Masahiko and the Akatsuki have some history.
At the time, Madara's Rinnegan eyes were taken away, and the Six Paths of Pain attacked Konoha and the Uzumaki; Masahiko tried to pursue it and finally… gave up.
After they injured Minato, Masahiko pursued and found Jashin's base, and then… lost them again.
This created a grudge between Masahiko and the Akatsuki.
After his five years of seclusion, when he learned that the Akatsuki didn't make any move, he was surprised.
After hearing the news of Hanzo's disappearance this time, Masahiko felt that he was probably killed, and it was definitely a good thing the Akatsuki did.
In order not to lose them again, Masahiko decided to run out immediately.
Of course, his tears may fall when he actually knows the truth.
It happened that Haku decided to stay by Zabuza side for two more days, so he asked Kimimaro and Karin to practice on their own for a few days, and then told Kushina to keep an eye on them and left the Land of Whirlpools and went straight to the Land of Rain.
This time he traveled at top speed and reached the country in just half an hour.
Of course, he couldn't use his original appearance because he was afraid that Akatsuki will immediately escape, so he made a disguise.
At this time, he covered his neck with a shawl, chose a white hair, and dressed in the Amegakure's standard armor, with two bandages wrapped around his left and right wrists, a and a chain sickle slung around his waist, and a gas mask on his face…
Yes, he's Hanzo the Salamander!
"Hanzo's disappearance means that his body should have been taken by the Akatsuki. Others didn't find him. If I disguise as Hanzo and take control of Amegakure, the Akatsuki will probably send someone back to investigate the situation. It would be really nice if I could catch one of them."
This is the plan that Masahiko has came up with after careful consideration.
"I'm a genius!"
"Hanzo" marched from the Land of Rain borders, without hiding his figure, all the way to the center of Amegakure. He wanted everyone to know that he's alive and back!
These days, the situation in the Amegakure was weird. Hanzo disappeared after fighting with an unknown enemy, which brought the war to a halt.
Although Hanzo is over 60 years old, and his strength and stamina are declining, all the people feared him as the demigod. Only a few people in the ninja world can beat him, but the only man, who can defeat him and walk alive, is Uzumaki Masahiko.
Therefore, the ninjas from Iwagakure, Konoha, and Amegakure were quietly watching and investigating the situation and didn't try to make any move.
Of course, Konoha suspected that the one who defeated him is the "mysterious man" from the intelligence that rescued Rin and Obito. No one would have guessed that Obito has awakened his Mongekyou Sharingan and gained a cheat ability that tremendously enhanced his strength.
"Hanzo" went all the way to the village center, and several groups of investigative ninja saw him. Sensing their Chakra fluctuation, Masahiko could tell that they were very uneasy. They basically left immediately upon seeing him and went to report back.
However, some ninjas have been following him. Masahiko thought for a while, waved his hand, and said hoarsely, "Come out!"
After a while, three Amegakure Shinobi appeared beside him.
The one in the middle looked excited, "Is it really you? Leader!"
"Do you think anyone would dare to impersonate me?!"
"No, no, of course, it's great that you're back, leader!"
The leading ninja was taken aback, and with a frightening hint in his tone, he said again and again, "I'm very sorry, Hanzo-Sama, I've talked too much. I should have known my place."
Masahiko smiled secretly. It seems that Hanzo was very harsh on his subordinates; disguising himself as him would be really easy.
Seeing that Masahiko didn't pursue it, the others heaved a sigh of relief, "That war was at a halt for the past a few days. Everyone was… looking after your whereabouts."
"Looking for me? Or looking forward to my death?"
The other side was startled and said, puzzled, "Why would anyone think so? We would have never survived without your leadership against the major villages. Without you, we…"
Masahiko waved his hand, "It's okay, follow me, you will my escort."
"Yes!"
Masahiko secretly breathed a sigh of relief and tried to remind himself that the fewer words, the fewer he makes mistakes.
On the road after that, Masahiko didn't say a single word, and the ninja who followed him didn't dare to ask more and walked silently towards the central area of Amegakure.
At Konoha camp, several ninjas looked at each other in silence.
After a long while, Jiraiya broke the silence, "I've told you that old man won't die that easily!"
Jiraiya could still feel the fear Hanzo have caused them in the Sannin battle.
"He's not dead…" Kagami said.
Shikaku Nara sighed, then looked at a pile of previous battle plans.
"Since he's not dead, let's wait and see the changes first. The identity of the ninja who fought with him is still unknown, and he will likely move again."
The others nodded at each other, "Yes."
...….
Iwagakure Camp.
Onoki let out a sigh of relief and muttered, "It's good that you didn't die. Otherwise, that person would have sought peace again."
"Kitsuchi, send someone to contact him and ask who was that unknown ninja he fought with. That old man lost Ibuse during that battle. I'm afraid that his strength has weakened a lot."
"Okay, father."
....
On the other side of the country of rain.
The news made Yahiko and the other confused.
After a long time, Ringo slowly said, "But we killed… how is this possible?"
Obito was stunned, and the space in front of him was slightly distorted, then Hanzo's corpse appeared in front of them, "But this is really him, does he have a brother? Twins?"
Rin hesitated for a moment, "It can't be true. He was strong… Is it possible that what we killed was just a special clone, or maybe he actually escaped during the battle?"
"No, I kept watching him the entire time." Obito slowly spoke. He was confident in his eyes."
"No." Yahiko interrupted, "The one we killed was definitely the real Hanzo. The one that has appeared just is the fake one!"
"Fake?" Why would anyone impersonate Hanzo?" Danzo was puzzled.
Yahiko glanced at him, "Hanzo is the main in control of Amegakure. He took advantage of the time we took to heal and took control over Amegakure's forces. Gods know what he's planning to do later."
"Humph. Ridiculous." Ringo snorted coldly.
Yahiko nodded, "We killed the real Hanzo. A fake one would be an easy job. Let's go out again and fight. Let's see who dares to stand against us!"
The four walked to the battlefield again…