No ruler could tolerate an organization operating under him that refused to obey his orders and constantly threatened his authority.
The Akatsuki's many ninja were not all rogue ninja from other villages. Most were Rain Ninja from his own Amegakure who loathed war and had been swayed by Yahiko's ideals.
That was why Hanzō had always considered Yahiko a thorn in his side. He had led ninja to wipe them out several times, but ninja within Amegakure secretly tipped them off, leaving him unable to catch them.
Then Danzo appeared, and he was generous indeed. His opening offer was enough supplies to sustain Amegakure for an entire year.
With rain falling year-round, Amegakure's food production had never kept up, and its population could not grow either. Even now, it had yet to recover from the damage inflicted during the Second Shinobi World War.
Without population growth, there were no new ninja to replenish their ranks. Worse still, the war had driven the prices of supplies entering the Land of Rain from other countries up several times over. If things continued along their current course...
Within five years, even the mighty Demigod Hanzō would have to work the fields or plunder other ninja villages. That was what made Danzo's supplies so timely and so precious.
And under these circumstances, the Akatsuki had actually emerged within the Land of Rain. That was simply adding fuel to the fire.
Hanzō truly loved the Land of Rain. Otherwise, with his strength, what ninja village would not have welcomed him?
If the Akatsuki's dream could be realized, if they could truly bring peace to the Land of Rain, Hanzō would even have supported them outright.
But to Hanzō, the Akatsuki's ideals were nothing but a joke. They wanted peace without military strength? If he had