"Perhaps I can defeat you."
Hanzo of the Salamander looked around at his surroundings and at Ryoho Kyohiko's position. He could be certain that although the current Kyohiko was powerful, he had not yet reached the point of being immune to poison.
However, the moment he said "perhaps" and "defeat," it already showed that Hanzo had no confidence in his heart. He knew very well. Kyohiko's speed was too great, and while the other's chakra seemed to have been greatly consumed, as someone with the ability to inherit the title of Senju Hashirama, having more chakra was not a problem at all. The previous moment was proof—this guy's sage chakra was clearly exhausted, yet he had suddenly recovered. It was clear the other party had his own recovery method.
If they really fought, it would be a terrible catastrophe for Amegakure. Regardless of winning or losing… Amegakure would suffer huge losses.
Ryoho Kyohiko heard this and smiled coolly.
"Medical ninjutsu cannot grant complete immunity to poison. This is indeed my weakness. And I might have run out of chakra by now. Perhaps you could make your move now and win effortlessly?"
He stood atop the wall created by the Earth Style: Earth Flow Fortress.
After this sentence, the atmosphere fell into silence for a moment. Hatake Kakashi tightened his grip on his blade and stood in front of Ryoho Kyohiko. Although he didn't understand why Kyohiko, at this moment, chose not to back down but to confront Hanzo of the Salamander head-on, he knew that since Kyohiko had said so… at this moment, he had no choice but to advance!
Hatake Kakashi gripped his blade with both hands, refining and condensing the chakra in his body, waiting only for the battle to begin to be the first to charge forward. Even if Hanzo was powerful, he would not retreat a single step!
Hanzo of the Salamander wore a mask, so others couldn't see his expression at all. He looked at the deep rift in front of him. Before this, he had held a certain degree of doubt about Kyohiko's strength, thinking that the outside world was over-hyping a child. How could a boy at such an age reach a level close to that of Senju Tobirama or even Senju Hashirama back then?
But having witnessed this battle… Hanzo had already lost the thought of competing. The current Hanzo was not the same as he was a few years ago. He deeply realized that he alone could not change Amegakure, could not do anything. What's more, before him was an even more genius youth, and Konoha's strength was also rising layer by layer… A trace of worry flashed between Hanzo's brows.
Looking at Kyohiko, he vaguely felt that in the future, the other party might bring a huge change to the entire shinobi world, leading the world into an unimaginable new state. That kind of change… whether it was good or bad for Amegakure, he couldn't be sure at the moment.
The scene was silent for a moment, the two sides seemingly at a stalemate.
Below, the pine trees withered one by one. All the amber had been sealed away, and Sasori of the Red Sand's main body had been destroyed by his own self-destruction, not leaving a single trace of flesh. Or rather, Sasori's physical body had long been transformed by him into a peculiar kind of puppet. Regrettably—with Sasori's death, this puppet technique could no longer be replicated.
The rain in the Land of Rain had never stopped.
Yahiko stood at the other end, together with Ryoho Kyohiko and Hatake Kakashi, sandwiching Hanzo of the Salamander in the middle. Behind them, insects multiplied and spread. Aburame Shibi was holding back a group of Amegakure ninjas, but he did not kill them, only using his parasitic insects to absorb their chakra, leaving most of the ninjas in a state where it was difficult to move. The swarm of insects filled the sky like dark clouds. This was the terrifying aspect of the Aburame clan's secret technique. Against weaker opponents, their ability was strategic-level; ordinary ninjas simply couldn't resist. In particular, the parasitic insects absorbed the opponent's chakra, while they themselves did not consume much, only a little during reproduction.
Continuing the confrontation would benefit neither side.
Hanzo sighed.
"I don't want to fight a meaningless war. The people of both the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire need peace to recover their strength. And just as you said…"
"If I wanted to fight, I would have made my move earlier."
"That puppet boy was not afraid of poison at all. If I released my salamander and filled the entire battlefield with poison gas, even you wouldn't be able to completely avoid it."
Hanzo said faintly. His words were more like finding a way to step down gracefully. Of course, to some extent, this was also the truth. If Hanzo had summoned his salamander and released a large amount of poison mist, then Kyohiko's best choice would have been to leave with the Flying Thunder God. Sasori could be fought anytime. Life was precious! But… Hanzo wouldn't do that. Protecting Sasori of the Red Sand would bring him no benefit at all. As the leader of a village, how could he make such a choice?
Hanzo looked at Ryoho Kyohiko.
