"Whatever happened between you and the Black Salamander King has nothing to do with me. If you want to leave, this is your last chance," Hanzō told Garaga coldly.
Hanzō still remembered this crimson serpent...
Years ago, the Second Kazekage of Sunagakure had secretly brought several experts to the Black Pool beside Lingering Rain Mountain to hunt the Black Salamander King. Back then, Amegakure had been little more than a lackey-it had to swallow the humiliation even when others came "hunting" on its doorstep.
At the time, Hanzō had sneaked over to the Black Pool and witnessed the battle.
One of the powerful ninja serving the Second Kazekage had summoned a crimson serpent just like this one!
Although Hanzō had still been a child then, and his memories were hazy, unless there was another crimson serpent this enormous in the world, it had to be the one before him.
Only later had Hanzō learned that the ninja was the current Third Kazekage's father.
Come to think of it...
That battle had played a major role in Hanzō's life, too!
During that battle, Sunagakure had retreated empty-handed for some unknown reason, while the Black Salamander King had been left mortally wounded. Only then had Amegakure gotten the chance to obtain his corpse.
Meanwhile, Hanzō had been poisoned and fallen unconscious at the edge of the battlefield. With nothing left to lose, they had included the comatose Hanzō in their poison-sac transplant experiments.
And in the end... Hanzō had been the one who succeeded!
The Black Salamander King's poison sac had become part of him. From then on, the "demigod" who would shake the shinobi world for twenty years had begun his journey as a ninja.
That was why, upon seeing this crimson serpent-especially when he noticed the serpent staring at him-Hanzō