The sky was overcast with clouds, and a heavy rain poured down.
Jiraiya, wearing a raincoat, stood amidst the torrential downpour, watching a group of ninjas who were still fighting in the rain, feeling a sigh rising in his heart.
This is the war of the ninja world.
One side would not stop, and the other would not back down.
Unless they were ordered to stop fighting, these ninjas could never cease until death; not to mention it was just heavy rain falling from the sky.
Even if meteors were falling from the sky, these ninjas had to continue fighting.
Jiraiya sighed, started to form hand signs, planning to take advantage of the rain obscuring vision to capture two ninjas with scratched forehead protectors, trying to get information about the Akatsuki organization from them.
Splashing...
The sound of heavy boots stepping on the rainwater came.
Was this the reinforcements for one of the sides?
Jiraiya immediately hid himself and looked towards a group of Rain ninjas wearing gas masks, and also saw a man being surrounded by these rain ninjas!
"Lord Hanzo has arrived!"
This voice immediately caused a stir among the Rain ninjas!
"Hanzo of the... Salamander!"
Jiraiya's face changed drastically!
Even if the heavy rain made it impossible to see the full face, Jiraiya could recognize the man's figure in an instant, recalling how terrifying that man was!
Sure enough.
The situation on the battlefield immediately turned around with the appearance of Hanzo of the Salamander!
With the morale of the ninjas from the Rain Village boosted, the group of ninjas gathered by the Akatsuki organization instantly became vulnerable, starting to scatter and flee!
Hanzo of the Salamander didn't even need to take any action; just standing there was enough to scare everyone, as the Rain ninjas defeated the enemy and captured many prisoners intending to execute them on the spot.
"Do not kill them."
Hanzo of the Salamander, with a deep voice, stopped his subordinates from killing the prisoners, and took the initiative to approach the group of prisoners, sternly asking, "Why did you become rogue ninjas?"
"Ptui!"
This prisoner was very spirited!
After all, under the rule of the demigod of ninjas, rebelling was a courageous endeavor, not something that ninjas without a strong backbone could face amidst various difficulties!
"You bastard!"
A Rain ninja drew his ninja sword, wanting to kill this prisoner directly to defend the dignity of Hanzo of the Salamander!
"Stop."
Hanzo of the Salamander stopped his subordinate, no longer questioning the other prisoners, and commanded in a deep voice, "Take these people back and imprison them. After I have eliminated the Akatsuki organization, they are still ninjas of the Land of Rain."
"Lord Hanzo..."
"Follow my orders!"
Hanzo of the Salamander rebuked one of his subordinates and then raised his head to look at the dark clouds in the sky: "I must end this war as soon as possible, and will not let the Land of Rain continue to be in chaos."
"Yes, Lord Hanzo!"
A group of Rain Village ninjas was greatly pleased.
Since a few years ago, when Hanzo of the Salamander, the leader, suddenly went into hiding, the village's Jonin oppressed their subordinates, and internal strife broke out, making the entire Rain Village and the Land of Rain smoggy and dismal.
This group of Rain Village ninjas believed that as long as Hanzo of the Salamander was willing to come out and calm the situation, the civil war could be quickly settled, and peace could be restored to the Land of Rain.
The group of Rain Village ninjas left the battlefield with their captives.
Hanzo of the Salamander waved his guards to leave him alone and stayed there by himself, his gaze turned towards the hiding place of Jiraiya.
"That guy..."
Jiraiya inexplicably felt that he had been discovered.
"The kid of Konoha..."
Hanzo of the Salamander seemed to have long realized that Jiraiya was hiding here.
Given Hanzo of the Salamander's age and the events that had occurred in the past, this demigod ninja could completely consider Jiraiya as a junior.
"No need to hide from me anymore."
Hanzo of the Salamander looked at Jiraiya's hiding spot, his eyes flashing with a hint of reminiscence: "Just as I had predicted back then, you and those two kid have indeed become renowned ninjas in the ninja world..."
"Long time no see, Lord Hanzo."
Jiraiya came out and stood in front of Hanzo of the Salamander.
Since his hiding had been exposed, continuing to hide was pointless, and Hanzo of the Salamander did not seem to want to send his subordinates to besiege him.
"Jiraiya."
Hanzo of the Salamander looked at the now middle-aged man with white hair in front of him and seemed to think for a while before asking: "I haven't got your name wrong, have I?"
