Land of Rain

It drizzled from the sky, as if the heavens were weeping.

The Land of Rain was known as the weeping country. Like its endless rain, its people lived in misery.

Amegakure

Shimura Danzō walked slowly toward Hanzo's office.

After receiving the Hokage's mission, Danzō had set out at an unhurried pace for Amegakure.

Along the way, he had taken the opportunity to inspect the various Root bases.

Like a superior making the rounds to check on his subordinates and inspect their work, he had delayed for quite some time before finally arriving in the Land of Rain.

As for the mission in the Land of Rain assigned by the Third Hokage, Danzō considered it merely a convenient excuse to make the trip.

In Danzō's eyes, Hanzo was a master of ninjutsu and a powerful fighter. But his country was small and sparsely populated, and he couldn't stir up much trouble.

Salamander Hanzo's residence was heavily guarded, with shinobi on duty in layer after layer of defenses.

Hanzo sat at the head of a long table in the reception room, wearing a gas mask. He sat with an imposing air, polishing his favorite weapon: a gleaming kusarigama.

Hanzo seemed to sense something. He looked up toward the hallway and saw Shimura Danzō walk in.

Hanzo looked away and continued polishing his sickle. Whether he meant it as a show of force was hard to say.

Hanzo was arrogant, but he still dared not neglect a request to meet from Konoha's Danzō. He had made time to receive him in person.

Danzō wore a Konoha flak jacket and carried a long sword on his back. One of his eyes was wrapped in bandages.

Once he had left Konoha, Danzō's limp had vanished and his hand had healed. He no longer needed a cane, and the arm he had previously kept in a sling was now perfectly fine.

"Shimura Danzō, what brings you here?"

Salamander Hanzo couldn't hold back and asked.

"Hanzo, I'd like to ask you for a favor," Danzō said coolly.

"Oh? The renowned Darkness of the Shinobi is asking for help. It must be something difficult. Let's hear it."

Hanzo smiled as if a lucrative deal had just come his way.

"No, you're mistaken. It's a very simple matter. That's why I need your help."

Danzō carried himself with an air of effortless confidence.

"Hmph." Hanzo snorted. He couldn't bring himself to like a crafty old fox like this.

"Heh, Hanzo, don't misunderstand. I'm not belittling you. It really is a simple matter. I need to collect some Sharingan. If any Uchiha shinobi from Konoha come to the Land of Rain, please take their eyes for me," Danzō said slowly.

"Oh? The Uchiha Clan is one of the great clans of the Shinobi World. You call that a simple task?"

Hanzo remained expressionless, resting his hand on the table, utterly composed.

"Heh. Would even the Demigod Hanzo fear Konoha's Uchiha?"

"Hmph. Even if Konoha sent an army, they'd be nothing but ants to me."

Proud and arrogant, Hanzo would never back down in response to Danzō's provocation.

The corners of Danzō's mouth lifted. He didn't argue and simply said:

"In return, I'll help you wipe out the mercenary organizations in the Land of Rain."

At Danzō's words, Hanzo narrowed his eyes. A number of separatist forces had indeed emerged in the Land of Rain.

Many shinobi organizations were helping the people and building villages and towns. They had won the people's support, and their ranks were growing quickly, threatening Hanzo's rule over the Land of Rain.

The title Demigod Hanzo wasn't just praise for his strength. Hanzo also served as the Daimyo of the Land of Rain and was, in truth, its dictator. No nobles or samurai stood in his way.

One of the mercenary organizations in the Land of Rain was especially mysterious. Its three leaders were skilled in ninjutsu and formidable fighters.

Though Hanzo talked big, he was actually very cautious—or, one might say, very protective of his own life.

The shinobi he sent to assassinate them almost always vanished without a trace. When these shinobi organizations weren't carrying out missions, they disguised themselves as ordinary people on the spot, giving Hanzo a headache as he tried to deal with the groups lurking in the shadows.

Danzō's offer of help was certainly tempting.

"I can't bear to harm the people of the Land of Rain. If you can help me solve this problem, then we have a deal."

