Hanzo always inquired from the long past.
Just where did this man, Akashi of the Red Blade, emerge from?
Upon the background search that barely proved to be useful, Hanzo deducted that he indeed was born in Amegakure.
So, how?
Frankly speaking, Akashi was a genius. In Hanzo's eyes, one that surpassed even that of the three sannins.
There was no way that someone like this could've been a civilian-born. The way his body was developed to harness a fascinating amount of chakra, the way he honed his skills, the willpower and shocking cold-heartedness that he showcased...
...Hanzo couldn't help but be reminded of his younger self.
"...Through this action just now, you made the entire Ame susceptible to outside attacks."
Nonetheless, Hanzo spoke in hostility as he dismissed the conflicting thoughts in his mind.
"Spies will send the information back to their nations. Iwa and Kumo—especially Iwa—will attempt to take over the land of rain to enlarge the battlefield. We will be forced to obey Konoha, pitifully bowing to receive help, and then be forced to enter the war ourselves."
Growling in a low tone, Hanzo slowly spoke.
"All of this happened... because of you, Red Blade. Have you no shame?"
"Shame?"
Akashi chuckled coldly.
"Since when was I considered one of you?"
"If you dwell within Ame, you are required to abide by its laws!"
"You gave me no rights, and yet, you speak of duties. I am no slave, Hanzo."
Hanzo wondered. If the events turned out differently, would this man in front of him be on the same side?
"...It is impossible to house everyone outskirts. Not when risks exist."
"Of course, I understand."
Hanzo didn't know what he was doing. Unlike his usual self, he spoke as if trying to persuade his enemy... even when said enemy killed hundreds of his.
Why, he wondered.
Why indeed. After all, Akashi didn't seem a tad swayed by Hanzo's words,
"And you too should understand. Because we are human beings, conflicts exist. What's gone doesn't return, and all that is left... is to decide who emerges as a victor."
Hanzo grimaced as he revealed a Kusarigama—a sickle attached to a chain. The rage and murderous intent within his eyes resurfaced.
Akashi raised Ryuma further, such that in Hanzo's view, its blade covered Akashi's scar of an eye.
At this moment, even the screams and chaotic noises outside seemed to have been muffled out.
There were only two of them isolated in the world.
It was the start of a deadly battle.
Then, at the same time, the two of them vanished.
The series of sparks flew all around the room—along with the metallic noises that resounded throughout the room.
A clash, a violent one at that. The calm has ended, and the storm has begun its violent temper within the hub of Amegakure.
CLANG—!
Just then, there stood Hanzo with widened eyes as the Kusarigama flew off and was smashed into a nearby wall.
"You..."
Akashi not only matched his speed but surpassed his strength.
Even as Hanzo found himself dazed from this occurrence, Akashi was dashing straight at Hanzo with Ryuma revealing its deadly gleam.
Regaining his senses, Hanzo backpedaled while quickly pulling Kusarigama out of the wall.
Like a snake, Kusarigama immediately circled around Akashi's Ryuma as if about to coil around its blade.
But Akashi knew that the weapon's target wasn't the blade, but rather, him. Hanzo was using Akashi's momentum against him, and by the time Kusarigama fully encloses, it will be coiling around Akashi instead of Ryuma.
The surface of Kusarigama was covered with a deadly venom, Akashi could tell. Even a contact would result in a series injury—or an immediate death.
Therefore, Akashi vanished—at a speed that even Hanzo lost for a brief second.
"You...!!"
And Hanzo recognized immediately as Kusarigama enclosed nothing but empty air. In disbelief, he cried,
"Eight Gates...!"
CLANG—!
Ryuma then clashed against Kusarigama with an impact that shook Hanzo down to the bones.
Hanzo found his eyes widening. The floor underneath his feet cracked from the sheer force generated by Akashi, whose grip on Ryuma was tighter than ever.
In this state, Hanzo saw.
Under the dim light, Akashi's usually brown-coloured hair, one that floated in a way that resembled a blazing fire, appeared red in his eyes.
'...It seems that,'
And Hanzo realized—
'Now isn't the time to care for the damage upon the environment.'
—that he needed to go all-out to defeat Akashi.
Then, the floor broke, and the two of them began to fall.
Using this to his advantage, Hanzo stabbed his Kusarigama on a wall to bring himself away from Akashi.
On the other hand, Akashi landed on one of the falling debris and kicked off of it to gain momentum toward Hanzo.
In this state, Hanzo quickly formed a series of one-hand seals.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
All of this happened within a matter of milliseconds—enough to catch even Akashi off guard, for utilizing such a jutsu meant that Hanzo discarded his idea of preserving the tower.
Hanzo's proficiency in ninjutsu was praiseworthy indeed.
Watching as the huge flame bullet blazed ferociously in front of him, Akashi threw Ryuma upward and formed a hand seal of his own.
'Shadow Clone Technique.'
With a puff, an identical copy of himself appeared beside him. Without any waste of time, said clone immediately grabbed Akashi by the ankle and threw him upward. Right after that, the flame bullet struck said clone, dispelling it.
Then, the flame bullet continued to travel, and eventually, drilled a hole in the side of the tower with a boom.
Through the smoke, there was the noise of rain, screams, and hurried shouts from ninjas here and there.
Meanwhile, Akashi who was up in the air retook his grip over Ryuma. Looking down, Akashi grimaced, for Hanzo seemed to have utilized this gap of time to prepare yet another ninjutsu,
one stronger than the 'flame bullet' that he just used.
"Fire Release,"
Akashi's eye narrowed as Hanzo released his technique upward at where Akashi hovered,
"Fire Release Stream!"
