The Land of Rain is filled with legends of Hanzo. Yahiko had admired Hanzo for a long time, but now that he saw him in person, he didn't immediately engage with Hanzo out of respect for Mokgetsu.
"Developing ninja strength is the fundamental way to resolve the chaos in the Land of Rain. As for lasting peace, it depends on the situation of the major countries. Additionally, it's crucial to eliminate domestic ninja organizations that attempt to incite war," Hanzo answered Yahiko's question while gathering chakra.
"Anything else?" Yahiko looked at Hanzo with expectation, thinking he could hear a grand discourse on peace.
Hanzo did not continue to answer Yahiko's question. He gave a glance to the two accompanying ninjas and then erupted his chakra, using Instant Body Jutsu to flash to the top of the valley.
Upon receiving Hanzo's instruction, the other two Rain Ninjas quickly retreated and detonated the trap.
BOOM!!
A violent explosion erupted, the roaring sound echoing throughout the entire valley, and the thick smoke produced by the explosion engulfed Mokgetsu and his group.
"Hanzo is indeed cautious," Kitsuchi thought that the real Hanzo was quite different from the legendary one.
He wasn't really opposed to Hanzo's methods—ninjas aren't samurai, ninjas don't have a one-on-one honor code. A victorious ninja is a good ninja, but the rumors about Hanzo were somewhat too idealized.
"I wonder if the Rinnegan can be used directly like the Sharingan," Shimura Danzo thought about extracting the Rinnegan from Nagato.
It's crucial that the enemy doesn't have the Rinnegan, and it's equally important for Shimura Danzo to have it himself.
After all, these are the eyes of the Six Paths Sage, intrinsic with a mysterious aura.
"Did something go wrong with the trap? The explosion's location is off," overlooking Mokgetsu's group, Hanzo noticed a major issue.
He was supposed to lead them to the epicenter of the explosion, but instead, they were only affected by the blast.
As the dust settled, a flowing water shield and the unharmed Mokgetsu and others were revealed.
At the moment the Explosive Tag detonated, Mokgetsu gathered chakra to use Water Array Wall, perfectly blocking the blast's aftermath, without even a speck of dust on them.
Hanzo frowned. According to his plan, this Explosive Tag trap should have killed all the ninjas except Mokgetsu and Kakuzu, while injuring them as well.
But due to some unforeseen circumstance, his Explosive Tag trap only expended a Water Array Wall's worth of chakra from Mokgetsu, which made Hanzo feel uneasy.
However, Hanzo wasn't worried. Even in direct combat, the 100 elite Rain Ninjas plus himself, a top-tier warrior, could certainly handle Mokgetsu's group.
"What is going on?" Yahiko looked perplexed at the valley left in wreckage by the Explosive Tag explosion.
He didn't understand what had happened, or perhaps his subconscious didn't want to understand.
"What else could it be? Of course, Lord Hanzo, whom you admire, wants to kill you. It's kind of absurd that you can still be so naive at this stage," Kakuzu mocked mercilessly.
In Kakuzu's view, Yahiko was too naive, dangerously so.
"Sure enough, there's a problem," Ike Masaya sighed.
He observed the specific terrain of the meeting place and was almost certain Hanzo had ill intentions; he had subtly warned Mokgetsu upon entering.
At this moment, under the perpetually gloomy sky of the Land of Rain, heavy raindrops pounded down evenly on everyone.
"Even heaven is helping me; it seems no more accidents will occur," Hanzo's face showed a hint of a smile.
For someone adept in Water Release like himself, rainy weather was very advantageous, whereas for Mokgetsu, who excelled in Fire Release, it was the worst.
"Why... why has it come to this?" Yahiko looked at Hanzo in confusion.
They were clearly talking nicely, so why did they suddenly start fighting?
Nagato and Konan were also bewildered by the sudden situation. They had both supported collaboration with the Rain Village and never anticipated this outcome.
"Weren't we supposed to work together to maintain the peace of the Land of Rain? Why do this?" Yahiko questioned Hanzo loudly.
At this moment, Yahiko deeply regretted his passionate speech before the vote; if it weren't for him, maybe there would have been more opposition votes.
Without a doubt, this collaboration was a conspiracy aimed at eliminating their Ninja Sect.
But Yahiko was truly puzzled; he didn't understand why Hanzo would do this, as destroying them brought no benefits to Hanzo.
"Am I not maintaining the peace of the Land of Rain?" Hanzo replied indifferently.
"If you truly wish for peace in the Land of Rain, then die. Only a Land of Rain without the Ninja Sect will be more peaceful."
Yahiko clenched his fists, his eyes fixed on Hanzo. He hadn't expected Hanzo to be such a sinister and malicious person.
After this incident, Yahiko might never believe any rumors again; Hanzo truly gave him a hard lesson.
"It's nothing more than fears about your influence on power, such tedious reasons," Kakuzu said mockingly. "You earnestly seek peace expecting nothing else, but others might not necessarily see it the same way. They only believe what they think."
Watching Mokgetsu and Yahiko being betrayed and falling into danger, Kakuzu seemed to see his former self.
Though the experiences weren't exactly the same, their nature was almost identical.
"Sensei, I'm sorry," Nagato looked at Mokgetsu with a face full of apology.
He was also one of the proponents of the collaboration and felt he was at fault too.
"How could this be your fault? You are merely victims," Mokgetsu shook his head and patted Nagato's head.