Chapter VIII
Hidden Rain Arc IV
"You who walk this empty realm by yourself, who are you to think of yourself even higher than me?!" The pale-faced slim man roared in anger as he saw the redhead stand up in the distance. The land around them was destroyed. Once entire nations had been destroyed and even the sun faltered away, turning its gaze away. Clenching his right arm slightly, the redhead stood up before flexing his arms and grinned back with a bloody smile as his chakra flared. Releasing every single drop of chakra that he held from every single chakra point in his body, the redhead's chakra enveloped the entire surroundings as purplish golden chakra erupted around the redhead, coating him in an indomitable chakra avatar. With his horns curving into the air like horns, the pale man simply looked at the proceedings with nothing more than contempt and suspicion.
The redhead flexed his head as he grabbed and formed another dome of bright golden chakra, his azure eyes watching the omnipotent near-deity with a determined glint in them. The pale man's nostrils flared as the redhead began to move slowly towards him, each step of the redhead making the ground crack and tremble at the sheer force of them. As the air bellowed and even the Gods themselves looked down upon earth to observe this fight, the redhead's cloak flapped with the wind, its fiery imprint making an almost hypnotic sway with the winds that Fujin himself had conjured. The pale and horned fellow grunted and snapped his fingers, conjuring rods so black that they reflected the very soul before launching them at the redhead. All four of the projectile rods hit the redhead square in his shoulders and gut with a sickening squelch. Ignoring the pain that erupted throughout his entire body, the redhead simply walked forward, as if he hadn't been hit by one of the strongest deterrents of chakra and power known in the entire universe. In fact, the redhead seemed to be chuckling.
Seeing his attack with the rods falter, the pale man waved his hands around in an arc and formed three great waves that rose up behind him, reminiscent of the tsunamis that had plunged the entire western continent into the oceans. Standing and walking towards these great colossal waves that even towered over the tallest mountain on the planet, the redhead continued to walk forward undeterred. The waves crashed into the redhead with lightning crackling above in the skies as even the great god Raijin sought a way for the favored of the Gods to survive the onslaught. But the waves completely enveloped the redhead, making his tiny frame disappear amidst the great torrents that threatened to swallow the planet whole. But before the pale man could let out a smirk of success, the waves glowed bright gold as the redhead let loose another torrent of chakra, making the entire waves hiss in agony. For a split second, nothing happened. But then the waves exploded and evaporated, promising a dreadful monsoon in the near future. The pale man hissed at the pain of the scalding he had just received before his eyes widened and flinched back. The redhead was right in front of him, observing his extra-terrestrial features quite minutely and heatedly. The pale man took a step back as the redhead spoke.
"Shibai Otsutsuki, now I will tell you who I am," The redhead declared fervently. Still, silence met his declaration before the now-named Shibai regained his wits and slammed his powerful fists into the redhead's face, punching him into the ground. But the redhead dodged the infinitely fast punch and leaped from his new position, before even a person of his stature could react, Shibai was sent tumbling away by a kick to his jaw from the redhead. Shibai growled as he stood up, wiping the blood from his maw before he was assaulted by another punch to his face. To any outsider observing the battle, the attacks were incomprehensible, as they happened so fast from each other, it was as if watching a movie sped up by a thousand times. The sheer force and speed of the punch sent the extra-terrestrial deity tumbling away again as the redhead leaped forward towards the tumbling Shibai, leaving behind a trail of purple and golden chakra afterimages. The redhead entered into a crouching position in front of the tumbling Shibai and kicked Shibai into the air with a powerful uppercut making the pale man groan in pain as the world erupted into a fury of golden and purple colored chakra.
