The Amegakure ninja fell into silence just as he expected. They were not ignorant of Amegakure's situation, and the Land of Rain could no longer provide the supplies needed to resist like they had during the Second Shinobi World War.
The foundations and power of the great nations were not something the Land of Rain could compare to. Even so, they still hoped Hanzo would act as he once did and strike boldly, making Konoha understand that Amegakure was not weak, and that Hanzo's authority was not something a teenager could challenge.
Even if that choice meant sacrificing their lives, they were willing to follow Hanzo. But now, Hanzo had compromised.
Were they disappointed? Perhaps, but this was the best option left for Amegakure.
Did they understand? Perhaps, yet depending on a great nation bound by deep blood hatred was something their hearts could not easily accept.
Shame, anger, resentment, confusion, and helplessness filled them. The breath they had held onto seemed to leak away, and the hands gripping their weapons grew weak.
Seeing this, Kakashi Hatake felt a sense of relief. He understood that Hanzo had truly changed, and this negotiation would likely succeed.
Just as he was about to speak.
pata.
A drop of red liquid fell from the top of the tower, striking the ground and splashing outward. The sound broke the suffocating stillness.
pata… pata…
Standing beside Hanzo, Shenda instinctively looked up, only for a few drops to land at the corner of his dry lips. The familiar metallic stench made his eyes widen.
kacha!
The sound rang out abruptly, sharp and piercing in the emptiness. The glass dome at the top of the High Tower shattered, and fragments rained down toward the crowd below.
It was as if a massive hand had ripped away a curtain, and howling wind poured in from above. In the next moment, a dark shape fell at high speed, landing squarely between Kakashi Hatake and Hanzo.
With a heavy thud, both the Konoha group and the Amegakure ninja stepped back. Fresh blood burst outward, splattering across their faces in dark red streaks.
They stared in shock at the ground. The body that had fallen from above was twisted beyond recognition.
It was a corpse warped from head to toe, the neck twisted several times with only skin holding head and body together. The face was frozen in visible terror, and blood flowed across the empty ground.
There were no clear wounds on the body, only distortions that looked as if they had been torn apart by brute force. It was like a towel wrung dry, bones and flesh twisted and burst outward, pale bone piercing through skin in a display of raw cruelty and pain.
"It was you…"
Hanzo narrowed his eyes at Kakashi Hatake, only to see the same suspicion reflected back at him.
"Not him."
"Someone interfered."
Reading the realization in each other's eyes, they looked up almost at the same time.
Before the shattered glass dome, a figure stood suspended in midair. Dim moonlight spread outward from him, clearly illuminating the fearful and chaotic faces below and laying bare the filth within the entire High Tower.
"What a disappointment."
"The once-proud Hanzo has had his spine broken and turned into an old dog."
He looked down at them, his mocking voice announcing his presence from above.
"Good evening."
A gentle voice with a smile drifted down from above. "If you do not mind, you may call me 'Shadow.'"
Black darkness spread like a spider web, sticking to the surrounding walls and slicing the sky above into broken pieces. Yunchuan Hyuga stood at the center of the web, looking down at everyone below from a high vantage point.
Several other figures were bound beside him, struggling like insects caught in a web, only to be wrapped tighter by threadlike shadows into silent cocoons. It was hard to deny that the Nara Clan shadow techniques, combined with the effects of Vajra Sealing Sealing Technique Chakra, were a perfect match for Yunchuan Hyuga when he possessed the Shadow Cloak.
His Shadow Cloak was essentially a solid form of shadow itself, far beyond ordinary shadows or chains in both power and flexibility. The fear brought by this strange ability was clear from the frightened expressions of the people below.
However, seeing the twisted and unfamiliar corpse, Hanzo laughed in anger instead. He glanced up at Yunchuan Hyuga, then turned his gaze toward Kakashi Hatake and spoke in a cold voice, "How lively today is. Any nobody dares to come to my territory and play tricks."
Hearing this, Kakashi Hatake, who had been watching the sky with a tense expression, instinctively pulled his gaze back and looked toward Hanzo to explain. Before he could speak, the figure in front of him vanished.
Above them, reflected in Yunchuan Hyuga's pupils, a figure rapidly closed the distance. Hanzo, gripping the Kusarigama with both hands, charged straight at Yunchuan Hyuga, his pale platinum hair lifting in the wind as sharp cold intent filled his eyes.
"Die!"
As the word fell, the Kusarigama slashed out, tearing through the air with a piercing scream. The strike was ruthless and decisive, so fast the blade itself could not be seen, only its edge catching thin moonlight.
Though the blade shone bright and keen, a foul stench of blood clung to it, proof of how much blood it had already taken. In the next instant, under Hanzo's light gold gaze, the black-clad figure did not move, yet a sharp shadow lashed out from behind him like a blade.
Clang!!
The shadow collided with the blade and rang out like metal striking metal. A burst of bright sparks bloomed between them, lighting up Hanzo's briefly shrinking pupils.
It lasted only an instant before his eyes hardened again. He yanked the chain connected to the sickle, pulling it back at even greater speed, spinning in midair as he hurled it out once more.
"Heh."
A soft chuckle sounded as several black shadow tentacles extended again, turning into blades as they whipped forward and left behind layers of dark afterimages. The air hummed as they cut through it, like the shrill cries of insects.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks sprayed down like rain as the blades collided, their flashing edges surging back and forth and carving savage marks into the surroundings. In just a few seconds, dozens of impacts rang out in rapid succession.
Pshhk!!
At that moment, a spray of blood splattered onto the ground, and the interwoven blade light abruptly halted. Hanzo's figure pulled back and dropped to the ground.
"Lord Hanzo…"
Shenda started to speak, then froze in place. A thin line of blood had appeared at Hanzo's brow, slowly tearing open to reveal fresh flesh beneath.
"That bastard…"
Feeling the numbness in his arms and hands, Hanzo forced his trembling to stop. He lifted his head with a heavy expression, and Kakashi Hatake, who had seen everything, also changed expression and looked upward.
It was not the Nara Clan shadow technique. It felt more like a Kekkei Genkai.
Who was this?
"You are old, Hanzo."
Yunchuan Hyuga's voice sounded dull and bored to the others. "After all, you are only human, just like the weapon you use, the thing called a 'Kusarigama.'"
"No matter how sharp it once was in your hands, it does not change the fact that it is only a farm tool."
Hanzo's face darkened slightly. At his side, Shenda snapped out of his shock, raised his head in anger, and shouted, "Bastard, you…"
Pshhk.