Light drizzle fell from the sky.
Hanzo stood by the window, hands clasped behind his back, asking, "Have there been any new movements from Akatsuki lately?"
A Jonin stood behind him, respectfully replying, "Same as before. As soon as we leave the village, they launch fierce attacks!"
"Hmph, they truly don't let up!" Hanzo chuckled slightly, waving his hand. "You may leave now."
"Yes!"
Once the room returned to silence, Hanzo secretly mused, "Are they taking advantage of my cautious personality, trying to gradually push me into a desperate situation?"
"However, this might actually be an opportunity for me. If I act anxious and uneasy, those proud youths will surely underestimate me. Plus, this period of time will be enough for me to set traps for them..."
As he pondered this, suddenly he felt uneasy.
It was too quiet around him—so quiet that even the sounds of a crowd walking outside were inaudible.
"This isn't right!" Hanzo's pupils narrowed slightly. He quietly opened the window, planning to slip out through it.
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However, the moment he jumped out the window, he was forcefully pushed back into the room by a sudden repelling force.
Then, the door swung open abruptly.
Konan stood in the doorway. With a flick of her hand, over a hundred paper shuriken shot forward like arrows. Yahiko, meanwhile, held chakra-infused oil in his mouth and used an Oil-Fire Bullet—far stronger than ordinary Fire Release jutsu!
The explosive flames ignited the paper shuriken, turning them into blazing projectiles hurtling toward Hanzo.
Although he was thrown back by the force and had no way to gain momentum mid-air, Hanzo, once the Demigod of the Shinobi World, still possessed combat experience far beyond Konan, Yahiko, and Zetsu.
Even in this disadvantageous position, he remained calm, crossing his hands into a seal, exhaling a stream of water that tightly wrapped around his body.
When the flaming shuriken hit the water, the flames were quickly snuffed out. Even the kinetic energy of the shuriken was significantly reduced after being slowed by the water, losing much of their power by the time they reached Hanzo.
"Phew, that was close..." Just as Hanzo began to relax, something strange suddenly started spreading across his body.
"What is this? It's absorbing my chakra?" Seeing the white, expanding substance tightly binding him, Hanzo's expression changed slightly. With his right hand bound, he still managed to form a one-handed hand seal, exhaling a stream of fire to ignite the spores.
"Quite decisive, aren't you? Not even afraid of burning yourself!"
As Zetsu chuckled, a voice rang out inside the room.
[Wood Release: Stocks!]
"What? Wood Release?" Hanzo's expression changed dramatically. Wood Release had become a symbol of Seiki Shimaseki. "Impossible! With Seiki Shimaseki's strength, he wouldn't need to team up with others to ambush me!"
Yet, several wooden spears shot toward him at extreme speed.
"What? It's really Wood Release!" Losing his composure, Hanzo barely dodged and a wooden spear grazed his shoulder.
Before he could catch his breath, he heard the subtle sound of something cutting through the air from behind him.
Hanzo barely managed to swing his sickle backward. A powerful force transferred from the impact of the blades, sending him flying violently.
Hanzo crashed through the wall and landed in the muddy water.
Six figures emerged from the rain.
"These bastards, hah!" Hanzo's face darkened as he saw the six people surrounding him.
One exchange was all it took for him to gauge their approximate strength. Even the weakest among them were at the level of elite Jonin — specifically, Yahiko and Konan.
That man with the odd hairstyle and the masked man were also suspicious. One had silently planted some strange things on him, while the other could actually use Wood Release.
As for Nagato and the swordsman, one — Nagato — possessed the Rinnegan, with overall strength surpassing even his own. The other wielded sword techniques so sharp that even he struggled to resist.
Even facing just one of these opponents would be difficult, let alone six working together!
"Hmph, you sure do respect me!" Hanzo coughed up blood, his face darkening. "Where are my men?"
"Don't worry, I wouldn't be as cruel as you. They're just asleep!" Yahiko said.
"Genjutsu?" Hanzo asked gravely.
"That's right, it was Aizen's Genjutsu that controlled them!" Konan said.
"Aizen?" Hanzo frowned.
"Last time when you turned back to ambush Nagato, it was Aizen who saved our people from your hands!" Yahiko explained.
"Last time..." Hanzo paused, then his furrowed brows relaxed. "So it was him!"
Aizen smiled slightly. Even Hanzo himself didn't know he had already fallen victim to the Genjutsu.
Getting Hanzo to admit it was just a way to seal the deal on that whole story from before.
After all, there were still some slight inconsistencies in that lie he told back then.
However, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato hadn't given it much thought at all — not even realizing the lie had come from Nagato.
Hearing Hanzo's admission, Konan softly chuckled, "Looks like you never told anyone about your embarrassing defeat, huh? Otherwise, if they had been on guard, Aizen's Genjutsu wouldn't have worked so easily!"
"Hmph! Talking too much!" Hanzo's eyes turned fierce. "If you want to kill me, at least one or two of you will have to die with me. Are you prepared for that?"
"You're overestimating yourself!" Nagato coldly said. "Do you think it's still like before?"
Seeing his threats had failed, Hanzo began calculating in his mind, "Among these six people, Yahiko and his group are one faction, the man with the odd hairstyle and the masked man are another, and Aizen stands alone."
"In terms of numbers, it seems best to break through from Aizen's side. However, his physical abilities seem to be the strongest. It would be very difficult to escape!"
Hanzo shifted his gaze toward Obito. "Their abilities are strange, but they seem shady — maybe even the easiest to take down. Especially that masked guy. His Wood Release isn't nearly as strong as people say... I'll hit him first!"
With that thought, Hanzo suddenly erupted, charging straight toward Obito.
Obito, who was calmly moving through the water, was startled and instinctively shot a [Kamaitachi no Jutsu] — a slicing wind technique — at Hanzo.
Hanzo was ready — he wouldn't fall for something that simple. He formed a one-handed seal and dodged the attack using Body Flicker Technique. Instantly appearing before Obito, he swung his sickle down.
Obito instinctively wanted to use Intangibility to dodge the attack, but at the thought of that suspicious Aizen watching nearby, he forcibly restrained himself.
He still held considerable caution toward this Aizen of mysterious origins, so naturally, he was unwilling to easily reveal his abilities.
Besides, it's not like he'd be the one to gain anything—why should he go all out?
He'd never do something exhausting and unrewarding!
However, Hanzo kept targeting him relentlessly, shrugging off attacks from the others and unleashing his full strength to hammer Obito nonstop.
After all, Obito was still too young and inexperienced. Without using the Mangekyou, his true strength was far from matching Hanzo's.
Within just tens of seconds, he had already encountered multiple life-threatening situations.
"Damn it, why is he always targeting me!" Obito thought, frustrated. First of all, he wasn't Hanzo's enemy, and second, he hadn't interfered with Hanzo's plans—why was this bastard always chasing after him?
Meanwhile, Aizen stood aside, closely observing Obito's actions. Hanzo singling out Obito was naturally partially due to Aizen's subtle manipulations.
After all, Obito was a fairly important pawn.
Such a piece needed constant monitoring to prevent him from going out of control!
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