"The second puppet..."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, recalling that the Red Sand Sasori and Asura Path Pain had some similarities, and he understood everything: "It should be the Red Sand Sasori..."
Red Sand Sasori...
Had long become a puppet of Akihara Kagura!
That's why the Red Sand Sasori always cooperated with Akihara Kagura!
"Indeed."
The Salamander Hanzo puppet nodded, responding to Orochimaru's words: "When Jiraiya-sensei and I encountered you and the Red Sand Sasori, you rescued Sasori's puppet but forgot Sasori's true body..."
"It was at that moment..."
"I made Sasori into an Asura Path. Perhaps there is no one more suitable as an Asura Path puppet master than Sasori in this world. He is like a work of art, even I couldn't find any flaws in him..."
"Alright."
Salamander Hanzo's voice calmed down, his gaze once again swept over everyone present, finally landing on Jiraiya: "Anyway, there's still plenty of time today. After the war truly begins, we might not have time to discuss these matters... And you shouldn't doubt it, because the appearance of the Ninja Alliance was within my expectations."
"Within your... expectations?"
Uchiha Madara narrowed his eyes.
"Yes."
Salamander Hanzo nodded slightly, continuing coldly: "When I wanted to destroy this world, humanity began to slowly unite under the pressure of world destruction..."
"Even without Hanzo..."
"The distorted situation of the Ninja Alliance would still have occurred."
"Of course."
"My actions indeed facilitated the growth of the Ninja Alliance."
"To ensure the success of my plan to destroy the Ninja World, I needed some slightly long-term strategies, like promoting a person to become the Ninja Alliance Commander..."
"And this minor strategem..."
"Was just a consequence from many years ago..."
"Probably during the Second Ninja War, to protect the Land of Rain from being affected by the conflicts of the Hidden Sand Village, The Hidden Rock Village, and Konoha, Salamander Hanzo boldly waged war against the Great Country Ninja Villages, and the outcome was naturally a defeat..."
"During this war, many things happened. Perhaps you've all been pondering how, in the Second Ninja War, the Hidden Sand Village was defeated by the army led by Konoha White Fang Hatake Sakumo; contemplating the failure of Salamander Hanzo and the Land of Rain challenging the great nations..."
At this point, Salamander Hanzo's gaze fell on Uchiha Madara, who was floating in the air: "And some people contemplating Nagato's life path, wondering if there might be any issues with Nagato's Rinnegan..."
"I, however, focused on one thing..."
"After Salamander Hanzo's defeat in that war, he spared three young people who lost to him and generously bestowed upon them the title of Sannin of Konoha..."
"When I heard this story, Salamander Hanzo's glory was long gone, leaving only an old man in the twilight of his years. I began using him to execute a ten-year plan, promoting Salamander Hanzo, who had already lost his fighting spirit, to regain his renowned name..."
"Firstly..."
"I made him into a Rinnegan puppet."
"To determine whether the Rinnegan could see through puppets, I intentionally had Salamander Hanzo appear before Senior Nagato and perform a righteous act, and it seemed Senior Nagato didn't notice anything amiss..."
"Then..."
"I proceeded to have him perform before Jiraiya-sensei..."
"Of course, this was still not enough, because the Ninja World had long forgotten about Salamander Hanzo. Even many young ninjas didn't remember this person..."
"But I knew there were three people who would surely remember..."
Akihara Kagura, controlling Salamander Hanzo, focused his gaze on Tsunade and Orochimaru, his throat emitting a raspy, aged laughter: "Lady Tsunade, Lord Orochimaru, Jiraiya-sensei, you all would surely remember this old man..."
"Among the Great Nations of the Ninja World..."
"Konoha's strength is the greatest..."
"Because of my presence in Konoha, its influence is unprecedented. I promoted Lord Orochimaru to assassinate the Third Hokage, successfully reigniting his fame..."
"The position of Hokage is one I deliberately abandoned."
"I intentionally portrayed myself as excessively extreme, choosing to forgo the fight for the Hokage position, with the goal that Jiraiya-sensei or Lady Tsunade would assume the position of Hokage, because within Konoha Village, only you two hold deep memories of Salamander Hanzo..."
"... "
Tsunade's heart throbbed with pain.
This situation...
Occurred now and then after Akihara Kagura's defection.
Every time Tsunade contemplated Akihara Kagura's actions, her heart would ache, once more enveloped by a suffocating sensation.
Yes.
This guy isn't wrong...
Only the Sannin of Konoha would remember Salamander Hanzo...
Indeed, only the Sannin of Konoha in the entire Ninja World would have a profound impression of Salamander Hanzo, for their renown and youthful admiration for strength were represented by this man, Salamander Hanzo!
"Lady Tsunade assumed the position of Hokage..."
"Everything is developing according to my expectations..."
The voice of Salamander Hanzo gradually became uniform, even with a tinge of self-satisfied delight: "At the perfect moment, I unveiled my true face, going to the Land of Rain to attack an important part of Senior Nagato's plan..."