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Chapter 183: Has Hanzo Gone Mad?
In Konohagakure, the Land of Fire, smoke swirled in the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe, his brow furrowed into a deep scowl. The mountains of documents on his desk were each tainted with the scent of blood.
The eastern front was in crisis; the Cloud brat named Yotsuki Raito was a monster, tearing their defensive lines to shreds. The western front wasn't stable either; the Sand village's puppet units had recently begun a frantic counterattack.
"Hiruzen, you are far too indecisive!"
The door was slammed open. Danzo Shimura walked in, leaning on his cane, his single eye gleaming with cold light.
"Tsubasa Uchiha is acting recklessly on the battlefield. Although he has killed many enemies, this kind of uncontrollable power will eventually backlash against the village."
Danzo threw a report onto the desk.
"Intelligence from Root says he even released killing intent toward allies on the field. This kind of person must be disciplined by Root."
Hiruzen sighed and set down his pipe. "Danzo, we are in a time of need. Although Tsubasa Uchiha has an extreme personality, his combat power is desperately needed at the front."
"You will regret this."
Danzo snorted, preparing to pile on more pressure. Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed past the window. An Anbu ninja wearing a cat mask knelt on the windowsill, his chest heaving as if he had traveled at top speed.
He wasn't just any Anbu. He was the Captain of the Intelligence Division, reporting directly to the Hokage.
"Lord Hokage! This is an emergency!"
The Anbu's voice carried a tremor he couldn't hide. Hiruzen's gaze sharpened, his aura instantly turning fierce.
"Which defensive line broke? Did the Cloud ninja break through, or did the Stone ninja launch a surprise attack on Mt. Kikyo?"
In his mind, only a disaster of that magnitude could make an Intelligence Captain lose his composure like this. However, the Anbu's next words left both Hiruzen and Danzo stunned.
"It's not a breakdown of the defensive lines..." The Anbu swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "Our forces in Amegakure have vanished."
"Our three battalions within the Land of Rain—a total of one hundred and twenty ninjas, including three Jonin... vanished overnight!"
Danzo spun around, his eye fixed on the Anbu. "Vanished? You mean wiped out? Who did it? Onoki of the Stone? Or that old hag Chiyo from the Sand?"
The Anbu lowered his head and pulled a scroll wrapped in waterproof oilpaper from his vest. "Neither."
"According to the final fragments of intelligence sent back, the attackers were wearing Amegakure uniforms. And... it's not just us." The Anbu paused, dropping an even bigger bombshell. "The Iwagakure Demolition Unit, the Sunagakure Puppet Unit, and even a Kumogakure strike team lurking in the Land of Rain all lost contact at the same time."
Silence like death fell over the office. The pipe in Hiruzen's hand nearly fell onto the desk.
How was this possible? Amegakure? That tiny country the Three Great Nations treated as a backyard and a battlefield to be trampled at will?
"You mean..." Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, his voice heavy. "That old man Hanzo took out every foreign ninja in his territory in one fell swoop?"
Danzo let out a cold laugh, his cane thumping heavily on the floor. "Has Hanzo gone mad? He's declaring war on the Five Great Nations simultaneously! Who does he think he is? The God of Shinobi?"
"No, there's more." The Anbu presented the scroll with both hands. "This was dropped at a border outpost this morning by a strange paper bird. It was addressed specifically to the Hokage."
Hiruzen took the scroll and slowly unfurled it. There were no complex sealing formulas, only a single line of bold, powerful characters that radiated a sense of slaughter.
[Starting today, the entire territory of the Land of Rain is under blockade.]
[Any unauthorized armed forces stepping foot into the Land of Rain will be considered invaders.]
[We will take all necessary measures to annihilate them.]
[Note: Your village's captured personnel are currently safe. If you wish to retrieve them, send a representative of sufficient status to Amegakure for negotiations.]
The signature wasn't "Hanzo of the Salamander." It was a strange new name:
[Akatsuki].
Hiruzen looked at the bright red word "Akatsuki," and a strange chill rose in his heart. This wasn't Hanzo's style. Although Hanzo called himself a demigod, he was extremely cautious. He would never do something as insane as offending all the Great Nations at once.
"Akatsuki..." Hiruzen murmured softly. "The sky is changing over the Land of Rain."
.....
Meanwhile, at Black Rock Valley on the border of the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning.
Rumble!
The earth groaned. The once steep canyon had been leveled. Countless rocks floated in the air before crashing down like a meteor shower. In the midst of the dust, a blue bolt of lightning darted back and forth like a wild dragon, smashing every rock to pieces.
"Onoki! You old turtle who only knows how to hide behind stones!"
A roar shook the heavens. The Third Raikage was encased in a violent cloak of lightning chakra—the absolute defense known as the "Strongest Shield." He lunged with a single-hand thrust, piercing straight through a small hill toward the short old man in the air.
"Hmph, a brute who only knows physical strength." The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, floated in mid-air. Between his hands, a transparent cube was rapidly forming. "Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
Brilliant white light brewed within the cube—a terrifying power capable of disintegrating all matter into molecules. At this critical moment, two figures charged into the death zone, heedless of the danger. One was an Iwagakure messenger, the other a Kumogakure communications officer.
"Lord Tsuchikage! Urgent report!"
"Lord Raikage! Something has happened!"
Both men sounded like they were on the verge of tears, clearly terrified. The white light in the air dissipated, and the lightning on the ground receded. Onoki and the Third Raikage stopped simultaneously, returning to their respective bases. For powerhouses of this level to stop their clash, it had to be something monumental.
"Speak!" The Third Raikage, a man of fierce temper, grabbed the communications officer by the collar. "If you interrupted me for some trivial nonsense, I'll crush your head!"
The officer trembled, stammering, "L-Lord Raikage, the team led by Lord A and Lord Killer B encountered a powerful enemy on the southern front and requested reinforcements. Also..."
"Also what?!"
"Also, our three elite squads in the Land of Rain have been... captured!"
"What?!" The Raikage's eyes bulged like bells. "Who did it? Those hypocrites from Konoha?"
"No... it was Amegakure."
At the same time, Onoki received the same report. Iwagakure's proud Demolition Unit had been wiped out in the Land of Rain without a single explosion being heard.
The two titans of the shinobi world stared at each other from hundreds of meters away. Both saw the bewilderment in the other's eyes.
"That old fossil Hanzo..." Onoki rubbed his large red nose, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Hasn't he always tried to survive in the cracks? Why the sudden backbone?"
"Lord Tsuchikage, there is also this..." The messenger handed over an identical scroll. Onoki scanned it, his face instantly turning grim.
"Armed Mediation? Total blockade?"
"Hahahaha!" Onoki laughed in sheer rage, his voice causing the surrounding rocks to crumble. "What arrogance! A mere Amegakure, a mere Hanzo, actually dares to threaten me?"
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