"However, you entered Amegakure. Although you had a notice from Sunagakure, it was too sudden. At the very least, you should give us an explanation."
Ryoho Kyohiko nodded.
"Of course. You can negotiate with Sunagakure. Also, please bear witness that Sasori of the Red Sand died by self-destruction. It wasn't that I deliberately killed him or didn't leave his body."
The skin on Hanzo's mouth twitched. Sasori indeed wasn't deliberately killed by Kyohiko, but all those puppets were taken away by this brat. Did he think he didn't see? He was silent for a few seconds.
"On this point, we can talk again."
A polite smile appeared on Ryoho Kyohiko's face.
"We can."
He was happy to do so. If they really fought with Hanzo, neither Konoha nor Amegakure would benefit. It would only benefit the current Iwagakure. After all, the current Konoha did not have the ability to take over Amegakure. If Hanzo were killed and this area became a vacuum, it would very likely be occupied by Iwagakure, which still had strength to spare. At that time, it would be too late for regrets.
After the two finished their exchange, Hanzo looked at Yahiko.
"I know you. You were a ninja of our Amegakure before, and later you took a group of people to the Land of Birds."
Yahiko bowed slightly as a sign of respect. He respected Hanzo very much. Although the other had failed to lead Amegakure to strength and completely change it, Hanzo had also worked hard in the past—especially after Yahiko himself managed a village, he understood more and more that it was not so easy to lead a group of people well. For a village or a country to be strong, it needed prosperity in all aspects. One or two heroes alone could not bring about substantial change for Amegakure.
Hanzo looked at the young man before him.
"Any thoughts of coming back?"
He still appreciated Yahiko quite a bit. This young man had ability and talent. If he could return to Amegakure, he could become a rather good deputy for him. Besides, Hanzo also knew that Yahiko had two very good companions by his side. Those two were also talented. Amegakure was very short of people!
Yahiko thought for a moment and did not immediately refuse.
"Hanzo-sama, I respect you very much and admire your contributions to Amegakure, but we are now employed by the Land of Birds' Daimyo and cannot give you an answer immediately."
Hanzo nodded lightly.
"It's fine. Just remember what I said."
"If you are not afraid, then come to the tower. I will preside over the matter between you and Sunagakure."
Then, he disappeared with a body flicker.
Watching Hanzo of the Salamander leave, Hatake Kakashi and Yahiko let out a long sigh of relief. The other party was a "demigod," after all. Back then, Hanzo had single-handedly held off the siege of three countries. Although there was attrition between Konoha, Suna, and Iwa, but… among the small ninja villages, only one person could do this. Hanzo of the Salamander! Now, his prestige remained. No one dared to underestimate him, and Yahiko and Kakashi were no exception.
Ryoho Kyohiko chuckled lightly.
"What are you afraid of? If we really fought, I could have taken you away. And if I were a bit more ruthless, we could have released a large-scale Wind Style ninjutsu before leaving, blowing the poison towards Amegakure…"
"Does Hanzo dare to bear such consequences?"
Ryoho Kyohiko asked back.
Yahiko's cheek twitched.
"Kyohiko, don't say such terrifying things. If you blew the poison mist over, a great many people would die!"
Ryoho Kyohiko nodded.
"Right, so Hanzo didn't dare to fight either."
Hatake Kakashi was thoughtful. He hadn't thought in this direction before, but now that Kyohiko mentioned it… he understood. In comparison, Hanzo actually had more to be wary of. It was Hanzo who had his hands tied. Because Hanzo was not sure he could take down Kyohiko. On the contrary, Kyohiko's speed made Hanzo worry. If he made a move, the entire Amegakure might suffer, and he might not even be able to kill Kyohiko, offending Konoha for nothing. As long as one was rational, there was basically no possibility of making a move. Unless Hanzo was crazy!
Hatake Kakashi let out a breath.
"I thought we had to fight for our lives this time. I didn't expect…"
I still need to train! he thought to himself.
Yahiko's expression was complicated. For Ryoho Kyohiko and Hatake Kakashi, the people of Amegakure and the Land of Rain were outsiders, even enemies. This kind of thing… if it were in a war, perhaps they really could do it?
"Kyohiko, your strategy just now…"
Ryoho Kyohiko flickered to Yahiko's side and spoke in a low voice.
"I was just thinking from Hanzo's perspective. Don't think he seems very easy-going now. In fact, based on the intelligence I've gathered, this is a rather suspicious person."