Midair, once again Shibai was attacked before he could regain himself. Grunting, the redhead let loose chains from the earth that whipped Shibai like divine whips that delivered justice from Amaterasu, the Queen of the Heavens herself. With chains that pierced even his omnipotent self, Shibai was sent flying away, blood spurting from everywhere. Taking a deep breath, the redhead looked up, watching the patriarch of the Otsutsuki flying away from the barrage of attacks that he had let loose. Standing up, the redhead burst forward and slammed his golden dome of chakra into Shibai's guts, making the already flying man accelerate in the air with more wounds becoming visible. "I come from Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves…..."
The redhead jumped forward, meeting the flying Shibai midair once again before slamming another golden chakra dome into Shibai's guts and throwing him down onto the ground. "From the Land of Fire…."
Pulling his hand back and forming a combined and compressed-tailed beast bomb that had once destroyed Ishiki Otsutsuki, the redhead let it burst near Shibai's temple, sending Shibai to the ground with a crunch and explosion that leveled the entire area. "In opposition to your fight against this realm and the heavens, I am the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven!"
The redhead roared as he drove his fist into Shibai who was lying prone on the ground. The earth trembled at the sheer impact of the attack. Once, when the earth had been inhabited by anyone besides the redhead, villages, and cities would have been evacuated for earthquakes at the sheer force of the attack that pierced a hole in the gut of Shibai's midsection.
"I am the Slayer of Kaguya, Momoshiki, Kinshiki, Urashiki, Ishiki, and all Otsutsukis. I am Naruto Uzumaki!"
"What do you want?"
Hanzo's question made Naruto think of desperate times. Desperate hours he had spent searching the entire ruined continent for clues, any clue, regarding the quest that he had made in his mind. To Naruto, who had risen above the hate of his village and had finally been acknowledged, returning back to any sort of silence from the world was deafening. It was like a silent echo that stretched not one village, not one city, not one country, not one continent, but the entire world. He had walked and seen it all. He had discovered the unexplored western sections of the Elemental Nations, seeing the ruins of the peoples and cultures that had once lived there. He had observed their techniques and chakra beliefs, from their written scrolls, and tried to adopt them in his quest as well. He jumped over onto a new continent, searching for clues there too. Until one discovered the sheer desperation one had to traverse an entire world alone, starving and whimpering, one could not understand the true meaning of want.
Nonetheless, Naruto cracked a smile as he sat down next to the injured frame of Hanzo of the Salamander. Opting for a soft and compassionate voice, he answered Hanzo's question. "I want to save the world. But I'm willing to start small. I'll start by saving you."
Hanzo chuckled into the pool of blood that was drying on the ground next to him. "I don't need saving, young one. I have accepted my fate."
"And what fate is that?" Naruto asked, truly curious as he leaned forward, his right glowing green as he touched Hanzo's brow. The soft flow of the healing chakra hummed in the silent air as Hanzo slowly felt his strength return and his smaller cuts disappear thanks to the medical chakra that Naruto was applying. "Truly I wonder. Do you think I wish to kill you?"
"Apparently not." Hanzo eyed the medical chakra that Naruto was transferring to him to heal him. "But nonetheless. You won. I lost. Even if you spare me, you will want something from me."
"That's true." Naruto conceded with a chuckle. "But it isn't anything nefarious you know. You will have nothing to be so down about. Perhaps other than losing to someone less than half your age."
Hanzo didn't have the bite inside of him to react angrily to the last friendly jibe. It was true after all. He had lost to a kid less than half his age. "Age has nothing to do with my loss and your strength child. Hashirama Senju could level countries when he was younger than you. Madara Uchiha could decimate entire clans when he was younger than you. Age…. age is fundamentally important. But if you can surpass its importance, in the end, it just becomes a number. Age does not give you strength. Your own prowess, talent, and hard work, determine strength."
"Yet you seemed to have lost sight of your own strength." Naruto retorted softly as he let go of the medical healing chakra that he was applying to Hanzo. Having given enough of a shock to Hanzo's own chakra system, now Hanzo's chakra was healing itself as well, albeit at a slow and leisurely pace. "The Land of Wetlands…. Hanzo look around you. Your people fear you. You are no longer respected. You are feared. Why, I have you at my grasp and mercy and none, none of the Ame ninjas you had with you have jumped in to save you."
