Chapter 471

Hearing Mizunuki Ryosuke’s question, Hanzo of the Salamander’s face was uncertain, and his gaze toward Mizunuki Ryosuke kept flickering.

For a time, the atmosphere fell into a stalemate, because he couldn't understand why Mizunuki Ryosuke would ask this.

Things had reached this point, and Hanzo of the Salamander felt that if the Mist Village had intended to help the Rain Ninjas, they would have done so long ago; why wait until now?

After some thought, he concluded in his heart that Mizunuki Ryosuke was playing with him, and his heart immediately turned colder.

"What if I want to win? What if I don't?"

At this, he responded coldly to Mizunuki Ryosuke’s question, his tone full of coldness and distrust.

Clearly, the various experiences they had been through had already brought the mutual trust between these temporary allies to freezing point.

Such an impolite response almost indicated that Hanzo of the Salamander had already concluded that no matter what Mizunuki Ryosuke said, it was impossible to help the Rain Ninjas reverse the situation.

This actually also showed that Hanzo of the Salamander, in his subconscious, didn't really hold much hope for the Rain Ninjas’ chances of winning.

"If you want to win, I might be able to help you."

"But if you don't want to win, it means Leader Hanzo may have already thought of a way out."

Mizunuki Ryosuke said slowly, his eyes carrying a bit of depth.

After hearing Mizunuki Ryosuke’s words, the expression on Hanzo of the Salamander’s face didn't change significantly.

An owl of the ninja world like Hanzo of the Salamander couldn't be bluffed by Mizunuki Ryosuke in a few words.

Since he had already concluded in his heart that the Rain Ninjas’ defeat was inevitable and that Mizunuki Ryosuke was here to mock him, Hanzo of the Salamander simply watched Mizunuki Ryosuke’s statement coldly and said nothing.

"Heh."

Seeing this, Mizunuki Ryosuke’s face remained unchanged, and he just smiled and shook his head.

Although Hanzo of the Salamander didn't believe anything he said, and his words didn't provoke any other reaction from Hanzo, he didn't care at all.

"Since Leader Hanzo doesn't believe me, I won't say anything more."

"Let’s wait and see what happens in the future."

"I just hope Leader Hanzo doesn't forget our bet."

Afterward, Mizunuki Ryosuke said, his expression still very gentle, still giving people a sense of intimacy like a spring breeze.

But at this moment, Hanzo of the Salamander didn't feel any intimacy or friendliness at all; he just felt that Mizunuki Ryosuke’s expression was unfathomable and could not be guessed by common sense.

"Hmph!"

To this, Hanzo of the Salamander did not answer directly, just snorted coldly and made no statement.

Seeing Hanzo of the Salamander’s attitude, Mizunuki Ryosuke didn't linger; after all, his purpose had been achieved, and there was no point in staying any longer.

Afterward, right in front of Hanzo of the Salamander, Mizunuki Ryosuke’s figure disappeared from where he stood.

Watching Mizunuki Ryosuke disappear, a trace of wariness flashed in Hanzo of the Salamander’s eyes again; after a long time, confirming that Mizunuki Ryosuke had left, the aura on Hanzo of the Salamander’s body suddenly relaxed.

Although Mizunuki Ryosuke’s arrival was just an accident, and Hanzo of the Salamander already lacked trust in him, Mizunuki Ryosuke’s words did indeed remind Hanzo of the Salamander that he should indeed think of a way out.

The original toughness and determination on Hanzo’s body vanished, replaced by a sense of shortness of breath typical of an owl at the end of his road.

After leaving Hanzo of the Salamander’s place, an unfathomable expression appeared on Mizunuki Ryosuke’s face.

With the decisive battle between the Leaf Village and the Rain Ninjas about to start, the reason he specifically came to see Hanzo of the Salamander was, of course, not just to waste a few words with him.

He came specifically to test Hanzo of the Salamander.

In a few words, he had already tested Hanzo of the Salamander’s current attitude.

Hanzo of the Salamander was a very important part of Mizunuki Ryosuke’s plan, so he naturally had to try his best to ensure that no mistakes occurred.

Therefore, testing Hanzo of the Salamander at this time was very necessary.

And although Hanzo of the Salamander seemed to say nothing, from his behavior and words just now, Mizunuki Ryosuke had already roughly read Hanzo of the Salamander’s heart.

This was not Mizunuki Ryosuke’s own baseless speculation, but a reasonable judgment made in combination with the original plot.

In the original work, the Second Ninja World War launched by Hanzo of the Salamander leading the Rain Ninjas ended in a rather anticlimactic form.

The iconic battle that brought the Second Ninja World War to a close was the battle that made the Sannin famous.

That is, Hanzo of the Salamander fought one against three and bestowed the title of "Legendary Sannin" upon Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade during the battle.

In the battle against the young Sannin, Hanzo of the Salamander eventually defeated the Sannin with a significant advantage and won the battle.

But afterward, he did an unexpected operation—he actually released the Sannin and other Leaf ninjas on the grounds that he admired the Sannin.

Judging from Hanzo of the Salamander’s past experience, such behavior was undoubtedly very ridiculous.

The number of ninjas who died at the hands of Hanzo of the Salamander was probably at least eight hundred if not a thousand; when had he ever let go of other opponents for such a reason?

What’s more, these three were ninjas from the Leaf Village, the mortal enemy of the Rain Ninjas.

And the reason he made such a move was actually very simple.

That was that the Rain Ninjas were already on the verge of falling apart, and Hanzo of the Salamander had already realized that with his and the Rain Ninjas’ strength, they simply couldn't compete with the Leaf Village.

In one sentence, Hanzo of the Salamander had been beaten by the ninja world and recognized reality.

Not only did he let the Sannin go, but he was also willing to become a stepping stone for the Sannin’s fame, just to exchange for a way to survive.

To put it plainly, Hanzo of the Salamander’s spirit had been worn away by the Leaf Village, and he had resigned himself to his fate.

And this was something that actually happened in the original work.

Compared to when Mizunuki Ryosuke first met Hanzo of the Salamander, the Hanzo at this moment felt like a completely different person.

At first, when he met Hanzo of the Salamander, the feeling Hanzo gave Mizunuki Ryosuke was like an ambitious lion, preparing to hunt across the entire grassland.

The "Theory of the Pond" was the best proof of this.

And now, he was like an old, wounded lion.

He was sensitive, irritable, and held an extremely repulsive attitude toward Mizunuki Ryosuke’s approach.

As for why Hanzo of the Salamander would show such a posture, it was actually not hard to understand.

Because in Hanzo’s subconscious, he had already lost his confidence.

Just like an old, wounded lion, when encountering any other lion, it would instinctively stand up to deter them.

This was undoubtedly a manifestation of being strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

Just now, Mizunuki Ryosuke had taken the initiative to test Hanzo of the Salamander with topics like providing help.

If it were the previous Hanzo of the Salamander, not to mention agreeing immediately, he would definitely have grilled Mizunuki Ryosuke for details, trying every possible way to obtain assistance from him.

This was because Hanzo of the Salamander was still full of confidence in himself at that time, so even if there was only a glimmer of hope, he would try every possible way to defeat the Leaf Village.

And now, Hanzo of the Salamander was indifferent to Mizunuki Ryosuke’s proposal.

This showed that in his subconscious, Hanzo of the Salamander no longer held hope for defeating the Leaf Village.

— Author's Notes —

·· ····Seeking flowers··· ····