Ryoma looked at Hanzō calmly and said, "Since you've said that, I'll give you a chance as well. Surrender—to me, and to Konoha—and I'll spare your life."
Yahiko, watching from above, broke out in cold sweat.
Damn it! How could the Fourth Hokage talk to Hanzō like that?! He's going to die!
Even Yahiko believed Hanzō was stronger than Ryoma—after all, the man was known as the Demigod of the Rain.
Hanzō's eyes turned cold. Standing atop his giant salamander, he glared down at Ryoma.
"Very well. Then let's see what makes you think you can make me surrender!"
Thunder cracked across the stormy sky, and the rain began to pour.
Fury surged through Hanzō, his chakra flooding out through the Salamander beneath him. The beast's presence fueled him further—his chakra output now rivaled that of a Jinchūriki.
Ryoma's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So much chakra… almost on par with a tailed beast host."
Hanzō's power surged again, shaking the very earth. The tremor rippled outward from the tower, startling the nearby Ame-nin.
"What's going on?! That pressure…!"
"Hah!"
In a flash, Hanzō's aura spiked to its peak. His body blurred and vanished, reappearing directly in front of Ryoma.
Body Flicker Technique!
This was Hanzō's most famous move—the technique that made him a legend on the battlefield, both for killing and escaping in an instant. Even more dangerous, his Body Flicker synchronized perfectly with his salamander's movements.
The scythe in Hanzō's hand glinted coldly in the stormlight as he swung.
For an instant, the world seemed to stop. Yahiko, frozen in shock, could barely breathe.
This was Hanzō's full-power strike—a single blow containing every ounce of his killing intent.
Terrifying…
If that blade struck him, Yahiko was certain he'd die instantly. Even the air seemed locked in place. Only someone like Nagato might be able to counter something like this.
The elite Ame-nin hiding behind the Salamander watched in awe.
"Unbelievable… Lord Hanzō's true strength…"
The killing intent in the air was suffocating.
This strike, though it consumed nearly all of Hanzō's chakra, could defeat almost anyone. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi—the Third Hokage, the 'Professor of Ninjutsu'—would have been gravely wounded facing this head-on.
And yet, this young Fourth Hokage dared stand before it.
"Hmph! Fourth Hokage! If you can take this blow from me, then I'll listen to what you have to say!"
The scythe ignited with purple fire and poison chakra, slicing through the downpour as Hanzō swung it down.
For a moment, even space itself seemed frozen around Ryoma.
There's no escape, everyone thought.
"The Fourth Hokage is done for!"
"He'll die!"
"Even if he survives, he'll be crippled!"
"This will make Amegakure famous across the ninja world!"
Even Hanzō, mid-swing, felt exhilarated.
This was the culmination of his life's training—his ultimate technique.
Even the Sage of Six Paths would retreat before me! he thought arrogantly.
But then—
The next instant stunned everyone.
Ryoma's body radiated red markings, his eyes changing as a crimson circle appeared on his forehead and his pupils turned golden.
Sage Mode.
A powerful, purple-gold chakra erupted from his body, overwhelming Hanzō's killing intent in an instant. The space around them cracked apart, and even the storm seemed to recoil.
Hanzō froze, eyes widening in disbelief as Ryoma, wrapped in a glowing cloak of purple-gold chakra, raised a kunai and caught the scythe with one hand.
Bang!
The impact shook the entire tower.
The shockwave blasted outward, hurling the four Ame elite-nin into the steel walls—they hit so hard they were half-embedded in the metal, coughing blood.
Even Yahiko was flung backward by the sheer pressure.
Hanzō staggered, blood trickling beneath his mask.
"You… you!" he gasped.
His most powerful attack—blocked so effortlessly?
Impossible.
This Fourth Hokage was stronger than even the Third Hokage in his prime!
All of Hanzō's confidence shattered.
Yahiko, barely hanging onto the wall, trembled.
He's so young… yet stronger than Hanzō-sama?!
Ryoma smiled faintly.
"I took your strike. Now it's my turn. Take one from me—and if you're still standing, I'll let you live."
His chakra surged, a brilliant tide of purple-gold light that swallowed the rain.
Hanzō felt as though he were adrift on a stormy sea, moments away from being capsized.
Cold sweat ran down his neck.
"T-this… I surrender—"
"Take it," Ryoma interrupted calmly.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
Even Hanzō, master of the Body Flicker Technique, couldn't follow his movement.
