"Nagato, is Pain's true body really you?"
Hanzo's complex gaze swept over Nagato. The anger that had arisen from nearly dying completely dissipated at this moment.
At first glance, Nagato didn't even look like a living person; he resembled more a withered skeleton, forgotten in a dark corner and weathered by a thousand years.
His body was disturbingly emaciated, his lifeless, pallid skin clinging tightly to his gaunt bones, as if his flesh and blood had long been drained dry by some invisible force.
His ribs protruded distinctly, his collarbones were deeply sunken as if carved, and his arms were as thin as dry winter branches, appearing as if they would snap with a gentle touch.
Even his legs were crippled from Hanzo's explosive tag trap back then, leaving him essentially unable to walk, confined to that makeshift device just to move.
His dry, reddish long hair was splayed out like withered vines, making his face resemble a skull covered by a thin membrane. The eye sockets beneath his red hair were deeply sunken into two dark hollows.
However, within those sunken eye sockets were a pair of "Sage Eyes," shimmering with an eerie light in the dimness.
The Rinnegan.
These legendary "Sage Eyes" were embedded in this withered husk, as if divine power had been forcibly crammed into a vessel on the verge of collapse.
"Hanzo, you've finally come, but..."
Nagato's Rinnegan slowly turned to the figure beside Hanzo, but even these eyes couldn't see through the face hidden in the shadows.
Yet, Nagato felt a familiar aura from that person.
The pain deep within his soul hadn't dissipated; that fear was still deeply etched in his memory, causing his body to tremble slightly.
"Hello, Mr. Nagato."
Hyuga Kawa stepped forward, his tone humble and smiling: "You can call me 'Kage.' I assume you have already met my Lord. Please allow me to apologize on my Lord's behalf."
Upon hearing this, Hanzo subconsciously looked at his palm, and Konan also froze for a moment, but quickly reacted, anger surfacing on her face.
"So it was you!"
Since it wasn't Madara or Zetsu who caused Nagato's pain, it could only be Hanzo and the person before them.
"No, no, Miss Konan, it was my Lord, not me." Hyuga Kawa's tone remained gentle, calmly correcting Konan's statement.
"Who is that person?" Nagato suddenly asked.
"It is my Lord," Hyuga Kawa smiled faintly.
"..."
Nagato felt his head beginning to ache again, but he understood that this person clearly didn't want to say. So he coldly said, "So, are you here to die?"
As he spoke, the ripples in his pupils slowly spread, and a powerful aura once again emanated from within him.
He was prepared to fight to the death, and hatred also surfaced in Konan's eyes.
But at that moment, Hanzo suddenly nodded, briefly and powerfully stating: "Yes."
"..."
Nagato's chakra halted, seemingly stunned for a moment, but he quickly realized that Hanzo was answering his casual taunt?
"I've come to die."
Hanzo's voice was deep and clear, pointing the scythe in his hand at his own heart, confirming Nagato's guess.
Hyuga Kawa looked at Hanzo at this moment, inexplicably having a momentary hallucination of Hashirama Senju, from the original story, stabbing himself with a kunai in front of Madara Uchiha to repay Izuna for Tobirama. He couldn't help but smile inwardly.
The Hashirama of the past, the Hanzo of today, how much of it was real, and how much was fake?
Hyuga Kawa didn't know, nor did Nagato or Konan. Perhaps even Hanzo himself didn't know.
Hyuga Kawa had already told Hanzo what those eyes meant and also told him about Nagato's plan to create tailed beast weapons and bring peace through fear.
Hanzo knew better than anyone the limits of ordinary ninjas.
On his way here, he saw too many things he had once overlooked.
He looked at the towns and saw that the stone houses, once thriving and prosperous with countless artisans, were now ruined and desolate.
He looked at the riverbanks and saw that the once vibrant and joyous places had been completely submerged by the very rivers that brought prosperity.
He saw the once busy port, full of ships, now left with only the ravages of war, and the once sparse wheat fields flattened and fallen.
He was even recognized by some commoners, only to hear from them that commoners he had once saved had starved to death on the roadside three years ago.
