As dawn was just breaking, Hanzo led a large number of elite ninjas away from Amegakure.
Leaving at the same time were the Konoha Anbu stationed outside the village.
To deal with the increasingly powerful Akatsuki, Danzo and Hanzo decided to join forces and completely annihilate the Akatsuki at the meeting location once and for all.
The large movement of troops could not escape the notice of the Amegakure ninjas.
However, in the minds of most Amegakure ninjas, Hanzo had simply gone out to negotiate with the Akatsuki, and in a day or two, they expected to hear good news from afar.
But for the Jonin remaining in the village, Hanzo's departure was far from simple.
If Hanzo was truly going to negotiate, he wouldn't have taken so many people, nor would he have taken ninjas from other villages.
It was merely the calm before the storm.
Thinking of this, Shigure, who was patrolling the outer walls of Amegakure, sighed softly. He really didn't want to see a conflict between Amegakure and Akatsuki, but he was powerless to change it.
From the moment he wanted to see Hanzo but was told that Lord Hanzo was not seeing anyone, he understood Hanzo's determination.
At this moment, Byakuya silently walked out from behind Shigure and patted him on the shoulder.
Startled, Shigure turned and saw Byakuya, showing a shocked expression. "Lord Byakuya, didn't you go to the meeting with Lord Hanzo?"
Byakuya glanced at Shigure and said meaningfully, "Do you really think Hanzo is going to negotiate with the Akatsuki?"
Hearing this, Shigure fell silent.
Then, Shigure saw Byakuya walking towards the village, panicking and subconsciously asking, "Lord Byakuya, what are you going to do next?"
" We might even have to fight Hanzo-sensei later. How can we not prepare in advance? And with Hanzo not here, I naturally have to take over Amegakure. "
Byakuya showed a matter-of-fact expression, then seemed to remember something and said:
"But since you are a Jonin of Amegakure, I will allow you to find someone to stop me once if you wish to see Amegakure destroyed."
Byakuya's voice was very low, and Shigure had to strain to hear it.
But the lower the voice, the more frightened and uneasy Shigure felt. He knew Byakuya had the ability to destroy Amegakure because he had just seen Byakuya get into a carriage.
Byakuya's disguise could deceive Lord Hanzo, which meant he could deceive most ninjas in the ninja world.
After solving the disguise problem, even the simplest assassination of a daimyo or using explosive tags to create chaos, Byakuya could bring Amegakure down to drain.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Shigure followed Byakuya, making his choice.
Glancing at Shigure behind him, Byakuya headed to the habitat of the salamander, preparing to deal with Hanzo's summoning beast, a giant salamander.
During his stay in Amegakure, he had been searching for the salamander's whereabouts.
These actions utilized Shiro's disguise to deceive Hanzo and create an opportunity to separate Hanzo from the salamander.
After all, half of Hanzo's strength came from his summoning beast, the salamander. Without the salamander's terrifying poison gas, which could destroy entire ninja armies, Hanzo would not be considered on par with the Five Kage.
A few minutes later, Byakuya arrived at a dark, damp cave.
Inside the cave was a massive pond bubbling with gas. The salamander rested inside, ready to respond to Hanzo's summons at any moment.
Outside the cave, five or six ninjas wearing gas masks stood guard.
The moment Shigure saw the cave, he understood what Byakuya intended to do. But the salamander was not an easy beast to deal with.
Without wearing a gas mask or taking antidote medicine in advance, inhaling the poison gas would render anyone powerless. Only Hanzo had the antidote for the salamander's poison.
In the next moment, Byakuya acted directly.
He threw a stone wrapped with numerous explosive tags into the pond, causing a violent explosion that sent water splashing over ten meters high.
Under the dual impact of the poison gas and the blast, the ninja guards turned purple and lost their combat ability.
The furious salamander emerged from the pond, locked onto Byakuya, and lunged at him.
Seeing this, Shigure swallowed nervously and began to pray about Byakuya's safety, but then he wondered silently which side he hoped would win. It seemed he didn't have an answer to that question.
Facing the salamander's attack, Byakuya, who had long been prepared, dodged to the side, avoiding the attack. He then flew into the sky, drawing several black rods he had prepared in advance, and threw them.
With a few sharp sounds, the black rods pierced the salamander's body, significantly slowing it down.
The salamander glanced at Byakuya in the air, thinking of using summoning jutsu to escape.
However, the black rods restricted its chakra flow, preventing it from performing any jutsu. It could only watch as Byakuya descended from the sky and landed on its head.
Next, eight adamantine chains emerged from Byakuya's back, binding the salamander like seafood at a market.
Patting the salamander's smooth head, Byakuya fed several Wood Release seeds into the salamander's mouth through a gap, then released the adamantine chains.
Just as the freed salamander was about to resist, it felt a sharp pain inside its body, rendering it immobile.
Those Wood Release Seeds began to absorb the chakra inside the salamander, quickly growing.
Glancing at the struggling salamander and then at Shigure not far away, Byakuya stroked his chin and remarked with some sentiment.
"Hanzo's summoning beast is easier to deal with than I imagined."
Hearing this, Shigure's mouth twitched slightly.
The salamander was no ordinary summoning beast. In terms of strength, it can rival an elite Jonin. It was only because your power is so overwhelming that it seems weak.
And those strange black rods in your hands and the chains emerging from your back, what exactly are they? Could they be some kind of secret technique or Kekkei Genkai?
After a moment, Shigure looked at Byakuya with a complicated expression. "Lord Byakuya, if you're so powerful, why didn't you reveal your strength earlier? If you had, Lord Hanzo might not have..."
Byakuya smiled and then said, "Why should I reveal my strength? War and peace were Hanzo's choices. Unfortunately, he chose war. And since my dear "sensei" wants war, Yahiko and I will give him the war he desires.
As the leader of Amegakure, he's not doing much. It would be better for him to hand over the reins to us. According to "Hanzo-sensei's" own words, this should be considered a test. As long as we in the Akatsuki pass this test, we can become the rulers of Amegakure. However, the price of failure is death."
Byakuya's words left Shigure deeply moved, but why are you so adept at calling Hanzo 'sensei'? You were only master and disciple for less than half a day, and you're supposed to be enemies!
Seemingly understanding Shigure's thoughts, Byakuya's expression turned serious, and he said, "Shigure-senpai, don't question my relationship with "Hanzo-sensei" in your heart. After all, I do respect him greatly."