"I never imagined Hanzō would be that strong."
While fleeing, Hiruzen was still replaying the earlier battle in his mind. The fact that he had been stalled for so long by just a water clone—if not for Chiyo's sudden interference, Hanzō's blade would have taken his head.
"The timing of his techniques… that lethal poison… his battlefield experience… that impossible speed… and his unconventional, ahead-of-his-era thinking."
"Konoha's understanding of him only covered his poison and swordsmanship."
"And that terrifying explosion… that must be his trump card."
"He probably used the same move when he blew up the Iwa encampment. But the reports never said it was that strong. Did he hold back? Just how deeply has he hidden his strength?"
"Hanzō is too powerful. Powerful enough to decide the outcome of a small-scale war—or even influence a large one. We have to contain him."
But this wasn't the only thing giving Hiruzen a headache.
The borders had fallen.
He needed to consider evacuating the Land of Fire's civilians.
And the number of fallen shinobi… he didn't know how he would explain this back in the village.
Ten years ago, the very idea would've been unthinkable.
During the First Great Ninja War, the Land of Fire had also faced the combined assault of four nations—but Konoha stopped the invaders outside the borders entirely. Back then, Konoha's power crushed the other villages.
Hiruzen had been Hokage for over a decade now. Facing another four-village encirclement, Konoha's strength was stretched thin. The foundation Tobirama entrusted to him was nearly exhausted.
In the original history, Konoha only survived the Second Great Ninja War because of its extraordinary talents:
Kato Dan's Ghost Transformation Jutsu, assassinating enemy commanders from miles away, disrupting entire armies;
Sakumo Hatake's uncanny battlefield instincts and fearsome kenjutsu, stabilizing the frontlines;
And the Sannin—leading Konoha's armies in the Land of Rain, defeating both Suna and Iwa simultaneously, crushing their ambitions and freeing troops to reinforce other fronts.
Only then did Konoha narrowly secure victory.
"The daimyo can handle the civilian evacuation. Konoha doesn't have the resources to protect everyone right now."
"This defeat must not affect the other fronts."
"Amegakure and Sunagakure need to be dealt with as soon as possible. Their internal chaos is the perfect opportunity."
"And to deal with Hanzō of the Salamander… I'll have to use the forbidden scroll Tobirama-sensei left behind. Otherwise, there's no hope of victory."
With these thoughts racing in his mind, Hiruzen increased his speed. He needed to return and convene the Council immediately.
---
At the same time, in a small town near the Land of Fire border—
A woman huddled with her child in the corner of a room, trembling uncontrollably.
Her husband had been pinned to the wall by a kunai through his hand, screaming in agony.
Several Ame-nin ransacked the house.
They didn't kill—They just took all food and money.
This was Hanzō's order. This was their revenge on the Land of Fire.
The family had no idea why disaster had fallen upon them. Their cries and pleas meant nothing against cold steel.
"Why are you shinobi doing this? Why!?"
The man sobbed and screamed from where he was pinned.
"What did we do wrong? What did we do!?"
One of the Ame-nin turned after finishing the looting.
"You're right. You did nothing wrong. But this is what your Land of Fire owes us. We're simply taking back what was taken from the Land of Rain."
"Captain, should we burn the house?"
"Forget it. Leave it. We move to the next place."
"Captain, you're too soft… In the Land of Rain, civilians live in ruined huts and caves. We don't even have proper shelter."
…
Meanwhile, in the mansion of the town's noble—
A kunai was held against the lord's throat.
Samurai surrounded the assassin, swords drawn.
"W-Who are you? Why are you trying to kill me?"
The lord shook uncontrollably.
"Take it—take anything you want! Just please spare my life!"
"You useless trash! Put your swords down! Do you want me to die!?"
"Please, take whatever you like! Anything!"
The Ame-nin behind him lightly slapped the lord's cheek with the kunai.
"Don't move. I'm not interested in killing you. I don't want your valuables either. Just stay put and don't move. If you do…"
"Y-Yes, I understand! I won't move!"
After a while, another Ame-nin approached.
"Everything's taken. Let's go."
The kunai left the lord's throat, and the ninja vanished in an instant.
The lord collapsed, hyperventilating from the fear of death. His samurai rushed to lift him.
"You useless trash… What do I pay you for!?"
"So many of you and you can't stop one ninja!? Useless! All of you are useless!"
"If I'd used your salaries to hire some shinobi, would this have happened? Get out of my sight! All of you!"
Outside, the Ame-nin regrouped and moved toward the next target.
"Sir, why didn't we rob that noble? He's far richer than these common folk."
