Naruto: Evil is easy to commit, making Amegakure great again.

"Would you... would you spare Lord Hanzo's life in this new era?"

When he said this, Tsuchino Juzo deliberately changed his form of address to Jiang Ming from "you" to "you (formal)".

This can also be seen as a way of showing respect for Jiang Ming.

"Making Amegakure great again and keeping Hanzo of the Salamander alive are not contradictory in themselves."

As long as Hanzo the Salamander doesn't cause trouble or do anything that harms the interests of the Land of Rain after Jiang Ming seizes power.

Therefore, Jiang Ming would not go so far as to commit such an extreme act as "killing the former leader just to prove that he is better than him".

"In that case... I will pledge my loyalty to you!"

After learning from Jiang Ming that he would not settle scores with Hanzo the Salamander, the current leader of the Land of Rain.

Tsuchino Juzo, who already believed that Jiang Ming had the potential to lead Amegakure and even the entire Land of Rain to a future full of "happiness," immediately knelt down on one knee.

Pledge allegiance to this rising star of Rain Village who possesses the ability to traverse parallel worlds and is full of infinite possibilities.

"That was a very straightforward answer, Tsuchino..."

Looking at Tsuchino Juzo, who was kneeling on one knee beside him, offering his loyalty to Jiang Ming.

Originally, I thought I would be the first to understand these things, and Ibuki Aoi, who was offering her loyalty to Jiang Ming, took a deep breath.

For the first time in my life, I felt a deep resentment towards Tsuchino Juzo, this honest man.

"And your answer, Jonin Ibuki?"

Before accumulating enough power, Jiang Ming would never allow anyone who might reveal his "treasonous" intentions to Hanzo to leave this secret room and tip him off.

Even though this person was Aoi Ibuki, who had shown him kindness more than once, he was no exception.

"Haha, actually, I've wanted to follow you for a long time, Lord Jiang Ming!"

At this moment, Ibuki Aoi, who had been mentally prepared, decisively knelt on one knee and transformed into Liu Lu of the ninja world.

He fawned over Jiang Ming.

This left Tsuchino Juzo, who had taken the lead in swearing allegiance, completely stunned.

This was the first time he had ever seen Ibuki Aoi praise someone so highly.

Moreover, in terms of rank alone, this person was a low-ranking ninja, far below them...

"I'm relieved to hear you say that, Jonin Ibuki."

Jiang Ming glanced up and swept his eyes over Tsuchino Juzo and Ibuki Aoi, who were both bowing their heads in the secret room.

His voice was calm and collected, but his eyes flashed with a chilling sharpness that was sure to captivate anyone.

"We have no rivals ahead!"

......

The Land of Rain, on its northern border.

Dozens of Konoha ninja are advancing stealthily.

Leading the group were Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, all disciples of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

They were the Konoha rescue team dispatched to the Land of Rain battlefield to infiltrate and investigate the whereabouts and fate of the more than 600 Konoha ninja, and to determine whether there was any possibility of rescuing them.

"Hey, Tsunade!"

The cold rain stung everyone's faces like fine needles, but Jiraiya, with his white hair and aged appearance, acted as if nothing was wrong, wiping the water from his face and carelessly inviting Tsunade to join him.

"Let's go on a date after this mission is over!"

Jiraiya shook his head, water droplets dripping down his hair. His tone was deliberately flippant, but it also concealed a subtle seriousness.

"Let's go to that newly opened dango shop on the corner of Konoha. I heard their red bean dango is really good, even sweeter than the one you used to like."

Upon hearing this, even Orochimaru, who was at the very front of the three, quietly slowed down.

He glanced sideways at Tsunade and Jiraiya behind him.

They're obviously just watching the drama unfold.

"This is wartime! Can't you be a little more serious, Jiraiya?!"

Upon hearing this, Tsunade frowned, her wisps of hair sticking to her face, wet from the rain.

This made her already bad mood even worse.

"How am I being inappropriate?"

Jiraiya grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, and reached out to pat Tsunade's shoulder.

To ease her tension and heaviness.

"I'm just worried that you'll get stressed out because you're always so tense..."

Before Jiraiya could finish speaking, Tsunade, who mistakenly thought he was trying to take advantage of the situation, punched him in the shoulder.

The smile on Jiraiya's face suddenly made him wince in pain, and he dared not continue to speak to Tsunade so casually for a while.

"Hey, Tsunade, weren't you a little too ruthless?"

What if the bone breaks...

How can he present himself in the upcoming battle and attract Tsunade's attention?

"Who asked you to meddle in my business!"

Tsunade glared fiercely at Jiraiya.

His chest was still heaving, but the gloom in his eyes was slowly fading away.

"If you dare say such inappropriate things again, next time I won't just hit you on the shoulder, I'll hit you on the head!"

The next second, Tsunade decisively quickened her pace.

This created a distance between himself and Jiraiya.

"hiss......"

Jiraiya gasped and gently rubbed his shoulders.

"hey-hey......"

Watching Tsunade's slightly lighter figure from behind, Jiraiya, who was always good at livening up the atmosphere, suddenly chuckled softly.

He even forgot most of the pain in his shoulder.

"Oh......"

Seeing this, Orochimaru glanced at him and scoffed softly.

Without thinking, I quickened my pace.

This widened the distance between himself and that idiot Jiraiya.

"idiot......"

Amidst the sound of rain, a smile that even Jiraiya couldn't suppress drifted by.

The oppressive and heavy atmosphere from before instantly lessened considerably.

"The northern mines of the Land of Rain are just ahead. Everyone, please take cover."

I don't know exactly how long we traveled.

In short, when Tsunade and her group successfully arrived near the northern mines of the Land of Rain, they dispersed and hid.

It was already late at night in the ninja world.

"There aren't any Rain Ninja stationed here?"

Looking around the mine, Tsunade and the others did not find any Rain Ninja stationed there.

All that could be seen were the corpses of countless Konoha ninjas, neatly arranged on one side of the mine, without even a decent white cloth covering them.

"Damn Amegakure, how dare they treat the dead like this..."

In Tsunade's and the others' view, not covering a dead person with a cloth or burying them is no different from leaving the dead to rot in the wilderness.

This can be considered a great humiliation to the deceased.

This instantly filled Tsunade and the others, who already cherished their companions and held great friendliness and goodwill towards their fellow villagers, with rage.

Among them, several Konoha ninjas even wanted to rush over and collect the bodies of their fellow villagers.

However, Jiraiya and Orochimaru easily stopped them.

We didn't let them run wild.

"Calm down, everyone! This might be a trap set by the Rain Ninja!"

Perhaps, explosive tags were pressed under the corpses of those dead Konoha ninjas.

They were just waiting for someone to come and collect the body, which would also kill the other person in the explosion.

To achieve the goal of killing two birds with one stone.

"We can't just stay here and watch, can we?"

"We still need to find out the whereabouts of those six hundred-plus Konoha ninja and determine if a successful rescue is possible!"

Upon receiving a reminder from a Konoha ninja nearby, Orochimaru, who already had a plan in mind, smirked slightly.

He gestured for everyone present to quiet down.

Let's wait until it gets a little darker before we take action.

......