Hanzo of the Salamander was an anomaly in the shinobi world. Though he came from the tiny Amegakure Ninja Village, he had grown into a demigod whom even the Five Great Nations had to acknowledge. Under his leadership, Amegakure Ninja Village could take on the Lands of Fire, Earth, and Wind directly. He had truly earned his title.
If Amegakure Ninja Village had not possessed only one outstanding figure, the Land of Rain might have risen to become the sixth great nation. Yet when only one man was strong and everyone else failed to keep pace, the greater his ambitions, the greater the disaster he would bring upon his country.
Perhaps the young Hanzō had hoped to free the Land of Rain from its fate as a buffer zone for wars. That might have been why he had resolutely declared war on the other nations during the Second Shinobi World War. But he had no way to make the Land of Rain truly strong. Clearly, he could not protect the entire country alone.
In the end, crushed by brutal reality, Hanzō had slowly changed from a hero who protected his country into a dictator concerned only with preserving his own position. He had viewed Akatsuki, which might challenge his standing, as a threat. He had even chosen to cooperate with Danzo to purge this organization that preached peace from his country.
What he had not expected was that, although he had eliminated Akatsuki's leader, he had let a true monster escape. In the end, the "god" who came seeking revenge had killed him. With Hanzō's strength, even if he could not defeat his opponent, he should have been able to escape with his life. But in the process of safeguarding his own power, he had lost sight of his former