Hanzo of the Salamander lay in a pool of blood. With his fall, the Rain Ninja who had survived Uzumaki Kuming's jutsu lost all courage to fight. They scattered in every direction.
Some of the shinobi who had remained loyal to Hanzo took a long, hard look at Uzumaki Kuming and Uchiha Fugaku before they fled, memorizing their faces in the hope of getting revenge someday.
Watching the Rain Ninja flee, Fugaku launched a fireball into the sky, signaling the Uchiha who had been lying in wait in the forest.
Before long, explosions rang out here and there in the woods around the General Mountain plain. Many Rain Ninja were killed by the Uchiha lying in ambush, while several others were captured with genjutsu. Once the battle was over, the Uchiha brought them before Fugaku.
The sky was gray and overcast, but at least the rain had stopped. It was a rare dry day.
"Uncle, is Hanzo of the Salamander dead?" Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan came over to Kuming and Fugaku. Staring at Hanzo's body in the pool of blood, Yahiko's eyes widened in disbelief.
Hanzo of the Salamander had been famous throughout the Land of Rain for a long time. As a citizen of the country, Yahiko had once admired him greatly. Yet he could hardly believe that the man known throughout the Shinobi World as the Demigod had died at the hands of Kuming and Fugaku.
"Yeah. Your conflict with him couldn't be resolved peacefully. For your sake, I had no choice but to step in."
"Of course, Hanzo's death is good news for Konoha, too."
Kuming sighed and gestured for Fugaku to take care of Hanzo's body. Then he walked over to Yahiko, put an arm around his shoulder, and said quietly:
"Yahiko, I know you've always