Hanzo’s Intentions

During the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha had not won on the Land of Rain battlefield. As one of the Konoha Three Sannin, Jiraiya naturally could not have remained in the Land of Rain.

That meant he would not have continued teaching Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, nor would he have continued imparting his ideals to them.

Given Hanzo’s influence within the Land of Rain, it was only a matter of time before he discovered Nagato’s Rinnegan without a powerful protector like Jiraiya.

Thus, what Hanzo saw was not an Akatsuki that could threaten his rule over the Land of Rain, but an uncut gem born with the Rinnegan Kekkei Genkai, possibly possessing Uzumaki blood, and worthy of his cultivation.

And so, naturally, Hanzo took the three teenagers as his disciples.

"Senior Hanzo, you misunderstand. Sunagakure and Amegakure are allies, so naturally we would never do anything harmful to the Land of Rain. We are merely passing through."

Hanzo studied Shimizu for quite some time.

"I heard that you developed a new Kekkei Genkai and fought your Kazekage on equal footing."

Hanzo asked Shimizu.

"Lord Kazekage merely went easy on me."

Shimizu replied to Hanzo.

Hanzo fell silent for a moment, seemingly pondering something.

"Could Lord Hanzo also make way for us juniors? We still have a mission to carry out."

"Your mission should not be urgent, should it?"

Hanzo continued questioning Shimizu.

Shimizu raised an eyebrow.

What did Hanzo mean by that…?

"Has Amegakure encountered some problem and requires Sunagakure’s assistance? Senior Hanzo may send someone to deliver a letter to the Third Kazekage. If the request is reasonable, I believe the Third Lord will not refuse an ally’s request."

"No, it is not a major problem. But I believe you would be the most effective person for this matter."

"Oh? Lord Hanzo wishes to…"

"You few should spar with me here. A match to the point will suffice. In exchange, I can…"

Hanzo paused.

He had originally intended to say that he would send someone to assist with Shimizu’s mission.

But since they were concealing their identities, they likely did not want others to know the details of their mission.

Moreover, this mission had deployed Shimizu along with three other jonin, so it was clearly no simple task. Sending people might lead to casualties or even drag them into conflicts between great nations.

"I can allow you into Amegakure’s intelligence room to review all intelligence gathered in the Land of Rain, at least anything that does not involve Amegakure’s vital secrets."

"I agree, but I hope that no one from Amegakure will disclose anything regarding our appearance here today."

After thinking for a short while, Shimizu spoke.

After that brief period of observation and thought, he had more or less figured out what Hanzo likely wanted.

He probably wanted to show Nagato and the other two what top geniuses from a great nation, close to their own age, looked like—broaden their horizons and give them pressure that could be turned into motivation.

There was no harm in such a thing, and it would not cost them anything beyond a little time.

But compared with the benefits, it could hardly be considered a waste.

The Land of Rain was a neighboring country of the Land of Grass.

During the Second Great Ninja War, Hanzo had fought all the way to the Land of Iron in order to turn the Land of Rain into the sixth great nation.

The Land of Grass happened to lie between the Land of Rain and the Land of Iron.

This meant that during the Second Great Ninja War, the Land of Grass had most likely been swept through by Hanzo once. It was only due to Konoha and Iwagakure’s later intervention that Hanzo’s forces had been forced to withdraw.

If Hanzo had been born seventy or eighty years earlier, then with his abilities, he might well have established a great ninja village just like the five First Kage.

He had suffered from being born too late.

Hanzo had definitely considered annexing the Land of Grass, and he surely possessed no small amount of intelligence on Kusagakure.

At the very least, that was beyond Sunagakure’s sphere of influence. They only had a few outlying secret bases there, used to gather and relay intelligence from throughout the ninja world.

The intelligence in Hanzo’s possession was certainly more useful than what Sunagakure had. It would give him a better understanding of the situation in the Land of Grass and save a great deal of time.

"Move back and watch carefully."

Hanzo raised one hand, signaling his subordinates to retreat.

"You three go first. Fighting a top expert of the ninja world like Hanzo is a good training opportunity. Otherwise, if Senior Hanzo and I start fighting, I’m afraid no one but Pakura will be able to interfere."

Shimizu took a step back and let Baki and the others go first.

Hanzo was renowned for liking to guide the younger generation. He had bestowed the title of the Three Sannin, and Shimizu had also received Hanzo’s notes on swordsmanship.

Even if there were reasons behind it, and Hanzo’s actions had been shaped by the circumstances of the time, no one could deny that before he became the dispirited man he was in the original timeline, he had been an outstanding figure of great breadth and bearing.

Perhaps it was because he himself had not reached this point without guidance from even earlier predecessors.

For Shimizu, sparring and exchanging techniques with a powerhouse of this level would yield certain gains. For young jonin like Baki and the others, receiving guidance from one of the greatest figures of the age was even more precious.

"Senior Hanzo, then excuse our offense!"

Baki looked eager to try.

A man’s reputation was like a tree’s shadow.

To everyone in the ninja world, Hanzo was a major figure whose strength could rival the Five Kage. Naturally, Baki was excited.

Hanzo did not use his full strength from the start. He did not even draw his blade, allowing Baki and Sada to display several moves and demonstrate their strength before binding them with the chain of his sickle and flinging them aside.

It was only when facing Pakura that Hanzo finally became serious.

"Wh-what incredible ninjutsu!"

The orange-haired youth, his body concealed beneath a black robe, widened his eyes as he watched the fireballs flying wildly across the field, evaporating everything in their path.

"She looks like she is only three or four years older than us."

The red-haired youth watched the battle in the field with his Rinnegan, his expression somewhat dull.

"Is this the talented ninja from a great nation that Teacher Hanzo wants us to catch up to…?"

The blue-haired girl held a paper umbrella as she stared unblinkingly at Pakura, who was struggling to hold on beneath Hanzo’s attacks. Her eyes carried a trace of longing.

"Konan, you’ll definitely become a female ninja just as amazing as her!"

Yahiko laughed as he spoke to his companion.

"Scorch Release: Over-Evaporation Consecutive Kill!"

"Water Release: Water Wave Hand!"

The scorching Scorch Release collided with a waterfall-like torrent of Water Release, producing vast clouds of steam. A sea of white obscured their vision, and within it came the faint clang of metal striking metal.

Soon, the white mist dispersed. Hanzo held his sickle in one hand, its blade poised before Pakura’s throat.

At some point, Shimizu had also flashed in front of Hanzo, his sword pressed against Hanzo’s sickle.