But in the end, Hanzō slowly lowered his hand...
"You three are truly formidable — to have survived against me." Standing atop his monstrous salamander, Hanzō looked down at them with an impassive expression.
"Very well then. I shall spare your lives."
"We don't need your pity! We can still fight!" Jiraiya, drained of strength and supported by Tsunade, tried to act tough — until Tsunade silenced him with a sharp elbow to the ribs.
"You three possess great power. From this day forth, I name you the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha!" Hanzō's eyes blazed as he growled the title.
"Bear this honor and survive...!"
With those words, Hanzō turned away. Alone upon his summon, he slowly vanished into the curtain of rain, a solitary figure.
"Phew... we made it out alive..." Tsunade let out a long breath of relief. She helped Jiraiya and Orochimaru into a dry cave nearby; utterly exhausted, they desperately needed food and rest.
From that moment on, the destinies of these four people would diverge completely...
After this defeat, Hanzō had no choice but to submit to the three great villages. Gradually, he lost sight of his own ideals, and in the end, was slain by Pain — such was his fate.
Meanwhile, deep inside that cave, the Sannin would soon encounter Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, seeking shelter from the rain.
That meeting would forge the bond between Jiraiya and his three students, laying the foundation for the day Naruto would stand before Nagato and change his heart...
Once these storylines separated, logically speaking, the Sannin and Hanzō — the man who had named them — were never meant to meet again.
However... "O legendary Hanzō... are you really showing mercy to them, or are you merely pitying yourself?"
A mocking voice drifted through the rain, echoing like sound inside a conch shell — sharp and cold, cutting through every drop of water.
Deep in the mist, the giant salamander halted. Hanzō frowned and roared, "Who goes there? Show yourself, you coward hiding in the shadows!"
"Coward hiding in the shadows?"
The ferocious serpent Shin'ya slowly slithered out from the rain. Aoi Ren stood calmly atop its head, a cold grin on his face.
"The last person who called me that... died a miserable death."
"A child?" The crests above the salamander's eyes furrowed even tighter in confusion. "Just who are you?"
"Who I am doesn't matter." Aoi Ren 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 darkened. He gritted his teeth, as if Aoi Ren's words had struck a raw nerve.
"You didn't spare them just now... you spared yourself." Aoi Ren scoffed. "You were afraid to kill them, weren't you?"
"Dammit — what nonsense are you spouting?!"
Enraged and humiliated, Hanzō hurled his scythe-axe, aiming to cut Aoi Ren clean in half.
CLANG!
The Kusanagi Sword deflected the blow effortlessly. Aoi Ren looked at him with pure disdain. "So you've already admitted defeat? And you still refuse to face the truth?"
In truth, Hanzō had lost his conviction the moment he chose to spare the Sannin...
Because... he was afraid.
During the fight itself, Hanzō had given it his all. Back then, Amegakure had not yet fallen, and his purpose was clear: to use his own strength to drive the great nations out.
That was the duty of the strongest ninja in the world.
But while he was held back by the Sannin, his army collapsed and defeat became reality. And that was when he flinched.
If he had killed the famous three disciples of Konoha, the village would never have let it rest.
They might very well have brought their full might down upon the already defeated Land of Rain and wiped it from the map entirely...
So Hanzō made an excuse for himself. It looked like mercy to the Sannin, but in truth, it was mercy to himself. He had surrendered.
Long before this moment... he had already lost his way.
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