As soon as Lord Madara left, Danzo arrived to stir up trouble!

Wind and rain poured into the top of the tower.

Hanzo the Salamander slumped on the cold floor, his body still trembling uncontrollably.

The sensation of the air directly touching his face—a feeling he hadn't experienced in decades—sent waves of panic through him.

His mask was gone.

The mask that had accompanied him for decades, the one that kept others from being poisoned by his own exhaled gas, had been crushed by that man as if it were a dry biscuit.

He touched his face, his fingers coming away slick with cold sweat born of extreme terror.

Uchiha Madara...

That legend, who should have been buried alongside the First Hokage at the Valley of the End, was actually still alive!

Moreover, he possessed the First Hokage's Wood Style! He possessed the legendary Rinnegan!

Most terrifying of all, he knew everything about him!

He knew that his grand ambitions had vanished into smoke, turning him into the coward he once despised; he knew of his dealings with Shimura Danzo; he knew of his plans for the Akatsuki!

Before that man, he—the so-called "Demigod"—was like a clown stripped naked and thrown into the snow, with every secret and every dark corner laid bare.

"Lord Hanzo! Lord Hanzo, are you alright?"

The surviving Anbu member scrambled over, his voice thick with tears.

"Get out!"

Hanzo kicked him away violently and struggled to his feet.

No, he couldn't panic.

He was Hanzo the Salamander!

He had crawled out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood during the Warring States period and had ruled this country for decades!

Even if it was Uchiha Madara, he wouldn't just surrender like this!

"Cancel the plan... or else..."

The man's words still echoed in his ears.

Hanzo's expression flickered between shadow and light.

Cancel?

How could he cancel it!

He had already established contact with Shimura Danzo's side; the elites of Konoha's Root had already infiltrated Amegakure, and a net had been cast, just waiting for those Akatsuki brats to walk right into it.

If he canceled now, how would he answer to Shimura Danzo?

More importantly, once the Akatsuki learned of his plan to strike at them, given the personality of that red-haired brat, there would be no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides!

When that time came, how would the Akatsuki, backed by Uchiha Madara, deal with him?

The more Hanzo thought about it, the more cold sweat drenched his back.

He was caught between a rock and a hard place!

Just then.

A black shadow wearing a mask appeared silently in the shadows of the room and knelt on one knee.

"Lord Hanzo, Lord Shimura Danzo has an urgent communication."

It was a ninja from Konoha's Root.

Hanzo's heart skipped a beat, but he forced down his inner turmoil and said in a deep voice, "Put it through."

The Root ninja took out a scroll and performed a one-handed seal, causing a blurry image of a face to appear on the scroll.

Shimura Danzo's sinister voice emanated from the scroll.

"Hanzo, I heard there was quite a commotion on your end. What happened?"

Hanzo took a deep breath and recounted what had just occurred in the most concise language possible.

Naturally, he omitted the humiliating details of him being scared witless and having his mask crushed in front of his face, emphasizing only the fact that the opponent claimed to be Uchiha Madara and possessed Wood Style and the Rinnegan.

Shimura Danzo, on the other end of the scroll, fell silent.

After a full dozen seconds, he let out a cold laugh.

"Uchiha Madara? Absurd!"

"Hanzo, you are a man who lived through the Warring States period; how could you be deceived by such a crude genjutsu?"

"How could a dead man be resurrected? And possess both Wood Style and the Rinnegan? Do you think that's possible? This is clearly a trick learned by those Akatsuki brats from somewhere, a ruse meant to scare you off!"

Genjutsu?

Hanzo's expression turned ugly.

Could that feeling of his soul being crushed, that overwhelming, incredibly real pressure, be a genjutsu?

"But, he knew about the things between us..."

"So what?" Danzo interrupted him directly. "The communication between us was never an absolute secret. It's no surprise that those brats in the Akatsuki have Jiraiya's shadow behind them and managed to gather some intelligence."

Danzo's voice seemed to carry a strange, magical power, smoothing over the fear in Hanzo the Salamander's heart bit by bit while simultaneously fanning the flames of his deeper suspicions and ambitions.

"Hanzo, think about it carefully."

"If Uchiha Madara had truly returned, given his personality, would he have just left after giving you a verbal warning like that?"

"Why didn't he kill you on the spot? Why didn't he wipe out the Akatsuki and take back the eyes of his so-called 'junior'?"

"There is only one explanation!"

Danzo's tone grew heavier.

"He is bluffing! He, or rather the Akatsuki, lacks the strength to confront you head-on, so they came up with this method to make you retreat in the face of difficulty!"

Hanzo the Salamander's breathing grew rapid.

He was beginning to waver under Danzo's words.

That was true; if it were really that legendary Shura of the ninja world, how could he be so "kind"?

"Think about it. Once you back down this time and cancel the plan, by tomorrow, the entire Amegakure, and even the entire ninja world, will know that you, Hanzo the Salamander, were scared off by a few brats!"

"By then, the Akatsuki's reputation will soar, and countless ninjas will flock to them. As for you, the fame of the 'Demigod' will vanish into thin air!"

"I don't need to tell you what the fate of a leader who has lost his prestige will be, do I?"

Every one of Danzo's words was like a needle, piercing deep into Hanzo the Salamander's most sensitive nerve.

He feared death.

But he feared losing everything he currently possessed even more!

"That man... left a three-day deadline," Hanzo the Salamander said in a hoarse voice.

"Three days?" Danzo sneered again. "Why wait three days? Doesn't that just prove he is stalling for time?"

"Hanzo, listen to me. Opportunity knocks but once; time waits for no man!"

