After Hanzō entered the Hidden Rain Village, Masanari, currently the highest commander, immediately came out to greet him.
Masanari said excitedly, "I knew you would be fine.
Your strength has long surpassed Besa's.
The position of leader of the Hidden Rain Village should have been yours."
"Alas, if Besa hadn't been so stubborn, I wouldn't have resorted to this method.
Even if I were to take the leader's position, it would have been through proper channels," Hanzō said with a slight sigh.
"But Besa was the one who tried to attack you; you can't blame anyone else.
You've always considered the Hidden Rain Village's best interests, but Besa was only concerned with his own power," Masanari said.
"People always change," Hanzō said, as if lamenting something, then shook his head and told Masanari, "Regardless, he was the former leader of the Hidden Rain Village and made contributions.
After everything is over, find a good place to bury him."
"Lord Hanzō is truly too kind.
If it were Besa, would he have made such arrangements for you?" Masanari said, but still took the scroll from Hanzō's hand, deciding to respect his command.
"How is the situation in the village?" Hanzō asked as he walked.
"Very good.
Lord Hanzō's views already had many supporters within the village.
Most of those who hadn't declared their stance were intimidated by Besa's authority.
After learning of Besa's downfall, they immediately supported you.
The remaining loyalists to Besa have mostly been cleared out, with only a few managing to escape," Masanari said.
"Let those who escaped be.
The most important thing now is to stabilize the village; there's no need to waste energy on insignificant people.
They won't be able to stir up any trouble anyway.
If they behave, let them be rogue ninja outside; with their abilities, they can at least make a living," Hanzō said indifferently.
"I thought the same, which is why I didn't send anyone to pursue them," Masanari nodded and said.
The two entered the leader's residence in the Hidden Rain Village.
At this time, the new high-ranking officials, led by Hanzō, were gathered there.
Most of them were key cadres from Hanzō's faction, with some having defected from Besa's side.
They had contributed to this operation, offering their allegiance, and were thus accepted.
"Thank you," Hanzō first expressed his gratitude to Ussu.
He knew that without Ussu's defection, even if they had won, the cost would have been much greater.
"As long as Lord Hanzō remembers his promise," Ussu replied calmly.
"Naturally." Hanzō nodded at Ussu upon hearing this, then addressed everyone, "Since you all recommend me as the leader of the Hidden Rain Village, I hereby assure you that from today onwards, the Hidden Rain Village will prioritize the well-being of its villagers and the people of the Land of Rain.
We have no ambitions; everything is for our own protection.
Whoever is willing to help us, I will cooperate with them.
Whoever seeks to invade us, I will be the first to confront them."
Hanzō's words outlined the future policy of the Hidden Rain Village.
This was a decision that the high-ranking officials present had long awaited.
Their primary target for cooperation was the Hidden Leaf Village, which had already extended an olive branch.
All that remained was for the Hidden Rain Village to reach out and accept it.
Of course, before that, Hanzō needed to fully control the situation in the Hidden Rain Village.
The first step was to confirm his official status as leader.
Hanzō ordered a message to be sent to the capital, and soon after, a document from the capital arrived at the Hidden Rain Village.
The document recognized Hanzō as the new generation leader of the Hidden Rain Village.
Coupled with the support of influential ninja clans within the village, Hanzō truly became the leader of the Hidden Rain Village.
After becoming leader, Hanzō still had many important things to do.
He did not ascend to the position through normal procedures, so all the scrolls and documents needed to be carefully examined to fully take over the leader's authority, otherwise, it would leave some hidden dangers.
Hanzō couldn't help but wonder if Fumori Masaki had the same feelings when he became the Third Hokage.
Perhaps not, after all, he was the Second Hokage's direct disciple, ascending to the Hokage position through legitimate means, unlike himself, who ascended through force.
However, even if his position wasn't entirely legitimate, Hanzō believed he could bring peace to the Hidden Rain Village and the Land of Rain.
He would try to achieve it by any means necessary.
Perhaps even heaven was rejoicing for the future of the Land of Rain.
As Hanzō walked out of his residence, he suddenly heard the sound of rain slowly fading away.
He looked up in surprise and saw the perpetually overcast clouds slowly parting, revealing a ray of sunlight that gently fell upon the village.
