Splatter! Pat-pat!
The tower, which had been relatively quiet and rain-free, now echoed with the chaotic, disturbing sound of rain.
No, that wasn't rain; it was a vast quantity of blood, blood squeezed out by him, surging and pouring down from above as if a floodgate had been opened.
Feeling the warm blood drenching their bodies, everyone's hearts were instead invaded by a chilling cold.
Soon, as Hyuga Kawa released the shadows' restraint, the spiderweb above seemed to transform into a high-powered meat grinder.
Chunks of flesh mixed with blood splattered down, hitting the ground, the walls, and the feet of the Rain and Konoha shinobi below.
Such a cruel method, even for these battle-hardened ninjas, caused a significant psychological shock.
"..."
Hanzo looked up at the dark figure above, his voice deep. "You say these people are 'rats' infiltrating the Land of Rain?"
Everything the other party was doing now was clearly meant to tell him that the Land of Rain had become a target, and the great nations had set their sights on him.
More and more spies had infiltrated the Land of Rain, their targets squarely on the Hidden Rain Village and him, the legend.
This terrified Hanzo far more than Konoha's empty words.
"There's more than just these," Hyuga Kawa's gaze swept over the Hidden Rain Village shinobi behind Hanzo with a half-smile.
As if sensing something, the expressions of a few people in the crowd subtly changed.
"What do you mean by your so-called deal?"
Hanzo didn't grasp Hyuga Kawa's deeper meaning and continued to ask.
"What Konoha can give you, we can also give you. What Konoha cannot give you, we can still give you."
Hyuga Kawa looked down at the crowd below, smiling. "I only wish to see the Hanzo and the Hidden Rain Village of old, who dared to defy the Five Great Nations' hegemony for peace and dignity."
Exchanging points for food was dirt cheap and could easily meet the Hidden Rain Village's needs.
Of course, Hyuga Kawa wasn't that kind. He merely needed to make the ninja world more chaotic, to make the Land of Rain once again the center of conflict for the great nations.
He needed to make all preparations for creating the "Void Realm" before Orochimaru found the "Space-Time Hole," including a large number of resentful deceased souls and a method to absorb and control souls.
Hyuga Kawa didn't want his own created "Void" to turn around and attack him, aiding others.
So he needed to cultivate one or two test subjects in advance, and Hyuga Kawa already had a choice in mind for the method of absorbing and controlling souls, as well as the candidates for the test subjects.
"The Six Paths Ninja Tool 'Box of Ultimate Bliss' that appeared in the original movie 'Blood Prison' can absorb human obsessions and emotions. Modifying it shouldn't be a problem,"Hyuga Kawa thought to himself. "As for the test subjects..."
"If I remember correctly, Sakumo Hatake and Rin Nohara seem to have been unable to enter the Pure Land due to their obsessions, lingering in the gap between the ninja world and the Pure Land."
If Sakumo Hatake and Rin Nohara were cultivated into "Voids," what expressions would Senior Kakashi and Obito have?
It seems... quite interesting.
At this moment, Kakashi Hatake had no idea that the guy above had already set his sights on his deceased father and friend.
"Tch."
Everyone, including Kakashi Hatake, was stunned when they heard Hyuga Kawa claim he could give everything Konoha could. Then, as if they had heard some joke, someone actually laughed out loud in such an oppressive and bloody scene.
Because this guy's words were simply too arrogant, too boastful.
Some things, after all, couldn't be bought with money.
Only Kakashi Hatake keenly noticed the words "we" in the other party's statement, and his heart involuntarily tightened.
Indeed, the other party was not alone, but an organization or force.
That "monster" might just be a member of it.
"Lord Hanzo." Recalling this, Kakashi Hatake looked at Hanzo, his voice deep as he reminded him, "You must think carefully, whether to trust this guy whose origins are unknown, or to trust Konoha and the Land of Fire."
Upon hearing this, Hanzo and the Hidden Rain Village shinobi, who had been slightly moved, fell silent again. Kakashi Hatake's dead-fish eyes narrowed slightly, and he opened his mouth, about to signal his comrades to act.
But then, Hanzo's gaze suddenly turned cold. As if sensing his intention, he said coldly, "I don't care what you do once you leave the Hidden Rain Village and the Land of Rain, but if you dare to make a move here..."
At these words, Kakashi Hatake frowned, momentarily put on the spot.
"I don't care if you believe me or not, I just want you to understand."
Hyuga Kawa lowered his voice, speaking gravely. "As long as those great nation ninjas run rampant in your homeland, you, and even your families, will never have a future."
"As long as you keep deceiving yourselves, as long as people from other countries, when casually mentioning the Land of Rain, will let out that contemptuous scoff, you will not live as truly living people."
"As long as this weeping nation remains weak and vulnerable on the ninja world's map, your dignity as humans will never exist."
"Your land is trampled by great nations, your villages are consumed by war, your loved ones are dragged into the slaughter, your farmlands are ruined, your homes burned. After every great war, all that's left for you are desolation and mountains of corpses."
At this point, Hyuga Kawa paused, then looked at Hanzo and the others again, asking, "Hanzo, now tell me, can you, and the people behind you, accept such a result?"
The sky outside the high tower was suddenly torn open, and lightning dyed everything white before their eyes.
Only Hyuga Kawa's deep shadow was cast down, enveloping the Konoha and Hidden Rain shinobi below.
Boom!
Along with the thunder, the rain seemed to intensify, becoming more and more furious.
Hyuga Kawa's words struck a nerve with the Hidden Rain shinobi, igniting the most violent and restless hatred deep within their hearts.
Unwillingness, anger, and hatred seemed to solidify, flowing inch by inch through the veins in their bodies.
The great nations truly never treated them as people. When the war ended, and the great nations sat at the negotiating table to divide interests and sign peace treaties, the suffering of the Land of Rain was often deliberately ignored or downplayed.
The great nations cared only about the balance of power and the distribution of benefits among themselves. The "function" of the Land of Rain as a buffer zone and battlefield was preserved, and the deaths of its citizens were disregarded.
The resentment and despair in the hearts of the Land of Rain's people, like the incessant rain, continuously accumulated but had nowhere to be unleashed. This experience of being used, abandoned, and ignored was precisely the breeding ground for extremist ideologies and resistance movements.
Just like Hanzo once was.
Just like the Akatsuki organization once was.
Just like "Pain" in the future.
"Lord Hanzo, he's right!"
Bloodshot eyes appeared in Shinda's eyes beside Hanzo. He finally mustered the courage to look at Hanzo, speaking in a deep voice. "We want to live. Living is important, but we want to live as dignified, free, living people."
"What we want is not the condescending pity of the great nations, nor life begged for on our knees, but true human dignity, the peace of the Land of Rain. You once proved that all of this must be fought for; it cannot be begged for!"
"I'd rather die fighting against the great nations than become cannon fodder for those bastards!"
At these words, other Hidden Rain shinobi also began to speak up, shouting, "Lord Hanzo! Cooperating with Konoha is like making a deal with a tiger!"
"Lord Hanzo! The great nations have no integrity whatsoever!"
"Lord Hanzo! Please continue to lead us in battle!"
Damn it, can't wait any longer!
Kakashi Hatake looked up at the figure above, his lifeless dead-fish eyes gradually tightening and sharpening. He put his hand behind his back, making a hand sign.
This hand sign meant...
Prepare to act.