Land of Rain, Amegakure.
In the eyes of the world, this was a hidden shinobi village ruled by Hanzo of the Salamander, who was known as a "demigod." Although the Land of Rain was only a small country and Amegakure was not one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, its leader, Hanzo, still wielded influence comparable to that of a Kage. He was renowned for his ruthless methods, while still upholding morality and reason.
This showed that Hanzo of the Salamander possessed strength comparable to that of a Kage. After all, in the shinobi world, strength was the foundation of all influence.
What the world did not know was that all the supposed authority now remained in name only. It was hard to say whether this was a case of a reputation exceeding reality. Hanzo probably had never imagined that he would encounter a cheat, but in any case, by now, the grass on Hanzo's grave was already a meter tall.
Still, Hanzo had nothing to regret. If he regretted anything, it would only be his failure to eradicate the roots when he tried to eliminate the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki had once been a shinobi organization in the Land of Rain. Though its members wore Amegakure forehead protectors, they did not actually belong to Amegakure or obey Hanzo's orders. Thus, Hanzo had once attempted to wipe them out, but failed...
Could anyone say he had been wrong? Bandits had to be suppressed. Besides, Hanzo believed that the Akatsuki's ideals were too divorced from reality, and allowing them to spread would only lead to Amegakure's destruction. Therefore, when the time came to act, he acted.
In the end, Hanzo joined forces with Konoha's Root and only managed to eliminate the Akatsuki's leader, Yahiko. The remaining members of the Akatsuki escaped successfully.