Over the past few days, Hanzo had been pacing around the same underground base, rarely changing locations.
He really wasn't worried about Zōzō tracking him down.
After all, the forces in Zōzō's hands had been severely crippled.
Hanzo stopped writing and turned to look at Hyūga Akira.
Recently, he had been fully occupied with seizing control of the noble factions. Following Akira's suggestions, the results had been striking. By now, Hanzo had forcibly taken one-tenth of the financial power from Zōzō's grasp.
According to the intelligence he'd received, Zōzō was on the verge of losing his mind.
With his own forces shrinking by the day, Zōzō was no longer capable of stopping Hanzo's actions.
Those nobles had also turned out to be far easier to control than expected.
At first, they had refused to cooperate—but after several "demonstrations," their spines softened quickly, and they began leaning toward Hanzo.
At the same time, Hanzo uncovered something else.
In truth, those nobles had been watching and waiting, waiting to see who would ultimately win between him and Zōzō. They merely leaned toward Zōzō because Hanzo's methods were too radical, too hard to control.
More importantly, Hanzo finally discovered how Zōzō had secured their loyalty.
The answer left even him stunned.
It wasn't threats.
It was naked, undisguised profit.
Rain Village itself couldn't generate wealth for the nobles—but Hanzo could.
Over the years, Hanzo had relentlessly waged war beyond Rain Country, even invading minor nations. He'd always believed all he gained from those campaigns was a fearsome reputation.
The truth was far darker.
Those defeated minor countries had paid Rain Country enormous sums of compensation, simply to ensure Hanzo would never attack them again.
And as long as Hanzo lived, those payments continued every single year.
Zōzō had quietly handed over most of that income.
Rain Village received only a small fraction.
The majority flowed directly into the pockets of the nobles.
Which meant—
Hanzo had been fighting, bleeding, and killing for years…
for Zōzō and the nobles.
It was absurd.
If not for Akira's reminder, Hanzo might never have realized it.
After all, he was nothing more than Rain Village's sharpest blade—
a weapon, not a bookkeeper.
Akira's way of thinking had been a tremendous help.
So much so that Hanzo had even considered keeping this "Kiryū" at his side permanently.
And yet—
Akira had unexpectedly asked to go out on a mission.
Hanzo pondered for a moment before speaking.
"I'll have Murakami Hua take you—"
"Lord Hanzo," Akira interrupted calmly, "I've completed a powerful new technique. I can handle missions alone now. Even jōnin won't be a problem."
His confidence was at an all-time high.
The sniper-style combat system he'd perfected had inflated his self-belief to dangerous levels.
Hanzo's gaze sharpened.
After a brief silence, he reached for a portrait and handed it to Akira.
"Yamada Nakaken. A major noble."
"Kill him."
Yamada Nakaken was protected by three chūnin.
Hanzo knew Akira's strength well—he was already at the absolute peak of chūnin level. This mission was well within his capabilities.
Hanzo wasn't about to let Akira throw his life away, so he deliberately assigned a simple task.
And strategically speaking, Yamada Nakaken's death would eliminate one-third of Zōzō's financial support.
Then the tide would truly turn.
"The rest of the intel is in the intelligence room."
"Yes."
Inside the dim intelligence chamber, Akira located the Yamada clan's files.
The family controlled an entire city.
Rain Country operated under a feudal system. The daimyō ruled the capital, while each city was governed by a noble family.
In theory, all nobles answered to the daimyō.
In practice?
If that were true, Rain Country wouldn't have been locked in constant internal conflict.
The Yamada clan was considered a great noble house precisely because they controlled one of Rain Country's three major cities.
Cities of that scale had enormous influence over the entire nation.
Akira's fingers brushed over the coarse paper of the report.
One line caught his attention.
Yamada Nakaken will soon depart for another major noble city.
The document didn't specify the reason, but given Hanzo's recent actions, Akira could guess easily.
Hanzo had been far too aggressive.
Yamada Nakaken was almost certainly going to seek support.
Rain Country had one capital, three major cities, and more than a dozen minor ones.
As the lord of a major city, Yamada Nakaken wouldn't beg from smaller nobles.
His only option was to seek aid from someone of equal standing.
As for why he didn't appeal directly to the daimyō—
Akira couldn't quite figure that out.
But that decision created an opportunity.
A perfect one.
"Only three chūnin?" Akira muttered, disappointed.
Three chūnin were barely worth mentioning.
That was maybe three thousand experience points at most.
After feasting on five-digit EXP gains, this felt… underwhelming.
Still, it was perfect for testing his new combat style.
He clenched the file and left the intelligence room.
With an approved mission order, he was free to leave the base.
If he wanted to return later, he'd need to submit the mission order again—success or failure didn't matter. It was the only way back inside.
Once the surveillance gazes vanished, Akira accelerated through the forest.
He climbed to the top of a mountain and activated his Byakugan.
Several kilometers away lay Yamada Nakaken's inevitable route—a main thoroughfare within Rain Country.
Akira had arrived early.
He was waiting.
His current visual range extended to six kilometers. To see farther, he'd need to further upgrade Byakugan.
That range was enough to cover the road completely.
At this distance, most ninja wouldn't even know they were being watched.
Even if someone somehow discovered his position, sprinting here at full speed would still take five minutes.
Plenty of time to retreat safely.
Not to mention—
Akira had already scattered kunai throughout the mountain, ready for instant substitutions if needed.
He swallowed a bitter soldier pill and settled in.
According to the intel, the target's pace was slow.
It would take one or two days for Yamada Nakaken to pass through this area.
"Let's hope the intel's accurate."
Meanwhile—
Hanzo stood atop the highest point of the base.
Behind him, rows of shinobi knelt on one knee.
Their eyes burned with fervor as they looked up at him.
Murakami Hua stood just behind Hanzo, flanked by several jōnin.
"Lord Hanzo," someone couldn't help asking excitedly, "is it time to begin the reform?"
Some faces shone with anticipation.
Others were conflicted.
They accepted Hanzo as Rain Village's leader—but that didn't mean they accepted change.
Hanzo spoke calmly, as if he'd seen through all of them.
"This is not reform."
"It is reclaiming what was always ours."
He had already secured much of the nobles' support.
Zōzō no longer had the power to resist.
But reality shifted faster than expected.
Large numbers of shinobi from Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure had begun entering Rain Country.
He couldn't ignore that.
Things had to move faster.
Everything was ready.
All that remained was—
"A blade," Hanzo murmured, his eyes gleaming.
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