The sound of heavy sandals bounced all through the dungeon, overcoming that of drops of water falling on the ground. The walls were normally gray, but the increasing humidity of the building gave them a green color due to the growing moss.
Whilst the man of the short cape walked through the hall of the dungeon, several of the prisoners, wearing rags, begged for food. They were gracefully ignored, as expected. But hunger, being stronger, pushed them to continue regardless.
Different from the rest of the prisons the empire used, that one had no guards inside of the complex. It was unique, since they starved the captives to keep them under control, rather than monitoring them with men. This both saved manpower for other purposes, and kept highly dangerous prisoners under control as they were too weak to try anything.
The man finally reached the cell he wanted to visit. Specifically, it was the 32nd.
Inside, there was a unhealthily thin man with black hair that reached his legs. He was sitting, his arms stretched by the chains he was attached to. He glanced at the man who was silently standing in front of his cell. Only one eye and part of his face was visible due to his long and messy hair, but his pale face showed the entirety of his lack of energy.
Hanzo took his hand out of one of his many pockets, with a piece of bread in it. His mask blocked any possible expression he could have, but behind it there was only a serious face.
"You have been quite troublesome." Said the emperor before throwing the food at the prisoner.
"I'm chained."
"Use your feet," he remained completely still. "Or speak, and I'll free you from those chains and bring you more food."
The prisoner giggled softly. "You are good at this."
"So were you, degenerate."
The man of the long hair giggled some more before speaking again. Even his laughter was weak, given his current physical state. His breathing was heavy, as, unknowingly to the monarch in front of him, his entire body was hurting.
"Release me and it's a deal." Offered the man, finally giving in to his mortal limits.
The emperor raised an eyebrow. "That easily?"
"I am at my limit. I don't wanna give this up for some dumb decision," he lowered his head. "This second chance..."
"That explains how you knew so much." The man of the gas mask nodded. "I'll call the guards and you will tell me everything. Then, you will be free under surveillance."
"Nah, nah, just you." The prisoner giggled. "Let's just talk between us, the intruders in this world."
Hanzo crossed his arms once again, and remained silent as he expected the man to keep talking. He was starting to get annoyed, and was seriously considering taking off his mask and exhaling some poison inside the building.
The captive man nodded twice before finally speaking. "I didn't help them as much as you think. Yeah I know, it's impressive. Most of what they knew they did by themselves, I was shocked too."
"You must have given them some information, you implied it before."
"Small bits. Mainly about a certain clan you and me are very aware of." He smirked.
"And what about the famous secret informant?" Pushed the man of the mask.
He shook his head. "That was a bluff. As long as I was there, we were aware the informant was a bluff, but the source of the information they got was reserved for the high command, as I never found it out. Maybe not even them knew who the source was."
"A bluff... Or there are more of us than we thought." The emperor suggested.
The prisoner laughed, and then nodded. "That too, yeah. I didn't even consider that possibility."
"One more thing," the man of the gas mask raised his voice to indicate that was not over yet. "Is the Yellow Flash still alive?"
Laughs stopped with that question, as the malnourished man suddenly turned serious. He shook his head at first, but realized himself that he had no choice but to answer.
"Ah, the Yellow Flash... Minato, we both know him." He smiled, trying to hold back his frustration, not believing he was about to give the answer. "Was the Sandaime Hokage not enough?"
"It's not about being enough, it's not about personal pleasure. I'm eliminating whoever stands in the way of the world I want to build." He turned around. "But thank you for the answer. Such a leader for a rebellion is quite dangerous."
"Hey! What about releasing me?!"
"You will be released when the rebels are crushed, but you have earned daily feeding, congratulations." Hanzo said while slowly walking back to where he came from.
The prisoner began screaming constantly, but the emperor could not afford to feel bad or guilty about it. He knew he had his reasons, he knew what he needed to do and he was going to do it. He closed his eyes and tried to focus merely on his thoughts, wanting to ignore the noise of the environment.
He felt relieved once he reached the exit of the building. Even more so as he saw his men, who guarded the prison.
"Please, give extra food to the 32nd prisoner, and begin feeding him at least once a day." He received a nod from the jounin, which pleased him. "And if he says I promised to release him, don't listen to him, and don't do so."
With one last nod from the several jounin, Hanzo felt comfortable enough to leave. As he walked outside, he turned to his right side, to give a look to the red tower in the middle of the village, and the mountain behind it.
The Hokage Rock had three faces carved on it. The faces of the Hokage that once ruled over it. The First and Second Hokages, the Senju brothers Hashirama and Tobirama. And the Third Hokage, known as the God of Shinobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Until Hanzo of the Salamander conquered the city.
Such obvious nepotism.
