Sneak Attack!

Amegakure, Hanzō the Salamander's residence.

"Lord Hanzō, let us go with you!"

Ametsuyu and Kanzō knelt on one knee before Hanzō the Salamander, their voices filled with worry.

Hanzō the Salamander calmly put on his battle suit and said, "I already told you, there is no need. You only need to guard Amegakure and the Land of Rain!"

"But..."

"No buts! You should know my fighting style. Even if a fight truly breaks out, you won't be able to help me. You'd only distract me instead!"

Hanzō the Salamander spoke sternly, leaving Ametsuyu and Kanzō no room to argue.

He knew that only this would fully persuade them to let him single-handedly attend the banquet.

And things unfolded just as Hanzō the Salamander had expected.

"Lord Hanzō, we..."

Ametsuyu and Kanzō looked ashamed. In the end, they were simply too weak!

"Enough, there is no need to feel guilty! It isn't that you're inferior to the elite ninja of other hidden villages. I'm simply too unusual!" Hanzō the Salamander hung his ninja tool bag at his waist, picked up his kusarigama, and said, "I'll leave this place to you for now!"

"Yes! Please rest assured, Lord Hanzō!"

Ametsuyu and Kanzō answered in unison, their voices incomparably firm!

"Let's go!"

Hanzō the Salamander looked toward Konan, whose hands were bound with rope at the doorway, and gave her a reassuring look.

Konan nodded. A trace of sorrow appeared on her usually expressionless face as she lowered her head slightly.

Not bad acting!

Hanzō the Salamander was somewhat surprised.

Konan had a quiet nature and rarely showed any expression on her face. He had not expected her to possess such acting skills.

After silently marveling at this, Hanzō the Salamander led Konan out of Amegakure.

Once they left his territory, there were inevitably too many eyes around. No one knew who might be watching them in secret.

Thus, Hanzō the Salamander and Konan tacitly exchanged not a single word along the way. Before long, they arrived in a valley.

Shimura Danzō and several dozen Root Ninja had already been waiting there for quite some time!

"Lord Hanzō."

Shimura Danzō's sinister gaze swept over Konan before he greeted Hanzō the Salamander.

Hanzō the Salamander nodded and looked solemnly at the several dozen Root Ninja behind Shimura Danzō. "Konoha's reserves truly are unfathomable. After fighting the Four Great Nations one after another, you can still deploy such a force!"

The auras of these Root Ninja were mostly at the level of Elite Chunin and Special Jonin, with more than a dozen formal Jonin among them. They could fully serve as the mainstay force in a small-scale war!

Shimura Danzō said blandly, "So-so. They are merely my bodyguard subordinates."

In order to gain an overwhelming advantage on the local battlefield and ensure events developed according to his script, Shimura Danzō had brought over more than half of Root's elite this time.

And for Nagato's Rinnegan, Shimura Danzō had held nothing back, calling over all the forces he had brought to the Land of Rain.

It also happened to be a chance to show Hanzō the Salamander Konoha's strength and exert a certain degree of deterrence!

Shimura Danzō looked again at Konan, who stood to one side with her head lowered, and asked, "Lord Hanzō, what are your intentions in bringing her here bound like this?"

Hanzō the Salamander nodded and explained, "They are, after all, seedlings of the Land of Rain, so it would not be appropriate for me to personally act against them."

"However, I heard that the three leaders of the Akatsuki Organization grew up together and depended on one another through life and death. So I decided to use her as a hostage and make them slaughter each other!"

"What do you think of this idea, Lord Danzo?"

Hanzō the Salamander's words made Konan shudder. She widened her eyes and stared at him in disbelief.

Even knowing that the Hanzō the Salamander before her was merely a puppet controlled by Uchiha Jin, Konan still could not stop a wave of panic from rising within her!

This method was far too vicious!

In contrast, a bright light flashed through Shimura Danzō's eyes. He praised him appreciatively, "As expected of the God of Shinobi, able to rule the Land of Rain for decades!"

"Such a method of killing the body and destroying the heart is truly breathtaking!"

Hanzō the Salamander did not merely intend to destroy the Akatsuki Organization physically. He also intended to destroy it spiritually!

No matter how close the three Akatsuki leaders were, once Hanzō the Salamander stirred things up like this, so long as casualties occurred, those who remained would inevitably develop rifts in their hearts!

Those rifts would not only be toward each other, but toward themselves as well!

Even if they could maintain their original intention, what about the subordinates who followed them?

Given enough time, they would inevitably become estranged!

"You... you can't do this!"

Konan's voice trembled as she shouted at Hanzō the Salamander, her face full of terror.

It was impossible to tell whether she had truly been frightened or whether it was merely an act to deceive Shimura Danzō!

"You have no right to choose!" Hanzō the Salamander raised two fingers in a sword finger and looked at Konan. "For the grand show later, you'd better be quiet for now!"

Hanzō the Salamander touched Konan's throat with one finger. A black character for "Seal" appeared, black runes spreading from it to cover her mouth.

Konan's cheeks moved as she tried to say something, only to discover that she could not open her mouth at all, nor could her vocal cords vibrate.

Shimura Danzō's gaze narrowed, a trace of wariness flashing through his eyes.

Although Hanzō the Salamander had only used a minor ninjutsu, the degree of Chakra control and precision involved left Shimura Danzō feeling inferior!

Hanzō the Salamander might be old, but he still lived up to the title of God of Shinobi!

"They're here!"

Just as Shimura Danzō was inwardly sighing, Hanzō the Salamander suddenly turned toward the distant entrance of the valley.

Two figures were rapidly approaching from that direction!

One had orange hair, and the other red hair. They were Yahiko and Nagato!

Hanzō the Salamander grabbed Konan with one hand and held her in front of himself while reaching to his waist with the other, removing the kusarigama wrapped in chains.

Shimura Danzō's body tensed slightly, but he quickly relaxed.

Shimura Danzō also looked toward the approaching Yahiko and Nagato. A bright light flashed through his eyes as he stared fixedly at Nagato behind Yahiko, as though he wanted to see through the hair hanging over Nagato's forehead and directly behold the deliberately concealed Rinnegan!

At last, he...

Swish!

A dazzling blade flash streaked through the air!

One of Shimura Danzō's arms flew into the sky, blood spraying out as if it cost nothing!

Shimura Danzō clutched his shoulder with one hand and retreated sharply. His gaze at Hanzō the Salamander, who held the kusarigama, was filled with utter disbelief!

"Lord Danzō!"

The surrounding Root Ninja instantly panicked and swiftly moved to protect Shimura Danzō in the center!

Hanzō the Salamander gave a cold snort and said nothing. He merely threw Konan in his hand toward the bewildered Yahiko and Nagato below!

"Leave immediately!"

Once he saw Yahiko catch Konan, Hanzō the Salamander immediately turned toward Shimura Danzō and the others, shouting without looking back.