Hanzo strained his eyes to watch the far end of the valley. The Ame ninjas who had survived the fight were still observing from a safe distance away, and to their credit, they did some frantic about the possibility that their leader could soon be dead. But none of them made a single move towards the other end of the valley, towards Hanzo, in even a single feeble attempt to perhaps save him from Naruto. They were watching with beady eyes and pale faces but kept their distance as if trying to gauge how Naruto would act in victory. Hanzo huffed sardonically. "My companions are wise to abandon me. If you can defeat me, you can defeat them surely. They are trying to see how you will react. There is no loss of strength on my side in that, Uzumaki."
"That's where you're wrong," Naruto commented as leaned back on a slab of stone. With the valley destroyed around them and cluttered as it was, it was surprisingly comforting to lean against a slab of stone. It reminded Naruto of simpler times, of training beside Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi, later joined by Sai and Yamato. "Tell me Hanzo. What have you done since the end of the Second Great Shinobi War? You, who sent the invading armies of Konoha, Suna, and Iwa running ahead of you with their tails caught beneath their legs. You grew so paranoid that you even went to great lengths to make sure that such an invasion would never happen again. And that is complimentary to you, as the nation's leader. But your paranoia grew so much that you began to view every citizen under your command, who so much as disobeyed slightly as enemies of the state. You fell into the whispers of malignant elements so quickly afterward that the respected figure you made yourself out to be was gone within a few years. Now, you are a paranoid leader of Amegakure who is holding the Daimyo of the Land of Wetlands hostage and ruling with an iron fist. You are no longer the Hanzo who people look up to. You are no longer the Hanzo who overthrew the corrupt and tyrannical Tashiaki Nura, Second Village Chief of Ame. You are worse than Tashiaki, and how that is possible is beyond me."
Hanzo's bloodied eyes widened slightly as Naruto listed his achievements. Hanzo remembered being a young Jonin of Amegakure, having seen the horrors of the First Great Shinobi War. 'I was so naïve back then…. I thought I could stop the Great Nations from playing us smaller nations by just diplomacy alone. I tried to stop the Second Great Shinobi War. All it did was lead to a tripartite invasion. Kid, what you preach…I tried it once upon a time. Ain't nothing in that road but disappointment and misery.' "Tashiaki tried to make Amegakure into a village as large and big as one of the Great Five. To that end goal, he tried to sacrifice anything in his path. He led us through the misery that was the First Great Shinobi War. He killed his own people because we disappointed him. I had to act back then. What I did was right. What I am doing right now is also right Uzumaki. Don't you dare preach to me just because you won against me? Kill me and be done with it."
"And how are you any different?" Naruto shot back with an angry undercurrent to his tight voice, his red hair falling to the sides, gleaming like deep garnet diamonds. "The Akatsuki are trying to facilitate peace. They are trying to make a diplomatic show to prevent Amegakure and the Land of Wetlands from falling into the war that surrounds them. But just because they differ from your approach, you seek to eliminate them. You brand them as rebels, even though they have conducted all their duties as loyal Amegakure shinobi even after their membership into the Akatsuki, having undertaken every mission your nation assigns them. Where once you tried to diplomatically stop the Second Great Shinobi War from happening, you used sheer force to keep the nation in line and isolated. You oppress your own citizens so that anything from the Land of Wetlands never spills over into the surrounding nations instead of setting regulations. You have become exactly like your predecessor. Do not think yourself different from Tashiaki, Hanzo."
