Land of Rain, Amegakure.
The once-towering buildings had long fallen into disrepair, leaving the village a wasteland of crumbling ruins.
At the center of the village, the rain continued to drizzle endlessly.
Salamander Hanzo and seventy to eighty of his ninja subordinates sat amidst the debris of what used to be the Amegakure headquarters. They huddled under the remnants of the second-floor ceiling to shield themselves from the rain.
In the open space nearby, a filthy black pot stood on the ground, supported by a meager fire fueled by damp wood.
Inside the pot were fish caught using Water Release techniques.
There were no seasonings—it was unbearably fishy.
Much like how a child born in Los Angeles wouldn't know how to use a Chicago typewriter, these ninjas, accustomed to relying on their jutsu and unskilled in manual labor, were equally inept at cooking.
This meant even their revered Hanzo had to endure the same "delicacy" of fish soup as the rest of them.
Hanzo was rich—extremely rich.
But his wealth was useless.
He had once sent trusted subordinates to purchase supplies from the Land of Fire, only for these "trusted individuals" to disappear with the money.
He had even tried leading a team himself to procure resources.
Upon returning with supplies, he was enraged to find that the camp had been attacked during his absence.
After investigating, he learned that a skirmish had broken out between those loyal to him and those desperate to leave. Both sides suffered casualties, and the defectors still managed to escape.
Adding insult to injury, Hanzo couldn't even issue bounties for the deserters.
The Land of Rain had become utterly desolate.
Not only had merchants stopped passing through, but even stray dogs avoided lingering in this rain-soaked wasteland.
Staring at the pot of boiling fish heads, Hanzo fell into deep thought.
He had a nagging feeling that the disasters plaguing the Land of Rain were being orchestrated by some unseen, malevolent hand, manipulating the course of events from behind the scenes.
But when had it all begun?
After pondering for a long time, Hanzo recalled the start of his misfortunes.
It began with the theft of Amegakure's intelligence, which was then sold to various major nations, resulting in the catastrophic loss of his spies.
In the following years, Hanzo worked tirelessly to strengthen the village's forces, eventually surpassing the strength of Takigakure in the neighboring Land of Grass.
At that time, he had even considered seizing Takigakure's Seven-Tails.
But instead of capturing the Seven-Tails, he encountered the Four-Tails on the battlefield in the Land of Grass.
The timing of the Four-Tails' appearance was suspicious.
However, Hanzo hadn't given it much thought at the time. His sole focus was on capturing the Four-Tails, either to keep it for himself or to sell it to another nation—both seemed like excellent options.
But then, the Third Raikage appeared.
The one type of opponent Hanzo feared most was a tank with exceptionally high single-target burst damage.
Hanzo was skilled in Water Release, proficient in Fire Release, had a formidable summoning beast, and was decent in taijutsu.
But against a speed demon who specialized in close-range combat, he was utterly helpless.
Poisoning such an opponent? Forget it—the odds of success were slim at best.
In the end, Hanzo decisively chose to retreat, ceding the battlefield and inadvertently granting Takigakure a chance to recover.
Later came the "Iron Heist," which drained Hanzo's treasury.
Then, the once-compliant daimyo of the Land of Rain suddenly abdicated without consulting him.
Finally, the nightmare began.
Just as Hanzo was deeply engrossed in contemplating who might be targeting him, Salamander Kandachi returned with his two bodyguards, their faces filled with humiliation and defeat.
The long-suppressed anger within Hanzo erupted upon hearing Kandachi's embellished account of events.
"Those damned bastards! It's bad enough they exploited the war to abduct our civilians, but now they refuse to return them to me?
Fine! If that's how it is, then no one gets them!"
With that, Hanzo stood up abruptly, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Everyone, prepare to set out immediately! We'll slaughter those treacherous civilians and those despicable Sunagakure ninjas!"
Instantly, the ninjas, already brimming with pent-up frustration, roared in agreement.
"Yes! Kill those civilians! Let them see what happens when they refuse to rebuild our homes or supply us with food!"
"Kill, kill, kill! Those opportunistic Sunagakure ninjas deserve to die!"
"Kill all the men and elders, and sell the women to the Land of Hot Water!"
The inhuman cries echoed through the air.
At that moment, a leisurely voice pierced through the cacophony of rage, reaching everyone's ears.
"Yo~ Where are you all planning to go on this little outing, Salamander... Hanzo... sama?"
The enraged crowd instantly charged toward the source of the voice, their bloodshot eyes locking onto the direction it came from.
Not far away, atop a partially collapsed wall, sat a man dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and black trousers.
His legs dangled freely as he casually sharpened a kunai against his nails, sending sparks flying.
Through the veil of rain, Hanzo's eyes widened in shock as a youthful face from ten years ago resurfaced in his memory.
"Kōhei Iwai..."
Rinjin scratched his rain-soaked head in exasperation.
What a familiar name!
It's been over a decade.
"Actually, Hanzo-sama, my name is Rinjin Sakuhō, not Kōhei Iwai."
Hearing this, Hanzo's brows furrowed, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.
Rinjin Sakuhō?
The name sounded familiar, as if he'd heard it somewhere before.
Noticing Hanzo's perplexed expression, Rinjin sighed inwardly and muttered to himself:
"Mizuguma, you see?
Even the Hanzo-sama you once revered as a god doesn't remember your surname.
As expected, Hanzo-sama is a very busy man!
Or perhaps he never cared about small fry like you in the first place~"
Muttering to himself, Rinjin chuckled self-deprecatingly, tossed aside his kunai, clapped his hands, and drew everyone's attention.
"Alright, enough riddles. My name is Rinjin Sakuhō, formerly known as Kōhei Iwai, also called Laimyi, and sometimes Shimura Tantan.
Currently, I am the daimyo of the Land of Rain and a Konoha Jōnin.
So, Hanzo-sama, do you recognize me now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kandachi exclaimed in shock:
"What?! You're the daimyo of the Land of Rain? How could you be the daimyo?
You're just a homeless brat! Or maybe a chakra-less waste!"
The disdainful tone of Kandachi's furious outburst barely faded before Rinjin's brows furrowed, and he muttered coldly:
"Enough talk. Let's get started!"
In the next instant, blue lightning and blue chakra erupted simultaneously.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Eight Gates: Seventh Gate (Gate of Wonder) activated at once.
Before anyone could react, Rinjin had already returned to his perch atop the low wall, holding someone by the neck with one hand.
The sight caused the crowd to tremble violently in fear.
This... This guy was so fast they couldn't even see his movements!
No, it wasn't necessarily speed—he might have mastered some bizarre jutsu.
At the center of the crowd, a bead of cold sweat trickled down Hanzo's temple, disappearing into the torrential rain.
He hadn't seen the movement clearly, but he had sensed it.
This brat was terrifyingly fast—not only had he snatched Kandachi from Hanzo's side, but he had even managed to grope Hanzo in passing!
At that moment, Hanzo wanted nothing more than to turn and flee.
This kid... was too terrifying!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
"9 amazing fanfics available on my Patreon.
Support for 350 + advance chapters:
patreon.com/DarkGolds"