Cold spread through his body, followed by uncontrollable trembling.
Hanzo's consciousness felt like a stone sinking into deep water, then slowly drifting back to the surface. Sensation returned bit by bit. The first thing he became aware of was touch.
His body felt unbearably heavy, his limbs stiff and unresponsive, as though they were made of lead. This was familiar. It was the normal reaction after his poison had taken effect, a state he had experienced countless times before.
But then he noticed something wrong.
An odd emptiness lingered in his abdomen.
There was no pain—only the absence of something that had always been there. The faint pressure and weight he had lived with for decades had vanished completely. It felt like someone who had carried a burden for most of their life, only to suddenly set it down, leaving their body feeling unnaturally light and unbalanced.
Had they… removed the poison sac?
As the fog in his mind gradually lifted, Hanzo forced his eyes open.
What greeted him was the damp stone ceiling of a temporary underground prison. Standing nearby were several faces he recognized immediately—faces he despised. The three Sannin of Konoha were there, along with that white-haired assassination ninja who had played a decisive role in his defeat.
"He's awake," Tsunade said, her voice edged with exhaustion.
Hanzo ignored her. His gaze slid past the others and stopped on a black-haired boy standing at the center of the group, subtly shielded by everyone around him.
Sawada Hiroki.
The child met his eyes calmly. There was no triumph in that gaze, nor any trace of childish innocence. Instead, there was a composed, unsettling stillness that made Hanzo's heart tighten for reasons he couldn't explain.
He had woken up—but something was clearly wrong.
"It seems you've reached a decision," Hanzo rasped, forcing steadiness into his voice while suppressing the unease rising in his chest. "What is it? Has Hiruzen grown afraid? Afraid that killing me would ignite a war he can't control, so he's decided to let me go?"
His words dripped with contempt.
To him, this could only be a political compromise. Konoha had captured him—the so-called Demigod of the Hidden Rain—but they lacked the courage to finish the job. They feared the chaos his death would unleash across the ninja world and the inevitable retaliation from the Hidden Rain Village.
Indecisive. Weak. Typical of great nations that pretended to wield power but lacked resolve.
"You could interpret it that way," Orochimaru said as he stepped forward, looking down at him with a faintly amused smile. "Your subordinates have impressive loyalty. They threatened to drag the entire Hidden Rain Village into an alliance with Iwagakure if we didn't release you."
As he spoke, Orochimaru gestured casually. A Konoha ninja stepped forward and undid the sealing jutsu and chains binding Hanzo.
"Lord Hanzo!"
Outside the cell, several Hidden Rain jonin—led by Masao and Masanari—rushed in the moment they saw this. They helped him to his feet, relief and reverence written clearly across their faces.
"That's wonderful, Lord Hanzo! You're safe!"
"So Konoha really was scared in the end!"
Hanzo snorted and shrugged off their support, forcing himself to stand upright despite the lingering weakness in his body. He looked at Jiraiya and the others with open disdain.
This was the flaw of powerful nations—sentimentality masquerading as mercy. They had captured a dangerous enemy, only to release him out of fear and political calculation. It was like letting a tiger return to the mountains.
Of course, Hanzo understood the other side of this decision as well. If Konoha made a habit of executing captured enemies, the other four great villages would never show mercy in return. Any Konoha ninja taken prisoner would be killed on sight.
Still, today's humiliation would not go unanswered.
Once he returned and regrouped, he would repay it a hundredfold.
"Bring me my scythe," he said coldly.
Masao immediately handed over the massive chained scythe with practiced reverence.
Hanzo reached out and grasped the hilt.
The moment his fingers closed around the cold metal, his expression froze.
The weapon felt wrong.
It was heavy—clumsy. The balance was off. The curve of the blade, the pull of the chain, sensations that had once been as familiar as his own heartbeat now felt alien in his hand.
He frowned, blaming it on the lingering effects of paralysis.
