"Lord Hanzo! Lord Hanzo!"
Just as Hanzo was about to hear Danzo's opinion, a Rain Ninja rushed in in a panic. A guard wielding a short sword burst into the office right behind him and immediately seized him.
Seeing this, Hanzo no longer cared whether there were outsiders present. He tugged on the chain beside him, took hold of the sickle hanging from the wall, then slowly rose and ambled over to the Rain Ninja, saying coldly:
"You'd better have a good reason for barging in here in such a panic."
Hanzo lowered his eyes, quietly resting the kusarigama against the Rain Ninja's shoulder.
The Hanzo of old might not have acted this way, but age had weakened him and left him feeling helpless, making him utterly obsessed with power.
In his eyes, a Rain Ninja barging into his office was no different from someone challenging his authority. One wrong word, and the kusarigama's sharp blade would take his life.
"There... There's a group of black-clad shinobi invading the village!"
The Rain Ninja swallowed and stammered.
That might have been all well and good if he hadn't said it. But the news set Hanzo, already weakened, boiling with rage. Had he really grown so weak that any group of people dared enter his territory and challenge him?!
He put away his kusarigama and roared, "Gather our forces at once! I'd like to see just who dares challenge my authority!"
He paid no mind to Danzo sitting nearby, merely having someone arrange temporary accommodations for him. Then Hanzo gathered nearly a hundred Rain Ninja and headed to the village's residential district.
"How much damage have they caused? Any casualties?"
Hanzo stared at the black-clad shinobi clinging to the drainage pipes outside the apartment buildings and darting from one building to another as he asked the routine question.
"Lord Hanzo, apart from causing a bit of panic among the villagers, those shinobi don't seem to have caused any damage..."
"Bastards! They've walked all over us and taken a dump on my territory, and you're telling me there's no damage?!"
Hanzo smacked the Rain Ninja hard across the face. Eyes blazing, he shouted, "All of you, attack!"
He absolutely could not let this affect the image of authority he had as their leader in the eyes of the villagers of Amegakure!
At Hanzo's command, the Rain Ninja surged forward, chakra coating the soles of their shoes as they ran up the drainage pipes toward the Shadow Ninja.
But the instant the Rain Ninja swung their swords and hurled their kunai, the Shadow Ninja turned into shadows and slipped into the walls. They ignored the attacks completely and vanished into the rainy gloom.
"Shadow-based jutsu... Could it be the Nara Clan of Konoha...?"
The Nara Clan was the only one in the entire Ninja World known for shadow-based jutsu, so Hanzo naturally thought of them. "Damn Konoha... It's bad enough that they're always acting so sanctimonious... Now they even dare send shinobi into my territory!"
Though Hanzo cursed Konoha, there was nothing he could do. If he truly hadn't feared Konoha, he wouldn't have spared the young Sannin during the Second Shinobi World War.
Still, even if he couldn't openly challenge Konoha, he had to put on a show and protect the village.
"Water Body Flicker Technique!"
With that, Hanzo's body burst into a spray of water. Kusarigama in hand, he appeared before the Shadow Ninja in an instant.
"This is what happens when you mess with me. Be more careful in your next life!"
His kusarigama came down, slicing the Shadow Ninja in half from top to bottom. But unlike what Hanzo expected, the Shadow Ninja didn't collapse into a pool of blood. Instead, he turned into black smoke and vanished.
"Hmm? Has the Nara Clan developed their secret techniques to the point where they can mass-produce shadow shinobi?!"
Hanzo was somewhat surprised by the Shadowkhan's abilities. Though he could tell the Shadow Ninja weren't strong in one-on-one combat, their ability to travel between shadows would make them excellent at infiltrating places and gathering intelligence.
At the same time, he grew even angrier. The veins on his forehead bulged. "This is a provocation! A blatant provocation!" Damn Konoha, damn the Nara Clan—they were just using Amegakure to test a new secret technique!
The Shadowkhan paid no heed to Hanzo and the Rain Ninja pursuing them. Their first priority remained "searching for the Talismans."
Several smoke bombs hit the ground, releasing thick clouds that blocked visibility and made people sneeze uncontrollably. But Hanzo and the Rain Ninja all wore gas masks at all times, so they had only temporarily lost sight of the Shadowkhan. As for the villagers below who had gathered to watch... they were already sneezing nonstop...
"What are these guys... trying to do?!"
Hanzo looked up and quickly searched for the Shadowkhan among Amegakure's industrial-style buildings.
"Leave a few men to evacuate the villagers. The rest of you, follow me!"
The Shadowkhan weren't headed anywhere else. They were making for the tower where Hanzo worked. After Jack took the Horse Talisman into the Akatsuki, Qian Yu had placed the Snake Talisman, which represented the power of invisibility, beneath the lightning rod atop Amegakure's tallest tower.
The Shadow Ninja slipped into the drainage pipes of Amegakure's tallest tower, and Hanzo and the others immediately followed.
--Drip, drip...
The drainage pipe was pitch-black, surrounded by the sticky sound of flowing water and the metallic clanging of the Shadow Ninja's feet against the pipes.
"Lord Hanzo! They're over there!"
Darkness surged forth. The Shadowkhan completely surrounded Hanzo and the Rain Ninja from both directions. Their mission was to find the Talisman, but clearing away their pursuers was necessary too.
"Ninja of the Nara Clan! What are you doing sneaking into Amegakure?!"
Even now, Hanzo still believed the Shadow Ninja were Konoha's doing. After all, he was a native of the Ninja World, and it was only natural for him to assume the most obvious explanation.
The Shadow Ninja didn't bother answering. They each drew a sword and charged.
"Fools!"
Even badly weakened, Hanzo was no match for a few Shadow Ninja who couldn't even use ninjutsu, especially with a group of Rain Ninja at his side.
"Water Style: Water Turbulence!"
"Ninja Art: Rain of Senbon!"
Hundreds and thousands of senbon, as fine as strands of hair, shot out in a torrent of water spat from the Rain Ninja's mouths. They filled the passage in both directions, turning the Shadow Ninja into pincushions.
"Now... are you ready to tell me what you're after?"
The Shadowkhan were endless, but Qian Yu had no intention of using a strategy based on endlessly churning out soldiers. As he lay cozily in bed, he noticed the number of Shadow Ninja dropping rapidly and realized they'd run into a tough opponent.
"So it's Hanzo...?"
The old man might not have many years left, but the Dimensional Points he yielded hadn't decreased along with his strength.
"Looks like I can milk him again..."
Through remote control, Qian Yu ordered the Shadow Ninja to pull out round balls marked with the character "Explode" and hurl them with all their might—
"Rumble!"
Thousands of bombs exploded at once, flames shooting into the sky. Then came the shuddering sound of metal pipes rupturing, echoing along the walls as the roar of rushing water drew closer.
"Damn it!"
The iron plates beneath their feet began to shake violently, making it difficult for everyone to stay upright. As the relentless explosions finally ended, the plates could no longer hold and gave way completely.
The raging water surged forth with unstoppable force, flooding the Rain Ninja's field of vision in an instant. They felt the sewage wash over their eyes, ear canals, and entire bodies. When they finally came to their senses, they were in a sewage treatment plant piled high with garbage.
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