Hanzo let Shimura Danzo's subordinates wait for more than a day before allowing the Rain Ninja to bring them into his office.
"I hope what you have to say is worth wasting my time." Hanzo sat in his chair, coldly staring at the Root Ninja before him.
If it weren't for the Root Ninja constantly emphasizing the importance of the matter, insisting only Hanzo, the leader of the Rain Village, could decide, Hanzo wouldn't have bothered meeting them himself.
Rain Village doesn't only have one ninja. Hanzo also has his own subordinates.
Feeling Hanzo's icy gaze, the Root Ninja's breath tightened involuntarily.
"Lord Hanzo, this concerns the life and death of Rain Village, there is no possibility of wasting your time." The Root Ninja quickly adjusted, speaking solemnly.
"Concerns the life and death of Rain Village?" Hanzo's gaze became sharp and unfriendly.
His Rain Village is doing well, they've not even involved themselves in the Ninja World War, where is such a crisis coming from?
The Root Ninja felt uncomfortable under Hanzo's stare, but as a specially trained ninja, he continued speaking despite the pressure: "Indeed."
"However, this is also an opportunity for you and the Rain Village, an opportunity to eliminate a rival."
"Rival?" Hanzo frowned, looking at the Root Ninja.
"Don't you want to destroy the Ninja Sect and kill that Sosuke who tarnished your reputation?" The Root Ninja said in a tempting tone.
Before the failed siege of Sosuke, Hanzo was perceived in the Ninja World as a remarkably magnanimous top-tier strongman.
After losing to Sosuke, Hanzo's attempt to lure and kill the Ninja Sect under the pretense of cooperation nearly destroyed the good image he had accumulated earlier in life.
Now, when people think of Hanzo, they no longer remember the Half-God Hanzo who used to overpower the Ninja World, but rather the Ninja Master Sosuke who could suppress Water Release with Fire Release.
The Root Ninja could not fathom why Hanzo wouldn't hate Sosuke.
But what the Root Ninja received wasn't Hanzo's denial, just cold eyes akin to staring at a dead person, and then an overwhelming aura.
Phew!!
Hanzo's Chakra exploded, enveloping the Root Ninja in terrifying killing intent.
The Root Ninja's body instantly became stiff, face pale, feeling a chill from the soles of his feet rushing to the top of his head.
At this moment, the Root Ninja clearly understood exactly who the ninja before him was.
This was the Half-God Hanzo, renowned within the Ninja World with his small country ninja status, feared even by the Five Great Ninja Villages, not some insignificant creature.
Hanzo stared at the Root Ninja with icy eyes; he couldn't deal with Sosuke, but he could certainly handle a mere Konoha Ninja.
Hanzo was truly at his breaking point; once again with Shimura Danzo, talking about destroying Ninja Sect and killing Sosuke, what did Shimura Danzo take him for?
Indeed, Rain Village and the Ninja Sect co-existing would cause some conflict, but if Rain Village were to clash with the Ninja Sect now, it would truly be a matter of life and death.
Hanzo didn't know if Sosuke's Water Release was stronger, but Sosuke's overall strength is definitely a level above him.
Besides, the Ninja Sect has Nagato and Kakuzu, and Rain Village doesn't have strong warriors to match them.
With imbalanced high-end combat power, and not having a rich mid-level strength like the Five Great Ninja Villages, in a conflict between Ninja Sect and Rain Village, Rain Village would certainly lose.
It's even safe to say that it would be a loss for the Land of Rain because Rain Village would lose and the Ninja Sect wouldn't easily win.
Starting a war with Rain Village, the Ninja Sect's already scarce middle and lower forces would be heavily damaged, leaving them unable to maintain the Land of Rain.
"My feud with Sosuke, the Rain Village's disputes with the Ninja Sect, are internal affairs of the Land of Rain, we don't need Konoha's involvement." Seeing the Root Ninja drenched in cold sweat, Hanzo withdrew his aura and spoke indifferently.
Konoha was indeed powerful now, something Rain Village couldn't afford to provoke; otherwise, Hanzo would have killed this Root Ninja.
Coming up with such nonsense as Rain Village facing a life-and-death crisis, then talking about killing Sosuke and destroying the Ninja Sect.
"Phew." The Root Ninja gasped rapidly, the pressure Hanzo just exerted had been tremendously overwhelming.
"Lord Hanzo, things aren't as simple as you think." The Root Ninja hadn't given up.
Shimura Danzo issued a dead-end order, insisting on persuading Hanzo to team up with Root to kill Sosuke.
"This time, we in Konoha will also dispatch forces to help you kill..."
Before the Root Ninja could finish, Hanzo interrupted: "I've recently caught a cold and need more rest, let's talk another day."
The Root Ninja looked speechless at Hanzo; the vigor in his appearance was hardly that of someone with a cold.
But before the Root Ninja could think of how to persuade Hanzo, the Rain Village's Anbu suddenly appeared to take him out of the office.
Playing along with the act, Hanzo later left the office and returned home.
"Shimura Danzo, what exactly are you trying to achieve?" Hanzo entered his study to read, but his mind couldn't help but think of what had just transpired, unable to focus.
He couldn't understand why Shimura Danzo wanted to drag him along to encircle Sosuke and destroy the Ninja Sect again.
The previous reasoning of Shimura Danzo was to invite him as a mediator for disputes between Hidden Rock and Konoha, then coincidentally helping with the Ninja Sect matter.
Since Shimura Danzo had prepared adequately, even as Hanzo thought back, he couldn't fault Shimura Danzo too much.
But Shimura Danzo's previous reasons don't hold now, because Konoha no longer needs his mediation; in the conflict with Hidden Rock, Konoha is the advantageous side, having recently decimated a large number of Hidden Rock Ninja.
Moreover, Hanzo now knows the Ninja Sect truly seeks peace, not using the guise of peace to stir trouble like a ninja organization.