"Yeah. Konoha shinobi killed plenty of people in the Land of Rain. Why shouldn't we return the favor?"
Hattori Murakami replied:
"This is Lord Hanzō's order. We follow it."
"Lord Hanzō wants the Land of Fire to experience the suffering we've endured."
"Pain is the fastest path to mutual understanding."
"When that time comes, they'll understand how small nations struggle to survive."
One shinobi hesitated.
"But, sir… taking our pain out on ordinary people… isn't that too much?"
"Too much? Did the great nations think it was 'too much' when their shinobi raided the Land of Rain?"
"We've already shown mercy. We're letting them live."
"My village was destroyed by Konoha. Fewer than ten survived."
"You grew up in Amegakure. How would you understand our pain?"
…
"That's enough. This is a mission. We are shinobi. Our job is not to judge right or wrong. Our job is to complete the mission."
"Yes, sir."
This wasn't the first town they had plundered. Over the past few days, they had looted several already, and now moved toward the next.
Back at the noble estate, a panicked servant rushed in.
"Lord! Lord! Something terrible happened!"
The lord stiffened.
"Those shinobi came back!?"
"No, sir! They've emptied the entire town! Now the residents are coming to you to complain!"
His heart finally relaxed.
"Bring them in."
Soon, several elderly town leaders entered.
"Oh, it's you. Well? How bad is it?"
The eldest immediately knelt, tears streaming down his face.
"My lord, the shinobi went too far! They took all our food and money—everything! They even took the bedding for my son's wedding! Please, my lord, give us justice!"
Seeing their humble, terrified expressions washed away half his fear.
His mood instantly improved.
"Yes, yes, those shinobi truly are vile. Don't worry. I'll report this to the daimyo. Konoha will avenge you."
"My lord, they took everything. Our crops aren't ready yet… Could you please…"
"Oh, right. If you've lost everything, then I will exempt your taxes for the next three months. Normally I'd need the daimyo's approval, but I'll shoulder the responsibility this time."
He already planned it out:
He would tell the daimyo the town was looted and that he couldn't bear to see the people suffer, so he granted a six-month tax exemption.
He might even be praised for his compassion.
The old man kneeled so hard his forehead thudded against the floor.
"Thank you, my lord! You are truly a living saint!"
The flattery made the lord beam with satisfaction.
"But my lord… even if the taxes are lifted, without food we can't survive. I know you're merciful—could you lend us a little? After the harvest, we'll return it double…"
"What!?"
He instantly snapped.
"Even those ninja didn't dare touch my stores! I was just being generous, and you push your luck? GET OUT!"
The man crawled forward and clutched the lord's leg.
"My lord, if you don't help us, we'll starve! Please! Please!"
"Get off me! I already exempted your taxes! What more do you want!?"
"Food? Food is everywhere! Figure it out yourselves! Get out!"
"My lord, please! You can't—"
The lord kicked him away.
The man scrambled back and clung to him again.
"Please, my lord! Save us!"
"Enough! Are you trying to rob me!? Cut him down!"
The samurai hesitated.
"You useless worms! You don't even follow my orders!?"
Earlier, they'd stared dumbly while he was held hostage by a shinobi. Now they dared disobey him again.
"What good are you!? Kill him or all of you are fired!"
That threat finally worked.
One samurai drew his blade and slashed the man's back.
Blood sprayed across the floor.
The man died without ever understanding why the lord would turn on him.
The remaining elders collapsed in horror.
"You who followed him—drag him out."
The samurai hurriedly grabbed the corpse by the legs and dragged it away.
"Clean up the blood. I don't want to see it."
Silence returned.
The lord slumped back into his chair.
"A filthy commoner… daring to order me around…"
But as he stood up—
A kunai pressed against his neck.
Again.
That familiar, chilling feeling—
He turned and found another shinobi.
Different headband. Different uniform.
"I heard the Land of Fire is pretty rich. Mind if we take some spending money from you?"
He nearly cried.
"P-Please… take anything. Anything you want."
The shinobi smirked.
"Good attitude. I'll spare your life. Consider this money the price of your continued existence. You're getting a bargain."
As more shinobi poured into the mansion, looting everything, the lord felt his world collapse.
"My money… my MONEY! You damned shinobi! I'll report all of you to the daimyo! I'll have you flayed alive!"
Earlier, when Suna-nin passed through, they found all the civilians had been looted by Ame-nin—but the wealthy noble had been untouched.
So if Ame-nin robbed civilians,
Then they would rob the noble.
And one noble was worth far more than an entire town of commoners.
In the following days, scenes like this became commonplace in the surrounding region…