'HOW DARE HE?!' Anger churned deep within Hanzo's chest at the accusation. Heat coursed through his chest, ignoring the pain from the earlier fight, Hanzo spat, "I am nothing like Tashiaki. What I am doing is for the betterment of Amegakure and the Land of Wetlands. If I didn't keep my citizens in line, we could accidentally be dragged into the Third Great Shinobi War. And the Akatsuki are rebels! They are rebelling against my authority by independently meeting with foreign shinobi in my land!"
"You need to keep your citizens in line to make sure the war does not spill into your land." Naruto agreed with a shake of his head. "But you can do the same with fair regulations. Fair rules. Enforcing said regulations and rules fairly and justly. It is what the Land of Snow and the Moon Isle are doing currently, aren't they? That is what Hoshigakure is also doing. If they can do it, why can't you? Hanzo, you should stop listening to Danzo of all people."
For the nth time that day, Hanzo felt his eyes widening as surprise filtered on his pale and still recovering face. "How do you even know that I am in contact with Danzo?!"
"He is helping you 'maintain' your nation's neutrality by giving you Konoha intelligence about the Suna and Iwa movement next to the Land of Wetlands, is he not?" Naruto murmured as he watched the evening sky with a veiled gaze. "Did you not think that the Hokage would not notice someone fiddling with intelligence that only he and his commanders should be privy to? Lord Hiruzen is forgiving, yes, but he did not win two wars by being a fool." 'It's convenient to imply that Old Man Third Hokage knows about Danzo's movements. He doesn't, but it will give Hanzo something to think about at least.'
"Ah, so Sarutobi sent you to keep me in line, is it? That's why you've let me live is it?" Hanzo chuckled deeply, as he felt some of his strength return. The healing jutsu that Naruto had used earlier seemed to be working fine with him. "He has sent you here to send a message to me?"
"No." Naruto shook his head. "I am here to ask only one thing from you."
Hanzo turned and looked at Naruto in the eye. His green eyes met the redhead's azure ones. Naruto's eyes dilated a bit as he softly spoke up again. "Give the Akatsuki a chance. Give your citizens a chance. Give them all a chance. As someone who prevailed over you in battle, give me a chance."
Hanzo flinched back. 'Those words…'
Hanzo remembered an era long gone. Back when he was still a Jonin. Having served at the frontlines of the First Great Shinobi War, Hanzo had been privy to some of the greatest destruction ever known to mankind. Back when the First Kazekage had laid waste to the invading forces of Amegakure, Hanzo had been the one to lead the retreat back into the Land of Wetlands. When Tashiaki ordered them to invade Ishigakure, Hanzo was the one to lead the southern portion of the invasion. When Iwagakure responded to the invasion for their vassal, Hanzo had been the one to engage and kill the first Four Tails Jinchuriki to provide enough time for Ame troops to retreat back. In the end, despite all of the carnage and sacrifice of Amegakure's ninjas to secure a place in the sun for the Land of Wetlands, even among all of the Great Nations, they had failed. They simply didn't have the numbers to back their ambitions of conquest. The Shinobi of the Great Nations not only had numbers going for them, but also quality. They had larger economies and thus access to better facilities and manners to train their shinobi. Tashiaki, their once gentle, strong, and charismatic Village Leader had turned bitter at his failure. And his bitterness exploded into hate when he blamed his Ame ninjas for the failure. Unhinged and going mad with grief at the failure and having had to cede fertile tracts of land to the Land of Wind as a part of the peace settlement, Tashiaki had vented his frustrations by killing several Ame ninjas. Hanzo had been the one to confront him.
"I respect you as one of my strongest shinobi Hanzo. Move away. You have not disappointed me." Growled the old and wizened face of Tashiaki Nura. The Second Village Chief of Amegakure watched the younger Hanzo with steely eyes that hid a madness underneath.
"You can't just continue to kill them all!" Hanzo shouted back, his fists clenched in anger. "We did everything you told us to do! We lost, but that was due to factors out of our control! You cannot kill your own men due to factors outside of their control."
"Hanzo. Last warning." Tashiaki warned as the rain around them continued to pour, making the gloomy superstructures of Amegakure a distinctly morbid atmosphere.
