In the blink of an eye, Hanzo arrived at another battlefield.
"Ice Release, Lava Release, Boil Release, Shikotsumyaku…"
"My haul from the Mist battlefield these past few days has been plentiful indeed. But I didn't expect a bonus like this."
Looking at the pink crystals drifting through the air, Hanzo rolled his wrist.
Before long, the Amegakure prison gained another occupant.
"So, Crystal Release is mine too. That about rounds out the bloodline limits on the Mist side."
"But on Konoha's side, I still haven't run into a single Sharingan. Were the Uchiha sent to another battlefield?"
"Come to think of it, besides the Hyūga and the Uchiha, what bloodline limits does Konoha even have?"
Hanzo thought for a moment.
"The Kurama clan barely counts as one. Then there's the Gekko clan's Transparency Release. The Senju are already finished. Aburame, Ino-Shika-Chō, Inuzuka… those are secret jutsu clans, not bloodline limits. What else is there…"
...
"Konoha really doesn't seem to have many kekkei genkai at all."
Hanzo was starting to feel uneasy. He had been moving far too aggressively lately.
The casualty rate on the Mist battlefield was high, yes—but with this many bloodline users vanishing without a trace, Kirigakure would realize something soon enough.
And he had killed quite a few Konoha shinobi too. A sudden spike in deaths like this would make their side suspicious just as quickly.
"This bounty hunter identity only exists to work with Danzō and hide my activity on the Mist battlefield while I collect bloodline limits."
"If he doesn't want his own dirt exposed, he'll take the blame for everything. But while it's a black mark for me, for him it's war merit."
Hanzo had already squeezed nearly all the value he could out of the Mist battlefield. There wasn't much point in staying any longer.
He thought of the target he was supposed to kill—Dan Katō.
Before leaving, he might as well weaken Konoha a little more.
---
On the Mist Battlefield.
Konoha was being driven back step by step.
The medical tents were now filled with more wounded every day than they could handle—several times more than before.
Many shinobi were dying outside before they could even receive emergency treatment.
Ever since Danzō was injured, Konoha's situation had deteriorated steadily, forcing them to retreat again and again.
The reinforcements sent in were nowhere near the same quality—or quantity, as the previous ones.
Konoha's battlefield commander was at his wit's end. It was as if Kirigakure somehow knew their operational plans in advance—every ambush landed exactly where it needed to.
At this point, the only viable strategy left was to eliminate the enemy commander directly. That was the only way to buy the army even the slightest breathing room.
Dan Katō had just returned to the battlefield. He had served under this same commander before, and the commander knew exactly how capable he was.
What was the Ghost Transformation Jutsu for, if not this kind of mission?
And with Dan's strength, even if something unexpected happened, he should still be able to handle it.
But something felt off.
Too convenient.
As if someone had laid out a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.
As if the entire situation had been carefully guided.
He still couldn't rule out that possibility.
So he called Dan in personally.
"Our casualties have been horrific lately. And every time, the Mist seem to know our moves before we make them."
"I suspect there's a traitor among us."
"If that's true, then there's a good chance the mission I'm about to give you will fall into Mist hands as well."
Dan looked stunned. A traitor in Konoha?
"Of course," the commander added, "it's possible they're under genjutsu. They might not even know they're the mole."
At that, Dan understood and nodded.
"Once you leave this tent, conceal yourself. I'll have someone use a secret jutsu to disguise themselves as you. Leave the rest to me."
"Your real mission is to use the Ghost Transformation Jutsu to monitor the behavior of every high-ranking officer on this battlefield."
After Dan left the tent, the commander let out a long breath.
The fact that the Third Hokage had once appointed him supreme commander proved his ability.
And over the past few days, he had thought long and hard about the situation. One or two parts of a detailed plan might be exposed by chance—but all of them? Over and over?
"That must not be what I think it is…"
The more he considered it, the more certain he became.
And Dan's transfer here had been far too convenient.
He had only just been pulled back from the Mist battlefield. Mist already had plenty of intelligence on him. Logically, he should have been transferred to the Cloud front instead.
