Central Tower of the Land of Rain.
Akio sat slouched in the chair, flipping through intelligence reports about the Land of Rain.
In front of him, three Rain Village jōnin stood respectfully, waiting for "Hanzo's" orders.
"I know what you want to ask. I'll explain what happened earlier, later." Akio crossed one leg over the other.
The three exchanged glances but remained silent, their eyes drifting toward the raised leg.
"Ahem." Akio coughed lightly and slowly set his leg down. "What? Even my sitting posture is under your supervision now?"
"We wouldn't dare!"
While speaking, Akio finished scanning through two months' worth of intelligence and finally stated the real reason he had disguised himself as Hanzo:
"Bring me the records from five years ago, when I led you to surround and hunt down the Akatsuki."
The three froze. "Could it be…?"
"Go."
"Yes!"
The three body-flickered away. Akio held in his laughter and quietly pondered.
Truthfully, he didn't need to impersonate Hanzo again to enter the Land of Rain. He was doing this only to help out Yahiko and the others… though he might have gone a bit overboard earlier.
"Yahiko's strength is stronger than I expected. His talent looks good too. If I hadn't taken Konan as my disciple, she'd probably be on the same level as him."
"This is destiny. If only I had found you back then…" he muttered softly, then continued waiting.
Two minutes later, the three jōnin returned.
"Leader, here is the record you requested."
Akio took it, skimmed a few lines, and confirmed that the information matched his own deductions.
Hanzo had been extremely cautious, even when dealing with rabbits, he used the strength he'd use against lions. Back then, he mobilized half the country's forces to annihilate Akatsuki. In the end, only Ringo Ameyuri managed to break out with Yahiko in tow, and she was heavily injured by Hanzo.
They must have spent the last few years healing and training in hiding. This time, who knew how they ended up teaming with Obito and Rin? Four of them together actually succeeded in killing Hanzo.
But just after recovering and before taking control of the Land of Rain, a second Hanzo appeared…
"This is still my fault. If not for me, they might already be ruling the Land of Rain."
"No, it wouldn't be that easy. Even without other S-rank shinobi, the Land of Rain isn't that simple to control."
Akio glanced at the three jōnin. "You guessed correctly. The ones who attacked me… were Akatsuki. They've risen from the ashes."
"It really was them?" The three looked at each other.
"This was their second attack. The first time, I spent three days recovering. This time, only one day, but they still escaped."
"Leader, we'll send people out to search immediately!"
But upon hearing this, the ever-indomitable "Hanzo" unexpectedly sighed.
"Don't bother. Killing them won't change anything."
"Leader…?"
"I thought I could still rule the Land of Rain for another ten or twenty years. But in these last two fights, I nearly died at the hands of a few kids. I truly feel… old." Akio let out a long sigh.
"Leader, you—"
"No need to comfort me. People age. I'm already sixty… something. I'm not like Uzumaki Akio, the man gets younger as he lives. In the entire shinobi world, only he remains eternally vigorous."
The three froze. "Didn't you say before that an old man who refuses to die is basically a thief? That Uzumaki Akio was just a coward hiding in Konoha and the Land of Whirlpools"
"I said that?!"
"Never said it, never said it."
Akio cursed internally. So Hanzo had been talking trash about him behind his back? Serves him right for dying!
Steadying his mood, he continued:
"You should understand my meaning by now. I intend to step down as leader of the Land of Rain."
The three jolted. "Leader, without you, our country"
"I know," Akio interrupted. "Until now, I held on because the Land of Rain couldn't survive without me. But circumstances have changed. Though I hate to admit it, those brats from Akatsuki really are catching up to me. And their leader, Yahiko, was an orphan from the Land of Rain during the Third War. He has the qualifications to lead our country."
"Leader!"
They wanted to argue further, but he silenced them with a gesture.
"My decision is made. Prepare to assist the new leader."
As if remembering something, he added, "Are any of you dissatisfied with me handing the position to an outsider?"
The three jolted and hurriedly denied it.
"Good. Remember, the leader of the Land of Rain must have overwhelming strength. You three still fall short."
"Yes!"
Akio stood. "I'll go find Akatsuki and negotiate. You stay here— the envoy from Iwagakure will arrive soon."
"Yes!"
Leaving the tower, Akio exhaled in relief. This kind of impersonation work really wasn't for him. But using force to subdue the country would leave Yahiko with nothing but an empty shell… He was very curious how far a still-alive Yahiko could go.
"Maybe the ninja world won't need Naruto at all. Maybe peace is possible already… Though the current Naruto definitely needs more discipline…" He sighed.
Activating his sensory abilities, Akio swept through the edges of the country and indeed located the four.
Not bothering to suppress his presence, he headed straight for the run-down hideout.
He pushed open the door with a smile and a sharp cry rang behind it.
"Haaah!"
Akio wrapped his right hand in chakra and caught Rin's punch effortlessly. Aside from his white hair ruffling in the wind, he didn't budge an inch.
Rin's expression changed. She raised her right leg for a kick, Akio lifted his knee to block, sending Rin stumbling backward.
"Obito! Take Yahiko and run! This Hanzo is even stronger than the last!"
"Damn it, is each Hanzo stronger than the previous one?! What kind of monster is he… Yahiko—"
"Don't mind me," Yahiko sighed, sounding defeated. "Rin, Obito, I shouldn't have dragged you into this. Escape while you can. If you can take Ringo with you… even better."
"What nonsense are you spouting? It's not like we have no chance!" Ringo and Yahiko emerged, supporting each other, though without much confidence.
Akio simply watched with a faint smile as the four argued: fight? run? who fights? who runs?
After a long moment, Yahiko finally raised his voice and asked Akio:
"I only want to know, who are you? How many Hanzos are there?!"
"Heh." Akio's lips twitched, he nearly cracked up.
"There's only one Hanzo. But there's also Full-zō, Double-zō, Triple-zō… Hm? Triple-zō?"
The four stared blankly.
"Wait… is that what the 'Han' in Hanzo means?" Obito asked hesitantly.
"Ah!"
Rin pinched him. "You idiot! Can't you tell he's messing with us?!"
"Hahaha." Akio finally burst out laughing. "I'm not teasing you. I am San-zō, the Third-zō."
"Would you like to follow your master on a journey to the West to retrieve the sacred scriptures?"
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