"Tashiaki. Please. If nothing else, give me a chance." Hanzo pleaded desperately, trying to make his liege see reason.
No matter how he pleaded, Tashiaki didn't listen to reason. So Hanzo slew him and took over as the Third Village Chief of Amegakure. That had been several decades ago. The madness of Tashiaki Nura had been dealt with, in force. As Hanzo reminisced mentally about that time, Naruto's words echoed back to him. Hanzo didn't understand why, but at that moment, Hanzo saw a silhouette of a younger version of himself looking at him instead of Naruto, mouthing those words back at him. Hanzo slumped, truly tucking himself into the ground. 'Those eyes. Oh, how I've missed those eyes. Those eyes could pierce through anyone and could find empathy in everything and everyone. I used to have those eyes…I wonder when I lost them? I…. I almost forgot that I even had them in the first place. Naruto Uzumaki, you are blessed to have those eyes. Do not lose them, like me. Just…. Just this once, I shall hear you out.'
Hanzo laughed and guffawed loudly into the air, surprising Naruto slightly as he leaned back. "Very well Naruto Uzumaki. I shall give you a chance. I owe that much, in honor of our fight that I lost. What do you wish me to do?"
Naruto smiled. And it was a smile that could blind even the heavens themselves. In the heavens, even the Gods smiled at the pure sincerity. "I want you to talk. Have a talk with the leaders of the Akatsuki. Nothing less. Nothing more."
Huddled inside their hidden apartment in Takitori, Naori felt a distinct sense of unease as she tried to peer out of the sole window in the room. Her normally soft and luscious purple hair was frazzled and her normally still hands fidgeting as she tried to look out to see any clues of the fighting. Bright flashes had been seen for hours and the mountain that oversaw Takitori had exploded into a bright shower of fire and explosion many minutes ago and the bursts of chakra that came from the direction of Hanzo and Naruto seemed to be never-ending. But all of a sudden the flashes of light and chakra had ended and the world returned to calm. As Naori saw the citizens of Takitori gather their wits about to start cleaning the debris of the mountain that had fallen upon their little city, she clenched her fists. 'I shouldn't have left him there. He's dead most probably. That's the only reason why the flaring of chakra would end.'
Naori tried to bite back the unconscious tears in her eyes. After the failure of the Uchiha Platoon in the Land of Grass, it seemed as if she was fated for another failure even in the Land of Wetlands. And whilst Naruto had been an irritant, he had saved her back in the Land of Grass. He had been an effective member of their team despite his mischievousness. And while his pranks and mischievous attitude had irritated her prim and proper lady-like attitude, Naori liked to believe that if she was strong enough she could have stayed back, and perhaps ensured the survival of Naruto Uzumaki. 'I can't manage to hold on to the Susano'o for more than a few seconds. Without it, I am a normal Jonin-level ninja. I was fodder the moment Hanzo appeared. I…I don't even know how I will break the news to Ms. Uzumaki back home in Konoha.'
"Your friend should not have stayed back." The blue-haired Ame ninja spoke up from behind Naori. Her golden eyes watched Naori huddled next to the window with a mixture of curiosity and slight guilt. "No matter how strong he is; he cannot be stronger than Hanzo."
Naori peered at the woman whose name escaped her at the moment. "Until Hanzo comes forward telling me of his death, or Ame prints the news, I refuse to believe that one of my teammates is dead."
"Konan," Came the raspy voice of the one called Yahiko. "No need to antagonize them. Whatever they might be, they did save us from Hanzo of the Salamander."
"Naruto isn't dead." Came Hizashi's firm voice, which was atypical for him, as the Hyuga leaned against one of the doors of the apartment. "The air is saturated with chakra at the moment, so I can't really tell. But I know enough about Naruto to know that he wouldn't have stayed back if he didn't have a trick up his sleeve."
