Just chatting

Seeing Hanzō preparing to head back, Anyo and Kakuzu emerged from the shadows.

Hanzō showed no surprise at their appearance and snorted. "Well, have the two rats hiding in the shadows finally decided to come out?"

"Rats?" Kakuzu's gaze turned cold as he stepped forward to confront him.

"What, want to fight?" Hanzō bore down on Kakuzu with intense killing intent.

Anyo sensibly took a few steps back.

The two formidable waves of killing intent clashed in midair like blades. The air grew still, and sparks seemed to flare between them. For a time, they were evenly matched.

This greatly surprised Hanzō. Since he had started the war, the number of ninja who had died at his hands had probably passed a thousand, yet his killing intent could not overwhelm this stranger who had suddenly appeared. Just who was he, and how many people had he killed?

After a brief stalemate, Hanzō took the initiative to withdraw his killing intent and asked gravely, "Who are you, and why were you spying on me from the shadows?"

Kakuzu did not answer, turning back to look at Anyo instead.

Anyo stepped forward with a grin. "Naturally, we've long heard of your fearsome reputation, Lord Demigod, and came specifically to see you in action. You certainly live up to your name, driving Sunagakure's ninja back single-handedly."

Hanzō's expression did not change at the praise. "You've got quite a way with words, little fellow."

Anyo's smile faded as he turned serious. "Lord Hanzō, it's just that they've already figured out the interval when you need to replenish your poison. The fighting ahead will probably be difficult."

"What, did you come out here specifically to mock me?" Hanzō's eyes grew vicious above his mask. It went without saying that the expression beneath it had to be ugly.

Of course, Hanzō kept more of his attention on Kakuzu, who posed a threat. In his view, Kakuzu had instructed Anyo to say all this.

Anyo shook his head. "We're certainly not that bored. Our main reason for coming this time is to help you."

"Help me? Just the two of you?" Hanzō's tone grew somewhat comical. He clearly thought Anyo was telling a joke.

Even Kakuzu gave Anyo a startled, doubtful look. Getting involved in conflicts between nations was not part of his contract, but out of that little bit of trust he had in Anyo, he resisted the urge to speak.

Faced with this mockery, Anyo calmly asked in return, "Forgive me for being blunt, but isn't Amegakure relying on you alone?"

The question thundered through Hanzō's heart, instantly putting a crack in his ambition and fighting spirit, because he actually had no answer.

Indeed, in both battles, although he had held the advantage at first, as the fighting went on, Konoha had the Sannin, while Sunagakure had Chiyo and her puppets. Neither side's leader, their Kage, had even appeared. That already said a great deal.

After a long silence, Hanzō finally asked, "How do you plan to help me?"

Anyo voiced the idea he had just come up with. "It's simple. We'll act as your envoys and form an alliance with another shinobi village."

"An alliance?" Hanzō was a little surprised and pressed, "With which one?"

"We just need to use the process of elimination," Anyo said confidently. "First, rule out Sunagakure. Leaving aside the fact that you're already fighting, its location alone is terrible. Almost all its territory is desert, so there's nothing to gain from an alliance. Next, rule out Konoha. After all, you've just finished fighting them. Even if you wanted to propose it, they might not believe you. Of the remaining three great nations, Kirigakure has always kept to itself, so we can set it aside for now. The only two choices are Iwagakure and Kumogakure."

Without even thinking, Hanzō said, "Iwagakure would never ally with me. Its strength is beyond your imagination."

"Hm?" Anyo was startled. This fellow seemed to know some very important inside information. Was Iwagakure that strong? He had not thought so. He had blown up the Tsuchikage's office without any trouble. Curious, Anyo asked tentatively, "Could you elaborate?"

Hanzō shook his head. "No. You haven't earned my trust yet. But your proposal has indeed given me an idea. If you can bring me an alliance agreement from Kumogakure, I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Clearly, Anyo's argument had persuaded Hanzō, and the ally he had chosen in his heart was Kumogakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Anyo did not press him, either, and nodded. "All right, then. We'll take our leave."

Hanzō watched their figures gradually recede, countless thoughts passing through his eyes.

They had barely gone any distance when Kakuzu said coldly, "Kid, are you planning to change destinations again and take a trip to Kumogakure this time?"

Anyo could not help laughing. "Of course we can't go there. A dead man suddenly coming back to life? They're not stupid. If I dared show my face, Kumogakure's Anbu would probably arrest me immediately."

"Then you wasted all that time chatting with Hanzō back there." Kakuzu felt somewhat irritated.

"It's wartime. Intelligence always comes first. A casual chat hardly wastes any time," Anyo said as though it were only natural. "Unfortunately, Hanzō was too tight-lipped and only mentioned it in passing. But if what he said is true, Iwagakure has hidden its strength very well."

Suddenly, Kakuzu said with absolute certainty, "Kid, you're a Konoha ninja, aren't you?"

Anyo did not panic in the slightest at having his identity exposed. He had never intended to hide it in the first place. He smiled and said, "Oh, was I that obvious?"

Seeing that Anyo did not deny it, Kakuzu actually relaxed a little and replied casually, "Just as you said earlier, all it takes is the process of elimination."

It seemed the process of elimination really was useful.

Somewhat curious, Anyo asked, "Which village I come from shouldn't make any difference to you, should it?"

"It doesn't. But speaking of Konoha, that reminds me of the first Konoha ninja I ever fought." Kakuzu paused there. It was that very battle that had turned his life upside down.

"Who from Konoha? Who won?"

"Let's keep moving." Kakuzu abruptly changed the subject. It seemed he was unwilling to discuss it further.

After leaving Amegakure's territory, the two soon entered a desert. In stark contrast to Amegakure, where rain fell year-round, there was neither arable land nor grassland for raising livestock here, and the environment was extremely harsh to boot. Ordinary people simply could not cross the vast desert to enter the village, so naturally commerce could not develop either. Even daily necessities such as water, food, seasonings, and the like probably required large numbers of ninja to transport them using giant puppets. This was likely one of the reasons Sunagakure had the strongest Puppeteers in the Five Great Nations. The environment truly had made them that way.

The two raced through the desert, and soon Sunagakure was close at hand. Kakuzu stopped and asked, "How do you plan to sneak in this time?"