Half a day later, Hanzō and Murakami finally returned to Amegakure.
Inside the Ame office, Hanzō sank into his chair, letting out a long, weary breath. The battle had taught him something crystal clear—he was still too weak.
No—more precisely, it was the pressure of fighting against someone who wielded a Kekkei Tōta.
Hanzō of the Salamander possessed no Kekkei Genkai, no Sage Arts—yet among ordinary shinobi, he stood at the very pinnacle, his power on par with the strongest of the Kage. But in a world like this—where bloodlines ruled everything—even a "demigod" could feel helpless.
During his battle with Ōnoki, Hanzō had been forced to evade relentlessly. Ōnoki's Particle Style—a technique that disintegrated matter at the atomic level—was something no ordinary ninjutsu could withstand.
Then there was the issue of chakra. Just a few Shadow Clones, several Fire and Water Style techniques, and a handful of Teleportation Jutsu—already half his chakra was gone.
Naruto, as a child, could create hundreds of Shadow Clones without strain thanks to the immense chakra reserves of the Uzumaki bloodline. Compared to that, even a Kage-level shinobi like him felt limited.
In this world, bloodline users were simply unfair. Rock Lee trained for years to reach taijutsu mastery, yet Sasuke—blessed by Indra's chakra—could match it in a single month. Talent and lineage dictated everything.
Aside from rare prodigies like Might Guy or the Third Raikage—who pushed a single path to absolute perfection—most ordinary shinobi barely left their mark in history.
But Hanzō refused to be content with that. He knew a truth more fundamental than any bloodline:
"Chakra is the root of all power. Without sufficient chakra, every ninjutsu is a rootless stream."
The First Hokage's Wood Style once crushed entire armies; Yamato's, meanwhile, could barely grow trees. Strength was never in the technique—it was in the chakra behind it.
He had already understood this during the battle with Ōnoki. Twenty thousand explosive tags had detonated with the force of a natural disaster. The lesson was clear: quantity, when condensed properly, transforms into quality.
Konan had once used six hundred billion explosive tags to assault Obito, and the explosion lasted twenty minutes. His own twenty thousand detonated in less than six seconds—but in that instant, the destructive power was far greater.
It reminded him of his childhood, throwing firecrackers into a latrine pit—ten or so would make a splash, but one specifically firecracker nearly sent filth flying over the fence.
Compression. Concentration.
Just like the Tailed Beast Bomb of the Ten-Tails—not flashy, merely pure chakra compressed to its limit, yet powerful enough to flatten entire battlefields.
"If I used all eighty thousand remaining explosive tags in Amegakure…" Hanzō muttered. "Even I wouldn't escape the blast alive."
He clenched his fist.
"No—what I need now is power. If I want to change this village's fate, I must make Amegakure produce a shinobi god—one who ends the chaos of this world."
He chuckled softly.
"Once, such thoughts would've sounded delusional. But after defeating Ōnoki… maybe delusion isn't so far from ambition."
Taking up a sheet of paper, Hanzō began to write his plan—meticulous and bold.
1. Increasing Chakra Capacity
The Dragon Vein (Ryūmyaku).
A vast source of energy buried beneath the ruins of Lōran, within the Land of Wind. Its location wasn't difficult to estimate—his intelligence unit could easily pinpoint it. The issue wasn't finding it, but sealing and controlling it.
Hanzō frowned.
He wasn't a sealing expert. Sealing the Dragon Vein into himself would require tremendous chakra control and a high-grade fūinjutsu, or his body would be torn apart from within.
Like the Iron Seal on Killer Bee or the Eight Trigrams Seal on Naruto, a proper fūinjutsu not only restrained a tailed beast but allowed safe chakra extraction. In contrast, Gaara's seal on Shukaku mainly carved out space inside his body—it relied more on willpower than technique.
At this point in the timeline, the Uzumaki Clan might still have survivors—and their sealing arts were the best in the world. "I should visit their ruins," he thought.
