The rain started again.
The Rain Village Ninja hid inside a stronghold.
Just as they heard footsteps outside, suddenly a voice pierced through the rain and reached the ears of these Rain Village Ninja.
This voice sounded like a child, with a hint of mischief: "Are you all hidden? If you're hidden, then we'll start looking."
"..."
While the other ninja were surprised, the Jonin Captain newly stationed by the Hidden Rain Village suddenly changed his expression.
This Jonin Captain was none other than Hattori Heikawa, who held the title of Stinger of Hidden Rain.
Recently, Hattori Heikawa was responsible for taking care of a Salamander that died at the hands of Konan, and several ninja squads were also killed by Uehara.
Because of this incident, Hattori Heikawa was considered to have made a grave mistake and was exiled to this small stronghold by Hanzo of the Salamander.
"It's the Akatsuki outside!"
Hattori Heikawa tightly gripped his Ninja Blade. When Uehara Naraku appeared here, it meant that this stronghold was already doomed.
Recently, rumors of the Akatsuki's resurgence had spread throughout the Land of Rain.
Though according to Hidden Rain Ninja's information, only a woman and a boy have appeared so far, their strength was extraordinarily powerful.
As an eyewitness, Hattori Heikawa had a more direct feeling.
The boy alone was not someone they could defeat!
Hattori Heikawa turned to his subordinates and said solemnly, "We will all scatter and escape, reconvene tonight at the canyon to the east!"
"But we'll get picked off one by one that way, right?"
One of the Rain Village Ninja spoke up, "Captain, why don't we stand our ground here? As long as we hold out for a day, Lord Hanzo's right-hand will quickly arrive, and by then we'll be able to eliminate this group!"
"Idiot!"
Hattori Heikawa cursed immediately, "If we hold our ground here, we won't last long at all, don't overthink it, retreat immediately!"
"Understood..."
The Rain Village Ninja reluctantly accepted Hattori Heikawa's order.
But just as these Genin left the stronghold, bone bullets suddenly flew in, piercing their chests and abdomens, causing blood to splatter out!
The few Rain Village Ninja had already fallen silent.
Only Jonin Hattori Heikawa held his Ninja Blade, barely deflecting one bone bullet's impact, but was still injured by it.
Hattori Heikawa looked up and saw a blue-haired woman in a Red Cloud Black Robe, accompanied by three kids, one of whom was pointing his finger at him.
Clearly, it was this finger that had ambushed and destroyed this Rain Village Ninja squad!
"Spare his life, Kimimaro!"
Uehara Naraku waved a hand to stop Kaguya Kimimaro's actions, leaping down and looking at Hattori Heikawa with a soft chuckle, "Ha, this is an old friend of mine!"
"Understood."
Kaguya Kimimaro withdrew his finger, humbly stepping aside. It was he who had used his technique to kill several Rain Village Ninja.
Konan frowned, looking doubtfully at the Jonin below, and softly asked, "Naraku, have you seen him before?"
"Yeah, last time we ran into..."
Uehara Naraku briefly introduced Hattori Heikawa.
Last time, when he and Konan went to kill the Salamander, they happened to encounter the ninja unit led by Hattori Heikawa, who were easily defeated by Uehara.
This Jonin, with the title Stinger of Hidden Rain, exchanged his life and the lives of two Genin for a copy of Make-Out Paradise from Uehara.
"Is this the person who gave you that lewd novel?"
Konan's eyes flashed. She worked hard to arrange a bright future for Uehara, not wanting her student to have any blemishes!
"..."
Uehara Naraku couldn't help but glance at Konan, wanting to remind her that it was her teacher who wrote that book!
The annoyed Konan had clearly ignored this issue, looking down at them and softly said, "Kill him, Naraku!"
"Uh..."
Uehara Naraku reluctantly sighed, squatted down, and looked at Hattori Heikawa and said, "Sorry, my teacher is here, your luck this time is probably..."
Hattori Heikawa interrupted Uehara Naraku, speaking quietly, "I have a set of Make-Out Paradise here, both volumes in the series!"
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
This Jonin from the Hidden Rain Village wanted to use a set of Make-Out Paradise to bargain for his freedom from Uehara Naraku.
Unfortunately, he acted rashly this time!
If it were just Uehara Naraku alone, in circumstances where it didn't matter, he really might spare him and let him go to continue intimidating Hanzo.
But this time...
Konan was watching from the cliff!
Uehara Naraku's mood wasn't great: "What do you mean by this? What kind of person do you take me for?"
"..."
Hattori Heikawa gave Uehara Naraku a subtle look, knowing the Make-Out Paradise series is a treasured collection among ninja, those who understand, understand!
Uehara hesitated immediately, as the Make-Out Paradise series had several sideline missions, which required collecting both volumes, and Hattori Heikawa happened to have them.
If he killed Hattori Heikawa, the books would surely be confiscated and destroyed by Konan...
Uehara Naraku gave Hattori Heikawa a deep look and softly said, "The price is not enough if you want me to spare your life, but if you have intel on Hanzo of the Salamander..."
"I would never betray Lord Hanzo..."
Hattori Heikawa firmly refused Uehara's request, but then seemed to think of something, lowering his head and speaking gravely, "If you're willing to do one thing, I can tell you intelligence on Lord Hanzo's right-hand man, Kandachi of the Salamander..."
"We're not interested in small fry."
Uehara Naraku waved his hand, stating that apart from Hanzo of the Salamander, other ninja in the Hidden Rain Village were nothing to worry about, just small fish.
Hattori Heikawa remained silent for a while, then said in a low voice, "What if it concerns the survival of your Akatsuki?"
"Huh?"
Uehara Naraku laughed immediately, "Concerns the survival of the Akatsuki? You're thinking too much. People capable of destroying the Akatsuki are still in Ninja Academy!"
"..."
Hattori Heikawa didn't understand Uehara Naraku's meaning, as conventionally one would say those who could destroy the Akatsuki were not yet born, right?
But Hattori Heikawa didn't think too much about it, merely lowering his head and said, "What if I told you that Lord Hanzo wants to ally with Konoha's Shimura Danzo?"
"..."
Uehara Naraku's eyes narrowed. He slowly lowered his head, staring into Hattori Heikawa's eyes, and coldly said, "This information interests both me and my teacher... But I'm more curious why you would disclose this to me?"
So far, all the Hidden Rain Ninja Uehara Naraku had met were loyal to their leader, Hanzo of the Salamander, willing to sacrifice their lives without hesitation.
The information about Shimura Danzo and Hanzo of the Salamander colluding again should have been top secret within the Hidden Rain Village, right?
Hattori Heikawa's eyes turned red as he gritted his teeth and said, "Because during the Ninja World War, my parents were killed by Konoha Ninja! Even though Lord Hanzo can easily kill you, he wants to ally with Konoha!"
"I'm sorry..."
Uehara Naraku automatically ignored the latter part of the sentence, sighing and asking, "But I'm curious if you have any evidence to prove this matter?"