Chapter 42: The Demigod of the Shinobi World
At this moment, in Amegakure, the Village Hidden in the Rain—
Salamander Hanzō wore a dark expression as he listened to his subordinates report on the events of recent days.
"Hanzō-sama, we cannot allow the three great hidden villages to continue wreaking havoc on our land unchecked."
"In just the past month alone, more than a hundred civilians have been killed due to collateral damage from their shinobi battles."
"These were innocent people of the Land of Rain—they did nothing wrong. Sitting at home eating dinner, only for a Water Style jutsu to obliterate their home and take their lives."
"They shouldn't be made sacrifices in the struggles of the great nations."
Inside his office, all five of Hanzō's trusted subordinates carried the same expression—deep hatred.
Hatred toward the shinobi of the great nations who treated them as nothing more than collateral.
Hanzō remained silent for a long while after hearing their pleas. Then, he made his decision: he instructed three of the five to deliver his letters personally to Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Konohagakure—to be placed directly into the hands of their respective Kage.
If possible, Hanzō still wished to resolve the matter peacefully. He truly didn't want to resort to force.
Because no one understood the might of the five great villages better than him.
In his youth, he had traveled across the five great nations and other small countries, challenging adversaries wherever he went, tirelessly training to make the Land of Rain stand as an equal to the great powers.
In time, his strength became widely recognized across the shinobi world, earning him the title: Demigod of the Shinobi World.
He once believed that being a demigod would be enough to elevate his homeland to the ranks of the Five Great Nations.
But in the end, the strength of one man could only go so far.
He was a demigod—not a god.
The Land of Rain remained the Land of Rain. No matter how strong he became, their national voice remained weak.
In the end, he realized:
Only by raising more powerful shinobi—ones who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the elite—could the Land of Rain gain equal standing with the great nations.
And so, for years, he had dedicated himself to nurturing the next generation.
And in truth, it was working.
Thanks to his guidance, Amegakure had developed a sizable force of jonin-level shinobi by the standards of the Five Great Villages, with a solid base of chūnin and genin as well.
While still no match in scale to any of the great hidden villages, with their unique terrain and his deadly salamander poison, Hanzō believed that as long as they were within their own borders, no force could defeat them.
But now, that confidence was being challenged.
"…Let's wait and see."
Hanzō sighed.
As the Demigod of the Shinobi World, his pride wouldn't tolerate insult.
But as the leader of Amegakure, he had to consider the safety of his people.
To go to war with three great villages was to risk annihilation—even if they won.
So if bloodshed could be avoided, he would avoid it.
But if war became inevitable, Hanzō would not hesitate. His reputation had not been earned through bluffing—but by fighting across the lands.
Half a month later—
The messengers returned with replies from the Kage of the three great villages.
Each of the three—including the Third Hokage—expressed a degree of respect for Hanzō's concerns.
It proved that Hanzō's power was indeed recognized by the Five Kage.
His mastery of ninjutsu, taijutsu, kenjutsu, body flicker, summoning, poison crafting, and battle experience—
Hanzō had no weaknesses. He stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world.
Not a single one of the Five Kage dared to claim they could defeat him outright.
And so, each of them—Hiruzen, Ōnoki, and the Third Kazekage—offered a respectful response.
But… that respect only went so far.
None of them agreed to Hanzō's request to withdraw their shinobi from the Land of Rain.
They merely stated they had ordered their forces to avoid harming civilians whenever possible.
If property was damaged, they would offer compensation.
Only Konoha added that if Iwagakure and Sunagakure agreed to withdraw, they would immediately follow suit.
But neither Iwa nor Suna said a word about withdrawal.
Back in Iwagakure, this confused Ōnoki deeply.
"What's going on with Sunagakure?" he asked one of his ANBU.
"Reporting in, Lord Tsuchikage. So far, we haven't determined Sunagakure's objective in entering the Land of Rain."
Ōnoki frowned even more.
Their purpose in mobilizing shinobi to the border and into the Land of Rain had been to draw Konoha's attention—creating a smokescreen for the real operation: wiping out the Uzumaki Clan.
Alongside Iwa, Kumogakure and Kirigakure had also been applying pressure to Konoha from other directions.
Everything had gone according to plan—
Until Sunagakure got involved.
Now it looked like Suna was in on the scheme too.
And while a fourth village could help annihilate the Uzumaki—
It also meant another party to share the spoils.
The original three had already divided things carefully. Ōnoki didn't want another competitor.
Neither did the Raikage or the Mizukage.
So the question was:
Why had Sunagakure entered the Land of Rain?
No one knew.
And Ōnoki didn't like unknowns.
To avoid being blindsided, he immediately ordered his ANBU to monitor every move Sunagakure made.
After Konoha, Iwa, and Suna all refused to withdraw from the Land of Rain, the shinobi world inched ever closer to full-scale war.
At this point—
Everyone knew another Great Ninja War was inevitable. They were already preparing in secret.
And in the shadows of the world, an old man watched everything unfold—especially the Uzumaki Clan in Uzushiogakure.
His eyes—rippling circles of violet and black—were waiting for their vessel.
Konoha.
All shinobi and clans could feel war looming.
Supply caches of soldier pills, explosive tags, kunai, and shuriken were filling rapidly.
Clans with secret techniques were also preparing specialized tools and resources.
Everyone was readying for war.
Within the Uchiha Clan, even the clan head and elders wore expressions like bloodthirsty wolves—Sharingan glowing crimson.
Everything the Uchiha had lost—they would reclaim in the coming war.
Every Uchiha was eager for battle.
Root Base.
While the outside world braced for war, Danzo remained obsessed with his Sharingan and his experiments on Li Yao's body.
But the results were disappointing.
With his one-year deadline from Hiruzen fast approaching, Danzo had yet to discover anything of value from Li Yao's cells or chakra.
Not even a clue about why his chakra was immune to genjutsu.
In Lab No.1, Danzo stared at a glass tank filled with Sharingan, and next to it, a test tube labeled "Li Yao—Cell Sample."
He watched for a long time, deep in thought.
Eventually, he sighed and admitted defeat.
He'd tried every experiment he could think of—and gained nothing.
And at last, Danzo realized: maybe he wasn't talented at this kind of research.
What he needed… was someone with actual scientific genius.
He already had a candidate in mind.
But with war approaching, that would have to wait.
Danzo turned to leave. As he passed the door to Lab No.0, he casually glanced at it—
And inspiration struck.
"If normal methods can't break the jutsu surrounding that kid's chakra… what if I use Hashirama's cells, with their terrifying devouring properties?"
He remembered those who had tried to transplant Hashirama's cells—whose bodies and chakra had been sucked dry, turning into trees.
The more he thought about it, the more he believed this idea might work.
(END CHAPTER)
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