Chapter 555: Plan to Surround and Kill

After keeping Shimura Danzo's subordinate waiting for over a day, and only after the other party repeatedly requested an audience, Hanzo finally had the Rain shinobi bring him into the office.

"I hope what you have to say is worth my time." Hanzo sat in his office chair, coldly staring at the Root ninja before him.

If the Root ninja hadn't kept insisting that the matter was extremely important and that only Hanzo, the leader of the Hidden Rain Village, could make the decision, Hanzo wouldn't have bothered to see him himself.

The Hidden Rain Village didn't have only him as a ninja; Hanzo had subordinates too.

Feeling Hanzo's icy gaze, the Root ninja couldn't help but tense up.

"Lord Hanzo, this is a matter of life and death for the Hidden Rain Village—there is no possibility of wasting your time." The Root ninja quickly adjusted his state and said seriously.

"A matter of life and death for the Hidden Rain Village?" Hanzo's eyes turned sharp and hostile.

He had been running the Hidden Rain Village smoothly, not even participating in the shinobi world war—where could such a great crisis come from?

The Root ninja felt uncomfortable under Hanzo's stare, but as a specially trained ninja, he braced himself and continued: "That's right."

"However, this is also an opportunity for you and the Hidden Rain Village—a chance to eliminate your opponent."

"Opponent?" Hanzo frowned at the Root ninja.

"Don't you want to destroy the Ninja Sect and kill Sōsuke, who ruined your reputation?" The Root ninja said in a tempting tone.

Before the failed encirclement and killing of Sōsuke, Hanzo's impression in the shinobi world was that of an extraordinary top-tier powerhouse with great presence.

But after losing to Sōsuke, Hanzo lured the Ninja Sect under the pretext of cooperation, nearly destroying the good image he had built up over the first half of his life.

Now when people talk about Hanzo, they no longer think of the Demigod Hanzo who once dominated the shinobi world; instead, they think of Sōsuke, the Ninja Master who could suppress water release with fire release.

The Root ninja couldn't think of any reason why Hanzo wouldn't hate Sōsuke.

However, the Root ninja was met not with Hanzo's negative answer, but with a ruthless gaze as if looking at a dead man, followed by an overwhelming aura.

Whoosh!!

Hanzo's chakra exploded, and a terrifying killing intent enveloped the Root ninja.

The Root ninja instantly stiffened, his face pale, feeling a bone-piercing chill rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

At that moment, the Root ninja realized with absolute clarity who the ninja before him truly was.

This was the Demigod Hanzo, who had made a name for himself as a ninja from a small country and earned the grudging respect of even the Five Great Ninja Villages—not just some nobody.

While the Hidden Rain Village and the Ninja Sect coexisting would indeed cause some conflicts, if the Hidden Rain Village were to clash with the Ninja Sect now, that would truly be a matter of life and death.

Hanzo didn't know whether Sōsuke's water release was stronger than his own, but Sōsuke's overall strength was certainly a cut above his.

Moreover, the Ninja Sect had Nagato and Kakuzu; the Hidden Rain Village had no one of comparable caliber to match them.

With such an imbalance in high-end combat power, and with the Hidden Rain lacking the rich mid-level combat power of the Five Great Ninja Villages, if the Ninja Sect and the Hidden Rain Village went to war, the Hidden Rain Village would surely lose.

One could even say that the loser would be the Land of Rain, because although the Hidden Rain Village would be defeated, the Ninja Sect wouldn't win easily either.

If the Ninja Sect went to war with the Hidden Rain Village, their already scarce mid- and low-level combat power would suffer severe damage, leaving them unable to defend the Land of Rain.

"The enmity between me and Sōsuke, and the conflict between the Hidden Rain Village and the Ninja Sect, are all internal affairs of the Land of Rain. There's no need to trouble Konoha." Seeing the cold sweat on the Root ninja, Hanzo withdrew his aura and said calmly.

It was also because Konoha was now too powerful and the Hidden Rain Village couldn't afford to provoke them; otherwise, Hanzo would have wanted to kill this Root ninja.

First he comes claiming the Hidden Rain Village faces a life-or-death crisis, then he talks about killing Sōsuke and destroying the Ninja Sect.

"Huff." The Root ninja gasped for air; the pressure Hanzo had just put on him was truly immense.

"Lord Hanzo, this matter isn't as simple as you think." The Root ninja didn't give up.

Shimura Danzo had given a direct order: no matter what, he had to convince Hanzo to join Root in encircling and killing Sōsuke.

"This time, our Konoha will also send forces to help you kill—"

Before the Root ninja could finish, Hanzo interrupted: "I've recently caught a cold and need more rest. Let's talk another day."

The Root ninja looked at Hanzo speechlessly; with such vigorous energy, he clearly didn't seem sick.

But before the Root ninja could think of how to persuade Hanzo, the Rain Anbu suddenly appeared and escorted him out of the office.

Going all the way with the act, Hanzo also left the office afterward and returned home.

"Shimura Danzo, what exactly are you trying to do?" Hanzo went into his study to read, but he couldn't help thinking about what had just happened and couldn't focus on the book at all.

