The central square of Amegakure Main City had not been this crowded in a long time.
The last time so many people had gathered was the day Hanzō declared war on the Five Great Nations.
On the platform that day, Hanzō had proclaimed that he would reclaim dignity and victory for the ravaged Land of Rain.
The crowd below had cheered with joy.
Everyone had believed they would finally stop being sacrifices and stepping stones in the great nations' power struggles.
A few short years had passed in a flash.
The square was still the same square, the platform still the same platform, but the people below and the atmosphere among them had changed beyond recognition.
The cheers that had once shaken the entire city were gone, replaced by deathly silence.
All that remained in that silence was fear and numbness sunk deep into their bones.
Several hundred members of the Great Love Society were held in orderly rows by Hidden Rain Ninja on either side of the square.
Ropes bound every pair of wrists tightly, leaving them bedraggled and helpless.
The city's ordinary residents had been forced to attend the sentencing, gathering around the perimeter in the curtain of rain.
Most did not know the black-haired young man about to be interrogated on the platform. They knew only one thing.
Throughout Amegakure's history, the occasions when Hanzō had personally interrogated a prisoner could be counted on one hand.
And everyone he had personally questioned had vanished without a trace, never to appear again.
At the very center of the platform stood Hanzō.
He looked down upon the prisoners and the crowd, his gaze slowly passing over one numb, vacant face after another.
He did not find the expression he wanted.
He had long since grown tired of the people's