Chapter 561: Assassination

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The Hidden Rain Village's request for Sōsuke to observe the Chunin Exam did not cause much of a stir within the Shinobi Sect.

Compared to the Shinobi Sect's large lecture events or the Youth Martial Arts Tournament that gathered many young geniuses from the ninja world, the Hidden Rain's Chunin Exam was too ordinary.

It wasn't even a joint Chunin Exam, but one hosted solely by the Hidden Rain Village itself.

However, no one cared about this, because even if the Hidden Rain invited the Shinobi Sect to take the exam together, the Shinobi Sect had no ninjas capable of taking the exam.

The Shinobi Sect had only recently been established, and each ninja's strength and ability were roughly in line with their current ninja rank.

On the night before the Hidden Rain Village's Chunin Exam, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato sat in a small pavilion at the Shinobi Sect's base, chatting idly.

"I've been so tired lately," Yahiko said, stretching his arms upward to relax his body.

"It should get much better from now on; the work is almost done," Konan said softly.

In order to bring an end to the chaos in other regions of the Rain Country, the entire Shinobi Sect had been busy recently.

"Yeah, the overall situation has improved," Yahiko said with a smile.

The missions were indeed exhausting, but watching his homeland gradually improve under his efforts, Yahiko felt it was worth it.

"Nagato, are you going to the Hidden Rain Village with Teacher Sōsuke tomorrow?" Yahiko suddenly remembered something and looked at Nagato to ask.

Nagato nodded.

In fact, the only one from the Shinobi Sect who would actually go to the Hidden Rain Village with Muyue was Nagato.

Since they already knew this was a trap, Muyue had no reason to take Shinobi Sect ninjas to take risks.

He brought Nagato because Nagato was strong, and even if an accident occurred, Muyue had the ability to safely escape with Nagato.

"Oh no, I actually wanted to go too, but I've been so busy lately that I forgot to tell Teacher Sōsuke," Yahiko said with a look of frustration.

He wanted to go to the Hidden Rain Village with Sōsuke, but not for the Chunin Exam—he wanted to see Hanzo and ask Hanzo some questions.

Hanzo had come to the Shinobi Sect for both the Youth Martial Arts Tournament and the second lecture event, but Yahiko was busy with various things then and didn't have time.

Yahiko really wanted to understand what Hanzo actually thought about the Rain Country and whether Hanzo truly desired peace.

When Iwagakure brokered the cooperation between the Hidden Rain and the Shinobi Sect, they said Hanzo had attacked the Shinobi Sect due to a misunderstanding.

But the real reason the Shinobi Sect was willing to reach a cooperation was not that most of the sect believed that explanation, but that cooperation could allow the Shinobi Sect to develop better and restore peace to the Rain Country more effectively.

Yahiko had not forgotten Hanzo's cold expression back then, and he had kept the kunai that threatened Sōsuke to commit suicide.

Based on the current known information, Yahiko felt that this incident should not have been just a misunderstanding.

However, Yahiko also felt that Hanzo should not be a simple, faithless, and cunning ninja.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be those beautiful tales circulating in the ninja world, and Hanzo wouldn't be able to have so many ninjas in the Rain Country who worshipped him.

Yahiko couldn't figure out what the real Hanzo was like, so he wanted to go find the man himself to understand.

"Nagato, do you think it's a bad idea for me to go find Teacher Sōsuke now?"

"Very bad," Nagato nodded affirmatively.

As the only accompanying member, Muyue had told Nagato about the dangers of this trip.

Even though Hanzo had tipped them off, he still intended to compete with Muyue, and on top of that, Shimura Danzo would also make a move.

Facing this situation, Nagato certainly wouldn't want Yahiko to go with them—it was simply too dangerous.

"True, then I'll wait until next time," Yahiko scratched his head.

They were leaving tomorrow, and going to find Sōsuke at this time really was not appropriate.

The next day.

Muyue and Nagato set off together for the Hidden Rain Village to participate in the Chunin Exam.

"When a battle breaks out, don't think about anything else. The most important thing is to protect yourself," Muyue reminded him on the way.

Madara Uchiha wouldn't make a move on Nagato himself for now, but Shimura Danzo was definitely after Nagato's Rinnegan.

"Mm," Nagato nodded seriously.

He knew that Muyue was powerful, so Nagato positioned himself to manage himself well and not cause trouble for Muyue.

Of course, if Muyue truly encountered danger, Nagato would use his ability to play a role if he could.

The Rain Shinobi Village was located in the central part of the Land of Rain, not far from the Ninja Sect which was in the southern part of the Land of Rain. Around eleven o'clock, Muyue and Nagato arrived near the Rain Shinobi Village.

Muyue did not hide his figure. He walked openly on the main road with Nagato and two of Nagato's shadow clones that had used the Transformation Technique, so they were quickly discovered by the Rain Shinobi.

