution within the glass chamber, then at the test tube beside it containing Li Yao's branded cell solution.

He looked for a long time and pondered for a long time.

At last, he sighed and admitted his failure.

He had tried every experiment he could think of, yet gained nothing.

It was at that moment that Danzo realized his talent for research might... truly be rather ordinary.

He needed someone with a talent for research to help him achieve what he wanted.

Danzo already had someone in mind.

But with war approaching, it would have to wait until later.

Danzo turned and left. After exiting Lab One, just as he was about to head outside, his gaze casually swept across the door of Lab Zero.

That single glance gave Danzo a sudden inspiration.

"Since ordinary methods can't break the Chakra ninjutsu state on that child's body, could First Hokage's Cells, with their terrifying corrosive power, destroy it?"

Thinking of those who had transplanted First Hokage's Cells—their bodily cells drained dry, their Chakra devoured completely, until they finally turned into trees.

Danzo became increasingly convinced that his inspiration could work.