Then there was the Shrine Maiden of the Land of Demons—her lineage had sealing techniques powerful enough to imprison demonic entities from beyond their world. If he could obtain the Uzumaki scrolls, he could later verify their authenticity through her.
—
2. The Stone of Gelel
A relic from ancient times, saturated with immense chakra. Legends claimed a long-lost civilization once used it to build wonders—until it destroyed them.
A single Gelel Stone could grant regeneration rivaling that of the Nine-Tails and the Uzumaki bloodline combined. In the original chronicles, Temujin—who possessed one—recovered from a fall off a cliff faster than Naruto himself. His master, Haido, survived a direct Rasengan and healed within seconds.
But mining Gelel Stone was perilous. Without the bloodline of the ancient royal house, disturbing its gate could trigger a chain reaction strong enough to wipe out half a continent.
Still… Hanzō knew the ruins' layout. Even without the Book of Gelel, he could snatch a few shards without awakening disaster. The site lay somewhere on the border between the Lands of Wind and Fire—a barren mountain range. It wouldn't take long to find.
—
3. The Tailed Beasts
Like the Dragon Vein, they were living chakra reservoirs.
The most accessible was the Seven-Tails, housed in Takigakure. Their military strength rivaled Amegakure's, but they lacked any Kage-level powerhouse. Hanzō could easily subdue their Jinchūriki and claim the beast without provoking any Great Nation.
The problem lay in the future. Once Madara Uchiha's "Eye of the Moon Plan" began, the tailed beasts would become targets. Capturing one might put him in direct conflict with the Akatsuki's predecessor factions.
And, of course, sealing it again required fūinjutsu mastery.
—
4. Sage Arts
The three great sanctuaries—Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest—held the keys to Senjutsu. But their summoning contracts were all linked to Konoha.
Still, there were other traces—like the Hōzuki Clan's balance arts, which originated from Ryūchi Cave. Perhaps he could follow that thread.
Sage Mode drew power from nature itself. If he could gradually absorb and analyze natural chakra, maybe he could awaken it on his own. The risk, of course, was petrification.
Then Hanzō remembered something from the Great Shinobi War:
Madara absorbed Hashirama's Edo Tensei body and gained Sage Mode instantly—without backlash.
He mused aloud:
"It's like a vaccine… if I expose myself to a weakened version of natural energy, maybe I can adapt, build resistance—until my body accepts it completely."
After all, Sage Mode granted Hashirama the chakra to manifest True Several Thousand Hands, yet Madara wielded it effortlessly once adapted. It wasn't raw inheritance—it was mastery through control.
If the Hōzuki Clan's experiments with natural chakra could be replicated in smaller doses… then Sage Mode was possible.
—
5. The Sky Village and the Zero-Tails
Destroyed during the First Great Shinobi War, the Sky Country still harbored an airborne fortress powered by the Zero-Tails. It hovered somewhere above the eastern seas between the Lands of Fire and Tea.
At this point in time—the early Second Great Shinobi War—the Sky Village hadn't yet recovered. Their forces were scattered, their presence nearly forgotten. But the fortress itself surely remained, built in secret long before the war.
If Amegakure could seize it, the strategic advantage would be enormous. An airborne stronghold would expand their influence tenfold.
He thought back to Ōnoki and scowled.
"Flying… he really taught me that lesson firsthand."
He'd find that fortress—track their supply lines, infiltrate a trade exchange, swap cargo mid-transfer, cast genjutsu on the pilots, and have them unwittingly bring him aboard. Once he was inside, the Sky Village would cease to exist.
"This era is their weakest," he thought, smirking. "Time to claim the sky."
...
Setting his brush down, Hanzō reviewed his notes, then folded the paper and tucked it inside his robe.
"That's enough planning for now," he murmured. "Next step—become stronger."
Outside, the rain continued to fall, tapping against the window like the steady beat of a war drum.
The world had no idea that the man who killed a Kage alone was now quietly plotting to become something far greater.