"..."
Hanzo opened his mouth, yet no words came out. He had not expected Konoha to understand the current situation of Land of Rain and Amegakure to such a degree.
Back then, during the Second Shinobi World War, why had he reached the point where he could no longer endure it and openly declared war on the Five Great Nations? At that time, the Second Shinobi World War had not fully erupted, and conflicts among the Five Great Nations were still restrained and limited to small clashes. The Land of Rain had not refused to act as a buffer zone for the great nations.
But the conduct of Sunagakure and Iwagakure had been unbearable, especially those Sunagakure ninja who were nearly driven mad by poverty. In the Land of Rain, they not only attacked other ninja, but during combat they showed no concern for civilian casualties, and many Sunagakure ninja even burned, killed, and looted, while the Kazekage turned a blind eye.
Sunagakure's finances had never been strong, and looting civilians actually reduced their burden. After all, they were not looting civilians from the Land of Wind. The lives of people from small countries were the cheapest of all.
That was why the still young Hanzo could no longer endure it and flipped the table, leading Amegakure to resist the Five Great Nations. At that time, he was truly young, proud, and full of ambition and illusions, believing he could change the Land of Rain and bring it peace by his own strength.
He thought he was special, and that he and his companions were like the heroes in stories, heroes and their companions who would never die. But when he was wounded in battle and reached out only to touch the blood-soaked corpse of a companion, and when he watched more and more people collapse and starve to death, he understood that no one in this world was special.
After facing reality, he spared his former enemies Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. At that time, the Land of Rain and Amegakure were already on the brink of exhaustion, and they could not withstand the hysterical fury of Hiruzen Sarutobi after losing his students.
After facing reality, he joined hands with Danzo Shimura to kill Yahiko, who reminded him of his own youth. In his eyes then, everything Yahiko said was nothing but unrealistic fantasy that would shake his hard-won authority and push the Land of Rain into an endless abyss.
Now, however, Hanzo felt regret. If that young man were still alive, if the one called Nagato were still alive, if he had not moved against the Akatsuki, if Amegakure had successors.
During the Second Shinobi World War, the reason the Land of Rain had managed neither victory nor defeat was solely because of Hanzo. At that time, he had still been at the peak of a ninja's strength, but now he was old and weary, meaning the Land of Rain had completely lost its final bargaining chip.
Facing the shameless plundering by Iwagakure and Sunagakure, unless he and Amegakure chose not to resist at all, any renewed resistance would quickly lead them back to total exhaustion. Thus, their only remaining choice seemed to be cooperation with Konoha.
No, calling it cooperation sounded better than it was. In truth, it was dependence.
"..."
After a long silence, Hanzo shifted his gaze to the Amegakure ninja behind him and spoke in a hoarse voice. "What do you think?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt a wave of disgust. He knew he was not giving them a choice, but pushing the responsibility onto them and avoiding the decision he should have made himself.
He was running from the burden he ought to bear and could not even face who he had become. He had turned into the kind of person he once despised the most.
The Amegakure ninja fell into silence just as he expected. They were not ignorant of Amegakure's situation, and the Land of Rain could no longer provide the supplies needed to resist like they had during the Second Shinobi World War.
The foundations and power of the great nations were not something the Land of Rain could compare to. Even so, they still hoped Hanzo would act as he once did and strike boldly, making Konoha understand that Amegakure was not weak, and that Hanzo's authority was not something a teenager could challenge.
Even if that choice meant sacrificing their lives, they were willing to follow Hanzo. But now, Hanzo had compromised.
Were they disappointed? Perhaps, but this was the best option left for Amegakure.
Did they understand? Perhaps, yet depending on a great nation bound by deep blood hatred was something their hearts could not easily accept.
Shame, anger, resentment, confusion, and helplessness filled them. The breath they had held onto seemed to leak away, and the hands gripping their weapons grew weak.
Seeing this, Kakashi Hatake felt a sense of relief. He understood that Hanzo had truly changed, and this negotiation would likely succeed.
Just as he was about to speak.
pata.
A drop of red liquid fell from the top of the tower, striking the ground and splashing outward. The sound broke the suffocating stillness.
pata… pata…
Standing beside Hanzo, Shenda instinctively looked up, only for a few drops to land at the corner of his dry lips. The familiar metallic stench made his eyes widen.
kacha!
The sound rang out abruptly, sharp and piercing in the emptiness. The glass dome at the top of the High Tower shattered, and fragments rained down toward the crowd below.
It was as if a massive hand had ripped away a curtain, and howling wind poured in from above. In the next moment, a dark shape fell at high speed, landing squarely between Kakashi Hatake and Hanzo.
With a heavy thud, both the Konoha group and the Amegakure ninja stepped back. Fresh blood burst outward, splattering across their faces in dark red streaks.
They stared in shock at the ground. The body that had fallen from above was twisted beyond recognition.
It was a corpse warped from head to toe, the neck twisted several times with only skin holding head and body together. The face was frozen in visible terror, and blood flowed across the empty ground.
There were no clear wounds on the body, only distortions that looked as if they had been torn apart by brute force. It was like a towel wrung dry, bones and flesh twisted and burst outward, pale bone piercing through skin in a display of raw cruelty and pain.
"It was you…"
Hanzo narrowed his eyes at Kakashi Hatake, only to see the same suspicion reflected back at him.
"Not him."
"Someone interfered."
Reading the realization in each other's eyes, they looked up almost at the same time.
Before the shattered glass dome, a figure stood suspended in midair. Dim moonlight spread outward from him, clearly illuminating the fearful and chaotic faces below and laying bare the filth within the entire High Tower.
"What a disappointment."
"The once-proud Hanzo has had his spine broken and turned into an old dog."
He looked down at them, his mocking voice announcing his presence from above.