Chapter 16: New Order
Yahiko paid no attention to the two Water Clones crashing toward the window; he didn't even lift an eyelid.
"Boring tricks."
The air behind him distorted violently as the hideous red-and-white Stand [King Crimson] flashed by. [Epitaph] on its forehead spun frantically, and images of the next few seconds unfolded in his mind like film reels.
"The same magic trick—if you think you can fool me a second time..."
A sneer curled at the corner of Yahiko's mouth. Without warning, the Stand behind him reached out a giant hand into the empty space to the left and made a fierce grab!
"Then you are insulting my eyes!"
Bang!
A dull thud echoed in the air, as if something invisible had been stopped dead in its tracks.
Hanzou's real body, which had already used the Body Flicker Technique to hide, was like a dead dog grabbed by the scruff of its neck. He was violently dragged out of the void by King Crimson and slammed onto the cold floor with a "boom."
At the same time, the two "Clones" by the window turned into two meaningless puddles of water.
"Cough... Pfft!"
Hanzou curled up in pain as the unhealed wound on his abdomen split open again, blood staining the floor red.
How could this be... Body Flicker Technique, swordsmanship, stealth, poison gas... everything he took pride in was like a child's graffiti before this young man!
This suffocating sense of despair was ten thousand times stronger than when he faced those three brats with the title of "Konoha Sannin."
No, that wasn't a battle at all.
This was predation.
"Who are you... where did these abilities of yours come from?!" Hanzou's hair was disheveled, and his voice was distorted and out of tune due to extreme fear. "It's impossible for a human to possess this kind of power!!"
Yahiko looked down at the stray dog, his gaze as cold as if he were looking at a tombstone.
"This is the ideal you strangled with your own hands, a revenge crawling back from Hell."
"As for who I am?" Yahiko's boot stepped on the back of Hanzou's hand, grinding slightly. "Go to the Pure Land and ask the souls you betrayed."
His final shred of dignity was completely crushed by this foot.
"Revenge... Heh... Hehehe..."
Hanzou suddenly let out a burst of neurotic low laughter, a flash of crazed ruthlessness crossing his cloudy old eyes.
Since he couldn't escape, he would turn this place into Hell!
"Then let's die together!!"
Pfft!
He suddenly reversed his sickle and plunged it into his left abdomen without hesitation! It wasn't for ritual suicide, but to precisely puncture the forbidden organ implanted in his body—the Salamander Poison Sac!
This was originally his final trump card for a mutual destruction!
Ssshh—!!
A thick, purplish-black toxic mist erupted instantly, filling every inch of space at an alarming speed.
"This is a Salamander Poison for which even I have no antidote! Let's die together!"
Hanzou's lungs burned with pain, but he was laughing maniacally. He stared wide-eyed at Yahiko, wanting to see even a hint of terror on this monster's face.
However.
The world seemed to skip a frame.
That nauseating "sense of trance" descended once again.
When Hanzou's consciousness regained continuity, his maniacal laughter stopped abruptly, stuck in his throat like a strangled chicken.
There was no one in front of him.
He rolled his eyes blankly and found that outside the door, more than ten meters away, Yahiko was standing with his back to him, perfectly fine beyond the edge of the spreading poison gas, without even a hint of purple touching the corner of his clothes.
"Wh... when..."
Hanzou lay prone on the ground, black blood foam constantly gushing from his mouth and nose.
He couldn't understand it even in death. It only took 0.1 seconds for the poison sac to rupture and 0.5 seconds for the poison gas to spread.
How did this man manage to Stand outside the "result" before the "process" even happened?
His vision began to blur, and the world plunged into darkness.
The last thing he heard was Yahiko's whisper, like a sentence being passed.
"The so-called destiny is a result that has already been predestined."
"In this world, only I can Stand above time."
"Drown while holding onto the lingering dreams of the old era."
[Ding!]
[Detected the death of the important plot character "Hanzou," adding a Legacy Quest.]
[Hanzou's Legacy: Change the status of the Hidden Rain Village in the Ninja World (Incomplete)]
The System's cold mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
Yahiko's steps paused slightly, then he moved again. His black robe with red clouds was like the wings of a Shinigami as he disappeared into the darkness at the end of the corridor... This coup initiated by "Akatsuki" ended faster and more bizarrely than anyone could have imagined.
When the main force of Rain Ninjas finally arrived at the Leader's Tower, they only saw a floor covered in corpses and an empty top floor.
The Demi-god had disappeared.
Not until half a month later.
Just as the Hidden Rain Village was about to collapse due to rumors, the legendary "Demi-god" returned.
No bloodshed occurred, nor was there a civil war.
Under the stunned gazes of countless Rain Ninjas, Hanzou stood atop the high tower and expressionlessly announced a "peace consensus" with the Akatsuki.
Only... everyone who saw Hanzou felt an indescribable chill rise from the bottom of their hearts.
This once domineering old man now had his face studded with black metal rods, and even those once sharp eyes had turned a strange purple, with eerie concentric ripples in the pupils.
He was like a breathing corpse, standing quietly behind Yahiko.
The sky of the Hidden Rain Village had changed.
That wretched merchant who only knew how to hide in the sewers, Maeda, who had zero talent as a Ninja, actually sat openly in the supreme conference room and became a powerful figure in charge of finances.
And the one truly giving orders became that blue-haired woman named Konan.
Two days later.
In the central plaza of the Hidden Rain Village, the rain fell continuously.
Giant loudspeakers broadcast Konan's cool voice to every corner.
"The isolationist policy is hereby abolished! The Hidden Rain Village will open its doors to the world! Whether it's trade, commissions, or diplomacy, we will no longer remain silent!"
The people in the plaza went from numbness to commotion, and the light of "hope" gradually lit up in their eyes.
However, in the conference room on the top floor of the tower, the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.
Around the long conference table sat the Clan Chiefs and elite Jonin of the various Ninja families in the Hidden Rain Village. They sat upright and rigid, cold sweat trickling down their foreheads, yet they didn't even dare to wipe it away.
Because next to the main seat, that "Hanzou" with a face full of black rods stood like a sculpture, exuding a deathly aura that warned everyone to stay away.
A tailor was kneeling on the ground, tremblingly adjusting the brand-new Sacred Robe for "Hanzou."
Yahiko stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, listening to Konan's speech outside, then slowly turned around.
Those amber eyes scanned the room, and the air seemed to freeze instantly.
"I've called you all here to announce only two things."
Yahiko held up one finger, his tone as flat as if he were talking about today's weather.
"First, starting today, the Hidden Rain Village will no longer bow to the great nations. We will follow the example of the Five Great Nations and establish our own 'Kage' System."
The whole room was in an uproar! All the Clan Chiefs looked up in horror.
Kage?
That was a privilege only the Five Great Nations had! A small nation dared to claim a Kage!
Ignoring their fear, Yahiko pointed to the expressionless "Hanzou" beside him, a crazy arc curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Hanzou is our First—Rain Shadow."
"I assume no one objects?"