Simultaneously, Akashi swung Ryuma, which was emitting a bizarre, green glow.
Then, a gigantic blast of fire overtook the entire tower before an explosion arose.
The thunderous noise echoed throughout the walls of Amegakure. The sudden spark of light was huge enough for those far away to sight.
...
"...What is going on?"
And from afar, there was Yahiko, whispering to himself,
"Akashi, you...!"
His eyes shook as his body momentarily froze.
As if having realized what was going on, he panickily began to run toward the center of the nation.
...
"STAND BACK!"
A group of Ame ninjas stood centering the smoke-covered scene.
Nothing but sparks and metallic noises could be seen and heard through said smoke, which indicated that the battle between Akashi and Hanzo was ongoing.
"Don't go any close..."
One elite ninja, jonin, said grimly as he held his hand out,
"Don't you dare think that we are capable of helping Hanzo-sama. If anything... we are nothing but nuisances."
The other ninjas on standby gulped. The rain on them felt heavier than ever before.
CLANG—!
And within the thick smoke, Akashi's Ryuma met Hanzo's Kusarigama once more.
"You..."
In this state where they struggled to push each other within this clash, Hanzo growled through his helmet,
"That green glow just before...!"
Hanzo recognized it right away. There was no way that he could've mistaken.
"What's your relation to those accursed scums of Kusa?!"
It was clear that Hanzo was shaken.
"One that took the life of your daughter, you mean?"
Hanzo froze for a brief moment, and Akashi applied more force to Ryuma. Hanzo, having turned out to be the one on the losing side for this clash, was pushed back as a result with his feet skidding back.
"...Who are you."
Hanzo was becoming more and more confused about his foe.
But nonetheless, his heart was filled with suspicion—that Akashi was directly related to the death of his long-lost daughter.
And said suspicion fuelled the rage in him, one which he used to believe had died.
It was before the start of the Second Shinobi World War that he sent his daughter away from him, in order to keep her safe from the assassination threats. After all, Hanzo was the sole factor of Ame that kept them on par with other nations.
He ensured that black-ops were assigned a duty to protect her from harm, without her knowing. However, after the end of the Second Shinobi World War, he found out that all of them were killed along with his daughter and... an unidentifiable, mutilated corpse.
Hanzo's arms dropped loose, and the Kusarigama in his grip now sat on the ground.
The smoke still covered them, but no normal human being would've been able to maintain calm upon ingesting this extent of smoke. However, Akashi and Hanzo gazed at each other in silence, unfazed by the toxic environment.
"Akashi of the 'Red Blade'... come to think of it, your existence was always one of the greatest mysteries to me."
Akashi darted his eye to the surroundings. Finding that no eye should be able to peer through this veil of smoke, he let out a light sigh.
"I killed Danzo. Such is a given fact."
Akashi deduced through these clashes that he held an advantage against Hanzo in terms of physical combat, primarily because of Hanzo's age.
However, he couldn't tell how many cards Hanzo held in his sleeve. His performance of Fire Release techniques just before was astounding, and he didn't seem fazed. Furthermore, Hanzo still hasn't yet shown his infamous salamander summon.
'If I can raise the chance of my plan going to a success...'
Hanzo narrowed his eyes, and Akashi once again steeled his resolve,
'...Then even revealing this information, I won't hesitate.'
"It was a revenge on my part."
"...Revenge."
Hanzo muttered, trying to process what Akashi was pointing at. Then, his eyes slowly widened as he reached one conclusion,
"Don't tell me...!"
And Akashi dropped a bomb,
"Danzo was the culprit of your daughter's death, Hanzo."
Hanzo's whole body shook in disbelief. His eyes wandered all around before they returned to Akashi's lone eye.
"Y-You... you are—"
Hanzo wondered just before, of why he was able to remember Akashi from years ago when he saw Akashi in the Konoha troop's camp. He wondered what is it that was special about Akashi's eye that made Hanzo remember him.
Now he knew. Within the hallow and dead gleam of Akashi's eye, there lied a blazing ember—exactly the same as the one his daughter held.
"I am Akashi. And right now,"
Cutting Hanzo off, Akashi said without any doubt in his words.
"I am nothing but a villain, one who has come to lead Amegakure to destruction."
Hanzo felt his body hanging loose as Akashi darted at him with Ryuma in his grip.
The last thing that Hanzo saw before he blacked out, was the ferocious slash of a blazing sword, one that left a deep, diagonal gash across his torso.
...
At last, the smoke cleared.
The rain continued to pour down.
And everyone surrounding the center of the scene couldn't hold back their disbelief.
Hanzo of the Salamander... was found fallen, with Akashi standing in front of him with Ryuma dripping the blood down its blade.
Lifting his blue eye, Akashi stared at the ninjas around him.
"...This is how it was meant to be."
And he finally spoke, as he raised Ryuma once more.
Everyone watched, petrified, as Ryuma began to descend—straight onto the unconscious form of Hanzo.
The name of 'Red Blade' was now engraved deep within their soul.
One who murdered all in his sight. No one could stop his march, not even Hanzo.
One couldn't help but whispered,
"...Is this the end of Ame—"
CLANG!
A loud, metallic noise rang, causing many to grow goosebumps.
"Huff... huff..."
There stood Yahiko, who barely managed to block Akashi's Ryuma from severing Hanzo with two kunais in his hands.
"What are you doing, Akashi?!!"
Yahiko yelled, and the only response Akashi gave was to stare back at him, coldly.
Little did Yahiko knew, that people around them were staring at him as if he was some kind of hero.