After analyzing Hanzō of the Salamander's intentions and strategy, Mizuki Ryosuke shifted his focus to his own plans and how he could exploit the upcoming war for his benefit.
In the original course of history, Hanzō's plan was both a success and a failure.
The success lay in the fact that Hanzō did manage to spark the Second Shinobi World War, pulling all major villages except Kirigakure into the prolonged conflict. During the war, he cemented his reputation as the "Demi-God of the Shinobi World" by repelling the forces of Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konohagakure in succession. His feats included clashing with the famed puppeteer Chiyo of the Sand, as well as defeating the young yet talented trio of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru—who would later become the Legendary Sannin thanks to him.
Yet, despite this, Hanzō's plan ultimately failed.
Rain Shinobi never truly attained the "detached" status he had hoped for. Instead, the Land of Rain remained a battleground for the three great nations, its people suffering the consequences of endless war. The root cause of this failure was simple—the sheer disparity in strength between Rain Shinobi and the great nations, particularly Konoha.
No matter how skilled Hanzō was, his forces were not strong enough to challenge the military might of the great villages. Even the elite jōnin of Amegakure were no match for their Konoha counterparts. One Konoha jōnin could easily overpower two Ame jōnin, and this vast difference in strength proved insurmountable.
During the war, Hanzō found himself increasingly isolated. His shinobi fell in battle at an alarming rate, and even though he personally outclassed most of his enemies, his subordinates simply couldn't keep up.
One particular incident in the original timeline highlighted Hanzō's predicament:
After defeating Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru in battle, he didn't kill or capture them. Instead, he bestowed upon them the title of Legendary Sannin and let them leave unharmed. Not only that, but he even provided them with the antidote to his highly potent salamander poison, ensuring their survival.
Why?
Was Hanzō truly a noble warrior, a senior figure in the shinobi world who valued honor over victory? Was he so magnanimous that he granted recognition and experience to younger generations for free?
Of course not.
If Hanzō had been soft-hearted, he wouldn't have been capable of orchestrating a war between the great nations in the first place.
The truth was far more pragmatic—he didn't dare kill them.
At the time, Hanzō had hoped to use the war to force Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, into a direct confrontation. But when the battle unfolded, he was taken aback.
Not only did the young Sannin possess formidable strength, but Konoha's overall military superiority became glaringly evident.
Even before the duel between leaders had concluded, the lower-ranked Konoha shinobi had already decimated Amegakure's forces. Hanzō found himself standing alone on the battlefield, his army crushed.
At that moment, an unsettling realization dawned upon him—Konoha's true powerhouse shinobi had not even appeared yet.
The likes of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu—high-ranking figures from the First Shinobi World War—were nowhere in sight.
If he killed the Sannin now, what would happen if Konoha launched a full-scale retaliation?
Would Amegakure be able to withstand their wrath?
Would Hanzō be forced to flee for his life?
Faced with this grim reality, Hanzō made a calculated decision. He spared the Sannin, awarded them their famous title, and extended an olive branch to Konoha in the form of a subtle peace offering.
This battle marked the turning point of Hanzō's ambitions.
Afterward, he became far more cautious, ultimately choosing to withdraw from the front lines rather than pursue further power.
Now, after contemplating all of this, Mizuki Ryosuke knew how to best position himself to benefit from the upcoming war.
A war is a double-edged sword. Handled correctly, it could become a means for Kirigakure to amass power and resources.
Ryosuke had come to the Land of Rain with two objectives in mind.
First: Profiting from the War
Mist Shinobi had a distinct advantage in this conflict—the war itself had no direct connection to them.
The war was fundamentally a reaction to years of exploitation, where larger nations had used smaller countries as battlegrounds and economic pawns.
Kirigakure, however, was an outsider to this particular conflict.
This allowed Ryosuke to adopt a strategy akin to that of a certain superpower in previous conflicts—rather than participating directly, he would supply weapons, intelligence, and resources to various factions, profiting from their struggles while avoiding the quagmire of direct confrontation.
Of course, since this was the shinobi world, such a strategy required adjustments. A simple copy-paste approach wouldn't work.
But there was another, far more critical reason Ryosuke had come here.
Second: Hunting Black Zetsu
The death of Uchiha Madara had left a major loose end—Black Zetsu.
Unlike most threats, Black Zetsu was more than just a powerful entity; he was an insidious manipulator, the true architect behind the cycle of war in the shinobi world.
Rather than waiting for Black Zetsu to come to him, Ryosuke planned to strike first.
In the past, Ryosuke had lacked the necessary understanding of Yin-Yang Release to deal with Black Zetsu's unique nature. But now, with his mastery over Yin-Yang Release, he was more than capable of eliminating him once and for all.
Finding Black Zetsu was no easy task. He had the ability to merge with the earth and conceal himself indefinitely, making him nearly impossible to detect.
However, Ryosuke had a crucial advantage—he knew what Black Zetsu's next move would be.
To achieve his ultimate goal, Black Zetsu needed to follow Madara's resurrection plan.
And at the heart of that plan was Uzumaki Nagato.
Before his death, Madara had transplanted his Rinnegan into Nagato, intending for him to one day use the Rinne Tensei to bring Madara back to life.
Black Zetsu would never allow anything to happen to Nagato.
For now, Obito had yet to appear, meaning that the responsibility of watching over Nagato rested solely on Black Zetsu.
That meant only one thing—Black Zetsu was in Amegakure.
And if Black Zetsu was in Amegakure, then the real reason Mizuki Ryosuke had come to the Land of Rain wasn't just to manipulate the war.
It was to track down Nagato.
Everything else—the war, the intelligence, the political maneuvering—could be handled remotely.
But Rinnegan…
That was different.
This was Rinnegan!
Who in the entire shinobi world wouldn't want the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths?
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