"Dead?"
Looking at the corpses on the ground, Konan spoke softly. Just as she was about to step forward to check, Gojo stopped her.
"Konan, step back. That guy isn't dead yet."
As he spoke, his hands were already forming seals.
"Not dead?"
Konan froze for a moment, then immediately retreated several steps, widening the distance between herself and the bodies.
With Gojo's extraordinary talent—and strength that had already surpassed her—she didn't hesitate at all. She simply trusted him and followed his words.
"Konan, go deal with the remaining bandits. Leave this to me!"
"Alright—be careful!"
After a quick warning, Konan dashed off.
"So… how did you figure it out?"
The "corpse" that had been lying on the ground suddenly sat up with a pop, reverting back to Zhe's original form.
"As one of Hanzo's guards, you're obviously stronger than ordinary bandits."
"So how could someone like you die that easily?"
As Gojo spoke, he raised his arm.
Lightning gathered in his palm, condensing into a spear of pure electricity. With a powerful throw, it shot forward like an arrow.
"That move again!"
Seeing the lightning spear instantly close in, Zhe tried to dodge.
But the earlier torrent had already crushed one of his arms and one of his legs—he simply couldn't move in time.
The moment the spear struck his body, it exploded.
Electric currents surged through him, shocking every inch of his flesh, every single cell.
"Ugh—!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body collapsed again, twitching violently.
"Why… kill me?"
Zhe struggled to lift his head, eyes filled with hatred.
He could clearly feel his life slipping away.
"The Land of Rain has been rotten for far too long."
"It's time for change."
Gojo stepped forward, kunai in hand.
"Change?"
"You think killing me will change anything?"
"All the ninja in this country are the same! Even without me, others will do the exact same things!"
"You can kill one me—but can you kill a second? A third? A fourth?"
"Today you saved five villages—can you save ten? Twenty?"
Zhe roared madly.
"If every ninja in this country is like you—oppressing civilians and preying on the weak—then killing them all would be no loss!"
Gojo raised his kunai.
"Kill them all? Hahahahaha!"
Zhe burst into laughter, as if hearing the greatest joke in the world.
"Can you kill Hanzo?"
"He's a demigod!"
"As long as Hanzo lives, the Land of Rain will remain the same!"
"Nothing will change!"
Without another word, Gojo swung his kunai.
A clean slash—
Zhe's head fell.
"Demigod?"
"Even the so-called God of Shinobi can die."
"Let alone a demigod."
With that, Gojo turned and walked out.
With Zhe—the strongest opponent—already dead, the remaining bandits were nothing worth mentioning.
Even the weakest member of the Akatsuki could handle them.
Soon, Konan returned after finishing off the rest.
Looking at Zhe's lifeless body, she spoke with concern:
"Gojo, he was one of Hanzo's guards."
"If Hanzo notices his disappearance and traces it back here—if he finds out we killed him… what then?"
Gojo answered without hesitation:
"Simple. No body, no evidence."
"Then in a few days, we'll have our members near the border spread a rumor—"
"That this guy was actually Danzo's spy, and he ran back to Konoha with a large sum of money."
Konan blinked.
"Even though the war with Konoha ended years ago," Gojo continued calmly,
"with Hanzo's personality, he won't directly provoke them."
"And given Danzo's reputation—even if Hanzo confronts him, no matter how Danzo explains himself, Hanzo won't believe a word."
"If those two end up fighting…"
"That's just dogs biting each other."
Danzo, known as the darkness of Konoha, might not be famous within the village—
But to Hanzo, his name carried weight comparable to the Third Hokage.
After all, the two old foxes had exchanged intelligence more than once.
Blaming Zhe's death on Danzo?
Perfectly fitting.
And besides—
As Konoha's "blame bearer," what's one more accusation?
After all, Zhe himself wasn't objecting anymore.
Right?
"Danzo…"
Konan thought for a moment, recalling what little she knew.
Though not widely known, Danzo still held a certain reputation across the ninja world.
"…Alright."
Though she didn't fully understand Gojo's reasoning, she trusted him.
Using her Paper Jutsu, she relayed the message to the scattered Akatsuki members.
"Alright, Konan. Let's move."
Gojo nodded.
—
As time passed…
Inside Amegakure's office, Hanzo slammed his hand onto the desk, fury erupting.
"Danzo, that bastard!"
"He dares plant spies right under my nose?! Does he have a death wish?!"
The report on the desk contained only a single line:
'Zhe's true identity was a spy for Danzo. His cover exposed, he fled back to Konoha with a large sum of money.'
At the same time—
In Konoha, inside the Hokage's office—
The same report lay before Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"…When did Danzo place spies in Amegakure?"
"And even bring back funds?"
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
After a pause, he spoke to the ANBU in the room:
"Go. Bring Danzo to me."
"Yes!"
As the ANBU vanished, the office fell silent once more.
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