"During the last war, Hanzo of the Salamander was a man of immense character and vision. He had a great reputation and loved to mentor the younger generation. Technically, Konoha's Sannin owe their title to him," Sasori explained.
"True," Diarmuid nodded. This aligned with what he knew.
"But after losing that war, he changed. He became paranoid. He used to be so confident; now, I hear he has a rotating guard of a dozen elites protecting him 24 hours a day. He's become afraid of death," Sasori laughed.
"It sounds like his conviction as the 'Demigod' has crumbled," Diarmuid noted.
How strong was Hanzo? He could be viewed in two phases. In the first, fueled by ambition, he was truly terrifying. He led a small nation like the Land of Rain to the point where the Five Great Nations had to acknowledge him. During the Second War, he fought Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and a host of Konoha ninja simultaneously and walked away without a scratch. That was crushing power.
Records showed his only defeat was against Nagato, a defeat that resulted in his death. Before that, he had faced the Great Villages countless times and never lost once. The name "Demigod" was well-earned.
But the defeat of the Land of Rain broke him. He went from extreme confidence to extreme paranoia. His magnanimity vanished. He once spared Mifune, the General of the Land of Iron, out of respect for his resolve; he once spared the Sannin. But later, he would conspire with Danzo to ambush Akatsuki simply because he feared they might threaten his political power.
This transformation marked the fall of the Demigod. The man who held up the sky of the Land of Rain died when the country lost the war. The one who remained was just a man named Hanzo, a "remnant of the old era" who had lost his way.
Sasori continued to describe the current state of affairs. The Akatsuki organization he despised was growing rapidly in the war-torn country. Meanwhile, Hanzo was growing increasingly suspicious of them.
"At this rate, Hanzo will definitely move against Akatsuki. In his current state, he won't tolerate anyone threatening his authority," Sasori said.
"And based on what you're saying, Akatsuki is reaching a point where they have to act?" Diarmuid asked.
"Pretty much. As they grow, their needs increase. They want to be 'Peace Envoys' representing the Land of Rain to the Great Nations. But to do that, they have to consolidate power within their own borders first. If they can't even represent their own country, how can they negotiate with the world? This puts them on a collision course with Hanzo. If it were the Hanzo of the old days, he might have partnered with them. But now? Just wait. Once the war between Iwagakure and Konoha settles, the civil war in the Land of Rain will explode," Sasori analyzed.
Diarmuid knew this was exactly what would happen, but he looked at Sasori with genuine surprise. He had discovered a new talent in his comrade. This guy really was the "scion of high-ranking officials," his strategic vision was spot on! If they were back in the Marines, Diarmuid would have assigned him to the Intelligence Division immediately.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Sasori frowned.
"Hahahaha! I've discovered another talent of yours. In the future, you can help me analyze the global situation. Not bad at all," Diarmuid laughed.
He then asked, "So, who do you think will win?"
"Why are you asking? Are you interested in the Land of Rain?"
"I wouldn't say no. It's a crossroads for the three major nations. It's war-torn, yes, but that highlights its strategic advantage—you can get anywhere easily. The Land of Birds is peaceful, but... well, you can't build an empire in a backwater. If you want to make waves, you can't stay in a comfortable environment, or the environment will soften your 'heart,'" Diarmuid said.
"Perhaps," Sasori mused. He had chosen the Land of Birds precisely for the peace, hoping to avoid the chaos. He hadn't planned on doing anything big. But seeing Diarmuid's stance, it was clear things were going to get busy. Since Diarmuid was the leader, Sasori didn't press further.
After a moment of silence, Sasori said, "I suspect Hanzo will win."
Diarmuid raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"It's obvious. I don't see how Akatsuki can win. Who is their leader? Yahiko? No one has heard of him. He just talks people into things. Hanzo, on the other hand, might be a shell of his former self, but he's still the Demigod. His spirit might be gone, but his power remains. He might not have the heart to fight Great Nations anymore, but crushing a local upstart shouldn't be a problem."
As he finished, Diarmuid patted his shoulder. "Young man, you're still green. You don't understand that the most powerful thing in the shinobi world is a persuasive mouth..."
Sasori: ???
"What are you planning?" Sasori asked, growing impatient.
"Both Hanzo and Akatsuki are in the way. I was thinking... what if we wait for them to start their civil war, then swoop in and wipe them both out? We could take the Land of Rain as our base. What do you think?"
Sasori was stunned. "There are only four of us. Why do we need a base? This current base is already too big, and Orochimaru won't even be here permanently."
"It's four now, but that might change. Besides, anything we do needs resources. We can't take over a Great Nation, but the Land of Rain has many benefits. For example, if you want rare materials, how do you get them now? You pay high prices on the black market, right?"
"Yes. So?"
"But if we control a country, we can use its labor and logistics to find those materials at the source. Isn't that more efficient than working alone?" Diarmuid smiled.
"You... actually have a point," Sasori admitted, thinking it over.
However, he looked at Diarmuid with suspicion. While the logic was sound, he felt this guy had another motive.
"What are you looking at?" Diarmuid barked.
"You definitely have another angle..." Sasori started, but then shook his head. "Whatever. It doesn't matter."
Sasori turned and went inside to begin "packing his bags." Diarmuid stood at the doorway, rubbing his chin and smiling.
Sasori was indeed sharp. Diarmuid did have another plan: he wanted the Rinnegan. Or rather, he wanted to study Madara's eyes to see if he could crack their secrets.
At this stage, Madara was near death, kept alive only by the Gedo Mazo. Soon, after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge and the conspiracy in the Land of Water, Madara would entrust everything to a boy named Obito. Then, he would pass away. After that, Obito would go to the Land of Rain to find Nagato. In Madara's plan, Obito was supposed to cooperate with Akatsuki, but because of Yahiko and Konan, it would initially fail. Then Danzo would provide the "assist" by helping Hanzo kill Yahiko. Nagato would darken, and stage one of the plan would be complete.
But now, Diarmuid planned to crash that party. When Hanzo invites Yahiko to that meeting, Diarmuid will be there to wipe out Akatsuki and Hanzo together. Then he'd take the country, the Rinnegan, and a whole lot of power.
As for Madara's "Eye of the Moon Plan"...
Who cares? It had nothing to do with him.
Thinking it over, the plan was actually quite exciting. He wondered how Black Zetsu would react. Maybe the shadow would try to play a game of wits with him?
While Diarmuid was lost in thought, Orochimaru, who hadn't traveled far, saw a small bird flying toward him. He frowned. "Did I forget something?"
He recognized it as a messenger summon, likely one of Kakuzu's.
Sure enough, the bird landed on a branch and spat out a scroll. Orochimaru caught it and opened it. He froze.
I've been gone for less than half a day. How did you guys already decide to assassinate the Daimyo of Earth?
And what is this 'Yorozuya' thing?
Why did you wait until I left to decide this? Are you treating me like an outsider?
Actually, I thought 'Azure Dragon Study Group' sounded pretty good. It had a nice scientific ring to it! If I had been there to vote, I definitely would have backed Diarmuid!
Orochimaru had a thousand complaints but didn't know where to start. Finally, he calmed down, wrote four large characters on the scroll—"DON'T MIND ME"—and tossed it back. The bird swallowed the scroll and flew off.
Orochimaru looked at the path ahead and felt a strange premonition. This felt like a point of no return.