"Not at all."
Jiraiya was no longer the young junior of the past, but still maintained his respect for Hanzo of the Salamander: "I didn't expect, Lord Hanzo, that you would still remember me..."
"I won't forget the excellent young people of the ninja world."
Hanzo of the Salamander shook his head, becoming serious: "Did Konoha send you to the Land of Rain to pursue Orochimaru, that kid, or to take care of the aftermath of past events?"
"Oh? Am I also responsible for cleaning up the aftermath?"
Jiraiya's gaze shifted slightly, following the words of Hanzo of the Salamander, he added a sentence, hoping to probe for any news from the mouth of this demigod ninja.
Jiraiya did understand the phrase about pursuing Orochimaru, it seems that Hanzo of the Salamander also knew about the Akatsuki organization's situation, even knowing that Orochimaru had joined the Akatsuki...
Cleaning up the aftermath?
What did Konoha do in the Land of Rain that requires cleaning up the aftermath?
"Of course."
Hanzo of the Salamander nodded and spoke of the past, "The killing of that young man named Yahiko, as well as the subsequent complete extermination of the Akatsuki organization, were all requested by your Konoha's Hokage advisor, Shimura Danzo, asking me to do it..."
Jiraiya's eyes flashed with a hint of astonishment!
Yahiko really died!
Hanzo of the Salamander couldn't possibly be lying, could he?
What Jiraiya did not expect was that Shimura Danzo was also involved in this matter, that guy always appears where he shouldn't!
Jiraiya quickly suppressed the shock in his heart, fearing that Hanzo of the Salamander would detect any flaws and take the opportunity to extract information, "I remember the Akatsuki organization seems to have one called Nagato, one called Konan..."
"You mean that Rinnegan kid, right?"
Hanzo of the Salamander seemed to think that Jiraiya was sent by Konoha to help, sighed, and said, "That Rinnegan kid named Nagato is definitely still alive, but his legs must be broken..."
"Originally, I wanted to recruit them to join the Rain Village, but it was your Konoha's Hokage advisor who forced me to ambush them, handing over the Rinnegan kid to Konoha for handling, leading to today's situation, causing me and the Akatsuki to always be at odds..."
At this point in his speech, Hanzo of the Salamander's voice was mixed with a hint of anger, questioning, "Now that the situation in the Land of Rain has deteriorated to this extent, the Akatsuki and the Rain Village have fallen into a civil war, Konoha is only willing to send people over now, isn't it a bit too negligent of our alliance?"
"Don't forget."
Hanzo of the Salamander directly shifted all his blame onto Shimura Danzo, speaking coldly, "Your Konoha's ninja were also the murderers present, even the masterminds behind attacking the Akatsuki! My age is already high, the Rain Village has no confidence in eliminating the Akatsuki, the Akatsuki is growing stronger and will eventually eliminate the Rain Village, using the power of the Rinnegan to retaliate against Konoha!"
Jiraiya lowered his head.
The tall man with white hair, at this moment, had an extremely ugly expression on his face.
Although Hanzo of the Salamander only spoke a few words to him, Jiraiya had roughly guessed most of the truth of the matter.
The story of the past...
Probably was that the Rain Village and the Akatsuki were originally getting along quite happily, but then Shimura Danzo intervened, wanting to take Nagato's Rinnegan, directly coercing and tempting Hanzo of the Salamander to attack the Akatsuki together, killed Yahiko but let Nagato and Konan escape.
Shimura Danzo!
Why does that guy, Shimura Danzo, always manage to cause some trouble?
Currently, my disciple, Akihara Kagura, is heavily influenced by Shimura Danzo, and it's very hard to correct his thoughts and values; now, I've received new information that my former disciple, Yahiko, was murdered by Shimura Danzo.
However...
I knew nothing about this.
Now, Nagato might start hating the Konoha ninja again.
Jiraiya once painstakingly raised three children, teaching Nagato to forget the hatred for the two Konoha ninja who killed his parents. Shimura Danzo intervened just once, and it directly caused everything to revert back to the beginning.
No wonder...
No wonder Konan refuses to pay any attention to me.
Jiraiya thought of Konan, who avoided him in the town and didn't want to talk or interact with him, and suddenly everything seemed to make sense.
"Lord Hanzo."
Jiraiya turned to Hanzo of the Salamander, his expression becoming serious. He had to get all the information from Hanzo first: "If I'm still responsible for helping to clean up the aftermath, you have to at least tell me the intelligence on the Akatsuki organization."
