Hanzō sat in his room, wiping down his scythe. His face was dark, and he could not hide the anger in his eyes.
He had supported Akatsuki to build his reputation. The Land of Rain had suffered through years of war, and its people had grown sick of it.
Though hailed as the Demigod, he was powerful, nothing more. Many of his orders carried little weight beyond Amegakure, partly because he had accomplished so little in recent years.
Hanzō had disappointed most of the people in the Land of Rain. Akatsuki, meanwhile, had been working in villages across the country since its founding.
After two years, the results were clear. There were noticeably fewer homeless children on the streets. Some Wandering Ninja had joined Akatsuki, while others had been driven out. Still others had been captured by the Black Market and sold to Orochimaru for Human Experimentation.
Hanzō's expression darkened. He had meant to let Akatsuki grow for a few more years and help pull the Land of Rain out of its chaos.
Now he could not leave it alone. In five or six years, the whole country might know only Akatsuki and Yahiko, and no one would remember Hanzō.
"Someone, tell Ishii to come here."
"Yes, sir."
A Ninja outside left to carry out the order. Ten minutes later, a Ninja of average build entered, wearing a breathing mask like Hanzō's.
"Lord Hanzō."
Hanzō set his scythe on the table beside him.
"I have one task for you. Keep Akatsuki under close watch. They're taking in rogue Ninja from Amegakure, aren't they? Send more of our people to infiltrate them.
"Find out everything you can about Akatsuki."
"My lord, are we going to move against them? A lot of Ninja in Amegakure have been fed up with what Akatsuki