Mizukage's Pokémon Ninja Scroll

Chapter 345 Two Choices

'The old man has indeed become weaker.'

Originally, Tachibana Kenkawa was worried that he might not be able to hide his identity when facing a strong opponent like Hanzo the Salamander.

After all, most of his moves are already very distinctive.

However, to his surprise, Hanzo the Salamander was weaker than he had imagined.

Or rather, his fighting spirit has deteriorated too much, making it difficult for him to unleash his full potential even if he still possesses Kage-level strength.

But upon closer reflection, it's not surprising.

Since the Second Shinobi World War, Hanzo of the Salamander has rarely taken action personally, relying solely on his former reputation to scare away petty villains.

Due to the changing situation, the three kingdoms of Fire, Earth, and Wind did not place the main battlefield within the territory of the Land of Rain during this Ninja World War.

The once mighty ninjas have already lost their will due to their aging bodies, let alone a demigod of the ninja world who is the leader of a small country?

Looking at Hanzo's fallen body, even Tachibana Kanagawa, the culprit, felt a pang of sorrow.

The noisy surroundings fell silent at this moment because of the death of Hanzo the Salamander.

The ninjas from Amegakure who were around were initially stunned when they saw Tachibana Kenkawa charge towards their leader.

They were all secretly cursing the overestimation of the abilities of this "Konoha Anbu".

They relinquished the entire battlefield, waiting for the great Hanzo of the Salamander to slay the enemy.

Then everyone can cheer and celebrate, and offer flattery.

Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, after only one exchange, their own leader would be beheaded.

"Is it fake?"

"How is that possible!"

Most of the Rain Village ninjas were momentarily at a loss and confused.

However, a small number of die-hard Hanzo's followers immediately snapped out of their daze and drew their swords, charging towards Tachibana.

"Go to hell!"

"Avenge Lord Hanzo!!"

At the same time, the salamander that had been knocked to the ground by "super strength" under Tachibana Kanagawa's feet had recovered slightly and was twisting its huge body, trying to stand up again.

Jianchuan Ju drew his divine spear again, twirling it in his hand.

They ignored the Rain Village ninja who charged forward in anger.

He plunged the short knife in his hand deep into the head of the salamander.

"Shoot him, you sharpshooter!"

The blade of the short knife trembled and hummed slightly.

The sharp blade shot out at high speed, piercing through the salamander's head and embedding itself in the ground.

"Bang!"

Before it could even let out a scream, the salamander burst into a huge cloud of white smoke and disappeared without a trace.

When the smoke cleared, Jianchuan Ju was nowhere to be seen.

Even the corpse of Hanzo the Salamander has disappeared without a trace.

Everyone looked around in confusion.

Having suddenly lost their leader, it will probably take them some time to accept this fact.

Above an empty tower.

Nagato was anxiously waiting, carrying the unconscious Kyusuke.

"Whoosh~"

Tachibana Kanagawa instantly appeared beside Nagato.

As for Hanzo's corpse, he had already put it into the sealing scroll on the way back.

"All done! How's it going? You've already contacted Yahiko, right?"

However, Nagato seemed somewhat flustered when faced with Tachibana's problem.

"You...you just killed Hanzo?"

"What else? Keep him around for the New Year?"

After removing the mask from her face, Jianchuan Ju rolled her eyes in disdain.

"I'm a Mizukage, after all. It's not surprising that I defeated Hanzo of the Salamander, is it?"

However, upon hearing Tachibana's question, Nagato remained speechless for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Fortunately, the baby he was carrying slowly woke up, interrupting his helplessness.

However, Tachibana immediately stepped forward and delivered a chop to Hatosuke's neck, knocking him unconscious again before he was fully awake.

"Huh? What's going on?"

"It's best not to let anyone else know your current identity or that you're still alive."

In the ninja world, there are countless methods for gathering information from corpses, let alone information from living people.

The more people know that Nagato is still alive, the more dangerous he becomes.

Furthermore, Tachibana Kanagawa doesn't really want to reveal to more people that she possesses the ability to revive others.

Looking at Nagato, who seemed to be checking Kyusuke's injuries, Tachibana Kenkawa said helplessly.

"Don't worry, I'm a medical ninja, how could he possibly kill me? What did you say to Yahiko before?"

"Yahiko said he'll be here to help us soon."

Upon hearing this, Tachibana looked down at the Amegakure members who had begun to calmly resume their search and said indifferently.

"Then you should inform Yahiko again that we will meet up outside Amegakure."

Take Amegakure, for example, which doesn't even have a defensive barrier right now.

While Tachibana and Nagato weren't exactly free to come and go as they pleased, they were certainly beyond the reach of the search party of about a hundred people.

Before long, the two arrived silently outside Amegakure.

Yahiko and Konan also arrived and joined the two.

Upon seeing Tachibana Kenkawa, Yahiko bowed once again.

"Thank you, Tachibana."

Seeing this, Tachibana Kanagawa also showed a satisfied smile.

He also knew that Yahiko's gratitude was not because he had killed Hanzo the Salamander, but because his actions had saved his comrade, Kyusuke.

In Yahiko's mind, the lives of the organization's elders and comrades were clearly more important.

Moreover, after seeing through Hanzo the Salamander's true colors, he had completely given up on the idea of ​​joining his ranks.

"There's no need for thanks. Akatsuki taking over Amegakure is a good thing for Kirigakure as well."

However, Yahiko still thanked him again with a serious expression.

"Ju, I will always remember your kindness. Please feel free to ask me for anything in the future."

After hearing this, Jianchuan Ju did not dwell on it any further.

Instead, he took out the scroll containing the corpse of Hanzo the Salamander from his pocket and handed it to Yahiko.

"This is the corpse of Hanzo the Salamander. Although the old man's strength is far less than it used to be, his prestige is still there. His death will inevitably cause a violent upheaval in the Land of Rain."

At this point, Tachibana Kenkawa paused slightly and looked at Yahiko's expression.

Seeing that the other party did not seem to mind or complain, he continued.

"I have two suggestions for you to consider."

Yahiko simply nodded slightly upon hearing this, waiting for Tachibana Kanagawa to continue.

"First, I have a way to allow you to perfectly disguise yourself as Hanzo the Salamander and gain most of his abilities."

"At that time, you, disguised as Hanzo the Salamander, will govern Amegakure. As for the issue of death, as long as you show a little bit of your strength, any excuse can be used to explain it away."

"Second, I will hand over Hanzo's body to you. You will announce to the public, in the name of the Akatsuki leader, that you have recovered Hanzo's body and avenged him."

"However, whether you can successfully take over Amegakure depends on your own efforts."

"But no matter what, unrest within the Land of Rain is inevitable for some time to come. I can offer some covert support to Kirigakure, but I will absolutely not publicly announce an alliance with Akatsuki."

"The choice is yours."

(End of this chapter)