Land of Rain.
"Hanzo" walked in front, with three ninja following him. That number had already grown to more than ten, and more were still joining.
"Leader!"
"Hanzo" nodded. "Mm."
He couldn't say anything else, Akio didn't recognize a single one of these people.
Hanzo suddenly returning alive would of course raise doubts. But after one jōnin was nearly cleaved in half with a single strike of his chain-scythe, no one questioned him again. No one even dared to.
"Leader!"
They were already close to the central area when three more ninja appeared. These three were the strongest Akio had encountered since entering the Land of Rain, each one nearly at Zabuza's level.
Akio thought for a moment.
These should be Rain's high-ranking shinobi beneath Hanzo who had come out to greet him after hearing of his return.
What am I supposed to say here?
Akio considered for a long moment, then forced out a single word:
"Mm."
The three exchanged confused looks. The atmosphere instantly became painfully awkward, until someone finally broke the silence.
"Lord Hanzo!"
A ninja wearing an Iwagakure forehead protector appeared in a flicker. No one stopped him, which meant he was familiar to the real Hanzo.
"Mm!"
Akio then realized that sounded off.
"What is it?"
The Iwa ninja hesitated. Akio instantly understood and spoke first:
"You all return. Now that word has spread that I'm not dead, the war may begin again. As for the ones who attacked me earlier, leave them to me."
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone dispersed, leaving only the three high-ranking Rain shinobi as his guards.
Once they were far enough away, "Hanzo" spoke:
"Go on."
The Iwa ninja paused, then said,
"Lord Hanzo, regarding the ninja who attacked you earlier"
"No need for Iwagakure to worry. I was momentarily careless before. If they come again, huh?"
Akio stopped mid-sentence, stunned.
"Lord Hanzo…?"
The Iwa ninja's expression changed, just as "Hanzo" vanished. A shadow fell over the Iwa shinobi's head, followed by a massive pressure. He hurriedly raised his arms to block.
"Eyaaah~!"
A girl's sharp cry rang out as he was punched straight into the ground.
At the same time, a flash of lightning streaked across the field. Hanzo's three guards convulsed and collapsed instantly.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A blazing fireball shot toward Akio from behind. He swung his scythe backhand and tore it apart.
"What is happening?!"
Akio was completely bewildered as he looked at the three people attacking him. He could not speak for a long moment.
"Ringo, Rin, be careful. This guy looks strong too," said Yahiko, whose fireball had been shattered.
"Yahiko. Ringo Ameyuri. Rin…"
Akio paused, feeling out the familiar chakra signature hiding nearby.
"And Obito is waiting to ambush me.
What is this situation? Why are they all together?"
Thankfully, someone always explained things for him at times like these.
Ringo Ameyuri shouted arrogantly:
"You bastard, impersonating Hanzo and trying to take over the Land of Rain, did you think we didn't exist?"
Akio stared blankly for a long time before finally piecing it together.
"So they're the ones who killed Hanzo… Looks like Rin and Obito have improved a lot."
"This trip was a waste. Akatsuki is innocent after all…
No, this really does count as an Akatsuki job."
Akio almost laughed. What a ridiculous misunderstanding…
He paused and suddenly had an idea.
"So it's you lot again. You even dare return!"
"Heh. Still trying to pretend even now?" Ringo sneered.
"Hanzo" removed the toxin-filter mask and smiled.
"That little Uchiha brat, where is he lurking, waiting to ambush me?"
The three froze.
"It really is Hanzo?!"
Akio was delighted and continued confidently:
"I was momentarily careless last time, which let you ambush me and cost me my salamander."
"But do you think that without my salamander, Hanzo of the Salamander is easy prey?"
Akio silently praised himself for that line
but the three attackers suddenly gave him strange looks.
"Drop the act. The real Hanzo said the exact same thing before he died."
Akio stiffened.
"…Enough talking. Prepare to die!"
He wanted to personally test how much his two apprentices had improved and whether their "killing Hanzo" achievement had any exaggeration.
"Water Style: Water Turbulence!"
Yahiko attacked first, spitting out a waterfall-like stream of high-pressure water.
Akio found it disgusting, basically the "spit technique."
"Hanzo used Water Style, right? Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
But just as he formed the seals, lightning flashed. Akio instantly body-flickered aside, he had almost forgotten Ringo was a Lightning Release user.
"Eyaaah~!"
Rin's voice came from behind him. Akio nearly burst out laughing.
That's adorable. In the original, Sakura shouted "You bastard!" whenever she used her super strength.
He swung his scythe and blocked Rin's punch, sliding back more than ten meters.
"Good strength."
Rin stared in shock. Other than Tsunade, this was the first time someone had blocked her monstrous strength head-on.
"Yahiko, Ringo, be careful! This fake Hanzo's taijutsu is really strong"
"We can tell!"
A bolt of lightning crashed down on Akio's head. Akio flickered and appeared beside Yahiko, delivering a 360-degree spinning kick that sent him flying.
The next instant, he appeared beside Ringo Ameyuri, ignoring the lightning dancing along her blade. Chakra swirled around his fist as he slammed it into her face.
Unfortunately, she barely managed to block, so he didn't knock out all her teeth.
The two crashed into a nearby building and wouldn't be returning soon. Akio then appeared beside Rin.
But before he could strike, a gust of wind swept toward him, Obito finally emerged, stabbing forward with a kunai.
Akio laughed.
"Knew you couldn't resist saving Rin.
Now, take your master's Iron Fist of Love!"
He counter-punched straight into Obito's face
and the fist passed right through.
"Space-time ninjutsu? Mangekyō Sharingan?
Wait, how did Kakashi die again?!"
Akio froze in confusion.
"Eyaaah!"
A shadow covered him. Still dazed, he tilted slightly to the side out of instinct
and a small foot stomped onto his shoulder.
The ground beneath him shattered in layers. Cracks spread across the surrounding buildings.
Rin's full-power kick filled the entire central region with dust.
Moments later, outside the smoke, the four stood together.
Ringo rubbed her slightly swollen cheek.
"This guy's taijutsu is stronger than the real Hanzo's, too bad he's scatterbrained. He kept spacing out during the fight."
Obito's face twitched.
"Rin… your strength has increased again."
Rin scratched her cheek shyly.
At the center of the crater, Akio lay flat on his back, expression dead.
"Rin's strength is almost half of Tsunade's now… If she gets any stronger, she might actually manage to injure me a little."
"What a disgrace… Getting beaten up by my own apprentices…"
"Well… since I fell here, let me just lie here a while.
I need a moment."
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