"Tatsuma, go inside and notify Hanzō. Tell him that I, Danzo, and the Fourth Hokage of Konoha have arrived."
"Yes, Lord Danzo."
Root's ninjas have always followed Danzo's orders without question.
This Root ninja named Tatsuma, upon hearing Danzo's command, had no intention of consulting Minato Namikaze. After replying, he tried to enter the Hidden Rain Village ahead of time.
Minato didn't mind Tatsuma's actions; he just didn't want to waste effort. After all, Hanzō had already been killed by Nagato.
That man was dead—what's the point of going in to notify him?
So Minato immediately spoke up: "Wait a moment."
"Is the Hokage doubting my order?"
Danzo's tone was polite, but his expression carried a hint of mockery.
Minato shook his head and replied, "No, it's not that. I just want to say, Hanzō is already dead. Sending someone in is meaningless."
"What? Hanzō is dead? Impossible."
Danzo was quite surprised to hear of Hanzō's death.
Granted, at this time, Hanzō was no longer considered a demigod in the ninja world due to his age and other factors.
But even a starving camel is bigger than a horse; Hanzō's strength was still among the top in the ninja world.
The death of such a figure was no small matter.
Why hadn't Danzo received even a shred of information, while Minato—whom he looked down on—knew first? This greatly annoyed him.
"Tatsuma, didn't you hear my order? Why aren't you moving? I want to see if Hanzō is really dead."
"Yes."
This time, Tatsuma didn't hesitate and used the Body Flicker Technique to quickly enter the Hidden Rain Village.
For this, Minato just shrugged helplessly and didn't stop him again.
Watching Tatsuma's departing figure, Minato sighed softly and said, "What a pity."
"A pity about what?"
"Nothing, I'm just sighing because he could have survived, but he insisted on courting death."
This sentence puzzled Danzo a little.
Even if Hanzō really died, given Tatsuma's status as a Konoha ninja, if he was discovered, the worst that could happen was capture.
Danzo really didn't believe that mere Hidden Rain ninjas would dare kill one of his men.
"Fourth Hokage, I don't know where you got that conclusion from, but you seem different from usual."
"Really? I've always been consistent inside and out."
"..."
Looking at Minato's sunny smile, Danzo fell silent.
You, Fourth Hokage, are consistent inside and out, but what about me, Danzo?
Hmm, maybe not so much.
At that moment, Danzo suddenly felt that Minato was truly different now.
At least, he dared to be sarcastic right in front of him.
But then again, Minato is the Hokage, and he's only the head of Root.
Even if Minato was sarcastic, Danzo couldn't get angry at him.
If he acted, he might not win; if he argued seriously, it could be considered insubordination.
If he just argued verbally, he probably wouldn't win either.
This really made him feel uncomfortable.
Danzo decided to ignore Minato for now and finish the mission first.
The rain drizzled quietly, and Minato and the others stood silently outside the Hidden Rain Village, waiting for someone to arrive.
Danzo was waiting for Tatsuma.
Minato was waiting for Nagato.
As the rain got heavier, Minato's mind started to wander, wondering if they should take shelter from the rain first.
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait too long. A few minutes later, a figure appeared from ahead.
Because the rain was falling heavily, they couldn't see clearly who it was at first.
When the figure came closer, Minato smiled slightly and said, "They're here."
That's right, the visitor was Pain's Deva Path.
Not only did the Deva Path come, but he was also carrying a "gift."
"This belongs to you. I'm returning it."
The Deva Path threw the "gift" in his hand to Danzo.
Upon receiving it, Danzo's whole body filled with intense rage.
Because the "gift" was the severed head of Tatsuma.
"Bastard, who gave you permission to attack our Leaf ninjas?"
Angrily, Danzo waved his large hand, and the Root members behind him immediately attacked the Deva Path without hesitation.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique."
"Wind Release: Wind Blade Cut."
"Kunai Manipulation Technique."
The Root ninjas' attacks came in many forms—some used ninjutsu, some threw kunai and other hidden weapons, and others chose to fight up close.
Though the attack seemed chaotic, their cooperation was very tacit.
"You idiots from the Rain Village, go to hell and repent."
Just as Danzo thought the Deva Path would die under the Root ninjas' assault, the Deva Path slowly stretched out his right hand and softly said, "Shinra Tensei."
An invisible repulsive force appeared, instantly dispelling the attacks from the Root ninjas.
The Root ninjas, knocked back by the force, wanted to continue their attack, but unfortunately, the other five Paths of Pain appeared behind them.
In the blink of an eye, the Root ninjas were slaughtered completely.
"What?"
Facing such a result, Danzo was clearly somewhat unable to accept it.
From his perspective, the six enemies before him were quite strong, especially the one in the middle, Deva Path. That strange repelling force was even confusing to him.
"Fourth Hokage, the situation doesn't seem right. I think it's better to retreat first."
After saying this, Danzo completely ignored Minato's reaction and turned to leave.
"Advisor Danzo, since you're here, don't be in such a hurry to go."
Danzo wanted to slip away, but Minato grabbed his hand, stopping him from leaving.
"Minato, you..."
At this moment, Danzo began to understand.
Why was he not allowed to communicate with Hanzō beforehand for a mission to wipe out a small group in the Land of Rain?
Why did Minato know earlier than him that Hanzō was already dead?
Why was Minato's attitude different from usual just now?
Why did such a small mission require the Hokage himself?
All these signs showed that the real purpose of this mission was not to eliminate the ninja organization in the Land of Rain, but to target Shimura Danzo himself.
"Is Hiruzen trying to get rid of me, wanting to eliminate me?"
"Advisor Danzo, you can't blame the Third Hokage either. This was a decision we all made."
"I see. What about Homura and Koharu?"
Knowing Danzo misunderstood, Minato didn't bother to explain further. Talking to him was a waste of breath anyway.
"Fourth Hokage, state your purpose for coming here."
Because of Minato's delay, the Six Paths of Pain immediately surrounded them but didn't attack.
Clearly, Nagato also knew he couldn't stop the Fourth Hokage, who could use the Flying Thunder God technique.
"Nagato, huh? Speaking of which, I am also Jiraiya-sensei's disciple. You should call me 'Minato-kun.'"
Deva Path nodded lightly and said coldly, "I see. But that doesn't mean much."
"Why doesn't it mean much? Because of Jiraiya-sensei, we don't necessarily have to fight."
Minato pointed at Danzo and continued, "To show our sincerity, this is a gift for you — he conspired with Hanzō to kill Yahiko."
After speaking, Minato quickly slipped out of Pain's Six Paths' encirclement and stood on a tree.
"I can wait until you're done dealing with Danzo before we talk."
"That's fine."
Seeing Minato and Nagato reach an agreement, Danzo—treated like a commodity—laughed angrily.
"A tiger doesn't show its claws; do you think I'm on my deathbed?"
"I'm still very capable of fighting!"
It was clear Danzo was so angry he was losing his mind and started babbling nonsense.
"Whether you're a tiger or a kitten, quietly apologize to Yahiko."
"Banpaku Tengen"
****
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