As a leader, refusing to back down was a basic requirement.

The corners of Danzō's mouth lifted slightly.

"I can't bear to harm the people of Konoha either. I'll have my subordinates provide you with intelligence in Amegakure. When the time comes, I'll be counting on you."

Danzō played along, sounding like a good leader who worked for the good of his people and country.

Their eyes met briefly, and both broke into cruel smiles.

Konoha

An underground base outside the village

The courtyard of the base was dotted with dozens of posts. A man and a woman were tied to two of them. Their heads hung low, and they were clearly unconscious.

Hiruko untied one of them, then formed several Hand Seals.

Naraku watched closely from behind. Hiruko had cast a Genjutsu.

After undoing the ropes, Hiruko applied a Genjutsu to the test subject as a precaution. Under its influence, the freed shinobi's breathing grew steadier, and he sank into an even deeper sleep.

Hiruko continued to mold his chakra and began forming Hand Seals.

Naraku watched the entire time. He was certain he had never seen this technique before. There were very few techniques Naraku hadn't seen.

A short while later, Hiruko finished the hand signs and tapped the drowsy man on the shoulder.

The man suddenly jolted awake and cried out in pain. As he screamed, a gray-black liquid seeped from his body and slowly enveloped him.

Once the gray-black liquid covered the man, it was as if he had melted away and vanished inside it.

The gray-black liquid writhed slowly toward the other bound person, crawling up from the woman's feet.

After the gray-black liquid enveloped her, it seemed to be slowly absorbed through her skin.

Before long, the gray-black liquid covering her disappeared, absorbed entirely by the woman. She remained asleep, showing no sign of waking.

"Clap, clap, clap."

Hiruko heard applause behind him.

"Truly impressive, Hiruko. Was the fusion successful? It looks like this fusion technique is nearly complete."

Watching the fusion experiment, Uchiha Nara couldn't help applauding in admiration.

The corners of Hiruko's mouth turned up. He couldn't help feeling proud that the fusion experiment had succeeded.

"Lord Naraku, the initial fusion is complete, but we still need to observe whether there's any rejection and whether she has gained the other person's elemental affinity."

Hiruko's eyes were feverish, but he didn't act recklessly. He spoke matter-of-factly.

"Mm, of course. Keep observing them. One has an Earth affinity and the other a Water affinity, right? I'm eager to see whether she inherited the other person's affinity."

Naraku was excited. Hiruko's development of the Chimera Technique was progressing at an incredible pace. The fusion of animals and other creatures had already been proven successful, meaning this technique could be used to create powerful Summoning Beasts.

If people could be successfully fused with animals, then naturally people could be fused with other people, too.

After numerous early experiments had ended in failures, with subjects' bodies exploding and the like, the last two experiments had both succeeded.

Now all that remained was to observe the test subjects and see whether they showed any abnormalities or signs of rejection.

"The test subject's life signs are perfectly stable. All that remains is to observe her! The Chimera Technique should be ready to unveil very soon!"

Hiruko, the developer of the Chimera Technique, was excited. He seemed already to envision himself becoming renowned throughout the world.

Naraku didn't interrupt him. Hiruko's rapid progress with the Chimera Technique had taken him by surprise.

But Naraku wasn't overly optimistic. A miraculous forbidden technique like this couldn't possibly be created in just half a year or a year.

Hiruko had spent three years developing the concept and designing the technique, then more than a year secretly conducting experiments. That had finally brought the forbidden technique to the brink of a breakthrough.

With Naraku's support, Hiruko had made further progress in just six months. His advancement could only be called rapid.

Still, Naraku believed the technique couldn't possibly be ready so soon. There had to be many areas left to improve.

As long as the test subject's condition remained stable and free of abnormalities, and she could live for several years without any issues, with the examinations turning up nothing either—

then the technique could be considered successfully created. All that would remain would be to refine it.

The corners of Naraku's mouth lifted slightly as he watched Hiruko's back, his expression inscrutable.