With the Ghost Transformation Jutsu, Dan could potentially kill even the Raikage if he caught him off guard.
Putting him here felt like using a priceless blade to chop firewood.
After a moment, the commander still didn't feel at ease. He waved for another person to enter.
"Shinku, you're our best at genjutsu and disguise. I have a mission for you. Follow Dan Katō in secret. I suspect someone intends to make a move on him."
"But isn't my duty to protect you?" Shinku protested. "What happens if I leave and something happens to you?"
"If something happens to me here," the commander replied, "then this entire camp is finished anyway. Don't worry about it."
Only after Shinku left did he finally feel a little less uneasy.
---
Meanwhile, in Sunagakure...
Hanzo's Shadow Clone sat in the Kazekage's chair, looking at Ebizō across from him.
This man really knew nothing.
That fear Hanzo sensed from the depths of his soul could not be faked. But if the Suna weren't responsible, then who was?
That made things troublesome.
If even Hanzo couldn't uncover anything, then Kan wouldn't have a chance either.
Ebizō said, "At the time, Konoha entered the Land of Wind. We sent a pursuit unit after them. If anything unusual happened, Konoha can't be ruled out."
"After failing to catch them, that pursuit unit went directly to reinforce the Land of Earth border. But their commander took on another task and should return by tomorrow morning at the latest."
"Tomorrow morning…"
Hanzo thought for a moment, then slapped Ebizō on the shoulder.
There was a high chance Konoha had done it. But he also couldn't rule out the possibility that Sunagakure was pulling a double-bluff—staging everything to provoke Amegakure into clashing with Konoha.
Still, if Konoha really was responsible, the Suna would at most offer an apology and some token compensation.
That wouldn't even cover Hanzo's wasted chakra and travel expenses.
But since he was already here, letting them off without peeling a layer off them first wouldn't be Hanzo.
Sunagakure had to eat this loss.
Even if they weren't the ones who did it, for his purposes they might as well have been.
"Tonight, I want the truth."
"I don't care whether it was your order or whether that commander acted on his own. Since your village attacked us, don't think this can be settled with a few polite words."
Hanzo pressed his palms together.
The entire village of Sunagakure trembled.
Ebizō looked out the window—and his eyes instantly went wide.
Water.
No, more precisely—
A tidal wave had risen and surrounded the entire village.
Dozens of deafening booms suddenly erupted inside Sunagakure. Pillars of water burst from underground and merged in the sky into a massive sphere.
"In two hours," Hanzo said calmly, "I can wipe Sunagakure off the map."
"I've heard your village is short on water—that you treat every drop like gold."
"This time, I'll make you fear water forever."
"It's nine o'clock now. Before midnight, I want to see the man you mentioned."
"If he isn't here by then, tomorrow will be Sunagakure's funeral day."
Ebizō was completely speechless.
The words stuck in his throat. All that came out were broken, meaningless sounds.
For a moment, he honestly thought he might be under genjutsu.
This was the middle of a desert.
How could anyone possibly use Water Release on this scale?
"I've given you the time. I'll wait right here."
Hanzo looked at him.
"Of course, you can try to run. But I guarantee that by tomorrow, Sunagakure will no longer exist in the shinobi world."
As Ebizō fled in panic, Hanzo bared his teeth in a grin.
That pat on the shoulder from earlier?
Hanzo's Flying Thunder God mark had already been carved into his shoulder—and then shifted to his back.
Unless Ebizō peeled off that layer of skin, he'd be marked for life.
As for the water in the sky—
Hanzo was only a Shadow Clone, and his chakra wasn't abundant anymore. Under normal circumstances, he shouldn't have been capable of such a feat.
But during the day, with nothing better to do, he had taken a look at the underground water veins beneath Sunagakure…
And it turned out the village's location was excellent.
The aquifers under Sunagakure were astonishingly rich. With the village's current population, there was enough water down there to sustain them for a hundred years.
So Hanzo had simply used senjutsu to give those veins a little push.
Since Ebizō had said the man would return tomorrow morning, then he would definitely make it back before dawn.
Now…
All that remained was to wait for the answer.
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