Chapter 127: Hanzo of the Salamander in Evolution
"Water Release: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade!"
In the deep mountains of the Land of Rain, in a large mountain lake, Hanzo of the Salamander's right hand was covered in a high-speed vortex of water, like a giant drill, which he slammed into the surface.
The massive explosion sent a geyser of water into the air, which then transformed into a waterspout, sending countless fish and shrimp flying.
After a long moment, the water's surface calmed. Hanzo nodded in satisfaction.
"The Second Hokage's Water Release is truly remarkable. Now, let's try this one."
"Water Release: Heavenly Weeping."
Countless water needles shot from his mouth, like a curtain of rain, and flew towards the distant forest. The trees were shredded, torn apart as if by a machine gun.
With his control, the special poison gas from his own body mixed with the water needles, and the needles that shot from his mouth gradually turned from colorless to purple, sizzling and corroding the trees upon impact.
In the latter half of the Second Great Ninja War, Hanzo had single-handedly defeated the three disciples of the Third Hokage and had bestowed upon them their titles before capturing them. He had then specifically requested from the Third Raikage to handle the three prisoners himself. Since he had been the one to capture them, the Raikage had agreed.
After the war, he had contacted Konoha. Hiruzen was still the Hokage at the time. Hanzo had offered his terms for their release.
The Second Hokage's Water Release secret jutsu and his training notes.
Before Hanzo had become famous, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had already made a name for himself as the so-called "Strongest Water Release User," having developed a large number of water-style ninjutsu. Hanzo was also a master of Water Release and had always admired him. He knew that, setting aside his own strength and the power of his jutsu, his own skills in ninjutsu development were not very high.
So he had made his request to Hiruzen.
Of course, at first, he had wanted all of the Second's secret jutsu and training notes, and he had no idea what kind of terrifying things were contained within.
Hiruzen, of course, had refused. They had haggled for a long time, and in the end, he had only agreed to provide a portion of the water-style secret jutsu and training notes. The secret jutsu could not be faked, but the training notes were surely watered down, and even contained some falsehoods. Fortunately, Hanzo's own talent for Water Release was immense, so it didn't affect him much.
Since no one knew how many Water Release secret jutsu the Second had actually left behind, the portion he had received was likely only a fraction. But even that fraction was enough to make him feel it had been worth it, and he had agreed to release the three of them.
After finishing his training, Hanzo took the clothes his subordinate had prepared and put them on over his wet body.
"My lord," his subordinate said with genuine admiration, "your ninjutsu is growing more and more powerful. The village will surely prosper under your leadership."
"It's not enough," Hanzo said, shaking his head. "An individual's strength has its limits. The village's strength is the only true strength."
While the Hidden Cloud was undergoing a period of rapid development, the other victor of the Second Great Ninja War, the Hidden Rain, was not idle.
After receiving the title of "Kage" and becoming the first Amekage, Hanzo had returned to his village and had begun to rule with diligence and ambition. He had first met with the Daimyo of the Land of Rain to make his title more "legitimate," and then had thrown himself into the work of building his village.
With his new fame, the range of missions commissioned from the village had gradually expanded from the Land of Rain to the surrounding countries of Rivers and Birds. These missions had previously been divided among the great nations, but now the Hidden Rain, as a victor, was extending its influence, and the great villages had, for now, turned a blind eye.
With more missions came the need for more ninja, and with more ninja came more income, which could be used to train more young ninja. It was a virtuous cycle, but it would take time.
Another small village might have been content to develop slowly.
But he was Hanzo of the Salamander, the first Amekage.
And he had a big brother.
He immediately wrote a letter to his "big brother," the Third Raikage, stating that the Hidden Rain needed to develop rapidly. He had a plan. He just needed some startup capital.
The Third Raikage, at the time, had calculated that his "little brother's" current development speed was a bit slow, and that the Hidden Rain would be of great use in the future. And since the Cloud had been flush with cash in recent years, with a wave of his hand, he had given the Hidden Rain a grant, to be repaid over twenty years.
With the aid from the Cloud and the war reparations that were gradually coming in, Hanzo finally had the resources he needed.
First, he expanded the village. The original few dozen buildings were no longer sufficient. He expanded it by a large margin, to provide enough space for development and to inspire more confidence in their clients. He also established various functional departments, modeled after the great villages. Even if they had no personnel, the titles had to be there first.
Then, he focused on the Ninja Academy. With the foundation that the Cloud had helped him build a few years ago, he now began to recruit a large number of new students. The Land of Rain, due to the recent war, had a large number of orphans, so finding students was not difficult.
The first batch of students from the Ninja Academy had already graduated and had become the new blood of the village. Among them were a few promising talents. Hanzo had even taken on three young disciples himself.
Unlike in the original timeline, not only had he not lost his beliefs, but he had become even more determined. He had great hopes for the future of his village, and the resolve to see it through.
The current Hidden Rain was a world away from the one in the original timeline, but it was still a long way from the five great villages.
Hanzo returned to the Amekage's office. From there, he could see the Ninja Academy in the distance. In the training grounds, a large number of students were practicing their ninjutsu under the direction of their teachers. The two teachers in the lead were the same excellent instructors the Cloud had sent years ago.
It had been four, almost five years. In all that time, the two Cloud ninja had been diligent and hardworking, teaching batch after batch of students, producing class after class of outstanding ninja. Hanzo had come to think of them as half-Rain ninja themselves.
After all, how many five years does a person have? In a foreign land, alone, and in such a noble profession. Hanzo was moved. He had secretly decided that when the two of them finally left, he would give them a reward commensurate with their contribution to the village.
But the Cloud had never mentioned anything about recalling them. Surely they hadn't forgotten?
The Hidden Rain was still a long way from being a great village. The clients from the other countries were still taking a wait-and-see approach. He felt that the village needed to find a way to expand its influence, to raise its reputation to the level of the five great villages.
It was a time of peace. Using physical conflict to make a name for themselves was not an option.
An idea sparked in his mind. After a moment of thought, in his capacity as the first Amekage, he wrote several letters.