Chapter 202: Hanzō's Conviction
Unfortunately, in the end, Hanzō still lowered his hand…
"You three are very strong, to have survived under my hands." Standing atop the ferocious salamander, Hanzō looked down at them expressionlessly. "Since that's the case, I'll spare your lives!"
"We don't need your pity—we can still fight!" Jiraiya, already exhausted and being supported by Tsunade, still tried to act tough. Tsunade drove her elbow into him hard, forcing him to shut up.
"The three of you are powerful. In that case, I will call you the Three Sannin of Konoha!" Hanzō glared as he let out a low roar. "Carry your name and live on…"
With that, Hanzō, alone, rode his salamander and slowly disappeared into the curtain of rain.
"Hah… we survived…" Tsunade let out a long sigh of relief as she supported Jiraiya and Orochimaru into a nearby dry cave. Completely exhausted, they urgently needed some food.
From that moment on, the fates of the four diverged…
After his defeat, Hanzō was forced to bow to the three great ninja villages, gradually losing his conviction, and was ultimately killed by the Six Paths of Pain—this was his fate. As for the Three Sannin, they would encounter Nagato, Yahiko, and their group taking shelter from the rain in that cave. This would begin the master-disciple bond between Jiraiya and the three, laying the groundwork for Naruto's future persuasion of Nagato…
With the two plotlines split so completely, logically speaking, the Three Sannin would never again meet the Hanzō who granted them their title!
However…
"Legendary Hanzō, are you pitying others—or pitying yourself?" A scornful laugh echoed through the rain, like the resonance of a conch shell, piercing coldly through every drop…
Within the rain, the salamander stopped. Hanzō frowned and roared angrily, "Who is it? Show yourself! Coward hiding in the shadows!"
"A coward hiding in the shadows?" The ferocious Hanzō slowly slithered out of the rain. Standing calmly , Li Jiexuan grinned viciously. "The last person who said that died a miserable death!"
"A child?" Hanzō frowned even deeper, raising a brow in confusion. "Who exactly are you?"
"Who I am isn't important." Li Jiexuan sneered, curling his lip. "What matters is—do you still remember who you are, Hanzō?"
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Hanzō's expression grew uglier and uglier, as if a sore spot had been struck, his teeth clenched tight.
"You didn't just spare them—you spared yourself!" Li Jiexuan sneered. "You didn't dare kill them, did you?"
"Damn you, what nonsense are you spouting?" Enraged, Hanzō hurled his chain-sickle, trying to split Li Jiexuan in two.
"Clang!"
The Kusanagi Sword easily parried the chain-sickle aside. Li Jiexuan curled his lip in disdain. "Looks like you've completely admitted defeat? Still unwilling to face yourself?"
In truth, Hanzō had already lost his conviction the moment he spared the Three Sannin…
Because he was afraid!
When fighting the Three Sannin, he gave it his all. Because the Hidden Rain Village had not yet lost, he wanted to drive the three great ninja villages out with his own strength. This was the responsibility of one of the strongest ninja in the world!
But when he was held back by the Three Sannin and the Hidden Rain Village fell into defeat, he faltered. If he killed the high-profile Three Sannin of Konoha, Konoha would never let it go. At that point, it was entirely possible that they would mobilize the entire village to annihilate the defeated Hidden Rain Village…
And so, Hanzō found himself an excuse. On the surface, he spared the Three Sannin—but in reality, he spared himself. He had already conceded defeat!
From that very moment, he had already lost his conviction!