"Seriously… I just got back and now I have to work for Danzo."
After finishing the Sand Village conflict, Hanzo returned to Amegakure and merged the memories of his Shadow Clones from the past days.
"But since it's Danzo's job, I can't skip it."
"Let's just treat it as earning some extra cash."
Leaving a Flying Thunder God kunai on the desk, Hanzo walked out of the office building.
Amegakure was currently undergoing massive demolition and reconstruction. Steel scaffolding stood everywhere, already giving the village a modern industrial feel.
Luckily, he had tricked the Land of Earth into supplying iron ore earlier—otherwise this part of the expenses would have been unbearable.
Everyone looked busy, working tirelessly to rebuild Amegakure.
In recent months, the population of the Land of Rain had increased significantly.
On one hand, Amegakure was now the only country to end its war early, so many refugees fleeing the conflict had migrated here.
On the other hand, the Land of Rain had expanded its territory. Amegakure couldn't fully manage the entire region yet, so refugees continued pouring in.
Coincidentally, the country desperately needed manpower—dam construction, buildings, land reclamation…
During his trip to the Land of Wind, Hanzo had also gained a large amount of land. Though it was desert, he planned to use water diversion projects to transform it. After all, the Land of Rain had no shortage of water.
Hanzo suddenly slapped his forehead.
"Almost forgot about that anomaly in the Land of Wind… I investigated it after returning. That direction… is Roran."
"…The Dragon Veins?"
"No. Dragon Veins are natural energy accumulations—they shouldn't cause that phenomenon."
"Could it really be another Ten-Tails?"
"That doesn't make sense either. That Ten-Tails wouldn't have that kind of power, and the phenomenon has existed for at least a thousand years. If it really were responsible, it would've recovered long ago."
"As a country within a country, Roran must be hiding something."
"I need to check it out someday."
Conveniently, the Wind Daimyō had already ceded Roran's region to him.
"Kan, Rikuto."
With a wave of his hand, the two appeared behind him and knelt on one knee.
"You two have been helping me manage the village. I'll be away for a while—Amegakure is in your hands now."
"Don't disappoint me."
"What?!"
They were stunned.
"Lord Hanzo," Rikuto said nervously, "we've only studied under you for half a year! How can we manage a village?"
"Yeah," Kan added, "why not leave a Shadow Clone behind to help us?"
"You have to learn to do things yourselves," Hanzo said earnestly.
"When the Second Hokage died, Hiruzen Sarutobi took over the village with no experience. And didn't he manage?"
"You've trained under me long enough. It's time to step up."
In truth, Hanzo didn't refuse out of stubbornness—his clones were already at their limits.
They had been running the village the entire time he was away. Amegakure didn't have a Nara clan; everything had to be handled by Hanzo alone.
It felt like prison.
'The paperwork lately… is worse than exam season.'
'If I don't leave soon, I might die at my desk instead of the battlefield.'
'I seriously don't understand why Danzo wants to become Hokage.'
Hanzo patted their shoulders.
"I believe in you. Be bold. If anything happens, I'll handle it."
They teared up.
"We won't let you down!"
Hanzo nodded and vanished with a Body Flicker, heading toward the Underground Bounty Exchange.
Before leaving, he still left one Shadow Clone behind to secretly monitor the village.
---
Underground Bounty Exchange.
"Boss, do you have intel on these three targets?"
Hanzo tore three posters off the wall and handed them over.
"Information costs 500,000 ryo."
"…What a scam," Hanzo cursed internally.
Another staff member spoke up.
"If you accept all three bounties, the intel is free."
Hanzo narrowed his eyes.
"Danzo's influence here, huh…"
He accepted the intel and left. He didn't trust Danzo's information alone.
"Better to insure myself."
After half a day of travel, he neared the Land of Fire border.
Just as he prepared to enter the battlefield, he noticed a bird in the sky.
"A masked bird… a summon?"
"There are two people on it… red hair?"
Hanzo instantly disappeared into the trees and removed his disguise.
"Ninjas… brave ones. Didn't you see what happened to the Third Kazekage?"
As the figures approached, his expression changed drastically.
Two red-haired women.
One young woman with hair in buns.
And a little girl around ten years old.
"Uzumaki Mito… and Uzumaki Kushina!"
Hanzo broke into a cold sweat.
"That masked bird… Nine Masked Beasts—Suzaku."
"That's Uzumaki Menma's technique! It shouldn't exist yet!"
Then realization struck.
"Nine Masked Beasts… only a Nine-Tails jinchūriki can use it."
"The jinchūriki of this era… Uzumaki Mito."
"And she's heading toward Amegakure?!"
Hanzo panicked.
"She can't be coming because of that letter I sent, right?!"
"Did Konoha discover something?"
"I even extorted Konoha recently… she's not coming to drop a Giant Rasengan Barrage Line on my village, is she?!"
Hanzo activated his Byakugan and stared.
At the same moment, Mito's Kagura Mind's Eye sensed him.
"Such powerful chakra."
Mito shielded Kushina.
"Kushina, hold tight."
Suzaku stopped mid-air and dove downward.
"Discovered already… as expected of the Uzumaki."
Hanzo formed hand seals.
"Sage Art – Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
A towering water dragon surged into the sky.
Kushina shrank into Mito's arms in terror.
"Don't be afraid."
Mito entered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
"This Water Dragon is stronger than Tobirama's…"
"Rasen Ring."
A black sphere formed in her golden chakra arm and struck the dragon.
BOOM!
The explosion shattered the water dragon, creating a storm of wind and rain.
Hanzo appeared before them.
"Don't you know? The Land of Rain forbids ninja entry."
Gas mask. Sickle. Water dragon.
His identity was unmistakable.
But his left eye—Byakugan.
Mito was stunned.
"So this is the man who captured little Tsunade… no wonder she couldn't defeat him."
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