"It goes without saying."
Hanzo nodded, extending an invitation: "Then come with me to the Rain Village. I will tell you all the intelligence I have on the Akatsuki organization now, so we can resolve the matters of the past and restore peace to the Land of Rain sooner."
"Okay."
Jiraiya nodded solemnly.
After all, Hanzo is a demigod of the ninja world, so there's no need to worry about him breaking his promise.
Moreover, if Hanzo wanted to kill him, he could have done so during the Second Great Ninja War.
"Is it just you?"
Hanzo glanced at Jiraiya and continued: "When will the other backup forces from the Konoha arrive? If we want to wipe out the Akatsuki organization, just the two of us won't be enough. That kid with the Rinnegan is not easy to deal with..."
...
Jiraiya fell silent.
After all, he wasn't officially sent by the Konoha to carry out the mission but came to investigate the intelligence on Konan and her disciples, and also to take his disciple, Akihara Kagura, for training and experience…
Jiraiya pondered for a moment and took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility, "If Lord Hanzo desires a peaceful resolution to the war with the Akatsuki organization, I alone am sufficient."
"Young one, are you joking?"
Hanzo of the Salamander widened his eyes, warningly said, "Do you think the war between us and the Akatsuki organization can still be peacefully resolved?"
Hanzo of the Salamander spoke of the past, his words becoming suddenly intense: "Originally, I, along with Konoha's Hokage advisor, Shimura Danzo, killed the Akatsuki's leader, Yahiko, and I even heard that most of the Akatsuki members died in that turmoil..."
"That encirclement back then, only a young girl and that kid with the Rinnegan escaped. This kind of hatred cannot be resolved with just a few words. They want to wash away the hatred with blood and lives, and I certainly don't harbor such naive thoughts..."
"I understand."
Jiraiya immediately felt the situation became a bit more troublesome and could only muster the strength to say, "Let me first understand the current situation of the Akatsuki organization!"
According to Hanzo, the Akatsuki organization certainly harbors great hostility towards the Rain Village and Konoha. Konan and Nagato must have been completely blinded by hatred, even Jiraiya, a ninja of Konoha, after hearing about the past, harbored grievances against Shimura Danzo...
Rain Village.
This time, Jiraiya finally entered here upright and openly.
Hanzo of the Salamander, for some reason, even ordered his subordinates to prepare a grand welcome ceremony, as if celebrating an alliance with Konoha, which gave Jiraiya a headache. He actually came in a personal capacity, which was just a disguise for gathering intelligence!
However...
Jiraiya had to take on this matter.
The Akatsuki organization was founded by his disciples, and even his old friend Orochimaru, along with surviving disciples Nagato and Konan, were still in the Akatsuki. These two disciples had restarted their hatred for Konoha because of Shimura Danzo.
Whether it was for Konoha's safety, needing to eliminate the hidden dangers, or hoping that the surviving disciples would not go astray, Jiraiya had to find a way to resolve this issue.
Within the Rain Village.
Hanzo of the Salamander seriously shared all the intelligence he could disclose to Jiraiya, clearly already regarding Jiraiya as his ally.
"The current leader of the Akatsuki organization is said to be a man named Pain, but I haven't yet discovered what this man named Pain looks like..."
"The main members inside the Akatsuki organization, as far as I have discovered, include Orochimaru, a S-rank rogue ninja from Konoha, Sasori of the Red Sand, a S-rank rogue ninja from the Sand Village, Kakuzu from the Waterfall Village, along with Nagato and Konan, the two who survived initially..."
"Besides, the Akatsuki organization continues to recruit peripheral members, it is said that any ninja who scratches a horizontal line across their ninja forehead protector can join them..."
"Currently, the Akatsuki organization, on one hand, is stoking the flames of war in small lands to take on large commissions, and on the other hand, organizing personnel to launch a civil war against the Rain Village, their strength is actually continuously growing..."
"My age is already very advanced."
Hanzo of the Salamander looked towards Jiraiya, voluntarily handing over the leadership, "What still supports my belief now is that before I die, I can completely clean up the Akatsuki organization, extinguish the war in the Land of Rain, and allow the Land of Rain to return to peace."
"..."
Jiraiya was feeling a bit of a headache.
