Before the defeat in the Second Ninja World War, the entire Rain Village were fans of Hanzo, most of them quite fervent.
After the defeat, however, many traitorous ninjas emerged from the Rain Village, showing the impact of the war on the Land of Rain and the Hidden Rain Village.
Shimura Danzo's words truly touched Hanzo's bottom line.
"Heh heh." Shimura Danzo sneered inwardly, not bothered by Hanzo's murderous aura.
His current power and status were fought for; who isn't a ninja stepping out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield—this won't scare him.
"The Ninja Sect's actions have already touched Konoha's bottom line, thus becoming a threat Konoha must clear out, and some unavoidable destruction may occur during the clearance," Shimura Danzo said deeply, as if the Ninja Sect had done something unforgivable.
The Ninja Sect touched his bottom line as Hokage Assistant, which is rounded up to Konoha's bottom line.
Hanzo frowned tightly; Shimura Danzo's words were too weighty, almost as if Konoha would send a ninja squad in a few days to annihilate the Ninja Sect.
This was somewhat beyond Hanzo's expectations—what has the Ninja Sect done that makes Konoha want to destroy it so badly?
Due to Shimura Danzo's status and words, Hanzo instinctively perceived Shimura Danzo's attitude as being Konoha's attitude.
After all, Shimura Danzo as a senior figure in Konoha wouldn't use Konoha's name for personal matters, right?
"What did the Ninja Sect do?" Hanzo couldn't help but ask.
He was really curious about what exactly the Ninja Sect did to Konoha.
Would Sosuke, with his personality and wisdom, offend Konoha for no reason?
"This touches upon our Konoha's secrets; I can only tell you that it's related to the Hidden Rock," Shimura Danzo answered enigmatically.
He had no choice but to be cryptic—after all, he couldn't say it was for Sosuke's Ninja Sect legacy and Nagato's Rinnegan.
Moreover, bringing up the Hidden Rock turns it into a confrontation between two Great Ninja Villages, making it hard for Hanzo to verify.
"Hidden Rock..." Hanzo showed a thoughtful expression.
Previously, Hidden Rock came forward as a mediator for negotiations between the Ninja Sect and the Rain Village, leading Hanzo to suspect Hidden Rock had schemes—and later, it went along with the Ninja Sect for quite some time, which was quite normal for them to have some connection.
"Is it related to the war in the Land of Grass?" Hanzo remembered the recent battle in the Land of Grass between Konoha and the Hidden Rock.
Both sides won a battle, but eventually, Konoha had the upper hand and drove the Hidden Rock out of the Land of Rain.
If they participated in a major power conflict, Konoha's attitude would make sense, as it's one of the things the Five Great Ninja Villages most avoid.
"Since it is a conflict between the Ninja Sect and Konoha, what does it have to do with my Rain Village?" Hanzo pondered and asked.
Shimura Danzo spoke a lot, but none of it involved his Rain Village.
The Ninja Sect has a cooperative relationship with the Rain Village; even if the Ninja Sect were truly embroiled in the power play of the large nations, the Rain Village would at most not assist, rather than help Konoha step on the Ninja Sect.
Shimura Danzo, expressing himself as a peaceful individual, sighed:
"I know you, Hanzo, are a ninja who loves peace, and the Land of Rain is a country that loves peace too. Bringing such a country into the flames of war is not something I wish to see."
"Therefore, I argued according to reason and managed to secure a plan that benefits both sides—targeting only the instigators.
Aside from Sosuke and Nagato, the others can be seen as being misled by Sosuke, and Konoha will spare them."
"The condition is that the Rain Village must assist by helping Konoha kill Sosuke."
Initially, Shimura Danzo intended for Root ninjas to disguise themselves as Ninja Sect members to assault Rain Village ninjas, and then disguise again as Rain Ninjas to attack Ninja Sect members, provoking conflict to lure Hanzo into a siege against Sosuke.
This can be said to be Shimura Danzo's usual tactic of inciting conflict.
However, upon further thought, Shimura Danzo realized this plan doesn't apply to the current Ninja Sect and Rain Village.
