Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode.

Chapter 85 Hanzo the Salamander

After Kirito escaped, he went to a sheltered place to rest, then closed his eyes to focus his chakra and speed up the recovery of his depleted chakra.

Having just unleashed several powerful ninjutsu in succession, his chakra was almost depleted. If it weren't for the fact that the White Zetsu clone could automatically replenish its chakra at a very fast rate, the amount of chakra he had left would not have been enough to sustain the battle he had just fought.

However, through this battle, he gained a general understanding of the White Zetsu clone's strength. Without using sealing techniques, relying solely on Water Release ninjutsu, its strength was still comparable to that of an elite Jonin. In the Land of Rain, its strength could be further enhanced by two or three levels.

Even if he were to encounter the current Sannin of Konoha, he would be confident of escaping unscathed.

"No wonder Hanzo was able to earn the title of demigod. In the Land of Rain, a battlefield where water is everywhere, his strength must have increased more than that of the White Zetsu clones, given that he was also proficient in water-style ninjutsu. Moreover, Hanzo was also proficient in poison and swordsmanship. It is understandable that the young Sannin could not defeat him."

Kirito couldn't help but think of Hanzo the Salamander, the leader of the Rain Village, and sighed.

Although Hanzo's strength has declined since his early years, he is still very powerful. It is because of him that Amegakure did not suffer a complete defeat and successfully obtained a surrender condition from Konoha without compensation.

Unfortunately, this defeat in Amegakure dealt a heavy blow to Hanzo. His beliefs and ambitions began to waver. Later, as he grew older and his strength declined, he completely lost his former beliefs and ambitions, becoming the kind of person he had described to Mifune.

In the end, I was taught a lesson by cruel reality.

Why did he choose to challenge Konoha, the strongest of the five great ninja villages, right from the start, thus initiating World War II? It can only be said that Hanzo was young and impetuous back then, and was overconfident in his own strength and that of Amegakure.

Hanzo possessed both strength and ambition, but unfortunately, he was born in Amegakure, a village with insufficient resources and the Land of Rain, which could not support his ambitions.

This is the root cause of his failure.

Said that Cao Cao Cao Cao arrived.

Kirito was suddenly surrounded by a large number of souls within his soul perception range. Relying on his natural energy perception of chakra, he discovered that there was a very powerful chakra among them, whose level was no weaker than Tsunade's that he had just encountered.

Unsurprisingly, the owner of this powerful chakra is Hanzo of the Salamander.

Faced with so many suddenly appearing enemies, including possibly Hanzo the Salamander, Kirito decisively used the Mayfly Technique to infiltrate underground, leaving only a shadow clone in place.

Soon, a middle-aged ninja with long, light yellow hair, wearing a Rain Ninja headband and helmet, and a snorkel covering his mouth, with only his eyes and nose showing, appeared in front of Kirito.

The visitor was none other than Hanzo the Salamander, the current leader of Amegakure.

At this moment, the place where Kirito was taking shelter from the rain was surrounded by a large number of Rain Ninja wearing breathing tubes.

When Kirito saw Hanzo, he calmly put on his breathing tube and looked at him with a composed expression.

"Long time no see, Zhengcheng, you've become much stronger."

Instead of taking immediate action, Hanzo greeted Kirito as if he were seeing an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

Kirito wasn't surprised by this. Hattori Masamoto had been Hanzo of the Salamander's childhood friend. The two had been inseparable, but later drifted apart due to differences in their beliefs, becoming like strangers.

"Hanzo, I didn't expect you to find me so quickly. I knew I shouldn't have fought those guys from Konoha. What, you came here in person? Are you here to kill me?"

Kirito said expressionlessly.

"No, I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to take you back. The village is in a bad situation right now. Come back with me, Masashige. The village needs your strength. As long as you come back, the village will lift the warrant for your arrest as a rogue ninja."

Hanzo shook his head and said something that surprised Kirito.

In the memories of Hattori Masashige that Kirito absorbed, Hanzo of the Salamander and Hattori Masashige were like oil and water. Otherwise, Hanzo would not have used the greater good and hostages to force Hattori Masashige to carry out a mission that was almost certain to kill him.

If Hattori Masanari hadn't been strong enough and not so rigid, he would have died long ago.

Now Hanzo has actually come in person to invite Hattori Masashige back to Amegakure, and even promised to withdraw the arrest warrant for Hattori Masashige.

If Kirito hadn't heard Hanzo say it himself, he definitely wouldn't have believed it was true.

"Hahaha~"

Kirito paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

Hanzo, seeing this, was not angry, but simply looked at Kirito in silence.

He knew perfectly well why Kirito was laughing; if it were him, he would probably laugh at himself for saying such a thing.

He was the one who used righteousness to force Hattori Masashige to leave back then, and now he's personally coming to invite him back using righteousness. It's truly shameful and laughable.

However, he was also helpless. The situation in Amegakure was really bad. He was the only strong person Amegakure could rely on right now. The older generation had basically all been killed in this battle, and there was a serious lack of core strength. The younger generation of Amegakure ninja had not yet grown up and were not up to the task.

As a result, the pressure on Yu Yin was almost entirely on his shoulders, making it difficult for him to breathe.

All sides were watching him closely, preventing him from easily leaving Amegakure and thus hindering him from fully unleashing his formidable personal strength.

Therefore, he urgently needs a strong partner to share some of the pressure.

At this moment, Kirito, playing Hattori Masanari, appears and immediately defeats the Konoha princess with overwhelming force, escaping unscathed from the hands of two legendary Sannin, demonstrating his formidable strength.

As long as Hattori Masanari can stay in Amegakure, he can go all out and make the world wary of Amegakure again, and not dare to underestimate the current Amegakure.

However, he was not confident that he could get Hattori Masanari to go back to Amegakure with him.

However, he remained convinced throughout that Hattori Masanari loved Amegakure and was willing to make sacrifices for it.

Now, for the sake of Amegakure, Hanzo the Salamander is also willing to make sacrifices and bow down to Hattori Masashige.

Ironically, the biggest lesson this battle taught him was to bow to reality.

However, compared to the safety of Amegakure and the Land of Rain, personal honor and disgrace are nothing.

Hanzo was not angry at Kirito's mockery, but the Amegakure ninjas behind him who were loyal to and admired Hanzo were indignant and wanted to teach Kirito a lesson for daring to mock Hanzo.

"Get out of here, this is none of your business."

Hanzo stretched out a hand to stop his subordinate, turned his head away, and shouted loudly.

Upon hearing Hanzo's order, the Rain Ninja had no choice but to suppress their tempers and obediently retreat, leaving Hanzo and Kirito alone.

"Hanzo, you really surprise me now. It seems this war has sobered you up quite a bit. I can go back, but you have to answer one question for me. As long as your answer satisfies me, I will go back with you."

Seeing Hanzo's actions, Kirito quickly suppressed his laughter, then chuckled again and said coldly.

"Go ahead and ask."

Hanzo seemed to have anticipated this, and said calmly.

"Have you woken up from your dream?"

Kirito stood up, staring intently into Hanzo's eyes, and said seriously.

Hanzo remained silent for a long time, finally letting out a long, defeated sigh: "Ah, I'm awake."

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(End of this chapter)