In the end, Hayashi still signed the summoning contract with the giant lizard.
As an added condition, the massive summon reluctantly allowed Asuma to sign the contract as well.
With Asuma's current chakra reserves, summoning a creature of that size was impossible anyway.
Fortunately, the giant lizard was not the only member of its species. It belonged to an entire clan living on an island known as Dragonstone Island.
The snakes resided within Ryūchi Cave, while the lizards, often called four-legged snakes, inhabited Dragonstone Island instead.
The arrangement strangely made sense.
Though Hayashi could not help wondering if there was also a place called King's Landing somewhere nearby.
While Team One continued their mission, Danzo had already departed for the Land of Rain alongside his Root operatives.
His visit to the Daimyō's residence had merely been a detour.
The true purpose of this mission was to meet Hanzō in Amegakure.
After the Third Great Ninja War ended, Konoha had agreed to remove the cursed seal placed on Hanzō.
The Third Hokage originally intended to send Hayashi for the task, but Danzo volunteered before anyone else could speak.
Hiruzen did not suspect anything unusual and immediately approved the request.
Recently, Danzo had been in a terrible mood.
His achievements during the war were underwhelming compared to the other commanders. His greatest accomplishment had been stabilizing the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water, but even that seemed insignificant beside the accomplishments of others.
Especially Minato Namikaze.
That man's sudden rise had completely overshadowed everyone on the battlefield.
His terrifying speed and efficiency earned him the title of Yellow Flash throughout the shinobi world.
Just hearing Minato's name irritated Danzo.
If Minato had only relied on himself, Danzo could still accept it. No matter how talented someone was, chakra reserves remained limited.
Even with the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato should not have been able to maintain such absurd combat efficiency.
But then Uzumaki Kana entered the picture.
That woman completely changed everything.
Kana possessed a unique constitution that allowed others to recover chakra and heal injuries simply by biting her.
As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, her chakra reserves were already monstrous to begin with. Combined with the Strength of a Hundred Seal she inherited from Tsunade, her stored chakra was terrifyingly vast.
Minato would exhaust himself on the battlefield using Flying Thunder God, then instantly return to Kana.
A single bite later, his chakra and stamina would recover almost completely.
Then he would head straight back to the battlefield and continue slaughtering enemy shinobi.
It was utterly unreasonable.
Even Kumogakure had nearly lost their minds dealing with the pair.
Danzo himself felt disgusted every time he thought about it.
A shinobi battle was supposed to involve strategy, talent, and skill.
Instead, Minato had essentially attached himself to an endless chakra supply.
Where was the fairness in that?
Where was the balance?
Danzo had to admit that Kana's abilities were extraordinary.
Unfortunately, she was Tsunade's disciple, making her impossible for him to manipulate openly.
What irritated him even more was the fact that only Minato seemed willing to use her healing ability that way.
The entire thing felt like deliberate torture toward unmarried people.
Even Jiraiya had reportedly stopped visiting his disciple as often because the situation was too painful to watch.
Still, not everything had gone poorly for Danzo recently.
A spy he had secretly planted within the Akatsuki organization delivered extremely important information.
The Rinnegan had appeared within the Akatsuki.
The moment Danzo learned this, he could no longer remain seated.
The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths had always been treated as myth.
Yet now they had appeared in reality.
To Danzo, such power belonged only in the hands of those capable of using it properly.
And naturally, he considered himself that person.
The Akatsuki organization had originally been a tool to scheme against Jiraiya later on, but none of that mattered anymore.
The Rinnegan came first.
Danzo still possessed a Mangekyō Sharingan, but its side effects were severe.
If the Rinnegan's abilities truly matched the legends, he would gladly transplant those eyes into himself.
And if both eyes proved useful...
Then why choose only one?
Only children made choices.
Danzo wanted everything.
Who said a shinobi could only possess two eyes?
If necessary, he would implant multiple dōjutsu throughout his body without hesitation.
In some ways, Danzo truly was ruthless.
If changing his own body could grant him greater power, he would do it without the slightest hesitation.
"Danzo-sama, the Amegakure shinobi sent to receive us are waiting ahead."
A Root scout appeared beside him and reported quietly.
After entering the Land of Rain, Amegakure's patrols had finally made contact with them.
Danzo narrowed his exposed eye slightly as he observed the approaching shinobi.
Then he gave a small nod.
The seven-man squad continued forward.
Officially, Danzo had only brought six subordinates with him this time.
Three were sealing specialists responsible for removing Hanzō's cursed seal.
Hayashi's sealing techniques were too complex for a single shinobi to undo safely, requiring multiple experts to work simultaneously.
The remaining three served as guards, including one sensory-type shinobi.
Anyone trusted to accompany Danzo personally was unquestionably elite jōnin-level and absolutely loyal.
Otherwise, Danzo would never have brought them.
In reality, dozens of additional Root operatives were already hidden throughout the Land of Rain.
The moment the operation began, they would move simultaneously.
The squad advanced rapidly through the endless rain.
Everyone remained cautious.
This was Amegakure, after all.
And Hanzō the Salamander still ruled here.
The Amegakure shinobi leading them did not attempt any tricks. He simply escorted the group through the normal route toward the village.
Taking detours would have been meaningless anyway.
Danzo's intelligence network had thoroughly infiltrated the Land of Rain long ago.
As they entered the village, Danzo quietly observed the surroundings.
This was his second visit to Amegakure.
The first had occurred during the Third Great Ninja War, when he came to renegotiate terms with Hanzō.
Compared to before, the village looked even more miserable now.
The giant pipes covering the buildings had rusted heavily, and the streets appeared worn and lifeless.
Clearly, Hanzō's situation had not improved after the war.
Back then, Hanzō's surrender to Konoha had effectively betrayed the other nations supporting him.
Now those same nations demanded repayment.
Sunagakure, in particular, pressured the Land of Rain aggressively.
After Rasa became Kazekage, he not only established agreements with Iwagakure but also turned his attention toward squeezing resources from Amegakure.
Unable to stabilize Sunagakure's economy through mining alone, Rasa began targeting neighboring regions instead.
As a result, Hanzō had been forced into isolationist policies simply to survive the mounting political pressure.
At the village entrance, the escort completed a brief handover.
Danzo and his group entered Amegakure without obstruction.
Soon afterward, they arrived before the tallest tower in the village.
At the very top of the structure, Hanzō was already waiting impatiently for Danzo's arrival.
===
Get access to the entire catalog on Patreon, where all chapters are conveniently organized into collections.
If you prefer not to pay for a monthly membership, this is a more affordable option that gives you access to the content you want.
(Buying the collection gives you access to all chapters in it.)
Search for "_Zeph" on P@treon to get started.