"W-what?!"
Ryoma's voice echoed, low and calm.
"Monster Power — All Your Might."
His palm glowed as he compressed chakra throughout his entire body, focusing it into a single burst.
When he struck—
BOOM!
The air itself exploded. The steel walls around them buckled and tore apart.
Hanzō's eyes went wide as he was blasted backward, his body crashing through the tower like a cannonball.
The battle was over before Yahiko could even blink.
While still in midair, Hanzō's body detonated.
Bang.
He exploded into countless fragments. Blood sprayed everywhere.
The giant salamander beneath him screamed in agony and immediately withdrew its sealing-space; the thing that had just stood before it was no longer human—there was simply no explanation for it.
The four elite shinobi who had been pressed into the wall stared in stunned horror as pieces of Hanzō's body rolled at their feet—mangled, lifeless.
"Hanzō-sama!" they cried.
Hanzō's poison sac ruptured in the blast; a poisonous mist leaked out and the four elites' faces blanched as they reacted to the taint. They went down, writhing.
Yahiko swallowed hard, forcing himself to move. He scrambled back, incredulous. "Hanzō… he's—dead?"
He stole a look at Ryoma's retreating back and felt a tangle of emotions. The Fourth Hokage's strength—this was the stuff of legend.
Hanzō's death would reverberate across the ninja world. Especially in Amegakure: the loss of the man nicknamed a demigod would plunge the village into chaos.
Word spread like wildfire. People whispered that the Three former Mizukage, the Uchiha elder, and now Hanzō himself had been at Ryoma's mercy. Some even wondered whether the mysterious disappearances of other great shinobi might somehow be connected to him.
Ryoma said nothing; he simply walked away. But the fact remained—Hanzō was dead, and Ryoma's name became one of the few that made the whole world take notice. Konoha's reputation swelled with it; the village's status as a dominant power felt more secure than ever.
News reached Konoha that night. Sarutobi and the Uzumaki elders, and the heads of the clans, were stunned. Hiruzen alone felt a cold certainty: he had chosen to withdraw at the right time. If he had stayed longer, he might not have survived. This young Fourth Hokage—barely twenty—could well lead Konoha into a new era of glory, perhaps rivaling the old Hokages.
For the Hiruzen family, the divide between generations felt as wide as heaven and earth. Compared to his sons, Ryoma's strength cast a shadow no one could ignore.
In Amegakure, Hanzō's fall triggered violent infighting. The man's prestige had bound the village together; without him, factions erupted. Before long, a rival force from Iwa—seizing the opportunity—swept into the leaderless settlement and took control. Amegakure fractured and was quickly subsumed as a client state of Iwa.
When Ryoma returned to Konoha, he learned that the Iwa forces had already moved on Amegakure. The messenger who delivered the news was none other than Sarutobi's eldest son, bravely trembling as he stood before the Fourth Hokage.
Ryoma's face remained unreadable. He fixed the messenger with a look and ordered, "Take a squad to Amegakure at once. Tell Iwa's commander that when I left, I had already placed Amegakure under Konoha's protection. Return the village—or don't blame me if Konoha reclaims it by force."
The Sarutobi scion's eyelids fluttered. This was dangerous—if he led a small detachment into Iwa-held territory, he might not return. Uchiha Fugaku, who had once led the Amegakure mission, still lay gravely wounded in a hospital bed; the memory of that defeat made the whole thing worse.
Still, he could not refuse an order from the Hokage. He swallowed his fear, squared his shoulders, and assembled his squad. Even if Konoha's numbers were thin—many shinobi were away—the village needed to assert itself.
The Sarutobi youth set off.
On Amegakure's edge, Iwa's forces barred the road. The Iwa commander—a veteran upper-rank shinobi—sneered down at the Sarutobi-led squad of middle-rank ninja.
"We're from Konoha," Sarutobi said, trying to keep his voice steady. "We come under orders from the Fourth Hokage to meet your commander about Amegakure."
The Iwa guard laughed and waved them away. "You? A middling squad? Go back and fetch your Hokage himself if you have the nerve."
Panic threaded through the Konoha ranks. The higher-rank Iwa jonin's presence made the squad feel small and exposed. They readied to withdraw—until one member stepped forward.
He wore green tights and had a wild haircut—the young taijutsu specialist who had risen through the ranks after the last battle. He planted his feet, jaw set.