Yes, they hadn't died in war, but had literally starved to death.
Hanzo dared not stop; he just kept walking and walking, with an almost desperate flight, until he entered this cave and saw those eyes.
The eyes of a god, controlling life and death.
Hanzo knew that the current state of the Land of Rain was already the limit of what he could achieve.
However, Nagato, with those eyes, could have more possibilities, could do more things.
So, he wanted to try.
"I have learned everything from 'Kage'."
Hanzo did not try to argue about his mistakes. Staring into the Rinnegan, he said word by word: "Colluding with Danzo to kill Yahiko was my mistake. Ordering the eradication of the Akatsuki organization was also my command."
He confessed so completely, so calmly, without any embellishment or evasion.
Then, Hanzo paused, as if remembering something, and gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"I once met a samurai. While all his comrades fled for their lives, that man, knowing he was no match, still clutched his katana and charged at me."
"I defeated him, but that spirit of embracing death moved me. So I told him that a person's end is not death, but when they lose their conviction. I said I would declare him a hero to the world."
"But it's laughable how, facing fading vitality, facing disappearing power, facing ubiquitous threats and the fear of death... I succumbed."
"In the day-to-day struggle for survival, I became weak and timid, losing my former convictions and ideals, becoming the coward I most detested and scorned."
The samurai Hanzo spoke of was Mifune, now the general of the Land of Iron, from his youth.
So, Hanzo ultimately didn't kill Mifune. Instead, out of admiration for his spirit, he spared him. At that time, Hanzo truly deserved the title of a strong man.
But there was no need to tell Nagato these things. Hanzo didn't want Nagato to mistakenly believe he hoped Nagato would spare him as he once spared Mifune.
A mistake was a mistake. The Hanzo of now was the Hanzo of old, needing no excuses, able to calmly face the fear of death.
"I say these things not to beg for your forgiveness. I understand that all your pain was caused by my own hands."
Hanzo's tone and expression were incredibly calm: "After I die, whether you expose my body to the wilderness, or erase my reputation, letting my name be scorned by countless people."
"Do as you please, as long as it seems meaningful to you, then do it."
"I have only one request."
Looking at the still silent Nagato and the lost Konan, his upright figure slowly lowered.
"I have entrusted my will to a trustworthy person. You can legitimately take over Amegakure."
Hanzo softly said: "Please, after my death, lead Amegakure, lead this suffering nation, towards the future Yahiko once envisioned for you."
"I can no longer do it, but you, with those eyes, you certainly can."
Yes, the reason for his current attitude was perhaps partly due to the mistakes he had made, but more, it was for this country he cared about.
"..."
Time seemed to stand still, falling into a deathly silence.
Looking at Hanzo, who had almost prostrated himself in humility, the ripples in Nagato's Rinnegan solidified.
He had envisioned countless reactions Hanzo might have when facing reckoning.
Stubborn resistance, cunning denial, begging for forgiveness, ugliness...
But he had never expected this scene before him.
This was not the Hanzo he had ever known, not the proud and strong Hanzo of the past, who would never bend. Nor was it the old and timid Hanzo, who would never face death.
The Hanzo of this moment was simply an old man willing to pay the price for his past mistakes, calmly accepting death.
Konan stared at Hanzo, blood vessels appearing in her eyes, as her mind replayed the night of the torrential rain.
She remembered Yahiko's resolute leap towards the kunai Nagato held, and she recalled the faint sound of the kunai tearing through a heart.
She remembered the terror and breakdown in her heart at that time, the heart-wrenching screams of despair, and Nagato, now consumed by hatred...
"What is this?"
Konan's trembling voice broke the silence. Her heart was filled with an indescribable confusion. Looking at Hanzo, her voice almost hoarse, she said, "Then just die!"
As her words fell, Hanzo moved.
His movements were swift, carrying a peaceful acceptance.
He grasped the chain-scythe in his hand, a weapon representing his former strength and pride, a deadly instrument that had taken countless lives.
Now, with his own hand, he poured all his strength into it, in an almost embracing posture, plunging it towards his chest.
Splurt...