Over the past few days, Hanzo had been circling around the base nonstop—he hadn't even changed locations once.
He truly wasn't afraid of Zhengzang coming after him.
Well… with Zhengzang's forces having suffered such heavy losses, that was understandable.
Hanzo stopped writing his letter and turned to look at Hyuga Arin.
During this period, he had been busy tightening his grip on the nobles. Following Hyuga Arin's suggestions, the results had been remarkably effective.
He had already wrested one-tenth of the financial power out of Zhengzang's hands.
According to intelligence, Zhengzang was now completely losing his mind. With his power base shrinking, he was no longer able to stop Hanzo's moves at all.
Those nobles had also proven easier to control than expected.
At the beginning, they had indeed refused to cooperate.
But after several rounds of "warnings," their backbones softened, and they began leaning toward Hanzo.
At the same time, Hanzo learned something else.
Those nobles had actually been watching from the sidelines all along, waiting for him and Zhengzang to determine a winner.
They had simply been more inclined toward Zhengzang—Hanzo's style was too radical and difficult to control.
And through this, Hanzo finally discovered how Zhengzang had kept those nobles on his side.
The reason shocked even him.
It wasn't threats at all.
It was naked, blatant profit.
The Rain Hidden Village itself truly couldn't provide the nobles with profits—but Hanzo could.
Over the years, he had repeatedly gone to war abroad, even attacking minor ninja villages. He had thought all he gained was a fearsome reputation.
But in reality, those small nations he defeated paid enormous sums in reparations—simply to ensure that Hanzo wouldn't attack them again.
And as long as Hanzo lived, they paid this money every single year.
Zhengzang had voluntarily handed over this profit stream.
A small portion went to the Rain Hidden Village.
The vast majority flowed straight into the pockets of those nobles.
Which meant—
Hanzo had effectively been working for Zhengzang and those nobles all these years.
The realization was utterly absurd.
If not for Hyuga Arin's reminder, Hanzo might never have noticed this hidden layer of exploitation.
After all, he was merely the Rain Hidden Village's top enforcer—the double-flowered red pole—with no access to these internal financial details.
Hyuga Arin's way of thinking had helped him immensely.
To the point where Hanzo was even vaguely tempted to just keep this "Mu Yu" around long-term.
And yet, unexpectedly, Hyuga Arin took the initiative to ask for a mission.
Hanzo pondered for a moment before speaking.
"I'll have Murakami Hua take you to carry out—"
"Lord Hanzo," Hyuga Arin interrupted confidently, "I've completed a very powerful technique. I can handle missions on my own now. Even jōnin won't be a problem."
Having completed his sniper-mode combat style, his confidence was at an all-time high.
Hanzo's gaze flickered slightly.
After a moment of thought, he picked up a portrait from the side and handed it to Hyuga Arin.
"Yamada Nakaken. A major noble. Go kill him."
Yamada Nakaken was guarded by three chūnin.
Hanzo knew Mu Yu's strength well—he was at the very peak of chūnin level.
This was well within his capabilities.
Although Hyuga Arin was clearly feeling a bit inflated, Hanzo had no intention of sending him to his death, so he deliberately assigned a relatively simple task.
Moreover, Yamada Nakaken's death would shatter one-third of Zhengzang's economic support.
At that point, the tides would truly turn.
"The rest of the details—get them from the intelligence room."
"Yes!"
Inside the dim intelligence room, Hyuga Arin found the files on the Yamada family.
They controlled an entire city.
The Land of Rain operated under a feudal system.
The daimyō ruled the capital, while each city was governed by a noble.
In theory, all nobles were subordinate to the daimyō—but if that were actually the case, there wouldn't be endless civil wars.
The Yamada family was considered a major noble precisely because they controlled one of the largest cities in the Land of Rain.
Cities of this size had enormous influence over the entire country.
Hyuga Arin rubbed the rough paper of the intelligence report between his fingers.
One piece of information stood out to him.
In the coming days, Yamada Nakaken would be traveling to another major noble's city.
The report didn't specify his purpose, but considering Hanzo's recent actions, Hyuga Arin could guess most of it.
Hanzo's moves had been far too aggressive.
This man was almost certainly going to seek support.
The Land of Rain had one capital, three major cities, and more than ten minor cities.
As the ruler of one of the three major cities, Yamada Nakaken wouldn't seek help from minor lords.
His only options were nobles of equal standing.
As for why he didn't go directly to the daimyō—Hyuga Arin couldn't quite figure that out.
Still, this movement created an opportunity for him.
Only…
"Just three chūnin?" Hyuga Arin said with a disappointed expression.
What could three chūnin even do?
That was barely three thousand experience points.
After getting used to five-figure experience gains, Hyuga Arin found it hard to get excited over such a small amount.
That said, these chūnin were perfect test subjects for his new combat style.
Clutching the intelligence report tightly, he left the intelligence room.
With a mission authorization slip in hand, he could leave the base freely.
If he wanted to return, he'd need to hand the slip back—success or failure didn't matter. It was his key to reentering the base.
Once the surveillance behind him faded away, Hyuga Arin sped through the forest.
He found a high mountain and activated his Byakugan, gazing several kilometers into the distance.
That area was Yamada Nakaken's unavoidable route—a main road within the Land of Rain.
Hyuga Arin had arrived early.
All he had to do now was wait.
His current visual limit was about six kilometers. To see farther, he'd need to raise his Byakugan level again.
And this range happened to fully cover the main road.
At this distance, ordinary ninjas couldn't possibly spot him.
Even if they somehow discovered his position and sprinted at full speed, it would take them about five minutes to reach him.
More than enough time for a safe retreat.
Not to mention, he had already planted numerous kunai throughout the mountain, ready to serve as instant escape anchors.
Hyuga Arin swallowed a bitter soldier pill and settled in to wait.
According to the intelligence, the target's progress was slow. It would take one or two days before he reached this area.
"Let's hope the intel isn't wrong."
Elsewhere—
Hanzo stood at the highest point of the base.
Behind him, rows upon rows of ninjas knelt on the ground.
Hands clasped behind his back, he looked down at them.
Every face was filled with excitement.
Murakami Hua stood behind Hanzo, along with several jōnin.
"Lord Hanzo," someone couldn't help but ask excitedly, "are we finally beginning the transformation?"
Yet not everyone looked the same.
Many were conflicted.
They accepted Hanzo ruling the Rain Hidden Village—but that didn't mean they accepted change.
As if seeing through them all, Hanzo spoke in a deep voice:
"This is not transformation."
"It is taking back what rightfully belongs to us."
At this point, he had already gained significant noble support. Zhengzang no longer had the strength to resist.
But events were changing too quickly.
Large numbers of ninjas from Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sand Village had already entered the Land of Rain.
He couldn't ignore this.
He needed to accelerate the process.
Now—
Everything was ready.
All that was missing was—
"A blade."
Hanzo's eyes flashed.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 90 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/CanonBreaker