Before anyone among them could respond, a knock on the apartment's door startled all of them. Everyone fell silent. Ichigo stopped rocking his chair and Haruka stopped trying to communicate with the insects in her palm. The members of the Akatsuki in the corner stopped whispering with one another and everyone had their eyes trained on the door. Naori silently grabbed her kunai and walked to the door. Grabbing the handle slightly and already molding her chakra, Naori glanced at everyone inside, warning them to be ready. As Naori opened the door, her vision was invaded by the sight of deep red hair that reminded her so much about the rubies that her grandmother liked to hoard. In the glimmering evening sun, the hair even looked like rubies. The deep blue eyes crinkled a bit and his smile seemed dazzling to Naori in that moment as Naruto Uzumaki smiled back at her.
Naori punched him across the face.
It wasn't because she was angry with him or because she was a trigger-happy woman. No. 'There's a chance that this is some Hanzo loyal Ame ninja wearing a transformation. I don't want to get hopes high!'
Naruto stumbled back and grumbled, "Is that how you welcome your teammate back?"
Naori let a smile of relief make its way onto her face as it became clear that it was actually Naruto in front of her. "I had to make sure. Come in, come in. We need to make sure that whatever you did to delay Hanzo works. You can't be seen outside."
"About that…." Naruto smiled back guiltily towards her as he rubbed the back of his head. He pointed towards the end of the street where Naori could see a bloodied but still recognizable Hanzo limping towards them. Naori gasped and turned back to Naruto with urgency painted all over her face. "He only wants to talk, Ms. Naori. I promise you that. Bring Yahiko, Konan and Nagato out. They will talk. I will personally see to it that no one is injured."
Conflict warred in Naori's head, but seeing the bloodied form of Hanzo of the Salamander was something that she had never anticipated in even her wildest dreams. And it seemed that Hanzo was acquiescing to Naruto. Hanzo leaned back and sat down on a bench as if waiting for Naruto to bring out the three members of the Akatsuki in quiet contemplation. Naori turned back to Naruto and tilted her head in questioning.
"We reached an accord," Naruto answered her unasked question with a wide spread of his arms. "He only wants to talk. Nothing more, nothing less."
Naori sighed and nodded. 'Trust Naruto to talk even Hanzo of the Salamander into doing what he wants.'
"You were right Naruto Uzumaki." Hanzo acknowledged as he watched the night sky above him. The clouds passed by, dropping little droplets of rain that seemed to imbue the very land with renewed and vigorous life. "You were right. I was wrong to brand the Akatsuki as rebels. After speaking with Yahiko, it seems that I can rest easy on that front, at least."
"Didn't I tell you?" Naruto hummed as he sat down on the bench next to Hanzo, both men who had fought earlier that day in one of the greatest battles of the era, sat down hand in hand like old comrades. "All they did was exhibit your old dream. Your old wish to try and find a peaceful path to make the Land of Wetlands great."
"Yes," Hanzo murmured as his eyes continued to twinkle at the stars. 'Those young men and woman. What a formidable team they are. With his charisma, Yahiko is a suitable leader, and with those eyes…well with those eyes Nagato is a good right-hand man. And with her talents, the woman, Konan should be able to keep both of them in check. A great trio. I was blind. Blinded by my own paranoia and Danzo's whispers…To actually think…'
"I am going to retire." Hanzo declared suddenly as he inclined his head, watching Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan in the distance who were laughing and chuckling with their own group of Shinobi, elated at having had the opportunity to actually speak and come to an accord with Hanzo of the Salamander. Naruto didn't seem surprised at the declaration but Naori who was close by and heard the declaration flinched at the sheer surprise she felt. "I am getting old. Nearly six decades old and I feel my bones beginning to despair. Perhaps that is why I fell into a pit of lies so quickly. My mental faculties aren't what they once used to be. Yahiko shall be a great Fourth Village Chief for Amegakure."
