"Where could Nagato and Konan be now?"
Sigurd murmured to himself, constantly thinking about how he could find traces of the Akatsuki.
Besides, he wasn't even sure what point in time it was. He couldn't tell whether Nagato had already completed his revenge.
If he had, finding him would be easy. He would definitely be in Amegakure.
If he hadn't, then finding him would be difficult.
Though the Land of Rain was a small country, finding someone hiding there was still very hard.
Unable to think of any good ideas, Sigurd finally decided to go to Amegakure and take a look.
No matter what, the Akatsuki was still in its early stages and desperately needed members.
As long as he made a big enough show of himself and demonstrated his strength, Nagato and Konan would eventually hear about him.
Then there'd be no way they wouldn't be tempted.
Besides, at this point, Obito should already have left Zetsu with Nagato.
With Zetsu's intelligence-gathering abilities, all Sigurd had to do was make a little commotion, and Zetsu would definitely come investigate.
By then, Nagato or Obito would surely learn about him and send someone to recruit him.
Then he could act reluctant before agreeing. Perfect.
"Good! To make sure my undercover mission goes smoothly, I'll go give Amegakure a taste of something nasty right now."
With that, Sigurd headed toward Amegakure.
After traveling for a little while, Sigurd finally reached the outskirts of Amegakure before noon.
He reached out and caught a raindrop, then focused his senses on it. He couldn't detect any chakra in it; it was just an ordinary raindrop.
If so, then either Nagato hadn't gotten his revenge yet, or he hadn't developed the Rain Tiger at Will Technique.
As Tokiju slowly walked into Amegakure, the first thing he saw was the tower rising above the village center.
Looking at the ornate building constructed atop the tower, Sigurd immediately realized that Hanzō was probably still in power.
If that was the case, could he try challenging Hanzō, the Demigod of the Ninja World?
After all, Salamander Hanzō had beaten his sister badly during the Second Ninja War. It was perfectly reasonable for him to go settle the score.
What's more, Hanzō had probably lost his ambition by now and was spending his days indulging in pleasures. His strength should have fallen far below what it was during the Second Ninja War.
On top of that, his poison wouldn't do much to Sigurd, and Sigurd could fly. Even if he couldn't win, he could escape easily.
With that in mind, Sigurd immediately took off and flew toward the tower.
At the same time, inside the tower, Salamander Hanzō sat alone in a private room, enjoying an incredibly lavish meal.
He was in a phase where he trusted no one, and he wouldn't let anyone enter his room.
Even if there was intelligence he needed to handle, it went through layer upon layer of screening before one of his trusted subordinates personally brought it to his door.
And even then, he didn't trust his subordinates. He only allowed them to wait outside the door and wouldn't let them come in.
As for the intelligence, it was sent in silently through a mechanism in the doorway.
During this time, Salamander Hanzō wouldn't meet anyone face-to-face, not even his trusted subordinates.
To ensure his safety, he had also stationed many sensory-type ninja throughout the tower.
At the slightest disturbance nearby, those sensory ninja would immediately alert Salamander Hanzō through the pipes in the room.
Just then, the sensory ninja suddenly opened their eyes and scrambled to the speaking tube, shouting, "Lord Hanzō, a chakra signature is flying toward you at incredible speed!"
Hearing the voice from the tube, Salamander Hanzō's eyes sharpened as he savored a delicious sea fish.
He instantly drew the chain-sickle beside him and warily scanned his surroundings.
At that moment, with a crash, Sigurd smashed through the outer wall and flew straight into the room.
Seeing the blond man wearing a respirator, Sigurd immediately descended from the air.
In the Land of Rain's climate, it was hard for him to replenish his solar energy, so he had to conserve it whenever he could.
"Who are you?"
Salamander Hanzō's expression turned grave as he looked at the black-clad man before him, unable to figure out how he had provoked him.
At that moment, the Rain Ninja on guard inside the tower appeared one after another. They drew their weapons and warily faced Sigurd.
Sigurd glanced at the many Rain Ninja closing in, clicked his tongue inwardly, and said to Salamander Hanzō, "There are too many people here. We should take this somewhere else."
Before the other man could react, he activated the thrusters on his feet and charged fiercely at Salamander Hanzō.
Hanzō furrowed his brows and quickly raised his chain-sickle across his chest, intending to block the attack solidly.
But to his surprise, his opponent's strength was immense. When they clashed, Hanzō was clearly at a disadvantage.
Seeing this, the surrounding Rain Ninja charged at Sigurd, shouting, "Everyone, attack together! Follow Lord Hanzō and eliminate the intruder!"
Sigurd first grabbed Salamander Hanzō by the wrist, intending to take off with him.
But before Sigurd could fly, Salamander Hanzō formed a Hand Seal with one hand and called out, "Water Body Flicker Technique!"
Salamander Hanzō turned into a puddle of water and instantly slipped out of Sigurd's grasp.
Sigurd stared in surprise at Hanzō, now nothing more than a puddle. He'd forgotten that Hanzō had this escape technique.
While Sigurd was still stunned, the surrounding Rain Ninja launched their attacks, sending an unending barrage of Water Release Ninjutsu his way.
"Water Release: Water Bullet!"
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
"Water Release: Water Wave!"
Seeing the Water Release attacks hurtling toward him without pause, Sigurd immediately bent his knees and leaped into the air, narrowly dodging the first wave.
The moment he jumped, the second wave of Water Release attacks came at him.
Sigurd ignited the thrusters in his feet, and they began to roar.
With a crash, Sigurd smashed through the roof of the building. He planned to shake off those bothersome Rain Ninja first.
But just as the shattered roof blocked his view, a black iron chain wrapped around his arm.
In that instant, Salamander Hanzō burst out of the dust cloud, raising his sickle and aiming straight for Sigurd.
"Swordsmanship: Chain-Sickle Double Strike!"
With danger bearing down on him, Sigurd immediately formed a bright red Moonlight Flying Sword and blocked Hanzō's sickle.
"No wonder you're hailed as the Demigod of the Ninja World. You're still pretty formidable, even now that you're old!"
As he spoke, Sigurd kicked at Hanzō. This was no ordinary kick; thrusters boosted the joints of his leg.
If that kick landed, Hanzō would either die or be crippled.
Sensing the force behind it, Salamander Hanzō swung his sickle with a sudden burst of strength, using the recoil to send himself flying backward.
Taking advantage of the recoil, Hanzō also retrieved the chain-sickle wrapped around Sigurd's arm.
While flying through the air, Salamander Hanzō quickly formed Hand Seals and used Water Body Flicker to return to the ground.
After landing, Salamander Hanzō looked up at Sigurd, flying in the sky, and asked gravely, "Just who are you?"
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