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

"surrender?"

Despite Jiraiya's attempts to persuade them to surrender, the wounded Rain Ninja showed no sign of wavering.

Instead, he looked at the other person with a mocking expression.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Don't make jokes that even a three-year-old would find incredibly stupid, Konoha ninja—!"

A Rain Ninja staggered forward, drawing a cold light with his kunai in the rain.

"A person can be defeated, can be destroyed, but must never lose their conscience, and must never betray the village and the country they belong to!"

His voice was hoarse from blood loss.

Yet every word was forceful and resounding, like nails driven into a wet, slippery surface.

Their attitude was extremely firm.

"I really don't understand..."

"Why would you rather die than surrender and hand over the intelligence to us?"

Jiraiya frowned slightly as rainwater slid down his Konoha headband, blurring the few slender yet stubborn figures in his vision.

Is it really worth it?

"Of course it's worth it!"

The youngest Rain Ninja raised his voice, his tone resolute.

He stared at Jiraiya without wavering, straightening his back and grinning with a resolute smile that showed no fear of death.

"Even ninjas from small countries have their dignity... Don't expect to get any useful information out of us!"

The moment the words left their mouths, these Rain Ninjas seemed to have made up their minds at the same time and decided to go all out.

I'll use my crippled body to buy myself some more time.

To be loyal to Amegakure behind him and to the land beneath his feet.

"Your negotiation skills are as terrible as ever, Jiraiya."

A low, husky voice came from behind Jiraiya.

That was Orochimaru, who never showed any sympathy for any enemy from beginning to end.

"Since your leader has chosen to start this war, then there is not a single innocent person among the people of the Rain Kingdom!"

Compared to Tsunade and Jiraiya, who are kind-hearted and unwilling to cause unnecessary killing.

Orochimaru's personality is more cold and tends to be more extreme.

He would not extend his gentleness to any enemy.

They will only show their coldest and most brutal side to their enemies.

To deter every force that harbors ill intentions towards Konoha.

"You're talking nonsense!"

One of the Rain Ninja directly cursed at Orochimaru's remarks.

"So you're saying only large countries are allowed to recklessly seize our small country's land and act with impunity, while we small countries aren't allowed to resist?"

What kind of illogical nonsense is this...?

They're practically no different from the bandits and robbers who roam the ninja world!

"Of course you can resist."

But the ultimate outcome of resistance is utter annihilation...

Orochimaru did not say this explicitly.

However, he cleverly conveyed this to the few surviving Rain Ninja present through his eyes.

This drew a cold laugh from them.

"Many ants can devour an elephant... Don't underestimate Amegakure and the entire Land of Rain, you wretched Konoha ninja—!"

The next second, the surviving Rain Ninja decisively launched a collective charge against Orochimaru and the other Konoha ninja.

This ushered in Orochimaru's most ruthless and inhumane killing methods.

"Shadow Serpent Hand—!"

Several giant pythons flew out from Orochimaru's left hand, opening their blood-red maws and viciously biting several Rain Ninja who were trying to fight to the death.

In the instant they were strangled and their movements were restricted.

Orochimaru's Wind Release ninjutsu then cut them down.

"Wind Release: Wind Slicing Technique!"

"stop--!"

A fierce and sharp gale raged, cutting through everything in front of Orochimaru.

Even the giant pythons responsible for strangling and restricting the Rain Ninja's movements were chopped into mincemeat by this gust of wind.

Not to mention those Rain Ninja who couldn't even put up the most basic resistance and could only obediently offer their necks for slaughter.

"Orochimaru, you've gone too far—!"

Looking at Orochimaru, who completely ignored his advice and insisted on killing those Rain Ninja using the most cruel methods.

Jiraiya, who already held these Rain Ninja who were willing to risk their lives to protect their country, immediately clenched his fists, wanting to confront Orochimaru.

However, he was met with a barrage of scolding from Orochimaru.

"Enough, Jiraiya!"

"This is war, not a place where you can be so sentimental!"

Being gentle and respectful to one's own people is one thing...

But that idiot Jiraiya—he's so gentle and respectful even to his enemies!

What's the difference between this and playing house on the battlefield?

If Jiraiya hadn't been his close friend and partner, Orochimaru probably would have resorted to force to persuade him long ago.

"Even so, you shouldn't have killed those Rain Ninja in such a cruel way!"

This was the first time Jiraiya had a disagreement with Orochimaru.

This was also the first time in Orochimaru's life that he most wanted to beat Jiraiya up and make him realize the difference between reality and fairy tales.

"Alright, stop arguing!"

Seeing that Jiraiya and Orochimaru were getting into a conflict and sparks flew.

Tsunade, whose primary objective was to "rescue the more than 600 Konoha ninjas," immediately stood between the two.

He gestured for them to remain calm.

Do not let a conflict break out here.

"Don't forget the task the teacher assigned us!"

At this stage, Hiruzen Sarutobi is still quite vigorous and capable of handling things.

Therefore, Tsunade held him in high esteem.

It wouldn't be appropriate to call him "old man" right off the bat.

"snort!"

Seeing that Tsunade had said so, Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who had been on the verge of fighting, each snorted coldly and suppressed their anger.

They chose to ignore each other for a period of time.

He handed over full command of this mission to Tsunade.

Tsunade's actions left me utterly speechless.

"This is really a headache..."

Two partners who used to be inseparable and worked together seamlessly almost clashed shortly after arriving on the battlefield because of their differences in "how to kill the enemy".

This really gave Tsunade a huge headache.

They wished they could just give up thinking altogether and punch each of them to wake them up.

"Um... Lady Tsunade, what should we do next?"

After confirming that there were no more Rain Ninjas around, one of the Konoha Chunin cautiously spoke up.

He consulted with the only Konoha Jonin besides Jiraiya and Orochimaru about the next mission arrangements.

"well......"

Tsunade sighed softly.

Quickly adjust your state of mind.

He ordered the surrounding Konoha ninja to be wary of traps and to carefully explore the area around the mine.

They hoped to find clues about the more than 600 Konoha ninjas through this method.

"No matter what, that's over six hundred Konoha ninja..."

In Tsunade's view, it was impossible for Hanzo to kill all six hundred-plus Konoha ninja.

It's important to understand that "prisoners of war" and "dead bodies" are two different concepts.

The value they contain is worlds apart.

The hundreds of cold ninja corpses were nothing more than remnants in one corner of the battlefield.

It serves no purpose other than increasing the number of casualties.

However, the hundreds of living Konoha ninja prisoners of war could be held in Hanzo's hands for interrogation and even used as bargaining chips to coerce Konoha into making concessions.

Having dominated the ninja world for many years, Hanzo couldn't possibly be unaware of the advantages and disadvantages involved.

For him, keeping these Konoha ninja alive was far more valuable than exterminating them.

......