Merely the fact that the core members of the Akatsuki organization were mostly S-ranked rogue ninjas made Jiraiya believe that finding the Akatsuki's base and sneaking in could potentially lead to his death if discovered by accident, not to mention dealing with someone like Orochimaru.
Of course.
If he could, after sneaking in, persuade Nagato and Konan, his two disciples, and also convince Orochimaru to leave with him, Jiraiya was quite intrigued by the idea.
As for the peace between the Rain Village and the Akatsuki, as long as he could take his disciples and Orochimaru out, those who did not wish for peace could be exterminated or expelled…
"I'll try talking to the members of the Akatsuki first…"
Jiraiya gritted his teeth, still deciding to try peaceful means.
"Young one."
Hanzo of the Salamander, as if he could see through Jiraiya's mind, took the initiative to say, "Actually, if you can bring out the members of the Akatsuki for peace negotiations, it would also be an opportunity for us to end the war."
Hanzo of the Salamander continued, "Originally, an idea from Shimura Danzo, the Konoha's Hokage advisor, was to lure out the leader of the Akatsuki under the guise of negotiations, kill the leader of the Akatsuki first, and then the other members without their leader would be at our mercy."
"As long as the Akatsuki is dealt with."
After sharing his thoughts, Hanzo of the Salamander reiterated his alliance with Konoha, "I will still honor the alliance with Shimura Danzo, Konoha's Hokage advisor."
"…"
This alliance is not needed at all!
Jiraiya truly felt the shadow of Shimura Danzo.
Could that old man not do something serious for once, stop acting recklessly, and always leave a bunch of problems for Konoha!
"I really want to solve this problem peacefully."
Jiraiya sighed deeply, taking the initiative to suggest, "If possible, let's first quickly find out where the Akatsuki's base is hidden. I'll try to sneak in and see if I can get more information about the Akatsuki…"
"It's possible."
Hanzo of the Salamander agreed with Jiraiya, presenting his own difficulty, "Apart from investigating the Akatsuki's base, the Rain Village cannot offer you any more help. We small ninja villages do not have as many talents as Konoha..."
"It doesn't matter."
Jiraiya did not mind these minor issues.
The meeting ended swiftly, and Jiraiya gained much from it, learning some of the intelligence he wanted to investigate and about past events.
As expected.
Jiraiya chose to leave directly.
After Jiraiya left the Rain Village, Hanzo of the Salamander suddenly ordered his subordinates: "Spread the news throughout the Land of Rain that Jiraiya has visited the Rain Village…"
"Yes."
Hanzō's subordinates did not understand, but still chose to follow the order directly.
"Kid…"
When the room was empty, Hanzō's soul regained control of his body and spoke the truth through his consciousness: "Did you look into my memories? Then you should know that when Shimura Danzō suggested killing the young members of the Akatsuki, I was indeed tempted, because they threatened my rule…"
"It's alright, this little matter, Lord Danzō can handle."
Through remote consciousness communication, Akihara Kagura engaged in a dialogue with Hanzō: "What you need to do is the real big deal, much bigger than these matters. Go collect the summoning beasts now, you can freely strengthen those summoning beasts…"
"Why…"
Hanzō could not resist.
This ninja demigod experienced for the first time what a real high-level game was.
Hanzō did not understand why Akihara Kagura, who was manipulating him from behind, wanted to leak the information to Jiraiya: "Can telling Jiraiya, that young man, really solve those issues?"
"Teacher Jiraiya... does not have the capability to solve them."
Kagura's consciousness seemed certain that his teacher was powerless, yet he sighed: "But if he is willing to try, we should at least give him a chance. One can endure pain once, but twice the pain is not so easily forgotten…"
Land of Rain.
Inside a cave.
The Akatsuki base was somewhat quiet.
The sound of wooden clogs clicking on stone slabs.
Konan found Pain, with a trace of worry in her eyes: "Jiraiya has indeed come to the Land of Rain. The whole Land of Rain is spreading a message, Jiraiya was invited by Hanzō to visit the Rain Village, I wonder what they talked about…"
"No need to mind."
Pain's face was always cold, as if everything was under control: "Even if Teacher Jiraiya stands against us, the outcome of this war will not change."
"God."
"Will not lose."
Pain remembered his teacher's temperament and continued: "Perhaps Teacher Jiraiya may want to persuade us to surrender, but this time is different from the past. I won't believe in verbal peace, nor can I forget the pain this world has brought me…"