"Get out of our way," he snapped. "By order of the Fourth Hokage, we demand you withdraw. You invaded Amegakure without Konoha's consent. Will you start a war over it?"
His voice carried the stubborn, dangerous confidence of someone who had tasted victory—and who refused to be intimidated.
Might Guy threw himself forward and flung open the Three Gates.
A green chakra shrouded him; the pressure that erupted from his body instantly overwhelmed the upper-rank shinobi across the line.
Faces went white.
On the Konoha side, legs wobbled. Nobody expected a chūnin-level teammate to step up like that—much less to provoke Iwa the way he was doing.
Fear rippled through the squad. Is he mad? they thought. If he pushes this, we'll all die.
The Sarutobi scion who led the team felt that guilty twinge in his gut. Might Guy was only a chūnin; his family's standing paled beside the Sarutobi name. Yet the reckless spirit he showed now resembled the bravado of Konoha's most prestigious houses.
The Sarutobi leader forced himself to stand and barked, "How dare you treat a Konoha mission like this! Do you have no respect for Konoha—or for our Fourth Hokage?"
His voice snapped like a whip. Chakra flared around him.
Might Guy held his stance, chest heaving, the green aura coiling tighter. The two of them matched wills; tension crackled on the road between them.
All at once, Iwa's ranks surged forward—thousands of shinobi pressing in.
The Sarutobi leader's heart dropped, but he sounded a warlike laugh anyway. "Then so be it. If we die today, then the rest of you will fall with us tomorrow!"
Might Guy nodded, voice low but fierce. "We're acting on the Fourth Hokage's orders. Don't mistake our restraint for weakness."
The upper-rank Iwa jonin guarding the pass hesitated. For a heartbeat the giant line wavered—none of them wanted to be responsible if blood spilled between Konoha and a major village.
The jonin waved the Konoha squad through with a contemptuous curl of his lips and led them back toward Kumogakure's occupied territory.
They entered Iwa's forward headquarters and were brought before the operation commander, Loess—son of Onoki and the highest voice among the Tsuchikage's faction here. Loess's brow tightened at the sight of the diminutive Konoha team.
"You say you come on the orders of the Fourth Hokage?" Loess asked, amusement hardening his words. "Is Konoha sending children now?"
The Sarutobi leader's knees shook beneath him. Loess's presence radiated an artifact-level killing intent; the pressure alone left the middling shinobi gasping.
Still, he swallowed his fear and spat the words out. "We are acting on direct orders. When the Hokage left this region, he placed the area under Konoha's protection. Iwa's seizure of Kumogakure's holdings is illegal. Return the territory—or don't blame Konoha if we take it back by force."
Loess's face darkened into cold fury. The room itself stilled as the commander's chakra flared; several Konoha nin slipped, blood splattering from their mouths under the sudden shockwave of power.
"Presumptuous," Loess said at last. His voice cut like stone. For a moment, everyone feared he would give the order to crush them.
Then, unexpectedly, Loess's expression softened into an almost mocking smile. "You two"—he nodded at the Sarutobi youth and Might Guy—"I admire your courage. Go back and relay the dispute between Konoha and Kumogakure. Wait for the Five Kage Summit to conclude. Since the Hokage chose this site for the talks, we will respect that decision."
Relief washed over the Konoha squad. The Sarutobi leader and Might Guy could scarcely believe they were being allowed to leave alive. The rest of the team broke down and wept at the edge of the hall—scarred nerves relaxing for the first time since they'd stepped into Iwa-held lands.
But in the combat headquarters behind them, the Iwa elites fumed. "Loess! You just let Konoha trample over us?" they snarled. "Do you fear them so much you won't strike back?"
Loess's patience snapped. "Fools," he said coldly. "That is why I command, and you are merely elite shinobi. Do you want Konoha to walk in and seize the bureau we set up? If the Fourth Hokage were truly invincible, would Hanzō have fallen? He is only one man."
"You're arrogant," one snarled back. "If the four great ninja villages unite—hundreds of thousands of them—could they not bury a single Hokage?"
Loess's eyes glittered, and a dangerous smile curved his mouth. "Then let them try. They will learn just how costly their arrogance is."
Around them, the headquarters thrummed with one thought: the death of Hanzō had shifted the balance. Where honor and prestige once held sway, now fear and opportunity warred for dominance.
...
TN:
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