Having received the news, Hanzo quickly led the Rain Shinobi to welcome Sosuke at the entrance of the Rain Shinobi Village.

When Muyue and Nagato reached the gate of the Rain Shinobi Village, they immediately saw Hanzo standing at the forefront.

"Sosuke, you've come." Hanzo greeted indifferently, glancing out of the corner of his eye at a ninja beside him wearing a Rain Shinobi uniform.

Muyue followed Hanzo's gaze. That Rain Shinobi was not much different from ordinary Rain Shinobi, except that the mask on his face was strange — the eye holes were extremely small, so small that one would doubt whether those two small holes could serve any purpose.

"Hanzo, I've come." Muyue replied with a smile, and gave the masked Rain Shinobi an appraisal.

Name: Shimura Danzo

Looking at the familiar panel, Muyue nodded inwardly.

This time Shimura Danzo had voluntarily given him an opportunity; it would be a bit rude if he didn't make a move.

Shimura Danzo paid no attention to the two's meaningless conversation; he was focusing on the ninja that Sosuke had brought.

"He only brought three ninja — is that confidence or lack of subordinates?" Shimura Danzo saw that besides Sosuke and Nagato, only two Ninja Sect ninja had come, and he was secretly delighted.

The fewer people Sosuke brought, the more convenient it was for his assassination.

Perhaps not even a prolonged fight would be needed; he could send this Ninja Master off with a sudden close-range attack.

"The eyes of the Sage of Six Paths." Looking at Nagato's Rinnegan up close, Shimura Danzo instantly felt that his own three-tomoe Sharingan was no longer desirable.

Nagato, sensing Shimura Danzo's gaze, looked back at Shimura Danzo.

"Powerful chakra. Is he one of today's enemies?" Nagato thought after seeing the chakra inside Shimura Danzo with his Rinnegan.

After approaching the Rain Shinobi Village, Nagato entered a state of alert to guard against any possible attack.

Shimura Danzo shifted his gaze to Nagato's shadow clones, as if inspecting all the Ninja Sect ninja.

"The third match hasn't started yet. Let me first take you to your resting quarters." Hanzo finished speaking and turned to look at the Rain Shinobi Village gate.

In an instant, the Rain Shinobi behind Hanzo retreated to both sides, making way for a wide path.

Hanzo deliberately slowed his pace as he walked, walking side by side with Sosuke who had stepped forward. The two entered the Rain Shinobi Village together.

"The time for action is almost here, and Muyue hasn't arrived yet." Shimura Danzo scanned the surroundings and furrowed his brows slightly.

Muyue was also one of his important trump cards; if Muyue didn't arrive in time, he would be short one trump card.

Shimura Danzo was a bit anxious, anxious enough to want to reprimand Muyue, but now he could do nothing because Muyue was not by his side, so he couldn't reprimand him.

The only thing he could do now was wait for Muyue to arrive at the Rain Shinobi Village, and then after things were over, find some excuse to discipline Muyue.

Suppressing the impatience in his heart, Shimura Danzo followed Hanzo and entered the Rain Shinobi Village.

Hanzo and Muyue walking side by side on the main street of the Rain Shinobi Village attracted many gazes.

Some uninformed residents of the Rain Shinobi Village were curious about who Muyue really was, that he could walk shoulder to shoulder with Hanzo.

Although Muyue's alias was famous enough, and many ordinary people had heard of Sosuke's legend, they couldn't recognize his face.

Unlike the ordinary people, all the Rain Shinobi Village ninja could recognize that the person walking beside Hanzo was the leader of the Ninja Sect, Sosuke.

"Could it be that the village and the Ninja Sect are truly going to completely reconcile?" Some Rain Shinobi Village ninja couldn't help but think.

Both the Rain Shinobi Village ninja and the Ninja Sect ninja knew that the peace treaty was the result of mutual compromise, not sincere cooperation between forces of the same country.

Sosuke's formidable personal strength was enough to threaten the Rain Shinobi Village, while the large number of ninja in the Rain Shinobi Village would prevent the Ninja Sect from carrying out its work in the Land of Rain.

Currently, a considerable number of Rain Shinobi in the Rain Shinobi Village disliked this situation because they all recognized or even admired Sosuke, believing that this was consuming the national strength of the Land of Rain, a meaningless internal conflict.

Before the establishment of the Ninja Sect, due to his conduct, many Rain Shinobi in the Rain Shinobi Village already had a good impression of Sosuke.

Later, because Hanzo, as the leader, took the lead in spreading negative news about Sosuke, the number of this group decreased somewhat.

However, after Sosuke defeated Hanzo, established the Ninja Sect, held teaching activities, and a series of other events, the number of Rain Shinobi Village ninja who recognized Sosuke surged.

Some Rain ninja risked punishment to secretly attend Sōsuke's lectures.