"Execute the plan immediately! Do it today! While they think you've been intimidated and their guard is at its lowest, wipe them all out in one fell swoop!"

"As long as you capture that brat with the Rinnegan and get your hands on those eyes, never mind a fake Uchiha Madara—even if the real Uchiha Madara were resurrected, what would we have to fear?"

Capture Nagato, seize the Rinnegan!

This thought, like a bolt of lightning, tore through all the fog in Hanzo the Salamander's mind!

Yes!

Those eyes!

Regardless of whether that man was Madara or not, the power of the Rinnegan was real!

As long as he obtained those eyes, he could free himself from his dependence on poison gas and perhaps even gain power surpassing the First Hokage!

When that time came, Uchiha Madara, the Five Great Nations—they would all tremble at his feet! By then, no one would dare use the Land of Rain as a battlefield for their slaughter!

Infinite greed instantly overwhelmed his lingering fear and his final shred of reason. Hanzo the Salamander desperately convinced himself that doing this was for the bright future of the Land of Rain!

The flames of madness and fighting spirit reignited in Hanzo the Salamander's sinister eyes, just as they had when he declared war on the great nations all those years ago.

"I understand."

He spoke to the scroll, word by word.

"The plan proceeds as scheduled!"

Dozens of kilometers away from Amegakure.

Lin Feng was sitting cross-legged on a floating rock, happily tallying his gains.

"Oh, not bad at all!"

[S+ Rank Emergency Event 'Intimidating the Demigod' completed.]

[Acting Evaluation: S+. Character Consistency: 99%. Extremely high comprehensive performance. The 'breaking through the ceiling,' 'genjutsu intimidation,' and 'shattering the mask in person' combo successfully crafted an image of an absolute, overbearing overlord, completely crushing the target's psychological defenses.]

[Reward Settlement: Acting Points +15,000. Rinnegan Dojutsu 'Genjutsu: Rinnegan' proficiency increased to 'Mastery'.]

Fifteen thousand points!

Looking at the number on the system panel, Lin Feng could almost feel his mouth watering.

This earned way more than acting in Konoha for half a day!

As expected, one has to create their own performance opportunities!

"System, system! Quick, open the shop! I'm going on a spending spree!"

Lin Feng impatiently opened the shop interface, his gaze locking directly onto the item he had been coveting for a long time.

[Uchiha Gunbai (High-Quality Replica): Built-in micro 'Uchiha Return' technique, capable of blocking and reflecting B-rank ninjutsu and below. Price: 8,888 Acting Points.]

Even though it was just a high-quality replica that could only reflect up to B-rank ninjutsu, it was just too cool to pass up!

When Madara-sama makes an entrance, how could he not have a Uchiha Gunbai?

"Bought!"

Lin Feng waved his hand, and the acting points were instantly deducted.

The next second, a flash of light appeared in his hand, and a massive flame fan, identical to the one in his memory, materialized out of thin air.

The fan face was archaic, and a long chain was attached to its handle.

Lin Feng weighed it in his hand and nodded with satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad. Now the equipment is complete."

He was just about to browse the shop further to see what else he could buy with his remaining points.

Suddenly, he paused, his brows furrowing slightly.

He slowly raised his head, his purple Rinnegan piercing through the heavy curtain of rain, gazing toward the center of Amegakure.

Through the Rinnegan's superior visual range, he "saw" everything happening inside Hanzo's tower.

He "saw" that ninja from Root.

He "saw" the conversation between Hanzo and Shimura Danzo.

He "saw" the shift on Hanzo's face from fear to greed.

The corners of Lin Feng's mouth slowly curled up, revealing a chilling smile.

"Interesting."

"That old bastard Danzo really is a troublemaker."

"I already gave you a chance to live, yet you refuse to cherish it."

He slowly stood up and hoisted the massive fan onto his shoulder.

"Fine, I originally intended to let you live for three more days."

"Since you are all in such a hurry to die..."

His figure slowly began to fade where he stood.

"Then I shall personally send you on your way."

Meanwhile, on the other side of Amegakure.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan had just arrived at the meeting place agreed upon with Hanzo—an abandoned canyon.

"Has Lord Hanzo not arrived yet?" Yahiko looked around, his face filled with a mix of anticipation and nervousness.

Konan, however, felt a sudden palpitation. The paper butterflies she had released sensed a large number of unfamiliar chakra signatures around the canyon.

"Yahiko, something is wrong!"

No sooner had she spoken than dense crowds of figures suddenly appeared on the canyon walls on both sides.

On one side were the Amegakure Anbu wearing breathing masks.

On the other side were the Konoha "Root" members, all dressed in white robes and wearing animal masks!

Leading them were none other than Hanzo the Salamander and the sinister old man beside him, leaning on a cane with his eye bandaged—Shimura Danzo!

They were surrounded!

"Lord Hanzo! What is the meaning of this!" Yahiko roared in shock and anger.

Hanzo did not answer, merely looking at them with the eyes of someone viewing the dead.

Danzo let out a cackling, eerie laugh: "What is the meaning of this? Little brat, go ask the King of Hell yourself!"

He waved his hand violently.

"Do it! Capture the red-haired one, and kill the rest without mercy!"

"To prevent that brat with the Rinnegan from pulling any tricks, give them this first!"

Following Danzo's order, dozens of elite Root ninjas simultaneously pulled something from their robes.

They were kunai plastered with explosive tags!

Without hesitation, they hurled these specially crafted "gifts" toward the three people in the center of the canyon, covering the sky like a downpour!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The next second, deafening explosions echoed throughout the entire Land of Rain!