War always leaves some scars behind.
Years ago, when Konoha, The Hidden Rock Village, and The Hidden Sand Village used the Land of Rain as their battlefield, countless innocent lives were lost. Nagato's parents were among those who died at the hands of Konoha Ninja.
Even after so many years, despite Jiraiya's teachings, Nagato still couldn't forget the hatred for his parents' death, not to mention Hattori Heikawa, an ordinary Hidden Rain Jonin.
"If Lord Hanzo wanted to eliminate the Akatsuki, I would lay down my life for his orders; but he chose to ally with the Konoha Ninja!"
Hattori Heikawa clenched his fist with resentment, continuing in a deep voice, "When Lord Hanzo and Shimura Danzo from Konoha teamed up to destroy the Akatsuki, I left the village and refused to follow them because I couldn't accept cooperating with the Konoha Ninja!"
"It's lucky you didn't go at that time..."
Uehara Naraku sighed slowly.
If Hattori Heikawa had participated in the eradication of the First Generation Akatsuki, he too would probably have faced the wrathful fate of being slaughtered by Nagato, right?
"But still..."
Uehara Naraku suddenly looked at the enraged Hattori Heikawa and whispered, "You've said so much, do you have any evidence?"
"Of course, I do."
Hattori Heikawa nodded, continuing in a deep voice, "Kandachi of the Salamander, who claims to be Lord Hanzo's right hand, that bastard will arrive at the Eastern Canyon tomorrow. He'll meet with the Konoha Ninja there. I was originally going to lead you there to eliminate them..."
"Interesting..."
Uehara Naraku curled the corner of his mouth, patting Hattori Heikawa's shoulder, "Let's hope what you say is true! If there's any conspiracy... it won't matter much."
"Tomorrow I will go to meet them."
Hattori Heikawa shook his head and said solemnly, "This matter isn't a special secret, but only the Jonin squads know about it, because Lord Hanzo asked us to ensure the safety of Kandachi of the Salamander and the Konoha Ninja's meeting."
"Hmm..."
Uehara Naraku nodded, whispering, "Then after this is over, give me that set of Make-Out Paradise."
"...I got it!"
Hattori Heikawa immediately revealed a lewd smile.
Uehara Naraku couldn't help but twitch his lips, what the hell do you understand!
After Konan learned of the news from Uehara Naraku, even though she was still somewhat conflicted, she reluctantly agreed to spare Hattori Heikawa on her disciple's persuasion, as he was the first Hidden Rain Ninja willing to cooperate with them.
No matter if what Hattori Heikawa said was true or false, there was room to maneuver.
If what Hattori Heikawa said was true, Konan and Nagato would be quite interested in taking out Shimura Danzo and Hanzo of the Salamander in one fell swoop;
If what Hattori Heikawa said was false, even if he hid some conspiracy, it wouldn't matter against absolute power.
Konan and Uehara Naraku finalized the plan.
Since Hattori Heikawa's subordinates had all died in battle, they would pretend to be his subordinates and attend the meeting.
The only problem is...
Konan glanced at her squad members, furrowing her brow, "Naraku, how do you think we should proceed?"
Can this group of young ones impersonate adult ninja?
Uehara Naraku, twelve years old, height 165cm.
Haku, eleven years old, height 150cm.
Kaguya Kimimaro, ten years old, height 155cm.
After all, maintaining a Transformation Jutsu for a long time is a skilled task; Uehara Naraku's physique is fine, but what if Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku get exposed?
"Then only the teacher and I should go..."
Uehara Naraku chuckled, looking at Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku, speaking gently, "And if anything goes wrong, the teacher and I can always escape."
Eastern Canyon.
This was the meeting place for the Hidden Rain Ninja and the Konoha Ninja.
Soon, Hidden Rain Ninja began arriving here one after another, and by noon, there were more than thirty ninja gathered.
There were seven to eight Jonin alone.
Uehara Naraku and Konan wore hoods and special toxin masks made by The Hidden Rain Village, following behind Hattori Heikawa, assessing the situation on scene.
Even if they hadn't gathered press-confirming information, just killing all these loyal subordinates to Hanzo of the Salamander would be considered a successful operation.
As time drew closer, the Rain Ninja gathered grew noisy, with a few leading Jonin Captains obviously getting impatient and restless.
"Why hasn't that bastard Kandachi arrived yet?"
"That good-for-nothing will probably show up at the last possible moment!"
"Hmph, if it weren't for that bastard being a clansman of Lord Hanzo, I would have chopped him into seven or eight pieces!"
"Who asked Lord Hanzo to trust him?"
This group of Hidden Rain Jonin were mostly cursing angrily, fully ignoring that the person they were supposed to protect was a high-ranking member of The Hidden Rain Village.
Listening to those nearby who began cursing Kandachi of the Salamander's wife, Uehara Naraku couldn't help but ask, "Heikawa, isn't Kandachi of the Salamander Hanzo's right hand? Why does his reputation seem so poor in The Hidden Rain Village?"
"Poor reputation?"
A shadow crossed Hattori Heikawa's face, and he coldly stated, "They are being too polite with their curses. That scum, Kandachi, holds significant power, frequently using the 'safety of The Hidden Rain' as a pretext to kill innocent ninja and civilians within the village, framing them as spies. Almost every Jonin Captain here has had dear friends or relatives die by his hands."
"..."
Uehara Naraku blinked in confusion, wasn't this Kandachi of the Salamander essentially a 'Shimura Danzo' character for The Hidden Rain Village?
Hattori Heikawa continued bitterly, "If that bastard were actually doing it for The Hidden Rain Village, it would be one thing, but everything he does is to amass wealth for himself, to live a life of luxury..."
Turns out this guy is even worse than Shimura Danzo!
Curiously, Konan asked from the side, "Does Hanzo let his clansman damage the interests of The Hidden Rain Village so casually?"
"What else can he do?"
Hattori Heikawa shook his head, sighing softly, "Because among Lord Hanzo's clansmen, he is the most outstanding ninja, so Lord Hanzo trusts him the most."
This is quite normal too.
After all, when appointing personnel in Konoha of the Land of Fire, the Third Hokage also places his own people in the most important positions first.
It's said that the Anbu leader of Konoha is the Third Hokage's eldest son's wife, and the Hokage Assistant and Advisor are old friends Hiruzen Sarutobi grew up with...
Hanzo of the Salamander probably couldn't find anyone trustworthy and suitable enough for confidential private tasks, so he had to pick a Kandachi of the Salamander from among his relatives.
Hattori Heikawa continued with resentment, "Supposedly, this idea to ally with Konoha's Shimura Danzo is also that idiot Kandachi's proposal... Lord Hanzo is a Ninja Demigod, why does he even need to ally with those Konoha fools!"
"...uh..."
Uehara Naraku shrugged helplessly, "Maybe you've praised Hanzo of the Salamander too highly, or Hanzo knows exactly what he's doing..."
To prevent Hattori Heikawa's rage from disrupting the plan, Uehara Naraku left half unsaid, Hanzo of the Salamander, this Demigod, wasn't actually that extraordinary!
Because in this era, not many people have truly witnessed Senju Hashirama's power, everyone thinks Hanzo of the Salamander's strength is closest to Senju Hashirama's, dubbing him a Ninja Demigod.
Since few people had seen Uchiha Madara's Susanoo as well, the Raikage of those days was also known as the strongest defense and attack...
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen managed to pass himself off as the strongest Hokage.
While Uehara Naraku was lost in thought, Konan suddenly grabbed his hand, clutching his fingers, and whispered to remind him, "Uehara, they're here!"