"What will the Land of Rain become in the future?"
As he walked out of the palace of the Daimyo of the Land of Rain, Hanzo, having successfully persuaded the Daimyo, looked up at the gloomy sky, and couldn't help but feel a bit confused in his heart.
This kind of thing was hard to imagine for Hanzo, the dignified Demigod Hanzo actually felt confused about his own decisions.
He always believed he was a ninja with strong faith, so whenever he encountered a ninja with faith, even if the other party was an enemy, he would give them a chance because he admired their faith and persistence.
But at this moment, Hanzo didn't know if what he was doing could be considered right, or if it aligned with his faith.
To stop opposing the Ninja Sect and stop worrying about Sosuke's attacks all day long, he used his prestige in the Land of Rain and the trust of the Daimyo to smoothly make the Daimyo agree to the conditions of the Ninja Sect.
When persuading the Daimyo, Hanzo was also persuading himself.
He told himself that the Ninja Sect did not kill the Hidden Rock Ninja, that the Ninja Sect was indeed as rumored, peace-loving.
He told himself that with the power of the Ninja Sect, the Land of Rain would be stronger, and the country would be more peaceful and safer, rather than more chaotic.
Would reality truly be like this? Actually, Hanzo didn't know; all of this was just him numbing himself towards the best possible outcome.
Once the cooperation officially took effect, the Ninja Sect was equivalent to another Rain Village, having the authority to represent the Land of Rain in war with other countries.
This meant the actions of the Ninja Sect would greatly influence the future of the Land of Rain.
For Hanzo, the Land of Rain was his home, and today, he handed over the future of his home to others.
"I truly haven't adhered to my faith." Hanzo really couldn't continue deceiving himself anymore.
When the words "don't know" emerged in his mind, he actually already knew what his actions meant; he just didn't want to admit it.
After all, he was the revered Demigod Hanzo; he shouldn't make such a grave mistake.
He couldn't remember when it started that he liked finding excuses for himself.
The reason for withdrawing after the failed ambush of Sosuke was for the Rain Village, and the reason for everything that happened with the Ninja Sect was the fault of Hidden Rock and Shimura Danzo; he seemed to have become very skilled at finding various excuses.
"What's done is done, I can only continue moving forward." Hanzo sighed lightly.
Even though he was reflecting now, it was impossible for him to go back to the Daimyo and clarify all the pros and cons and then change the order.
Because he was no longer that firm believer, now he was just a leader of the Rain Village who wanted to live until a natural death.
After returning to the Rain Village, Hanzo dispatched ninjas to join the Hidden Rock in responding to the Ninja Sect.
Hanzo was willing to meet the Ninja Sect's requirements, but he had one demand: the negotiation had to be held near the Rain Village.
The Ninja Sect's credibility in Hanzo's eyes was even less than that of the Hidden Rock, and the two sides had indeed forged a deadly enmity.
Hanzo was very worried that the Ninja Sect would stage a false cooperation and a real ambush, imitating his previous attempt to ambush Sosuke.
Near the Rain Village, Hanzo wouldn't have this concern; no matter how strong Sosuke was, he couldn't possibly destroy the entire Rain Village alone, lacking the stamina and Chakra.
Regarding Hanzo's demand, many ninjas from the Ninja Sect voiced their opposition because once Hanzo put forth this demand, it tasted too much like the previous ambush.
"Why choose near the Rain Village? It should be chosen in the middle region between the Ninja Sect and the Rain Village."
"This choice of location, Hanzo absolutely doesn't have good intentions."
The Ninja Sect ninja demonstrated extreme distrust towards Hanzo.
Yahiko opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing; he bore a lot of responsibility for falling into the ambush trap last time. If they were tricked again because of his words, Yahiko really couldn't face the companions of the Ninja Sect.
Kakuzu's expression was calm; this time he felt that Hanzo didn't have other thoughts, but was just scared by the Ninja Sect.
Because breaking through an ambush was too easy for the Ninja Sect, Mokgetsu only needed to take Kakuzu and Nagato; what could the Rain Village do to ambush them?
If a battle really broke out, they could even kill a batch of Rain Ninja and then leave leisurely.
"It's acceptable to be closer to the Rain Village, but the specific location and time must be decided by us, the Ninja Sect. During negotiations, your Rain Ninjas can bring as many ninjas as you want." Mokgetsu didn't agree to Hanzo's demand but proposed a compromise plan.
He wasn't worried that Hanzo would play the ambush game again; as long as he was present, it wasn't difficult to break through with the Ninja Sect ninjas.
Mokgetsu wanted to convey through refusal that the Ninja Sect would not agree to any unreasonable requests from the Rain Village; don't think that adding a condition means the Ninja Sect really has to comply.
Hanzo could sense Mokgetsu's confidence and disdain towards him from Mokgetsu's response, allowing any number of Rain Ninjas to come along. It was practically telling him face-to-face that they didn't have any thoughts, and if he was afraid, he could just bring more people.
Despite being somewhat annoyed, Hanzo felt a great sense of relief in his heart because this meant that this cooperation discussion was very unlikely to be a conspiracy against him.
Of course, highly unlikely doesn't mean a hundred percent, so Hanzo still took eighty percent of the Rain Village ninjas to the cooperation discussion.
Sunday noon, Hanzo brought a large number of Rain Ninjas, Mokgetsu brought eight Ninja Sect ninjas, Kitsuchi brought a portion of elite Hidden Rock Ninjas, and the three parties held a cooperation discussion near a flat village in a certain location.