Before leaving, he intended to issue one final warning to these arrogant Konoha ninja. He would use his most prized technique—Water Clone Jutsu—to remind them that Hanzo of the Salamander was far from finished.
He raised his hands to form seals.
Nothing happened.
His fingers hesitated, failing to move on instinct.
What was the first sign? Rat? Or Ox?
Rat—Ox—and then… Tiger? No, that wasn't right—
His mind went completely blank. Movements that had once been more natural than breathing now felt impossibly complex, as though he were attempting an advanced sealing technique he had never studied.
Cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
He tried again, forcing chakra through his meridians. The energy stirred weakly, then scattered almost immediately, dispersing like startled insects before it could take shape.
It was as if—
As if he had never learned ninjutsu at all.
"What's going on…?"
"Lord Hanzo?" Masao asked anxiously, noticing his condition.
The surrounding Hidden Rain ninja exchanged uneasy glances.
"It's nothing," Hanzo said stiffly. He inhaled deeply and abandoned ninjutsu altogether. He still had taijutsu. He still had the scythe techniques refined over a lifetime of battle.
With a sharp motion, he swung the chained scythe forward.
The result was disastrous.
The blade slipped from his grip, failing to carve the sharp arc he intended. Instead, it swung awkwardly, the chain clattering as it wrapped around his own foot. Hanzo stumbled forward, barely keeping his balance, as the scythe struck the ground with a dull, powerless clang.
Silence fell.
Hanzo stared at the weapon lying on the floor, his expression vacant—like that of a child who had lost something precious.
His martial arts. His ninjutsu. Everything he had honed over decades.
How could he suddenly be unable to use them?
High above Konoha, in a tall tower facing the Hokage Rock—
This was Uzumaki Mito's residence, a quiet place filled with calming incense. At the very top of the spiral staircase, the massive stone faces of the Hokage could be seen clearly in the distance.
Mito sat cross-legged on the tatami, her expression solemn. Across from her, Uzumaki Kushina sat rigidly, tension evident on her small face.
"Are you ready, little Kushina?" Mito asked gently.
Kushina nodded without hesitation.
Mito extended a finger and touched Kushina's forehead.
In an instant, the world lost all color.
Kushina felt herself falling rapidly before landing with a dull thud in the middle of an ancient, untouched forest.
Only Uzumaki Mito stood beside her.
"So… this is the world inside the seal?" Kushina asked uncertainly as she stood up and looked around. "It's… kind of nice."
"Yes," Mito replied with a soft smile. "The air is fresh, isn't it? This forest was something he created for me long ago."
Before Kushina could respond—
"DIE!"
A thunderous roar exploded across the sky.
Violent winds swept through the forest, bending trees nearly to their breaking point. High above, a pair of enormous scarlet eyes snapped open.
Hatred and killing intent poured down like a physical tide, crushing everything beneath it.
"I—I can't move…" Kushina whispered.
Her body refused to respond. She couldn't scream or run. Her mind went blank, consumed by primal fear—the instinctive terror of prey facing a natural predator.
This was the Nine-Tails.
The legendary demon fox.
"That is the Nine-Tailed Fox," Mito said calmly, gazing upward. "The monster that once brought entire nations to ruin."
The beast was bound to a massive stone sphere, countless chakra-infused chains piercing and restraining its limbs.
A deep, malevolent voice echoed directly inside Kushina's mind.
"So you're my next cage? I'll tear you apart—starting with your soul, piece by piece."
"I'm going to die."
The thought swallowed her whole.
Just as despair threatened to consume her, a calm figure surfaced in her mind.
Hiroki.
His steady gaze. His promise to walk forward together. His words about changing the world.
That's right. I still have Hiroki.
How could she let a stinking fox scare her like this?
The fear didn't vanish—but something else ignited beneath it. Anger. Defiance.
Kushina raised her head. Tears streamed from her red-rimmed eyes as she shouted with everything she had, her voice breaking but unyielding.
"You stupid fox! Don't get so arrogant! Hiroki will definitely help me subdue you—just you wait!"
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