Naruto: Fooling the Ninja World, I'm Hailed as a Savior

The Land of Rain.

It sits in the central part of the shinobi world's largest continent, bordering the three great nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth, and the three smaller nations of Grass, Bird, and River. Between the Lands of Earth and Wind and the Land of Rain are towering mountain ranges.

This means the Land of Rain has mountain barriers on two sides, forming a funnel-shaped terrain that blocks the warm, moist air currents blowing towards the Lands of Wind and Earth.

This forces the moisture-laden air to rise, condensing into large amounts of orographic rainfall, leading to concentrated precipitation in the Land of Rain.

It is this extreme terrain that has resulted in most of the Lands of Earth and Wind being covered by desolate rock formations and deserts, creating a "Crying Country."

At the same time, abundant rainfall converges into several surging rivers, flowing like main arteries to the surrounding nations, nourishing the Land of Birds, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rivers, even providing the Land of Wind with a few precious oases…

But the great nations do not thank the Land of Rain. Located between the three great nations of Earth, Wind, and Fire, the Land of Rain has, to varying degrees, become a buffer and sacrifice for the great nations' conflicts during both the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars, making this crying country even more desolate and sorrowful.

Splatter… Splatter…

Atop the tallest tower in the entire Hidden Rain Village, a figure stood by the window, looking out. A gas mask covered his indifferent face, and his long, white-yellow hair swayed in the wind.

The torrential rain of the night lashed against the glass. Aside from the small area illuminated by the lights, everything else was dim, nothing clearly visible. If an outsider could witness this man's appearance, they would instantly be surprised by his agedness upon recognizing him.

It wasn't just external aging, but a pervasive decay that penetrated his very being. A decrepit, hollow decay, as if gnawed away by insects.

"Salamander Hanzō," once the powerful ninja who single-handedly suppressed the great nations during the Second Great Ninja War, once the hero and legend of Hidden Rain Village, once the strongest figure who almost represented the peak and limit of non-bloodline limit ninjas…

He was old. He was a contemporary of Chiyo, and now over sixty. He could feel with agonizing clarity that his vitality and power were ebbing away.

The poison sac, once proudly implanted within him, had become the source of his pain and abhorrence. Powerlessness and old age had made this once strong individual paranoid.

He even had round-the-clock guards. Every single second of his life was now lived in the fear of death. All of this was because of that brat named "Nagato," that terrifying power…

"Lord Hanzō."

A voice from behind startled Hanzō awake from his daze. He subconsciously frowned slightly and glanced back before saying grimly, "Still haven't found them?"

"Forg- forgive me, Lord Hanzō."

Facing the increasingly moody Hanzō, the Hidden Rain ninja's voice trembled. "Most of the Akatsuki remnants have been cleared out, but those two leaders still haven't been found. Every time we find a trace, our pursuit always ends in failure."

"It's like…"

At this point, he paused, not daring to continue, but Hanzō spoke, his voice slightly cold. "It's like, they received news and intel in advance?"

Indeed, Hidden Rain Village is still not clean! Why! Why does someone always betray me? I just want to live. I just want to let the Land of Rain live. Am I wrong? No, I'm not wrong! If it weren't for me, the Land of Rain would still be a sacrifice to the great nations! The ones who are wrong are those naive fools!

Feeling the violent killing intent emanating from Hanzō, the Hidden Rain ninja knelt behind him, head bowed and trembling. After a long time, the chill gradually dispersed, and Hanzō asked indifferently, "Anything else?"

"..."

The Hidden Rain ninja's throat bobbed, unable to speak for a moment. Seeing this, Hanzō felt uneasy, frowning and roaring, "Speak!"

"Yes! Yes!" The Hidden Rain ninja swallowed, trembling. "According to intelligence, the Land of Fire has declared war on the Land of Lightning!"

"..."

The room fell into a deathly silence. He received no response. He only dared to keep his head bowed, not daring to look up. A bleak, leaden sky split open. A bolt of lightning pierced the darkness, illuminating the world, and also Hanzō's pale, fearful face.

Why? How? The Land of Fire actually declared war on the Land of Lightning! The Second and Third Great Ninja Wars were separated by more than a decade. But now, only four short years after the Third War, the clouds of war once again enveloped the shinobi world?

Boom!!

A thunderclap, like a war drum's burst, echoed through the sky, startling Hanzō from his fright and panic. "Lord Hanzō…" a cautious voice came from behind him.

Hanzō quickly suppressed the timidity on his face, his tone returning to normal. "I know. You may leave." The Hidden Rain ninja paused, but still respectfully complied, exiting the room and closing the door. Although Hanzō had aged, and his personality had even become moody, in the eyes of Hidden Rain ninjas, Hanzō was still their hero.

But…

"War, war! Why! Why?!"

As a buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Lands of Earth and Wind, if the war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning escalated further, and the Lands of Wind and Earth decided to join the battlefield, the Land of Rain would have no chance of escaping its fate of becoming a sacrifice once again! In fact, Hanzō could already guess that once the other great nations received this news, they would surely send people to the Land of Rain to probe.

At this thought, Hanzō looked at the rain outside the window, falling like a waterfall, blown by a strong wind into smoke and mist, making it indistinct.

If I die, what will become of the Land of Rain? If I die, what will become of the people of the Land of Rain? If I die, how will I face those who once sacrificed themselves? If I die, will everything I have now vanish into thin air? If I die, will I fall from a revered hero to a despised sinner?

Such thoughts irrepressibly surfaced in Hanzō's mind. He felt like a rootless water hyacinth drifting in this turbid, murky pond, and beneath the rain curtain, beneath the rippling surface of the water, were schools of bloodthirsty piranhas, waiting.

Once he showed even a hint of fatigue, they would tear a piece of flesh from him! The entire Hidden Rain Village and the Land of Rain rested on Hanzō's spine.

It was precisely because of his existence that during the Third Great Ninja War, the Land of Rain was not severely affected.

But now, Hanzō was truly too old. That once proud, broad, unyielding back could no longer bear the incredibly heavy hopes of hundreds of thousands of people. Fear, trembling, timidity, shrinking… Hanzō's heart was almost swallowed by these surging emotions. The once sharp, unstoppable blade was now being corroded by the bloodstains on it.

Meanwhile, in a cave near the edge of Hidden Rain Village, three figures clad in black cloaks with red clouds emerged. Their emotionless, death-like eyes looked into the distance, clearly seeing the highest spire of Hidden Rain Village, like an iron-gray giant standing in the low forest, looking down. That was Hanzō's location.

"The Fourth Great Ninja War? The great nations are always so greedy."

The leader, Tendō Pain, said indifferently, then whispered, "Although we haven't found suitable corpses for the lower three Paths of Pain yet, the upper three Paths of Pain should be enough." Given the current turbulent situation in the shinobi world, he could no longer delay.

Taking control of Hidden Rain Village soon would allow Akatsuki to begin recruiting members. And that old, frail Hanzō was no longer in his eyes.