The Rain Village and the Ninja Sect are ninja forces from the same country and have signed a friendly cooperation agreement; if not a significant figure dies, both sides would likely remain calm and settle accounts first.
But even killing a significant figure wasn't feasible because there are too few powerful ninjas in the Ninja Sect and the Land of Rain is too small, making it hard to disguise an entrapment.
Moreover, if a conflict arises between the Ninja Sect and the Rain Village, and Shimura Danzo comes knocking, Hanzo would definitely suspect something unless he were foolish.
If Shimura Danzo had sufficient time, this plan could succeed—given one or two years, he could surely arrange it flawlessly.
But "Uchiha Madara" gave him too little time to act.
Thus, Shimura Danzo opted for a strategy of using Konoha's deterrence to pressure Hanzo with the threat of war; if the Land of Rain doesn't want to turn into a battlefield, they should join him in killing Sosuke.
This plan would be perfect as long as Sarutobi Hiruzen doesn't discover it.
"Killing Sosuke will allow the Land of Rain to avoid war..." Hanzo understood Shimura Danzo's intention.
Nonetheless, Hanzo wouldn't naïvely think this was a benefit Shimura Danzo secured for them; he just believed Konoha didn't want to expend too much power.
Sosuke represents the current Ninja Sect, while Nagato embodies its future; their deaths would virtually wipe out the Ninja Sect.
It's not that Hanzo belittles Kakuzu—it's just that he can't compare to Sosuke, be it in strength or other aspects.
"Hanzo, you haven't forgotten the humiliation Sosuke brought upon you, have you? After Sosuke dies, everyone will only remember the living Half-God Hanzo, not the deceased Ninja Master Sosuke," Shimura Danzo reminded lightly.
Hanzo no longer possesses the reputation of being a Half-God; whenever people talk about Hanzo, they recall Sosuke and Fire Dragon Dance, known as the strongest Fire Release.
Hanzo remained silent.
Did Sosuke bring him humiliation? Surely, because thanks to Sosuke, all the ninjas in the Ninja World know of Hanzo being defeated by a reverse attribute.
Will Hanzo agree with Shimura Danzo to besiege Sosuke for this reason? Perhaps, but not much.
The dignified Half-God Hanzo has fallen to this state—without any resentment towards Sosuke, it was impossible.
Still, some pride lingering in Hanzo's heart prevents him from blaming everything on Sosuke.
Did he lose to Sosuke because Sosuke used underhanded tactics? No, he lost because his own ability was inferior to Sosuke's.
Even the cause of his fight with Sosuke was due to misunderstandings caused by his own misjudgment.
This renders him embarrassed to blame everything on Sosuke, or to harbor reckless murderous intent against Sosuke.
"Without Sosuke, not only will Konoha spare the Land of Rain, but the country will also avoid internal strife—this is a rare opportunity for peace," Shimura Danzo continued his coercive persuasion.
Shimura Danzo wondered what Hanzo was hesitating for; from his perspective, he would definitely agree.
He is indeed scheming for the Rinnegan and the Ninja Sect legacy, but this matter is beneficial for the Rain Village.
"This is a major affair; I need some days to ponder and discuss with the other leaders," Hanzo finally replied, neither agreeing nor rejecting.
Hanzo's plea was reasonable; Shimura Danzo did not refute it. However, to prevent Hanzo from being indecisive for too long, Shimura Danzo meaningfully said:
"While my plan is approved, some senior figures remain opposed; if time drags on, I can't guarantee what might happen."
A threat, an almost undisguised threat.
Hanzo took a deep look at Shimura Danzo without saying anything.
The failure in the Second Ninja World War made him aware of the Five Great Ninja Villages' strength.
Shimura Danzo is arrogant, yet he truly has the ability to be so; within the powerful Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha is the strongest.
After Shimura Danzo left, Hanzo ostentatiously convened a Rain Village high-level meeting.
However, during the meeting, instead of discussing Sosuke, he conducted other resolutions.
When making the most crucial decisions, Hanzo always decides alone.
At night, Hanzo disguised himself and departed from the Hidden Rain Village.