So his words had been stolen.
Hyuga Arin was already too tired to complain.
Looking at Hanzo—thick brows, honest-looking eyes—who would've thought he'd plagiarize someone else's lines? Truly, you couldn't judge a person by appearances.
At least acknowledge the copyright, okay?!
Zhengzang held the teacup with both hands, his eyes half-open, looking like a decrepit old man—though, in truth, he was advanced in age.
"What are you trying to say?" he asked calmly. "Are you accusing me of being wrong?"
Hanzo didn't beat around the bush at all.
"Teacher, it is your fault. You should step down. In your current state, you can no longer lead the Rain Hidden Village."
There was zero attempt to hide his intentions.
Since they had already torn off the mask, there was no need to maintain a façade of harmony.
Crack!
The teacup in Zhengzang's hands shattered at that very moment.
He stared at Hanzo with a gloomy expression.
"This position is something I give you. If I don't give it to you, you are not allowed to take it."
Hanzo continued persuading him,
"Teacher, but how much longer can you really hold on?"
Killing intent—straight to the heart.
Zhengzang's face darkened until it seemed water might drip from it.
He was no longer the man he once was in his youth. He had already entered his twilight years, and in the Land of Rain—with its endless downpours—his body had developed numerous ailments from constant dampness.
He truly couldn't last much longer.
Zhengzang's expression hardened.
"You will drag the Rain Hidden Village into hell."
Hanzo was his own disciple. Even though they had completely fallen out, Zhengzang still understood him better than anyone.
If Hanzo truly took control of the Rain Hidden Village, he would destroy it.
The desire for power was one of the reasons Zhengzang clung to this position—but another was his belief that Hanzo was simply not a suitable successor.
But Hanzo was too strong.
With the salamander summon and his own deadly poison, even the great ninja villages would struggle to find more than a handful of people capable of opposing him.
Zhengzang wanted to cultivate a new successor—but as long as Hanzo existed, that path was completely blocked.
Hanzo clearly didn't agree with Zhengzang's judgment.
"I will lead the Rain Hidden Village toward rebirth."
He was absolutely confident in this.
From Hyuga Arin's perspective above, the clash between the two was more about a difference in ideals.
As for how much of it was truth and how much was pretense—that was another matter entirely. At the very least, Zhengzang truly was jealous of Hanzo's current prestige.
Was it personal desire mixed with so-called righteousness, or righteousness tainted by personal desire?
No one really knew.
When words failed, there was nothing more to say.
Zhengzang closed his eyes. Receiving some unseen signal, all the ninjas on the ceiling leapt down, surrounding him.
Hyuga Arin followed suit, stepping behind Hanzo.
"Leave, Hanzo," Zhengzang said in a deep voice.
"As long as I live for even one more day, you will never sit in the position of leader."
Hanzo fell silent.
Faced with this situation, there truly wasn't a good solution.
Zhengzang could die—but his death absolutely could not be linked to Hanzo.
Hanzo glanced at Hyuga Arin behind him, then stood up without another word.
"Then I hope you live a long life, my teacher."
It was impossible to tell whether that was a blessing or a curse.
He turned and left with Hyuga Arin.
Zhengzang opened his eyes. A vicious glint flashed through them.
"Follow him. Find an opportunity. Kill him."
"Yes!" the ninjas beside him replied in unison.
There was not the slightest trace of guilt on his face at the thought of killing his own disciple—only deep, cold malice.
"For the sake of the Rain Hidden Village, Hanzo must die!"
Since he dared to appear before him again, then he would stay here forever.
…
Hanzo led Hyuga Arin out of the building.
The sky over the Rain Hidden Village remained overcast. Fine rain fell like needles against the skin, carrying a biting chill.
"Do you think I'll really lead the Rain Hidden Village to destruction?" Hanzo asked, stopping in his tracks.
Hyuga Arin recalled what happened after Hanzo later became the village's leader.
"No."
At least during the Second Great Ninja War, Hanzo's decisions had been sound.
The real issue came later—his handling of Akatsuki, which ultimately led to his own downfall.
Although the Rain Hidden Village still existed in later generations, it had completely declined. That was, to some extent, Hanzo's responsibility—after all, he had killed Akatsuki's true leader, Yahiko.
His decisions weren't wrong.
He just ran into an overpowered anomaly.
Who could've predicted that?
Hanzo was very satisfied with Hyuga Arin's answer.
But Hyuga Arin had no time to care about Hanzo's satisfaction. His gaze shifted backward.
Those men from Zhengzang's side were already trailing them.
The road ahead was clearly going to be dangerous.
Hanzo acted as though he noticed nothing, continuing to lead Hyuga Arin out of the Rain Hidden Village.
The rain grew heavier. Raindrops pounded against the ground in dense crackling sounds, like countless tiny arrows falling from the sky. In the distance, mountain ridges loomed faintly behind the curtain of rain.
The people behind them no longer bothered to hide their presence.
Hyuga Arin didn't even need the Byakugan to clearly sense those ninjas.
Zhengzang's assassination squad followed like ghosts, keeping a delicate distance—never losing track, yet never fully revealing themselves.
"Lord Hanzo," Hyuga Arin warned softly.
Hanzo seemed to be looking at something unseen. He replied calmly,
"He needs to learn what pain is."
"Take care of yourself."
As his words fell, Hanzo vanished from Hyuga Arin's sight.
All that remained was a splash of water on the ground—hardly noticeable among the puddles.
Water Body Flicker Technique.
A sharp whistling sound tore through the air beside Hyuga Arin—like shuriken slicing through wind.
Without hesitation, he lunged forward.
Clang!
Shuriken struck the ground behind him.
His clothes were instantly soaked, mud splattering across the fabric. He didn't have time to think—he broke into a sprint toward the distant forest.
After putting some distance between himself and the attackers, he hid within the underbrush and finally dared to look back at the battlefield.
There were too many obstructions. He could only rely on the Byakugan.
In the black-and-white world of his vision, only chakra appeared in shades of blue.
The pursuers had no intention of chasing Hyuga Arin. Instead, they surrounded Hanzo.
As Hanzo pressed one hand against the ground, thick smoke erupted.
A massive salamander appeared on the battlefield.
Hanzo stood atop the salamander, saying something—but from this distance, Hyuga Arin couldn't hear a word.
Then the battle began.
The salamander spewed out massive amounts of poisonous mist, which spread rapidly outward.
A group of ninjas charged straight at Hanzo.
They were divided into two layers.
The inner layer engaged in close combat, surrounding Hanzo. He swung the sickle in his hand, suppressing the entire group by himself.
The outer layer rapidly formed hand seals. One water dragon after another surged forth, rushing toward Hanzo.
"Water Dragon Bullet Technique?" Hyuga Arin muttered as he began concentrating chakra into his eyes.
This was a Nen application.
"Focus."
Originally, this was meant to allow him to see Nen techniques. He was curious—what would happen if he used Focus again after merging Nen with chakra, especially combined with his own bloodline limit, the Byakugan?
As chakra gathered within his eyes—
The world changed.
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