pata! Pa pa!
Inside the tower, which had been quiet and dry, a loud sound like rain suddenly filled the air. It was not rain at all, but an enormous amount of blood forced out of bodies, pouring down from above as if a gate had been opened. The warm splash of blood covering them made everyone feel cold instead.
Very quickly, as Ryuji Hyuga released the shadow restraints, the web above seemed to turn into a high powered grinder. Chunks of flesh mixed with blood smashed down onto the floor, the walls, and near the feet of the Amegakure and Konoha shinobi below. Such brutality shocked even veterans who had seen many battlefields.
"…"
Hanzo raised his head to look at the black figure above and spoke in a low voice. "You say these people were all rats who sneaked into Land of Rain?"
What the other party was doing now was clearly meant to tell him that Land of Rain had already become a target, watched by the great nations. More and more spies had slipped into Land of Rain, all aiming at Amegakure and at him, the so called legend. This was far more frightening to Hanzo than the empty words spoken by those from Konoha.
"There is more than just this," Ryuji Hyuga said, his gaze sweeping with a faint smile across the people of Amegakure behind Hanzo. As if sensing something, a few faces in the crowd subtly changed.
"What exactly do you mean by this so called deal?" Hanzo asked, failing to catch the deeper meaning.
"What Konoha can give you, we can also give. What Konoha cannot give you, we can still provide," Ryuji Hyuga said as he looked down at them with a smile. "I only want to see the Hanzo and Amegakure that once dared to resist the hegemony of the Five Great Nations for peace and dignity."
Using points to exchange for food was extremely cheap, more than enough to meet the needs of Amegakure. Of course, Ryuji Hyuga was not acting out of kindness, as he only needed the Ninja World to become more chaotic and for Land of Rain to once again turn into the center of conflict between great powers. Before Orochimaru found the Time Space Cave, he needed to prepare everything required to build the Void Realm, including large numbers of resentful dead souls and methods to absorb and control them.
Ryuji Hyuga did not want the "Void" he created to turn around and help others attack him. That was why he needed to cultivate one or two test subjects in advance, and he already had candidates in mind for both the method and the subjects. The Six Paths Ninja Tools known as the Box of Ultimate Bliss from the original Blood Prison story could absorb human obsession and emotions, and modifying it should not be a problem.
"As for the test subjects," Ryuji Hyuga thought, "if I remember correctly, Sakumo Hatake and Rin Nohara failed to enter the Pure Land because of their obsessions and have remained between the Ninja World and the Pure Land."
If Sakumo Hatake and Rin Nohara were turned into "Void," what kind of expressions would Kakashi Hatake and Obito make? Just imagining it felt rather interesting. At this moment, Kakashi Hatake had no idea that the person above had already set his sights on his deceased father and friend.
"Tch."
Including Kakashi Hatake, everyone froze for a moment when Ryuji Hyuga claimed he could give everything that Konoha could. Then, as if hearing a joke, someone actually laughed in the middle of this oppressive and bloody scene. His words were simply too arrogant, because some things could not be bought no matter how much one paid.
Only Kakashi Hatake sharply noticed the word "we" in the other party's speech, and his heart tightened. Clearly, the opponent was not acting alone, but belonged to an organization or force. That "monster" was likely just one of its members.
"Hanzo-sama."
With this thought, Kakashi Hatake looked at Hanzo and warned him in a low voice. "You must think carefully about whether to trust this unknown person, or to trust Konoha and the Land of Fire."
Hearing this, the slightly shaken Hanzo and the people of Amegakure fell silent again. Kakashi Hatake narrowed his dead fish eyes and opened his mouth, ready to order everyone to move. At that moment, Hanzo's gaze suddenly turned cold, as if he had sensed the intent, and he spoke harshly.
"After you leave Amegakure and Land of Rain, I do not care what you do. But if you dare to act here…"
These words made Kakashi Hatake frown, leaving him stuck in place for the moment.
"I do not care whether you believe me or not. I only want you to understand," Ryuji Hyuga said, lowering his voice. "As long as those great nation shinobi still run wild on your land, you and even your families will never have a future."
"As long as you keep deceiving yourselves, as long as people from other countries laugh with contempt when they casually mention Land of Rain, you will never live as real human beings. As long as this crying country remains weak on the map of the Ninja World, your dignity as people will never exist."
"Your land is crushed by great nations, villages swallowed by war, loved ones dragged into slaughter. Farmland is destroyed, homes are burned, and after every great war, all that remains are ruins and piles of corpses."
At this point, Ryuji Hyuga paused and looked again at Hanzo and the others. "Hanzo, tell me now. Can you and the people behind you accept such an outcome?"
Outside the High Tower, the sky was suddenly torn apart as lightning turned everything white. Only the deep shadow cast by Ryuji Hyuga remained, covering both the people of Konoha and Amegakure below. Thunder roared as the rain grew heavier and more violent.
Ryuji Hyuga's words struck the nerves of the Amegakure crowd and stirred the most violent hatred buried deep inside them. Unwillingness, anger, and hatred seemed to flow through their veins inch by inch. The great nations had never treated them as human beings.
When wars ended and the great nations sat at negotiating tables to divide benefits and sign peace treaties, the suffering of Land of Rain was often ignored or brushed aside. What they cared about was balance and profit, while Land of Rain remained a buffer and battlefield, and the deaths of its people meant nothing. The resentment and despair of Land of Rain piled up like endless rain, with nowhere to pour out, becoming the soil that bred extremism and rebellion.
Just like the former Hanzo. Just like the former Akatsuki. Just like the future Pain.
"Hanzo-sama, he is right!"
Beside him, Shenda finally gathered the courage to speak, bloodshot eyes fixed on Hanzo. "We want to live, and living matters, but we want to live as real people with dignity and freedom."
"What we want is not the pity of great nations looking down on us, nor survival begged for on our knees. We want true human dignity and peace for Land of Rain. You already proved that these things must be fought for, not begged for."
"I would rather die resisting the great nations than become ammunition for those bastards!"
As soon as he finished, other Amegakure Ninja members shouted in agreement. "Hanzo-sama! Cooperating with Konoha is like seeking skin from a tiger!" "Hanzo-sama! The great nations have no credibility at all!" "Hanzo-sama! Please continue to lead us in battle!"
This is bad. We cannot wait any longer.
Kakashi Hatake looked up at the figure above, his lifeless dead fish eyes gradually sharpening as he placed one hand behind his back and made a signal. The meaning of that signal was clear.
Prepare to act.