Chiyo had somehow already broken free from the Five Pronged Seal—but it didn't matter anymore.
"After everything that's happened… don't you think trying to run now is a bit tasteless?"
The waves surged again, dragging the two of them back.
The Third Kazekage had already lost consciousness.
Despair filled Chiyo's eyes.
"This… is impossible…"
The battlefield looked as if it had been carpet-bombed with explosive tags. Craters scarred the ground, flames flickered across the air like wandering spirits.
What had once been a battlefield drowned by Water Release was now a scorched wasteland. Except for the area around Hanzo, not a single drop of water remained.
Terrifying heat pressed down from all sides. Chiyo herself could feel nothing—but the Third Kazekage's unconscious groans grew louder by the second.
At the outskirts, a few Sand shinobi were still alive… barely. Their bodies were mangled, barely recognizable. Anyone who could still move had already fled.
Their situation was no better than Konoha's had been back then.
"I didn't intend to go this far," Hanzo said coldly.
"At most, I planned to exchange a few moves."
"But the two of you were far too arrogant. Completely intolerable."
The gravity domain activated again.
The two were dragged back in front of him.
Hanzo looked at Chiyo.
"So? Didn't you claim to have analyzed everything about me?"
"My poison. My explosive techniques. My piercing attacks."
"Didn't you say you had counters for all of them?"
Chiyo clenched her teeth, madness flashing in her eyes.
"Then do it! Kill me!"
"The Suna will tear you apart! We'll grind your Ame into dust!"
"Hanzo of the Salamander—no matter how strong you are, you can't protect everyone! The entire shinobi world will know your name, and they will never allow a second God of Shinobi to exist!"
"You'll die… sooner or later…"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"In hell, I'll—"
She never finished.
Hanzo's sickle flashed.
Her body was shredded in an instant.
"Too loud."
He turned to the unconscious Third Kazekage and calmly slit his throat.
"The Ame is no longer what it once was."
"The Hidden Rain will not be allowed to become your stepping stone."
He looked toward the burning battlefield.
If Suna had continued fighting Iwa, things might've been different.
But once they tried to end the war early, the smaller nations would inevitably be wiped out next.
And Ame would be first.
They had already analyzed him this thoroughly—there was no doubt they intended to strike eventually.
Better to erase the threat now.
"Consider this a warning."
Without another glance, Hanzo turned and walked away, carrying the bodies of the Third Kazekage and Chiyo.
After a few steps, he paused.
"…You've been watching long enough. Don't you think it's time to show yourself?"
The earth shifted.
An elderly man wearing the Tsuchikage's cloak emerged from the ground.
Rōshi.
"Lord Hanzo… I had no intention of interfering."
He gestured to his heavily bandaged arm.
"My injuries delayed me. By the time I arrived, the battle had already reached its conclusion."
"I merely observed."
"…And I never expected your strength to reach such a level."
"Please believe me—I have no intention of opposing you or the Ame."
Hanzo let out a faint chuckle.
"Really?"
"With the chakra I have left, I wouldn't last long if we fought."
"And don't forget the Iwa forces behind you."
Rōshi immediately stepped back.
"I wouldn't dare."
"You gave Iwagakure a way out. I could never turn against someone like that."
He meant it.
But deep down, he also knew the truth.
If he had attacked—even for a second—he would have died first.
Ever since:
Ōnoki was defeated,
He faced the Seven-Tails' power,
Hanzo descended upon Iwagakure,
And the Third Raikage tore through his chakra cloak—
He had learned restraint.
Power alone was no longer enough.
Hanzo turned away.
"Good."
"You've seen Ame's declaration."
"Remember what happened to Suna."
"Don't cross the line."
"I understand," Rōshi replied quietly.
Hanzo disappeared into the distance.
Rōshi immediately turned toward the Iwa defensive line.
That line… was no longer necessary.
"Prepare to advance."
He raised his hand.
"Our target—the Land of Wind."
"With the Third Kazekage and Chiyo dead, Suna has no top-tier combatants left."
"And half their forces were just annihilated."
Even he felt a chill looking back at the scorched battlefield.
That heat…
He remembered the water sphere above Iwagakure.
Only those who had faced Hanzo personally could understand how terrifying he truly was.
—If they survived.
"Lord Tsuchikage, the troops are ready."
Rōshi nodded.
"Advance."
---
Two Days Later.
News spread across the entire shinobi world.
The Third Kazekage and Chiyo had fallen.
—
Sunagakure.
Inside a laboratory—
A red-haired boy excitedly tested a puppet.
This was Sunagakure's highest-level research project:
Using the Third Kazekage's flesh to create a Magnet Release puppet.
On one side were cultured cells from the Kazekage, artificially grown.
On the other was the prototype puppet.
The reason the boy was allowed here was simple:
His talent was extraordinary.
And the person in charge… was his grandmother.
Suddenly, hands rested on his shoulders.
He turned.
"Mom? Dad?"
"Sasori," his mother said softly, "that's enough for today. Let's go home."
Unlike the original timeline, his parents were still alive.
They had never fought the White Fang.
Seeing the sorrow on their faces, young Sasori frowned.
"…What happened?"
His mother hesitated.
Then said quietly:
"Today… is your grandmother's funeral."
"And the Third Kazekage's."
-------------------------------///
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