"He will." Naruto acknowledged with a tilt of his head. "His charisma and attitude are greatly geared towards that of a leader. And of course, with Nagato and Konan beside him as his right hand and left hand, I believe they shall rule over the land justly. You needn't worry about that Hanzo."
"Before I declare my retirement formally and publically, I suppose I shall have to let the Daimyo out of his confinement." Hanzo chuckled sardonically as he huffed into the night sky. "Despite all of my revelations today, that shall still take a toll on me. The Daimyo's a smarmy bastard."
"Heh." Naruto chuckled at the jab at the Daimyo. Most noblemen and noblewomen in Naruto's books were smarmy bastards. There were a few exceptions, like Shion, that old King of the Moon Isle, or even Princess Koyuki. But at the moment, none of them would recognize Naruto. After all, Naruto had befriended them far into the future. "I think you recognize Nagato's eyes, don't you, old man?"
Hanzo side-eyed Naruto a bit. "Of course. I know my legends and myths. To think that the mythical Dojutsu would resurface after so long….It is a sign. And with him wielding it for the good of the village and under Yahiko and Konan's judgment, I have no qualms about retiring. It provokes a good and successful prediction for the future."
"It does." Naruto nodded as his red hair fell to his sides. "Though I have to wonder. We went so far away from our mission parameters. Do you have any information about Iwa and Suna spy cells within the Land of Wetlands?"
"What do you take me for?" Hanzo huffed indignantly. "Of course I do. I can give you their location if you want as a part of the personal payment I owe you for restoring my honor."
"There is no need for that."
"When you reach my age child, you will recognize that honor will get you many things. And to have been restored honor…well there are scarcely any greater achievements." Hanzo answered Naruto resolutely.
Naruto huffed and chuckled into the night air. "Very well. I can appreciate you making my job easier at least. See you sometime again Hanzo."
Naruto stood up from the bench and flexed his hands. He then turned towards the three Ame ninjas who had once been students of Jiraiya of the Legendary Three. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Naruto walked towards the bright-haired trio. Honestly, in Naruto's opinion instead of Team Ame or Team Jiraiya, the three should have been called Team 'Bright Haired Folks'. Naruto observed the three as he approached them. Nagato's eyes were no longer wary or scared but seemed full of life as he laughed at a joke that Yahiko had cracked. Yahiko, full of high spirits after having come to an accord with Hanzo seemed delighted with his eyes glinting like that of a child. Konan on the other hand, seemed to smile gently and softly at both of the boys, like a proud family member. All three of them felt Naruto approaching and turned towards him with a questioning tilt to their stance. Naruto raised his arms silently to calm the three down. Though Naruto was loathe to break a happy scene, it was time that he came forward with serious questions.
"Nagato, we must talk about your Rinnegan."
Author's Notes: Hey everyone, I'm back from my vacation! I guess you could say this is a classic Naruto Talk No Jutsu chapter? Well, it was quite necessary in my opinion, as it hints towards Naruto's past and his motivations as well. Plus Hanzo as a character is a treat to write from my perspective as well. Like I mentioned far earlier in one of the earlier chapters, I really like to worldbuild so I hope you like the worldbuilding elements that I have added to this chapter. Plus, because Naruto (at least before Boruto) was steeped in Japanese Mythology, I hope to add mythic elements as well to the story. I hope you guys like it and continue to review!
To answer some of the questions that some reviewers had, Hanzo in canon only showed usage of poison and fire ninjutsu as his ninjutsu of choice. Which is why I focused on him being a powerful fire release user. He doesn't use water release at all. So, yeah, fire release all the way. Plus it makes for a good juxtaposition for a village leader of a largely rainy place to have fire release as his main element.
Hope you liked the flashback in the early part of the chapter. Will continue to reveal Naruto's past with tidbits like that!
Until the next chapter which will be the last chapter of the Hidden Rain Arc!