chapter 80 part 5
"Terai, act. You can ignore everyone else; whether they live or die doesn't matter. But you must bring Nagato back to the Village alive." Danzo ordered, and personally charged to the front.
Taking things seriously, and with Danzo, whose body wasn't yet integrated with Hashirama Cells and numerous Sharingan, he displayed the decisive power of the Shadow of the Leaf and was the first to charge forward.
"Teacher, I want to use a Jutsu, but I'm not sure what its exact effect will be."
Nagato said, intending to follow the instinct the Rinnegan gave him and summon something.
Everything seemed to have reached an irreversible point.
But at this moment, Hanzo arrived with over a hundred Ninja, surrounding Jiraiya, Danzo, and the others.
"Hanzo the Salamander, it seems you still haven't learned your lesson. Do you want to provoke a war between Konoha and the Hidden Rain Village? Then I will humor you to the end."
Danzo remained expressionless; even now, he regretted not being able to control Nagato first.
He truly spoke the truth and was indeed willing to cultivate Nagato as an heir—though a brainwashing session would be necessary first, as Nagato had been filled with too many muddled ideas by Jiraiya.
He could have become Shimura Danzō's sole disciple. He could have competed for the Fourth Hokage position as the Rinnegan wielder in the future, and even had a high probability of succeeding. Why wouldn't Nagato agree? Nagato didn't know a damn thing. It was all Jiraiya's fault, ruining everything and even bringing Hanzo here.
"What a lively scene. The Hidden Leaf Village's higher-ups are actually fighting a Hokage's disciple and people have died... Has one of you betrayed the Hokage?"
Hanzo glanced at the scene and almost burst out laughing.
Both Jiraiya and Danzo were old acquaintances, and they each had some grievances. To see these two fellows fighting each other was undoubtedly a marvelous enjoyment for Hanzo.
It was only then that Hanzo diverted a little attention to Nagato and the other two. After seeing Nagato, he couldn't take his eyes off him.
"The Rinnegan?!"
Hanzo was utterly shocked. This thing actually exists?
"Step down, Hanzo. This is not something you are qualified to covet. This belongs to Konoha. The one who possesses these eyes is also a Konoha person."
"Don't speak as if it's so obvious. This person should be a citizen of my Land of Rain. Although I don't know when he started following Jiraiya, I still have to thank you, Jiraiya, you've helped me find a truly remarkable Ninja."
A hint of greed arose in Hanzo's heart. Instinctively, he also wanted to take Nagato back, but he hesitated to make a decision.
The reason was simple: Hanzo, at this period, had already begun to become more cautious.
As the leader of a small nation, having personally witnessed the scale of wars between Great Ninja Villages and the endless stream of geniuses, Hanzo's ambition had begun to wane.
In a few more years, Hanzo would become even more cautious. He would completely seal off the Land of Rain, strictly prohibiting any outsiders from entering and not allowing any Hidden Rain Ninja to leave. Anyone who violated this ban would die.
Hanzo clearly possessed top-tier strength in the Ninja World, and his concern for his own safety would reach an extreme level in the future. Even his closest retainers wouldn't be allowed to approach him, only reporting from behind barriers.
Of course, it could also be understood from another perspective—Hanzo was the pillar of the Land of Rain. For the sake of the Land of Rain, Hanzo couldn't allow himself to fall, which was why he had to eliminate all risks and reveal no weaknesses as much as possible.
But the current Hanzo hadn't reached such an extreme level, which was why he personally mobilized to search for Jiraiya's whereabouts and investigate Danzo's movements.
Danzo said coldly: "The Rinnegan wielder is Jiraiya's disciple. So, in any case, he's a Hidden Leaf Village person. The contemporary Hokage's grand-disciple! You have no right to detain him in any form. Otherwise, it's a declaration of war against Konoha. I will definitely lead a Ninja army to subjugate you then."
Hanzo completely confirmed Danzo's resolve and immediately decided to give up on possessing the Rinnegan. He wanted to take the opportunity to shake off this trouble.
Yes, the Rinnegan was trouble for Hanzo. Possessing it might not be a good thing, as it would attract endless scrutiny from the Great Shinobi Villages. Losing it, on the other hand, would be safer.
This was Hanzo's political creed.
"Alright, then I won't get involved in the dispute between you Konoha Ninja. Ultimately, no matter who the Rinnegan belongs to, all of you must leave this country." Hanzo settled for the next best thing.
Danzo sternly said: "No! You will help me seize the Rinnegan!"
"...? Didn't you just say this was a matter for you Konoha Ninja, and that I wasn't allowed to interfere?"
"If you assist me, wouldn't that be helping Konoha?"
"Then wouldn't I be standing against a Hokage's disciple? Who knows if Jiraiya might become the Fourth Hokage?"
"You assist me in killing Jiraiya, and help me and my disciple become the Fourth Hokage, wouldn't that be fine?"
"???"
Hanzo looked at Danzo, then at Jiraiya, and his blood pressure rose.