He couldn't understand why Shimura Danzo wanted to drag him along to surround and kill Sōsuke and destroy the Ninshū.

Previously, Shimura Danzo's reason was to ask him to act as a mediator to resolve the dispute between Iwagakure and Konohagakure, and then happened to see the Ninshū committing an offense, so he lent a hand.

Since Shimura Danzo was well-prepared, even Hanzō now recalling it could not find too many faults with Shimura Danzo.

But Shimura Danzo's previous reason no longer holds now, because Konoha does not need him to mediate now; Konoha is the dominant side in the war with Iwa, having recently annihilated a large number of Iwa ninja.

Moreover, Hanzō now also knows that the Ninshū is an organization truly pursuing peace, not a ninja organization that stirs up trouble under the banner of peace.

So Hanzō cannot figure out what Shimura Danzo's motive is. What benefit does this bring to Shimura Danzo?

"Sōsuke... Ninshū." Hanzō, who had been unable to focus on his book, put it down and sighed softly.

He didn't know what Shimura Danzo's motive was, but Amegakure did have a reason to act against the Ninshū.

Because Amegakure and the Ninshū cannot coexist; currently there is no country in the ninja world that has two villages.

Although the Ninshū did not call itself a ninja village, in Hanzō's view it is a ninja village.

Amegakure is currently cooperating with the Ninshū because the situation is chaotic and they share the common interest of protecting the Land of Rain.

With this common interest, many problems between them can be hidden.

Once the Great Ninja War ends and those hidden problems are exposed, confrontation will be only a matter of time.

"Even if only one of the Ninshū and Amegakure can remain, that is a matter for the Land of Rain." Hanzō said softly, as if talking to himself.

Perhaps the Ninshū and Amegakure will eventually have a war, but not now.

After waking up, Rōshi did not go to see Sōsuke immediately; he waited until after two in the afternoon to go to the Ninshū.

Because he felt that Sōsuke had time, but probably wasn't available all the time; he just wasn't busy all day.

Rōshi was worried about disturbing Sōsuke's work, so he went to see Sōsuke in the afternoon.

Indeed, as Rōshi thought, as the leader of an emerging ninja force, Muyue rarely had a day with nothing to do.

When Rōshi arrived at the Ninshū, Muyue was still discussing school matters with Kakuzu.

"It feels like the ninja school can be postponed. The Ninshū still has too few ninja. Even including the newly absorbed ninja, we have just exactly two hundred and eight people.

To open a ninja school, we would have to pull out dozens of ninja, which would slow down other areas of work. Moreover, it takes too much time for a ninja school to train ninja, which is not conducive to early development." Kakuzu shook his head and said.

The ninja school is a must, but Kakuzu felt it was not good to start it now.

Because the Ninshū is currently in a period of urgent development. If those dozens of ninja are not pulled out to become teachers but instead engage in other work, the development they bring to the Ninshū within three years will definitely be greater than teaching.

"If the number of ninja is small, then hire ordinary people to serve as teachers to handle some trivial matters. The number of students can also be limited, raising standards to select the best." Muyue stated his solution.

Although in his previous life Muyue was just a normal school student and never actually became a teacher, in the Naruto world, Muyue really spent a considerable amount of time as a teacher and knew the ninja school very well.

In Muyue's view, some of the ninja teacher positions in the ninja school could be completely replaced by ordinary people.

For example, subjects like literature, mathematics, history—these theoretical courses require zero ninja knowledge, and ordinary people can teach them just as well.

Also, some clerical jobs are positions that ordinary people can handle.

"That seems possible too." Kakuzu thought about it and found that according to Sōsuke's line of thinking, it indeed wouldn't require many people.

Kakuzu had never been a teacher; his understanding of schools came only because Sōsuke said they would open a school, so he investigated and learned.

Since in all ninja villages the teachers of ninja schools were ninja, Kakuzu subconsciously assumed that the teachers of a ninja school must all be ninja.

But upon careful thought, this is actually quite wasteful of ninja resources.

However, ordinary ninja villages are not short of the few ninja needed for a ninja school.

"Not only should we have a ninja school, but we should also begin planning ordinary schools." Muyue continued.

Muyue deeply understood the importance of education; no matter how poor, one cannot skimp on education. To truly change the world, one person is not enough.

Just as the two were finishing their discussion, the office door was knocked on.

"Come in." Muyue paused for a moment and said.

"Sōsuke-sensei, Shirakawa is looking for you." The Ninshū ninja who entered the office said.

"Let him come over." Muyue nodded and replied.

Shirakawa is actually Roshi. In the Rain Country, Roshi certainly cannot use his original name openly.

To facilitate Roshi's movements within the Ninja Sect, Muzuki greeted the Ninja Sect ninjas, allowing Roshi to move freely in non-important locations.

After entering the office, Roshi saw Kakuzu, who was still drinking tea and had not left.

"If you have something to do, you can handle it first. I'm not in a hurry." Roshi said quickly.