"You're in the Land of Birds now, but you've definitely been targeted by him. You must be careful in the future."
Yahiko's pupils shrank.
"No way…"
Previously, he had never met Hanzo, but from the situation just now, the other party seemed to be a hero who served his country and people, not as bad as Kyohiko described.
"For the Land of Rain, he is a hero, but that doesn't prevent him from having character flaws. These are two different things. It's good to be careful, especially…" Ryoho Kyohiko patted the other's shoulder. Yahiko would surely understand what he was referring to—Nagato!
Nagato's Rinnegan, even he coveted it, let alone Hanzo of the Salamander. And Yahiko's goal was to change the entire Land of Rain! If he didn't obtain it, how could he change it?
He finished cleaning up the scene and walked towards the Amegakure tower. At this moment, Hanzo's voice echoed within Amegakure. Hanzo of the Salamander was explaining the current "misunderstanding," asking both sides to remain restrained and rational. And on Konoha's side, Aburame Shibi and Hyuga Hizashi also quickly stopped their attacks. In fact, Hizashi even turned back to treat the ninjas he had injured—although his medical ninjutsu was rather average, it was more than enough to treat them.
Yahiko stared at the pouring rain, his expression dazed. He had just developed a trace of a good impression of Hanzo, but Kyohiko's words had pushed him back in the direction of doubt. Nagato… He pursed his lips.
"Thank you."
In the rain, Ryoho Kyohiko waved his hand. Faintly, he could still hear the other's voice.
"Kakashi, let's go. Let's go over there and talk to Sunagakure!"
"Coming."
Hatake Kakashi followed with a body flicker.
Yahiko let out a breath, then hesitated. Originally… his goal was simply to kill Sasori of the Red Sand, to avenge his dead comrades, and to protect his own territory so that more people would not be injured or killed. Now Sasori was dead. At the same time, he also received news that Sunagakure and Amegakure had begun to notice them. Thinking about it, it made sense. For a force of this scale, how could it not be noticed? It was only a matter of time.
Perhaps this is an opportunity, Yahiko thought to himself. Ryoho Kyohiko and Konoha, who had shown great strength, might be objects they could rely on. He had just taken a step, preparing to chase after Kyohiko, but then he hesitated again. If he took a stance now and completely sided with Konoha, perhaps in the future, they would have no choice but to continue on the path of cooperation with Konoha. Yahiko weighed the pros and cons, and finally gritted his teeth and chased after them. Forget it! They were already unable to shake off Konoha's influence. Even if they didn't follow, Sunagakure would probably treat them as Konoha's "informants" or partners. Since that was the case, why not take it a step further? They were still too weak now!
***
At the Amegakure Tower.
Rasa had hurried over. After being granted passage all the way, he arrived at the tower. By the time he arrived, Hanzo had just returned. Then, he heard the news of the "misunderstanding." And now.
Rasa's face showed astonishment and disbelief.
"Kyohiko-kun, you mean to say that Sasori of the Red Sand self-destructed, and then nothing was left?"
He wasn't shocked that Sasori had died at Kyohiko's hands, but he was surprised—how could this guy, at such a young age, have such a thick skin to say such shameless words?All dead? How is that possible! What kind of puppet can self-destruct so cleanly?
Ryoho Kyohiko shook his head, then patted his head.
"Right, there are still some left, but you might have to try to piece them together and repair them yourselves."
"After all, they were affected by the explosion."
Hatake Kakashi added with great tacit understanding from the side, then explained the battle situation at that time, describing the battle as very fierce. In fact, he wasn't lying.
"If you don't believe me, you can go and see the east side now. The traces of the war are still there."
Rasa certainly didn't believe it. He couldn't help but look at Hanzo. Compared to Konoha's Kyohiko and Kakashi, and that Yahiko who seemed to have a cooperative relationship with Konoha, he definitely trusted Hanzo, the leader of Amegakure, more.
Hanzo was silent for a moment.
"Kyohiko's ninjutsu is very destructive. Most of those puppets were destroyed by his ninjutsu, and a small part were damaged by the explosion."
"What he's talking about now should be that part."
Hanzo looked at Ryoho Kyohiko.
Ryoho Kyohiko nodded.
"The ones that weren't destroyed were the three puppets Sasori used for defense, and your Sunagakure's Chikamatsu Collection of Ten. But they need repairs. Take them and have a look."
Saying that, he tossed the sealing scroll over. Rasa caught it, his expression very complicated. He had already realized—what's free is the most expensive!