The Truth of the Matter

After giving it some thought, Kagura seemed to understand Hanzo's intentions.

The current Hanzo was not yet the formidable figure who would one day stand against the Three Kingdoms by himself. He was not even the leader of Amegakure yet.

Judging from his earlier conversation with Shota Futa, the main reason the two of them were here was simply that Hanzo was carrying out an order from his village's leader.

The current situation was that Konoha Jonin were gathered Inside the Land of Rain, while a large number of Anbu were conducting a carpet search not far away.

As for Hanzo's attitude toward Shota Futa, he was merely completing the mission and did not want to cause unnecessary trouble.

If he killed them here, there were Uchiha Clan members among them, as well as Princess Tsunade.

One could imagine that if their bodies were discovered by the Anbu, it might become the spark that ignited a war for the Land of Rain.

That was the main reason Hanzo had not harmed them.

Having figured this out, Kagura secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As far as he was concerned, as long as his life was not in danger, everything else seemed far less important.

Perhaps sensing Kagura's body relax, Hanzo Looked Over at him with interest.

After observing him for a moment, he asked:

"What is your name?"

Kagura's expression did not change at Hanzo's question, but he still replied:

"Uchiha Kagura."

"Uchiha Kagura, huh?...

I've never seen that Lightning Style you used just now. Did you create that ninjutsu yourself?"

Hanzo had long confirmed Kagura's clan through the Sharingan, so Kagura's name did not surprise him. Instead, he brought up the ninjutsu that interested him.

Chidori, also known as Raikiri, was a ninjutsu created by Kakashi. Kakashi had not even been born yet, so naturally, this technique had Never Before appeared.

After thinking for several seconds, Kagura nodded.

Though I didn't create it myself, the system gave it to me, which makes it mine. It isn't too much to claim the credit for inventing it, right?

A trace of appreciation flashed through Hanzo's Eyes when he saw Kagura's response, and he continued:

"The Uchiha Clan truly is an enviable clan.

Every generation produces astonishing geniuses."

He added more firewood to the blaze before him, then raised his head and glanced at everyone as he continued:

"Don't worry. I never intended to kill you.

But for the next two days, you will need to stay with me. Once I deliver this man to the target location, I will let you go.

Your people are everywhere outside. If I let you go now and you report this, drawing Konoha People here,

I would have quite a headache."

Sure enough, a look of understanding appeared on Kagura's face.

Hanzo's intentions were exactly as he had deduced.

However, after hearing Hanzo's words, Shota Futa's expression beside them turned ugly.

He Looked Towards Hanzo with some fear and said:

"Why not kill them directly? Wouldn't that be more convenient?

If you think the mission payment was too low and did not include this, I can add more in my own name."

Yet Hanzo did not even glance at Shota Futa's request. He continued poking at the fire before him as he said:

"I am only the one carrying out the mission. If you have objections to its terms, go discuss them with someone in Amegakure yourself.

Right now, I am only responsible for safely delivering you to the designated location."

Faced with Hanzo's blunt words, Shota Futa's facial muscles twitched slightly, but he still forced himself to calm down.

Along the Way, he had come to understand the strength of the man before him.

In his eyes, even powerful Anbu could not last a single move against him. With his own mere Chunin strength, there was no need for comparison.

Tsunade treated Jiraiya while keeping an eye on the situation here.

That unlucky Jiraiya had already begun recovering, but Hanzo's strike had injured his wound again, and blood began flowing once more.

Fortunately, she had experience from the first time. Tsunade easily stopped the bleeding this time and was using the Healing Technique to accelerate the wound's recovery.

When she heard Hanzo's words, her tense heart relaxed as well.

There was no helping it. After the brief battle just now, she had already realized that Hanzo was not on the same level as them.

Even Kagura, usually the strongest among them, could not last a single exchange against him.

At this moment, they did not possess such strong ninja responsibility. For them, survival was the foremost priority.

When she heard Hanzo refute Shota Futa, she finally could not help but laugh.

Inside the sealed cave, her laughter sounded especially abrupt as it echoed throughout the space.

Already irritated, Shota Futa felt his anger surge again at the laughter. He glared over and said viciously:

"Hmph!

With just a few Genin like you, even if Hanzo refuses to act, I can deal with you myself."

As he spoke, he made a move to stand, seemingly truly intending to take action himself.

At that moment, Kagura, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, opened them again. The Sharingan in his eyes slowly spun.

A cold gaze swept over Shota Futa. He Only Feel his Whole Body turn cold and warily Looked Over at Kagura.

Kagura had no favorable impression of the man before him at all. He said coldly:

"If Hanzo were not here, Trash like you

would have long since been under my control and heading back to the village with us."

Upon hearing Kagura's contemptuous words, Shota Futa flew into a rage and was about to say something.

Then Hanzo finally Looked Over at him with the eyes of someone looking at an Idiot and interrupted:

"Sit down!

Can you not even judge an Opponent's strength?

Don't be unconvinced. The kid is telling the truth."

Shota Futa's expression stiffened at Hanzo's words.

If it had only been that kid, he would have taken it as a Youth's provocation.

But since Hanzo had said it, he believed the other's judgment.

He sat back down indignantly, then seemed to think of something and Looked Towards Kagura with an unhappy expression.

"What could a kid like you possibly know?

As Genin, you are nothing more than tools in the hands of those Konoha People.

The so-called mission you are carrying out this time is nothing but a lie."

Kagura Frowned when he heard Shota Futa's words.

Before he could speak, Tsunade beside him asked first:

"What do you mean by that?"

Shota Futa raised his head and looked at the four kids before him. Seeing the questions in their eyes, he showed a faint smile again and said:

"What do I mean?

I mean all of you were deceived by that Hokage and Danzo.

The orders you received probably said that I stole the Forbidden Book, so you were sent to capture me, right?

Yes, I did steal something, but what I stole was not the Forbidden Book at all."

At this point, he seemed to recall something and continued through gritted teeth:

"It was bait!

Bait used by your higher-ups to lure out the spies hidden in Konoha.

They used this method to draw us out, then swiftly eliminate us.

All of this was merely a plan by the newly appointed Hokage to purge the internal ranks."

After hearing Shota Futa's explanation, Kagura felt that all the confusion from the past few days had been cleared away.

Why had the Forbidden Book, regarded as such a treasure, been stolen by a spy so easily?

Why had the higher-ups reacted so swiftly just after the incident happened, even sending all the Jonin to block the escape routes immediately?

And why had the system still not issued him a mission?

Because the specific content of this A-Rank Mission was: capture Shota Futa and retrieve the Forbidden Book in his possession.

Since he did not have the Forbidden Book at all, this naturally did not count as a real A-Rank Mission.

That was why the system had not issued a mission this time.

Though he was somewhat surprised, Kagura did not think the Konoha higher-ups had done anything wrong.

Wasn't it normal to uncover the spies in the village and purge the internal environment?

The only surprise was perhaps that Hiruzen Sarutobi had not expected Kagura and others to encounter an enemy like Hanzo on the outskirts.

After hearing Shota Futa's words, Tsunade and the others looked at one another and revealed expressions of realization.

At that moment, Hanzo waved his hand forward, extinguished the fire before him, and stood up.

After looking around, he said to everyone:

"Alright, it is time to continue onward.

You little Konoha brats will have to follow me for a while."