The reason was simple: first, Sōsuke was indeed strong enough to defeat Hanzō despite a type disadvantage.

Second, Sōsuke was the leader of the Rain Country's ninja forces, and they naturally felt a kinship with their own nation's strongman.

Third, Sōsuke had personal charisma and great ability—he genuinely taught useful things.

Fourth, it had to do with Hanzō.

Before, most Rain ninja in the Rain Village admired Hanzō, but after Hanzō not only lost a battle but repeatedly suffered setbacks at the hands of a junior like Sōsuke, it was hard for the Rain ninja not to feel that Sōsuke was the true path forward for the Rain Country.

Facing the Rain ninja and villagers who cast curious looks, Mu Yue returned a gentle smile.

Whether it was because some Rain ninja was too excited or something, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "Teacher Sōsuke!"

"Teacher Sōsuke!" another Rain ninja instinctively shouted along.

Seeing someone take the lead, more Rain ninja joined in, and the voices grew loud at once.

Hanzō watched the scene with mixed feelings.

Sōsuke could be genuinely called "teacher" in the Rain Village, but could Hanzō himself, in the Ninja Sect, have anyone sincerely address him as "Lord Hanzō"?

Hanzō thought not, since the Ninja Sect had almost been destroyed at his hands.

Probably only someone as magnanimous as Sōsuke—almost unlike a ninja—would call him "Senior Hanzō" with a hint of teasing.

Shimura Danzō watched this with a thoughtful expression.

He remembered that Mu Yue was also quite beloved by his students; even the Root ninja he had taught spoke of Mu Yue with respect.

"Let Mu Yue train some teachers to conduct special training—don't let him teach directly," Shimura Danzō mused inwardly.

Otherwise, if a bunch of chūnin and jōnin started calling Mu Yue "Teacher Mu Yue" like these Rain ninja did now, would his position as Hokage still be secure?

Nagato was astonished; he hadn't expected Mu Yue to be so popular in the Rain Village that people dared to call him "teacher" even with Hanzō standing right beside him.

"Lord Hanzō is present! No noise!"

A Rain ninja behind Hanzō stepped forward and scolded with a stern expression.

Sōsuke had made a name for himself in the ninja world by stepping on Hanzō's reputation. Outside the Rain Village, he couldn't control it, but inside the Rain Village, he wouldn't let Sōsuke flaunt his power like this.

The voices in the field died down quickly, because they recognized the speaking Rain ninja—he was the Jōnin squad leader of the Rain Village and one of the village's higher-ups.

Just as the Rain Village higher-up was about to say more, Hanzō spoke up.

"This isn't some solemn, sacred place; there's no need for that." Hanzō interrupted flatly.

Doing that would make it seem like he was deliberately giving Sōsuke a show of force, which would only put him a step behind Sōsuke for no reason.

The Rain Village higher-up froze, staring at Hanzō in disbelief.

He hadn't said anything wrong, had he? He was speaking up for Hanzō, so why was Hanzō scolding him?

Though a bit aggrieved, the Rain Village higher-up didn't argue; he simply retreated silently behind Hanzō.

The situation in the Rain Village was different from ordinary ninja villages. Hanzō held absolute authority. These so-called Rain Village higher-ups were hardly different from ordinary Rain ninja in front of Hanzō.

The surrounding Rain ninja stirred, feeling that this time the Rain Village was going to completely reconcile with the Ninja Sect.

After they had walked some distance, Hanzō said, "I didn't arrange that."

"I didn't think you did," Mu Yue replied with a cheerful smile.

He certainly didn't think Hanzō would do something so low-class—after all, Hanzō had already exposed Shimura Danzō's plan to kill him; there was no need to deliberately pull something like this.

Hanzō said nothing and continued walking in silence.

As they went deeper, Mu Yue noticed that the surrounding buildings became sparse and they rarely saw any pedestrians.

But Mu Yue wasn't alarmed; his Byakugan and Transparent World were already active, so no one could ambush him—neither Hanzō at his side nor Shimura Danzō behind him.

When they reached a remote, barren area, Mu Yue spotted a two-story building that looked decent.

But because there was nothing around, the building seemed somewhat eerie.

"Was this designed with my training needs in mind? Not bad at all." Mu Yue looked around with a smile.

"You can think that if you want." Hanzō replied expressionlessly.

While the two were talking, Shimura Danzō, standing behind Sōsuke, tightened his grip on the kunai he had hidden in his sleeve and quietly closed the distance between himself and Sōsuke.

He focused his mind, held his breath, and gathered a large amount of chakra in his arm, then suddenly stabbed toward Sōsuke's heart.

"Got him!"

Watching Sōsuke still cheerfully chatting with Hanzō, Shimura Danzō was ecstatic, as if he could see the Ninja Sect's inheritance and the Rinnegan beckoning to him.