Hearing this, the slightly shaken Hanzo and the people of Amegakure fell silent again. Kakashi Hatake narrowed his dead fish eyes and opened his mouth, ready to order everyone to move. At that moment, Hanzo's gaze suddenly turned cold, as if he had sensed the intent, and he spoke harshly.
"After you leave Amegakure and the Land of Rain, I do not care what you do. But if you dare to act here..."
These words made Kakashi Hatake frown, leaving him stuck in place for the moment.
"I do not care whether you believe me or not. I only want you to understand," Yunchuan Hyuga said, lowering his voice. "As long as those great nation shinobi still run wild on your land, you and even your families will never have a future."
"As long as you keep deceiving yourselves, as long as people from other countries laugh with contempt when they casually mention the Land of Rain, you will never live as real human beings. As long as this crying country remains weak on the map of the Ninja World, your dignity as people will never exist."
"Your land is crushed by great nations, villages swallowed by war, loved ones dragged into slaughter. Farmland is destroyed, homes are burned, and after every great war, all that remains are ruins and piles of corpses."
At this point, Yunchuan Hyuga paused and looked again at Hanzo and the others. "Hanzo, tell me now. Can you and the people behind you accept such an outcome?"
Outside the High Tower, the sky was suddenly torn apart as lightning turned everything white. Only the deep shadow cast by Yunchuan Hyuga remained, covering both the people of Konoha and Amegakure below. Thunder roared as the rain grew heavier and more violent.
Yunchuan Hyuga's words struck the nerves of the Amegakure crowd and stirred the most violent hatred buried deep inside them. Unwillingness, anger, and hatred seemed to flow through their veins inch by inch. The great nations had never treated them as human beings.
When wars ended and the great nations sat at negotiating tables to divide benefits and sign peace treaties, the suffering of the Land of Rain was often ignored or brushed aside. What they cared about was balance and profit, while the Land of Rain remained a buffer and battlefield, and the deaths of its people meant nothing. The resentment and despair of the Land of Rain piled up like endless rain, with nowhere to pour out, becoming the soil that bred extremism and rebellion.
Just like the former Hanzo. Just like the former Akatsuki. Just like the future Pain.
"Hanzo-sama, he is right!"
Beside him, Shenda finally gathered the courage to speak, bloodshot eyes fixed on Hanzo. "We want to live, and living matters, but we want to live as real people with dignity and freedom."
"What we want is not the pity of great nations looking down on us, nor survival begged for on our knees. We want true human dignity and peace for the Land of Rain. You already proved that these things must be fought for, not begged for."
"I would rather die resisting the great nations than become ammunition for those bastards!"
As soon as he finished, other Amegakure ninja members shouted in agreement. "Hanzo-sama! Cooperating with Konoha is like seeking skin from a tiger!" "Hanzo-sama! The great nations have no credibility at all!" "Hanzo-sama! Please continue to lead us in battle!"
This is bad. We cannot wait any longer.
Kakashi Hatake looked up at the figure above, his lifeless dead fish eyes gradually sharpening as he placed one hand behind his back and made a signal. The meaning of that signal was clear.
Prepare to act.
Facing the furious crowd of Amegakure, the people from Konoha had already realized things were going wrong, yet they had no way to deal with it through Root. This was hatred between Konoha and Amegakure that could not be reconciled. Even Jiraiya could only try to seek a kind of redemption by teaching Nagato and the others, but he could not erase it.
The hatred and resentment of Amegakure had once been forced down by Kakashi Hatake through threats and favors. Now, that man had stirred it up again. Because of this, there was only one option left. Killing the suddenly appearing bastard became the only choice for Hanzo and Amegakure.
"You all…"
Amid the noisy shouts behind him, Hanzo opened his mouth without thinking. But when he saw those enraged faces, he found himself unable to say anything. They did not really understand what they were facing, or what they were supposed to resist.
The foundations and strength of the great nations were not something the Land of Rain could compare to. If only, if only he were still young. His thoughts stopped there.
"Hanzo, are you still hesitating?"
Yunchuan Hyuga let out a sigh and said, "Look at you now. You are like those pitiful prostitutes whose beauty has faded, trying to cover their cheap ugliness with heavy makeup, trying to wipe away the deepening wrinkles at the corners of their eyes." He paused and smiled faintly as he looked down at Hanzo. "I know exactly what you are hesitating about."
"If I said I could return your body to its peak condition and give you power far greater than you ever had before, what then?"
As soon as he heard this, Hanzo jerked his head up and blurted out, "What did you say?"
Almost at the same moment Yunchuan Hyuga spoke those words, Kakashi Hatake realized they could not wait any longer. "Do it!" he shouted. The people of Konoha, who had already refined their Chakra, focused their minds and quickly formed hand seals.
"Water Release·Breaking Torrent!"
"Water Release·Water Disorder Wave!"
"Water Release·Water Wave Hand!"
"Water Release·Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
With a thunderous roar, the sound of water exploded into the air. A curtain of water tens of meters high surged upward, as blue waves poured down and covered everything in sight. The raging water was guided by hand seals and lifted by unseen force.
It twisted and coiled around the people of Konoha like a whirlwind. Under their control, it condensed and took shape, forming a ferocious dragon head. The massive water dragon continued to solidify, its body winding through the air.
"Stop! You…"
Hanzo had not yet recovered from Yunchuan Hyuga's words when he suddenly saw everyone from Konoha using Ninjutsu together. His face showed shock and anger as he tried to shout something, but his voice was drowned out by the overwhelming roar of water.
"Lightning Release·Chidori!" x2
Kakashi Hatake's hands moved like blurs as he used "Chidori" to add Lightning Release Chakra to the Water Release Ninjutsu. At the same time, he heard someone beside him shout the same technique name. He turned his head in disbelief.
In Yunchuan Hyuga's palm, familiar blue white lightning screamed sharply, making Kakashi Hatake's scalp go numb. For a moment, he wondered if he had fallen into Genjutsu. How could this man use Chidori? Was he not from the Hyuga Clan?
There was no time to question it. Kakashi Hatake injected Lightning Release Chakra into the water dragon, and the Shadow Clone of Yunchuan Hyuga beside him did the same. The sharp hum of lightning instantly rose to its limit.
When the lightning pierced the water dragon, the blue light spread like countless raging veins. In an instant, it covered the dragon's huge, winding body. The water dragon raised its head and silently roared as it lunged upward with overwhelming force.