Careful of the Spectator (2)

What was going on?!

Ibuse... had been scared off by that brat's gaze?

Hanzo's mind went blank. He had fought alongside Ibuse for decades, yet he had never encountered anything like this.

"Let me give you a piece of advice, Hanzo."

Uchiha Sōgetsu raised a finger to his lips and chuckled in an inscrutable tone. "Be careful of the Spectator~"

"???" Hanzo froze for half a second, then realized the other party was toying with him. He ground his back teeth in fury. "Uchiha brat, I don't know what trick you used, but do you think I'll just let you slaughter me because Ibuse is gone? How naive, brat!"

Besides Ibuse, Hanzo had another identity: the greatest master of Water Release in the world!

"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!"

Cracks suddenly rose across the ground in front of where Hanzo stood.

The next moment, he formed hand seals, and wave after wave surged from the cracks, piling atop one another until they formed a tsunami several meters high.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"

Uchiha Sōgetsu responded with ninjutsu as well.

Boom!

Towering flames collided with the tsunami, and the scorching blast of steam warped the very air.

"You're angry, but you're also afraid, aren't you?"

Uchiha Sōgetsu's voice came from within the smoke. "As you've grown older, your physical abilities and Chakra have declined. You've gradually become powerless to manage everything in Amegakure, and more and more people have begun resisting your rule in secret."

"Shut up!"

Hanzo's teeth creaked, veins bulging across his forehead. "Damned brat, I'll tear you apart!"

He had never hated anyone so much before.

Every word the other party spoke was like a sharp blade, ruthlessly stabbing the deepest taboos and vulnerabilities in his heart—the things he least wanted anyone to touch.

He had devoted everything to Amegakure!

He would never allow anyone to trample on his ideals or insult his will!

"Brat, I'll make you regret ever being born!" Hanzo formed hand seals as streams of water swirled around him. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Boom!

The reversing currents formed a tornado.

Then, a water dragon came roaring down, raising wave after wave of raging tides as it surged forward.

"Oh, you're angry? Looks like I hit the mark." Uchiha Sōgetsu continued provoking him. "You rule Amegakure through dictatorship and refuse to allow anyone to oppose your will, but was your choice really correct? Has Amegakure truly become better because of you?"

"Ahhhhhh."

Hanzo looked utterly mad, and Frenzy killing intent erupted from his bloodshot eyes.

His scythe swung out gust after gust of razor-sharp wind, every strike fatal. He even abandoned part of his defense, seeking only to kill the foul-mouthed Uchiha brat before his eyes.

"You were once Amegakure's protector, but now, you've become Amegakure's obstacle." Uchiha Sōgetsu effortlessly dodged his attacks. Faint ripples surfaced in his eyes as he continuously used "suggestion" and "hypnosis" to twist Hanzo's emotions.

"Ahhh! I told you to shut up, brat!"

Hanzo felt as though a string inside his mind had snapped.

The emotions he had suppressed deep within his heart for so long were directly detonated like a bomb by the youth's words.

The last remnants of his sanity completely collapsed, plunging into an abyss of rage.

"What are you afraid of, Hanzo?" Seeing that the time was ripe, Uchiha Sōgetsu slowly guided Hanzo's emotions. "That newly emerged organization? That man named Yahiko? Why fear him? Your wishes are clearly the same—you both want to make Amegakure better."

"It isn't only this old man who is right!"

Hanzo's eyes were bloodshot as he panted heavily.

Black veins bulged across his face, which was covered in deep wrinkles. Killing intent filled his crimson eyes, and he resembled a beast consumed by madness. "They don't understand anything! This old man is doing it for Amegakure's sake!"

"Look, Hanzo. You're already very old."

Uchiha Sōgetsu deliberately lowered his voice, his alluring tone as devilish as a demon's. "Before long, they'll discover that the invincible Hanzo of the Salamander is no longer the Hanzo he once was. When that happens... what do you think will occur?"

"Kill! Kill! Kill them all!!!"

In an instant, terrifying killing intent erupted like a torrent, seeming to dye everything around them blood-red.

"Yes, they'll kill you."

At that moment, Hanzo seemed to see countless Rain Ninja in his mind, all wearing cruel grins as they loudly mocked him, ridiculed him, and trampled on him!

He was like an aged lion king.

His body was covered in wounds, his fur and claws no longer sharp. He could only rely on the remnants of his former prestige to intimidate the ambitious young lions of his pride.

But... one day, his disguise would be torn apart.

The steadily growing new lions would use their sharp fangs to bite through his throat, raise his head high, and prove that they were the new lion kings.

"Hanzo! Look into my eyes!"

Uchiha Sōgetsu let out a thunderous shout, using the power of Spirituality like a clap of thunder.

Hanzo's already chaotic mind was struck by a thunderclap. He instinctively raised his head and obediently looked into the other party's eyes.

Within those scarlet eyes, three tomoe spun at high speed!

Genjutsu: Hypnosis!

The Sharingan's Genjutsu, combined with "Combat Hypnosis," instantly shattered Hanzo's mental defenses.

Buzz!

Hanzo's eyes immediately went vacant as he stood rigidly in place.

"I already warned you to be careful of the Spectator."

Uchiha Sōgetsu adjusted his glasses. The Sharingan faded from his eyes as he said flatly, "Unfortunately, you didn't listen to a single word."

Although using Talk no Jutsu on an elderly man under tremendous mental pressure was somewhat difficult to justify morally.

But... sorry.

This was how a Spectator fought!

Suddenly, Uchiha Sōgetsu paused for several seconds, his expression turning slightly strange. If this keeps going, won't I become a Talk no Jutsu ninja?

Well, so be it. Talk no Jutsu it was. The Spectator Pathway was simply too weak in its early stages.

Uchiha Sōgetsu shook his head, then stared at Hanzo and directly planted a "Psychological Suggestion" deep within his subconscious.

"After going around in such a huge circle, I hope you won't disappoint me later, Hanzo of the Salamander." He muttered to himself, casting an amused glance somewhere as a faint smile slowly rose on his lips. "The timing is perfect, about what I estimated. I'll be relying on you next, Lord Hanzo~"

The next moment, Hanzo's eyes abruptly cleared, and his sharp killing intent was like a blade.

"Konoha brat, this old man will send you to your death!"

The sharp scythe flashed with cold light and, before Uchiha Sōgetsu's astonished eyes, sliced open his throat.

Splat!!!

Blood sprayed out like a fountain.

Uchiha Sōgetsu clutched his neck, terror filling his eyes as bloody foam gurgled from his mouth.

"Brat, don't blame me."

Hanzo's gaze was arrogant as he gripped his scythe and said coldly, "If you must blame someone, blame Danzo. He was the one who told me to take your life!"

My cold is pretty bad, so I'm shamelessly asking for recommendations and follow-up reading. Everyone, please click in and stay for a little while—around twenty or thirty seconds is enough. Please!