He shook his head, and got back on track. He sighed.
At the old Hokage Office, a group of people had gathered. The man of the gas mask wore his usual attire, and was accompanied by his two most trusted generals, Kandachi and Heiji. The latter wore the exact same clothing as the emperor, except for the cape, while the former just wore a simple jounin uniform.
The room had been transformed into a place to hold meetings, with the old portraits of the Hokage and the furniture being removed. Replaced with a long table and fancy chairs with golden details. In the middle of the table, there was a pot with a mix of jofuku and gekkoran flowers in it. Two of the rarest species of flowers the Land of Fire could offer.
On the opposite side of the table, the guests took a sit. Two royal guards of the Land of Fire, wearing heavy armor that reminded those of the samurai, and long spears. They surrounded another figure, less armored. The Fire Daimyo. He wore a long black robe, as well as the traditional headpiece of the feudal lords of that world.
"It's an honor to meet you, my Lord." Said Hanzo, with the softest tone he could force himself into.
"The feeling is mutual," replied the feudal lord. "This meeting has been quite anticipated on my end. I am glad good terms have been reached."
He nodded in response.
"I just seem to be hearing some rumours, and I would like to confirm the information before we begin."
The man of the gas mask nodded, once again.
"It has reached my ears that you have proclaimed yourself Emperor of the Shinobi, and that has got me concerned." The old man said. His eyes looked at the shinobi with distrust, and it was evident.
He shook his head, and then tapped on the table with every finger, one by one, as if playing the piano. "No, absolutely not. That would mean overthrowing your authority as a feudal lord."
"Indeed it would, young man." The Daimyo laughed, relieved. "It's just that after seeing what has happened to other daimyos... You never know! But I am glad, once again, that good terms have been reached."
The man of the burn scar on the forehead grabbed a gas mask from a nearby drawer and put it on. He, along with general Heiji, walked back two steps, while Hanzo removed his own mask.
"It's a bit... hot. So if you do not mind, I'm taking off the mask." The shinobi said with a gentle smile on his face.
"No problem, young man. But back to what concerns us," as the daimyo spoke, the shinobi began breathing heavily. Such detail did not seem relevant to the old man. "Regarding the land you have taken from other daimyos... I assume said territories will be transferred to me."
"They will." Replied the shinobi with clear difficulty.
"Good!" The Daimyo smiled with great satisfaction, as, for now, the meeting had gone his way quite easily. Or so it seemed. "In exchange, I would like to offer the hand of my daughter in marriage! As you may know, nobility brings in quite a lot of benefits."
"I really appreciate it, sir." Said Hanzo, barely able to pronounce the last word.
This time, the Daimyo felt something unusual. He asked his guard for a glass of water, while he began coughing. The guard did not hesitate and exited the room in search for what he had been asked. Not too long after, what started as soft coughing, very quickly became worse. His eyes turned red, and so did the ones of the remaining royal guard. The old man began coughing up blood.
The guard stared at the shinobi, but was unable to pronounce any words. And soon, he fell unconscious to the floor. The daimyo looked at the shinobi with his irritated eyes. His movements had become slow due to his weakness.
Hanzo stood up, and put his gas mask back on. He received his kusarigama from Heiji, who had been hiding it since the meeting began. He approached the two men, and calmly placed his hand over the daimyo's traditional hat, removing it. Then, he grabbed his hair, and therefore, his head.
"About your arranged marriage proposal," he grabbed his head and raised it. "Your blood is now worthless, so I do not accept."
"No, p-please!" The daimyo tried to beg for his life, as he barely held on to consciousness. "I-I can help you found a clan! I can give you all the money you want!"
"Both things will be mine regardless of your existence, feudal lord." Hanzo replied. "Now, your reign ends here, and with you, an entire era comes to an end!"
As the second guard entered the room with the glass of water the old man had asked for not too long ago, the emperor cut the throat of the daimyo. The guard was horrified by the scene, but Heiji swiftly reacted and threw a kunai at him. It landed on the man's forehead, which combined with the venomous gas that was released in the room, killed the guard.
Hanzo let the dead corpse of the daimyo fall over the table, further staining it with blood. Then, he grabbed the tablecloth and cleaned the blood that had stained his weapon. He had been impressed with the accuracy his general threw the kunai with. He was satisfied to be confirmed, once again, to have some of the best shinobi as his higher military officials.
"Kandachi, prepare to occupy the Great City of Fire. I will arrive alongside the army to proclaim myself as their new ruler." The emperor put his iconic weapon back into the sheath he hid under his short cape, on his back. "Heiji, you will remain in charge of the army stationed in Konoha."
"Understood, sir." Replied the two generals, in unison.