The words at his lips were swallowed back with his breath. Reflected in Shenda's shaking eyes, a slender black shadow like a spear had stabbed deep into the ground at his feet, shattering stone and spraying pale dust.
A thin line of blood also appeared on his forehead, blood seeping out and slowly wetting his face. The speed of that strike was so fast that among everyone present, only Kakashi Hatake and Hanzo saw it clearly.
"Shh. The adults are talking. Children should not interrupt."
Yunchuan Hyuga's voice carried a gentle smile, but Shenda could not feel any warmth, only fear. The sharpened shadow tentacle withdrew from the ground beneath his feet.
"Who are you?"
By now, Hanzo had realized that this man did not seem to harbor deep hostility. From the moment he appeared, everything he did seemed more about displaying power.
Why?
"I am curious."
Yunchuan Hyuga did not answer Hanzo's question. Instead, he looked at Kakashi Hatake and the people of Konoha and said with a smile, "You stand in Land of Rain, on land trampled by great nations and watered with blood, on land that cries in silence under humiliation."
"And even now, you ask them whether they will stretch out their necks like pigs to be slaughtered, or smash their knees and kneel like dogs with tongues out."
"When you say such things, what do you feel?"
As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere he had broken turned heavy and tense. The Amegakure Ninja looked toward the people of Konoha almost instinctively, and feeling those hateful gazes, Kakashi Hatake's heart skipped.
This sudden intruder was stirring up Amegakure Ninja's hatred toward the great nations. Was he trying to block the alliance?
Who exactly was he, and what was this strange ability?
Kakashi Hatake stared fixedly at the figure above, wrapped head to toe in a black robe formed of shadows, his face hidden deep within. At that moment, Kakashi Hatake suddenly noticed that Yunchuan Hyuga's breathing had become rapid and heavy.
He looked back up and saw a vacant expression. "He…" Yunchuan Hyuga said hoarsely, "I cannot see his face. This feeling is just like that monster."
Monster? Which monster?
Kakashi Hatake froze for a moment, then quickly understood. He thought of the intelligence about the "monster" who had instantly killed Magnet Release user Troy and nearly a hundred Kumogakure Ninja.
Could it be that monster?
No, something was different. The abilities and the temperament did not match.
"Enough."
Hanzo spoke in a low voice, cutting through the heavy mood. He looked up at Yunchuan Hyuga again and asked, "Tell me. What do you really want?"
"I am here to make a deal with you."
Since he had already reignited Amegakure Ninja's hatred toward Konoha, Yunchuan Hyuga no longer avoided the question. He drew the cocooned figures closer and smiled. "But Land of Rain is full of holes. I found so many rats on my way here."
"Consider these people a small gift for our first meeting."
As he spoke, Yunchuan Hyuga raised his hand slightly and closed it. The shadows wrapping those people tightened instantly.
Pshhk! Pshhk! Pshhk!
pata! Pa pa!
Inside the High Tower, which had been quiet and dry, a loud sound like rain suddenly filled the air. It was not rain at all, but an enormous amount of blood forced out of bodies, pouring down from above as if a gate had been opened. The warm splash of blood covering them made everyone feel cold instead.
Very quickly, as Yunchuan Hyuga released the shadow restraints, the web above seemed to turn into a high powered grinder. Chunks of flesh mixed with blood smashed down onto the floor, the walls, and near the feet of the Amegakure and Konoha shinobi below. Such brutality shocked even veterans who had seen many battlefields.
"..."
Hanzo raised his head to look at the black figure above and spoke in a low voice. "You say these people were all rats who sneaked into the Land of Rain?"
What the other party was doing now was clearly meant to tell him that the Land of Rain had already become a target, watched by the great nations. More and more spies had slipped into the Land of Rain, all aiming at Amegakure and at him, the so called legend. This was far more frightening to Hanzo than the empty words spoken by those from Konoha.
"There is more than just this," Yunchuan Hyuga said, his gaze sweeping with a faint smile across the people of Amegakure behind Hanzo. As if sensing something, a few faces in the crowd subtly changed.
"What exactly do you mean by this so called deal?" Hanzo asked, failing to catch the deeper meaning.
"What Konoha can give you, we can also give. What Konoha cannot give you, we can still provide," Yunchuan Hyuga said as he looked down at them with a smile. "I only want to see the Hanzo and Amegakure that once dared to resist the hegemony of the Five Great Nations for peace and dignity."
Using points to exchange for food was extremely cheap, more than enough to meet the needs of Amegakure. Of course, Yunchuan Hyuga was not acting out of kindness, as he only needed the Ninja World to become more chaotic and for the Land of Rain to once again turn into the center of conflict between great powers.
Before Orochimaru found the Time Space Cave, he needed to prepare everything required to build the Void Realm, including large numbers of resentful dead souls and methods to absorb and control them.
Yunchuan Hyuga did not want the "Void" he created to turn around and help others attack him. That was why he needed to cultivate one or two test subjects in advance, and he already had candidates in mind for both the method and the subjects. The Six Paths Ninja Tools known as the Box of Ultimate Bliss from the original Blood Prison story could absorb human obsession and emotions, and modifying it should not be a problem.
"As for the test subjects," Yunchuan Hyuga thought, "if I remember correctly, Sakumo Hatake and Rin Nohara failed to enter the Pure Land because of their obsessions and have remained between the Ninja World and the Pure Land."
If Sakumo Hatake and Rin Nohara were turned into "Void," what kind of expressions would Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha make? Just imagining it felt rather interesting. At this moment, Kakashi Hatake had no idea that the person above had already set his sights on his deceased father and friend.
"Tch."
Including Kakashi Hatake, everyone froze for a moment when Yunchuan Hyuga claimed he could give everything that Konoha could. Then, as if hearing a joke, someone actually laughed in the middle of this oppressive and bloody scene. His words were simply too arrogant, because some things could not be bought no matter how much one paid.
Only Kakashi Hatake sharply noticed the word "we" in the other party's speech, and his heart tightened. Clearly, the opponent was not acting alone, but belonged to an organization or force. That "monster" was likely just one of its members.
"Hanzo-sama."
With this thought, Kakashi Hatake looked at Hanzo and warned him in a low voice. "You must think carefully about whether to trust this unknown person, or to trust Konoha and the Land of Fire."