The major hidden villages fought and made peace repeatedly, their conflict raging fiercely.
Hanzo of the Salamander, relying on his past achievements, brought several years of peace to Amegakure.
Originally, he harbored a burning passion and wanted to secure a bright future for the Land of Rain.
With his eastward and westward conquests, the Land of Rain, if not expanding its territory, was certainly besieged on all sides.
We didn't gain much territory, but we made many enemies.
With his formidable fighting prowess and leading a group of Bronze-level subordinates from Amegakure, Hanzo miraculously withstood the attacks from Sunagakure and Konoha.
In the end, he made a name for himself and was hailed as the "Demigod of the Ninja World".
This also deterred major powers from freely entering and leaving the Land of Rain as they had before.
But he also saw through everything during this war: no matter how hard he tried, he could not change the fate of the Land of Rain.
Since that's the case--
I've fought a lifetime of wars; it's only natural that I could enjoy some leisure time, isn't it?
Hiding in the safe house, Hanzo his wine with delight, enjoying the graceful dance of the geishas.
"Oh, Hanzo, you're really enjoying yourself."
An unfamiliar voice sounded behind him. Hanzo paused, his hand still holding the wine glass, and asked without turning around, "Who is it?"
Regardless of who the other party was, the outer guards remained silent, which meant that --
You'd better not move.
The person behind Hanzo reminded Hanzo, and immediately afterward, the scene in front of Hanzo was split in two.
The walls, the geisha, and the guards behind them—everyone and everything was instantly sliced in half, as if an invisible slash had suddenly struck.
"What exactly is this...?"
Hanzo was stunned by the scene before him, watching helplessly as a pale hand reached out from behind him and took the wine glass from his hand, but he dared not make the slightest move.
"I need you to do something for me. It's very simple. There's an organization called Akatsuki. I don't know if you've heard of it?"
The sound was as terrifying as a ghost from hell.
Although Rasa himself was prepared to wage a war of attrition against Konoha, upholding the spirit of "not leaving the front line even with minor injuries, and not leaving the front line even with serious injuries."
But Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly wasn't going to give him that chance.
Having already stepped down as Hokage, he didn't need to worry about whether his death would affect Konoha's morale. The day after injuring Rasa, he charged into the Sand Ninja's territory with a large club.
The old Hokage smashed the five puppets in Chiyo's hands, smashed half of Rasa's deputy Baki's face, and crippled Ebizo's leg before dragging his poisoned body back to the Mount Kikyo base.
This action directly shattered Rasa's Dao heart. Looking at his shoulder, which was swollen to the size of his head, he immediately made up his mind to withdraw his troops and return to the village.
Upon receiving the peace treaty from Sunagakure, Sakumo wore a bewildered expression after hearing about Hiruzen Sarutobi's exploits.
During his active years, Hiruzen Sarutobi rarely took action anymore; the heroic figure of this old Hokage could only be heard of in stories. Now, seeing this, it's clear that the stories weren't exaggerated.
However, he did not intend to reply to Rasa immediately, but instead handed the matter over to Nara Shikaku.
He wasn't a moderate like the Third Hokage. Now that Sunagakure had invaded Konoha and been defeated, the other side should be the one in a hurry.
Let Shikaku temper their temper first.
He continued to visit the various Ninja Clan of Konoha as originally planned.
As the newly appointed Hokage, and one from a declining Hokage, he must understand the needs and pain points of the various Ninja Clan in order to effectively utilize them in his future administration.
The Ino, Shika, and Cho clans are relatively easy to deal with, as they have always been loyal supporters of the Hokage. The larger Ninja Clan, such as the Aburame and Inuzuka Clan, have not shown any obvious opposition or support.
Although the Hyuga Clan is stubborn, they faithfully carry out Konoha's orders without issue.
There's only one company to worry about...
Sakumo, dressed in God-striking Robe and wearing Hokage's Hat, appeared in the Uchiha Clan's territory.
Sensing the subtle hostile gazes around him, Sakumo Fudō and followed the ninja in front of him to Fugaku's house. Guided by Mikoto, he arrived at Fugaku's study.
"Congratulations on assuming the Fourth Hokage, Lord Sakumo."
After taking a deep look at the Konoha's White Fang before him, Fugaku knelt on the spot, bowed slightly, and expressed his congratulations.
Sakumo returned the greeting with the same gesture before taking his seat.
"The Uchiha Clan also paid a heavy price in this war, and I have come to express my gratitude to you."
"Not at all. The Uchiha are also part of Konoha. Of course we should step forward when the village is in trouble." Fugaku's words revealed the Uchiha Clan's loyalty to the village.
After a few more polite exchanges, they both got the answers they wanted from each other.
However, some topics were too early to discuss, so Sakumo stopped short of bringing them up and ended the conversation in time.
Fugaku did not object, but smiled and gestured for Mikoto to see the guest out.
Only when the sound of the door closing echoed back into the room did he revert to his usual bitter and resentful demeanor.
"How is our new Hokage?"
Mikoto smiled as she looked at her husband.
"He's like Minato, gentle on the outside but resolute on the inside. And compared to the Third Hokage, this Hokage is even more decisive." When his wife asked for his opinion, Fugaku truthfully gave her the impression that Sakumo had given him.
"I didn't expect you to have such a high opinion of him." Mikoto chuckled and turned to go to the kitchen to prepare ingredients for dinner.
"That's the Konoha's White Fang. Even I graduated from the Ninja Academy after hearing about his exploits," Fugaku said earnestly.
Perhaps, the Uchiha Clan can truly achieve reconciliation with the village under the guidance of this Hokage.
"Why, Lord Hanzo? We clearly respect you so much!"
Holding the injured Yahiko, Nagato let out a furious roar of resentment.
Standing atop the peak, Hanzo remained silent, but stiffly waved his arm, signaling his subordinates to annihilate the surrounded Akatsuki Organization.
"Damn it, Konan!"
Nagato turned to look for his other teammates, only to find that they were being held up by Hanzo's men and couldn't get there for the time being.
We must stop Yahiko's bleeding, otherwise...
Reaching out to cover Yahiko's wound, Nagato's thoughts were in complete disarray, utterly unsure of what he should do.
"First... retreat..." Fortunately, Yahiko was still able to maintain his senses and whispered a reminder to Nagato.
"Summoning Technique!"
However, Hanzo seemed to have sensed their intentions and summoned his summoning beast Ibuse, in front of everyone.
Everyone in the Land of Rain knew how powerful this Ibuse was, and seeing that the opponent had summoned this deadly weapon, everyone present was prepared to die.
Just as they were bracing for the poisonous mist from the Ibuse, a voice resounded across the entire battlefield. "Summoning - Forefront Collapse Technique!"