"The matter has been discussed. Let me introduce you. He is Kakuzu, the head of the Military Department and Finance Department of our Ninja Sect." Muzuki said with a smile, introducing Kakuzu.

Roshi looked at Kakuzu. He had never seen Kakuzu before, but the name Kakuzu was not unfamiliar to him; after all, Kakuzu could be considered the second-in-command of the Ninja Sect.

"He is Shirakawa, from the Land of Earth..."

Just as Muzuki was introducing Roshi's false identity, Roshi shook his head and said, "I am Roshi, former Iwa-nin, currently considered a wandering ninja."

Roshi felt that there was no need to hide his identity from the upper echelons of the Ninja Sect, because Sōsuke and Nagato already knew his identity. If the Ninja Sect had any intention to harm him, the Iwa-nin would have taken him away in the night long ago.

"The Four-Tails Jinchuriki?" Kakuzu raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

The fewer people who know Roshi's identity, the better, so Muzuki did not specifically tell Kakuzu about Roshi's identity.

"You defected?" Kakuzu couldn't help asking.

A ninja village only has missing-nin; there is no such thing as a ninja who retires.

"It depends on how you define missing-nin. If it refers to ninjas who are designated as missing-nin by the village, then I don't think I count yet." Roshi replied.

Roshi figured that he wouldn't become a missing-nin anytime soon.

Of course, this was not because Ōnoki was kind; he just wanted to play the empty city strategy to prevent other ninja villages from accurately estimating Iwa's strength.

"Missing-nin need understanding? Once you leave the village, you are one. Not being designated yet only means they have some scruples, or what you did hasn't pushed them to desperate measures." Kakuzu smiled.

Kakuzu knew a lot about missing-nin; after all, when he became a missing-nin, it was hard to say whether Roshi had even been born.

"That's right." Roshi nodded in agreement.

Although he ran away, he only just ran away.

After chatting with Roshi for a bit, Kakuzu glanced at Sōsuke.

As the leader of the Ninja Sect, Sōsuke was not someone anyone could meet. Roshi being able to have the Ninja Sect ninjas directly bring him to Sōsuke clearly meant Sōsuke had given prior notice.

Muzuki only gave a faint smile in return and did not speak.

Kakuzu withdrew his gaze, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then spoke:

"Speaking of which, Iwa seems to have suffered a major defeat not long ago. Did they pin the blame for the loss on you?"

There are many missing-nin in the shinobi world. Not every missing-nin was set up by their own village; many became missing-nin because they violated the law themselves.

Kakuzu thought Roshi seemed like the type who was set up by the village, because if someone had become a rogue due to lawlessness, Sōsuke would usually take the opportunity to clean house.

"Partly." Roshi thought about what happened when he returned to the village and couldn't help but sigh.

"Only partly? Then it seems Iwa's higher-ups just wanted to discipline you, not treat you as a scapegoat. Much better than what happened to me." Kakuzu said after hearing this.

"You?" Roshi looked at Kakuzu in confusion.

He knew of Kakuzu, but he didn't know about Kakuzu's past experiences.

"I'm also a missing-nin, a missing-nin from Takigakure." Kakuzu generously spoke about his experience.

"That was a long time ago. The village ordered me to go alone to the Land of Fire to assassinate the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju."

Roshi's expression towards Kakuzu changed slightly. Assassinate the First Hokage, and alone? That was no mission; it was pure suicide.

Hashirama Senju – what kind of person was he? He was a terrifying existence known as the God of Shinobi, universally recognized as the strongest ninja since the era of ninja villages.

"I went, but Hashirama Senju was very strong. My assassination failed, and I barely managed to escape back to Takigakure with all my might."

In Roshi's mind, Kakuzu's strength became unfathomable. To survive an assassination attempt on the God of Shinobi was no small feat.

"Afterward, the village imprisoned and severely punished me under the charge of failing a major mission, and then I became a missing-nin."

Although he had already guessed the outcome, Roshi was still taken aback when he heard the end of Kakuzu from Takigakure.

Facing a nearly suicidal mission, Kakuzu chose to stake his life to complete it, yet Takigakure took advantage of his weakness to directly sentence and imprison him.

This was indeed much more tragic than his own situation. Rōshi found it impressive that Kakuzu had managed to survive well until now.

"There's no need to look at me like that. I've already made those people pay the price they deserved, and now my life is better than before." Kakuzu put down his teacup and said leisurely.

Unlike Rōshi, who had left quietly without a sound, Kakuzu directly killed all the relevant higher-ups, venting his anger fiercely.

"You should think more about yourself. You are very important to Iwagakure."

That Kakuzu was in the Ninshū was not a secret, but Takigakure had never come to the Rain Country to cause trouble for the Ninshū.

Did the current higher-ups of Takigakure understand Kakuzu's suffering? Of course not. It was because killing Kakuzu would bring no benefit, and the Ninshū was not an easy nut to crack for the people of Takigakure.

"How did Kakuzu join the Ninshū?" Rōshi couldn't help but become curious.

If he had experienced the same things as Kakuzu, he would probably never trust anyone else in this life, nor would he join a ninja organization.