"Incredible, the perennial heavy rain in the Land of Rain actually…" Hanzō was shocked and murmured to himself.
He wasn't the only one; the Hidden Rain ninja who noticed this scene couldn't hide their shock.
They had never seen a clear sky since childhood, spending their days with torrential rain.
But now, the sky actually revealed a dazzling ray of sunlight, as if a ray of hope had descended.
Such an anomaly couldn't help but make people ponder, especially after Hanzō ascended to the position of Hidden Rain leader.
The Hidden Rain ninja near Hanzō immediately looked over, with various emotions in their eyes, but one emotion was shared by everyone—anticipation.
After order was restored, such weather seemed to suggest that Hanzō would bring new life to the Hidden Rain Village.
Hanzō would never have imagined that his position would quickly solidify because of this weather.
Besides the Hidden Rain Village, other parts of the Land of Rain were also shocked by this anomaly.
In the ancient records of the Land of Rain, there were similar accounts, often regarded as auspicious omens.
The Daimyō of the Land of Rain, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but believe that Hanzō was truly the one who could bring hope to the Hidden Rain Village, and he held him in even higher regard, secretly deciding to give him more support.
"My goodness, this guy isn't some child of destiny, is he?" Meanwhile, Hyūga Kai, hidden in a secret location, looked at Hattori Heizo in surprise.
Hattori Heizo remained silent, evidently not knowing how to respond.
In historical records, great figures were often described with special characteristics, such as born with unusual phenomena or auspicious signs from heaven.
However, Hyūga Kai and Hattori Heizo had never witnessed such things firsthand, but now it had happened.
Hanzō's ascent to leadership and the clearing of the sky, two events combined, made people inevitably think of other things.
"In any case, our mission is complete.
Whether Hanzō becomes a great figure in the Land of Rain has little to do with us," Hyūga Kai said with a slight cough.
"Hmm." Hattori Heizo then let the matter drop, narrowing his eyes at the sunlight he saw for the first time in the Land of Rain, and murmured, "It's finally time to leave here."
"I believe the Third Hokage will be very pleased," Hyūga Kai said with a smile.
"With Hanzō becoming leader, the Hidden Rain Village should quickly form an alliance with our village, and the village can finally take another step forward."
The commercial activities of the Hidden Leaf Village were not left to free trade for merchants.
The ninja village would impose certain regulations.
In addition, it established commercial workshops centered on the village.
For the purpose of attracting support, ninja clans were allowed to invest in them.
The profits obtained from this were not comparable to simple agricultural production.
With benefits, the ninja clans contributed significantly to the development of industry and commerce.
The ninja village, of course, gained the most profit, with abundant funds unlike before.
More importantly, the development of other departments continuously strengthened the ninja village's power.
After the concluding work in the Land of Rain was finished, Hyūga Kai and Hattori Heizo set off back to the Hidden Leaf Village, writing a detailed report and sending it to the Hokage's office desk.
Upon learning of their return, Fumori Masaki found this report and began reading it first.
After reading it all, he let out a slight sigh of relief, thinking, "This way, an alliance with the Hidden Rain Village will soon come.
Both the Hidden Rain Village and our village will benefit greatly, but—"
The Land of Rain was at the intersection of three countries, and both the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth could clearly observe the situation in the Land of Rain.
After the last Chunin Exam, other countries began to learn from the Hidden Leaf Village's methods, supporting the development of commerce within their villages.
Due to their unfamiliarity, current development was limited, but it was expected to gradually get on track in the future.
As long as they were clear-headed, they would know the benefits that the Land of Rain could bring.
However, Fumori Masaki was not particularly afraid.
The Land of Fire's commerce was ahead of other countries, and other countries' resources were not as good as the Land of Fire's.
The possibility of catching up was very low.
Instead, Fumori Masaki even hoped that they would compete with the Hidden Leaf Village in the commercial field, as their chances of winning were quite high.
Of course, Fumori Masaki knew in his heart that this was impossible.
Other countries would not understand the power of capital, and they might truly unleash this beast, at which point war would be inevitable.
This was also good; Fumori Masaki's goal was to establish the Hidden Leaf Village's hegemonic position, which would certainly be achieved through warfare.
The key was how to maximize his gains under the banner of righteousness.