chapter 83 part 4
"An Uzumaki clansman, how rare. Too bad she's so old."
A group of White Zetsu all had strange, malicious grins on their faces as they attacked Mito Uzumaki.
"What are these white things..."
Mito Uzumaki stopped, flung a hand forward, and a large number of Chakra Chains flew out from her sleeve, instantly binding all the White Zetsu.
Her Chakra invaded the White Zetsu's bodies directly through the chains, quickly discerning their condition.
"Indeed, they're not normal humans. No organs, completely made from Hashirama's Cells. Who could have done this..."
Mito Uzumaki frowned. Why were so many complex things happening in this small Land of Rain? The Rinnegan, an Uzumaki descendant, Jiraiya from Mount Myoboku, and Tsukasa Kaede, who was incredibly complex inside and out, unlike any human she knew...
It was normal for someone to covet Hashirama Senju's power; there was a group in the village secretly doing such things, and Mito Uzumaki had always ignored them.
But now it was different. These mature creations were not from the Hidden Leaf Village? Besides the Hidden Leaf Village, who else in this world had the ability and opportunity to research Hashirama's Cells to such an extent...? However, compared to Nagato, these were not important. The Hidden Leaf Village itself was engaged in all sorts of shady dealings; others doing so would have even fewer scruples.
Mito Uzumaki was delayed for a few seconds. She had originally intended to continue pursuing Nagato, but upon seeing the person who appeared before her, her expression immediately grew solemn.
Standing opposite her was an equally decrepit figure, no, he was even more aged than her, hunched over, leaning on a scythe to walk, clearly on the verge of death.
Yet, Mito Uzumaki's brows furrowed tightly. She observed repeatedly, with her Sensory Perception at maximum, before finally falling silent for a moment.
"So it's you, then everything makes sense. You've utilized Hashirama's Cells to this extent, Uchiha... Madara!"
A bolt of lightning tore through the sky of the Land of Rain, briefly illuminating the dim darkness.
Nagato suddenly turned his head, instinctively reaching to touch his eyes.
"What's wrong, Nagato?" Jiraiya became vigilant.
"No, I just suddenly felt something wasn't quite right, but I can't put my finger on it..." Nagato murmured softly. His intuition told him that something was happening in that direction, and it was something that his eyes should pay attention to.
But what could it be? They had managed to escape from Hanzo; could there really be anyone in this world whose strength could absolutely overpower Hanzo, who was called a Demigod? It seemed almost impossible...
At the same time, Hanzo, who had just returned to the Hidden Rain Village, generated a large amount of Chakra to evaporate the rainwater from his body, and was giving orders to a group of Hidden Rain ninja kneeling on one knee.
"...That's right, in the towns you're stationed in, spread the name of the 'Leaf Devourer,' just as the Konoha Sannin were promoted back then. I want the entire ninja world to recognize me, Hanzo the Salamander's—what's going on?"
Hanzo shivered, his muscles tensed, as he nervously glanced around, then at his subordinates in front of him.
"Lord Hanzo, what happened?" a close aide asked confusedly, not sensing anything amiss.
"Something's not right, I can feel it... Something that can give me such an oppressive feeling, could some unknown natural disaster be about to occur?"
Hanzo racked his brains, concluding that this was the only possibility. But the Land of Rain was surrounded by three great nations and not coastal, so it couldn't be a tsunami. Was a great earthquake about to strike?
"Forget it, it doesn't matter. You all go execute my orders first... Disperse!"
Numerous Hidden Rain ninja rushed to various towns in the Land of Rain, beginning to publicize the name of the Leaf Devourer. Before long, spies from various hidden villages would also learn this name, and realize that Tsukasa Kaede and Hanzo had clashed in the Land of Rain, and Tsukasa Kaede had earned the recognition of the Demigod Hanzo!
However, because Hanzo had adopted a policy of isolation and strict border control in the mid-Second Great Ninja War, the propagation rate of this name would certainly not be as fast as that of the Konoha Sannin back then.
This was one of Hanzo's few pleasures. He wanted to use this method to indirectly announce to the ninja world that he still existed, and was still powerful and confident. Anyone who wanted to seek trouble with him should first weigh how much they differed in strength from the Sannin and the Devourer, before considering whether to come to the Land of Rain to challenge him, the Demigod of the Ninja World.
Imperceptibly, too many troubles were screened out in advance. His rule over the Land of Rain would be incredibly stable; no one would be able to threaten him.
Thinking of this, Hanzo felt incredibly pleased. Although he had suffered some losses at Tsukasa Kaede's hands, it actually didn't affect anything.
Until Hanzo heard a terrifying crash and hurriedly looked into the distance, discovering with horror that the Celestial Phenomena in that area had subtly changed. The heavy dark clouds were torn apart, and a terrifying roar echoed, shaking the entire Land of Rain.
In the beginning, Mito Uzumaki remained restrained, not immediately attacking. She had too many questions that needed answers.
"You recognized me at a glance, Mito... It's truly good to see an old acquaintance in this era," Madara said calmly, like any ordinary old man.
But Mito Uzumaki knew very well what terrifying power this man once possessed. In that battle with Hashirama Senju, Tailed Beast Bombs flew across the sky, wildly bombarding the ninja world, permanently changing the terrain in many places.
"The Chakra within your body seems to have undergone subtle changes. No wonder I didn't recognize you immediately when I sensed the ninja world before... You've survived until now because you luckily obtained Hashirama's Cells in that battle at the Valley of the End? And you've fully utilized them." Mito Uzumaki asked.
Madara slowly said, "I did obtain them, but you've got some things wrong. I didn't luckily obtain his Cells; one of my purposes in challenging Hashirama was to obtain his Cells. My final defeat and feigned death were also within my expectations."
Of course, if he could have directly defeated Hashirama Senju, gathered all the Tailed Beasts according to his own plan, and then executed the Eye of the Moon Plan, that would have been even better.
Unfortunately, he was just a little short, just a tiny bit.
"That's just an excuse you made to save face after losing to Hashirama," Mito Uzumaki didn't give Madara any quarter.
Madara gently shook his head, "I gained some valuable Intel and thus planned to execute a plan. At that time, I had already controlled the Nine-Tails and could have controlled the other eight Tailed Beasts before returning to fight Hashirama. Why do you think I didn't do that?"
"Your plan required all the Tailed Beasts? You wanted to revive the Ten-Tails?"
"How astute. Hashirama didn't have your brain; he always preferred to solve problems in the most direct and forthright manner. Coincidentally, in terms of combat, I also prefer to be forthright, so I brought the Nine-Tails directly to him... He had no choice but to compete with me, or I'd find an opportunity to remotely destroy the Hidden Leaf Village with Tailed Beast Bombs. He couldn't defend against them every time."
In essence, Madara himself wanted to verify his own capacity, and to prove that even without various battle preparations beforehand, he could defeat Hashirama! Alas, he failed.