Hanzo might be able to pursue and capture them, providing Konoha with an explanation.
The Hanzo of old would never have considered such things.
What did Konoha matter?
Amegakure could stand on its own in the Ninja World.
But now, he had forgotten his original ideals and beliefs.
His mind was consumed by thoughts of "preserving Amegakure" and "maintaining his power and authority."
Pursuing at full speed, Hanzo quickly spotted the enemy's lingering bloodstains and footprints.
The Rain Country was perpetually drenched in rain.
He had to catch up quickly, or the rain would wash away the blood, making tracking nearly impossible.
Yet as he continued his pursuit, the bloodstains grew fainter and fainter.
Eventually, even the footprints vanished.
A river lay ahead, and the footprints disappeared at its edge.
...!
Hanzo took a deep breath.
'I can't catch up.'
Returning to the site of the explosion, he found several Root ninja had already arrived.
Nothing remained of the body.
The combined force of the Exploding Tags had blasted a massive crater into the ground.
The rain had washed away even the ashes, leaving no trace behind.
"I saw someone escape, but I lost them at the river," Hanzo said, his voice low and heavy.
Judging by the Root ninja's expressions, he knew they had found no clues either.
"Lord Hanzo, we must take our leave," the Root ninja said coldly.
Danzo's death was a major blow to Konoha and Root.
What puzzled them most was how he could have been killed so quickly, leaving no remains.
Most Root operatives in the Rain Country had already withdrawn, leaving only a few behind.
In the current situation, only one person could have pulled this off: The Demigod of the Ninja World, Hanzo.
"..."
Hanzo took another deep breath, his heart heavy as a mountain.
'This is a trap.'
They used Yahiko and the others to lure him here, then assassinated Danzo from behind and framed him for the crime.
Whoever orchestrated this must be working with Yahiko's group.
He didn't bother explaining.
In this situation, any explanation would sound hollow and futile.
Besides, anyone with a brain would realize Hanzo had no reason to do such a thing.
The only way to break the stalemate was to exploit the fact that Yahiko and his Dawn members hadn't been deployed yet.
The enemy couldn't have informed their lower-ranking members about this plan.
Hanzo immediately pursued Yahiko and his group.
But Yahiko's team had a comprehensive plan, including a well-prepared escape route.
As soon as Raj initiated his attack, they swiftly withdrew from the battlefield and headed north.
If Hanzo hadn't chased Raj, he might have caught up by now.
But after his detour, all he found at the Land of Waterfall's coast were ships disappearing into the distance.
Raj used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to Ninja Cat Castle and devoured three packets of special cat food in one go.
The brief battle earlier might not have seemed to consume much Chakra, but it had actually drained his physical stamina severely.
If it had continued any longer, his combat effectiveness would have begun to decline.
'As expected, I'm still too weak,' he thought to himself.
"Lord...," Takuma called out.
"Meow~ Where's Whitey? Tell him he doesn't need to go out anymore."
"Uh, okay."
Takuma didn't tell Raj that Matatabi was still asleep.
She had a feeling the two-tailed beast would suffer a terrible fate if he knew.
Raj rested for a long
time, taking a bath in the process.
By afternoon, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to Kakashi and the others.
Traveling from Ninja Cat Castle to the Land of Snow consumed a significant amount of Chakra, draining Raj down to just ten percent of his reserves.
He quickly devoured another packet of cat food to replenish his energy.
"You..."
Kakashi paused, then reached out to touch the cat's body.
'So warm.'
"Meow! I've been fighting in the Snow Ninja Village all this time! Have you guys finished things up here?" Raj demanded.
'So warm? Fighting my ass. He probably spent the whole day sleeping in someone's house in the Snow Ninja Village.'
He remained silent for a moment before asking in a low voice, "Was the mission completed?"
Raj nodded slightly.
It glanced around, realizing they were on a train in the Land of Snow.
Speaking of the Land of Snow, it was quite a peculiar place.
Why had they invested so heavily in technological advancement? Raj couldn't quite understand it.
Nearby, Guy looked visibly anxious, while Genma and Ebisu were gazing around curiously.
Now that they no longer had to worry about being ambushed, they could finally relax and enjoy the scenery.
After surveying the surroundings, Raj lowered its voice.
"Those Rogue Ninja were useless, meow," Raj whispered to Kakashi.
"They didn't accomplish anything!"
"Rogue Ninja?"
Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, refraining from pressing Raj for more details.
By revealing this much, Raj had already divulged a certain secret.
If Kakashi were to pry further or reveal this information, he would be showing a lack of gratitude.
Before long, the train arrived at its destination.
Their ship was docked at the harbor.
After disembarking, they quickly returned to the vessel.
At this point, Guy's expression turned utterly grim.
He collapsed onto a bench and began feigning death.
His behavior was a complete contrast to his demeanor on the shore.
"Guy, is it really that bad?"
"I... I'm fine..."
Guy stubbornly forced himself to sit up, desperately clinging to his pride.
Raj glanced at him without a word, then crouched beside him to wait for the ship to depart.
It noticed Guy's hands trembling.
As soon as the ship set sail, Guy immediately reverted to his earlier state, collapsing limply onto the bench like a corpse.
"Meow~ Didn't you say you were fine?"
Raj patted his face with a paw.
Guy groaned incoherently, completely unconscious.
Unconscious, of course, meant no more System points.
But Raj didn't mind.
The wave of points it would receive for killing Danzo would be massive; Guy's meager points were just a drop in the bucket.
Raj opened the System Panel to check.
Over 27,000 points. A staggering 12,000+ points, and the total was still slowly climbing...
'Perfect! Killing Danzo and still earning points.'
Sure, it had used a ton of Exploding Tags, but those belonged to Dawn, not Raj's own funds.
After sailing for half a day, Raj suddenly sensed spatial coordinates appearing in the distance.
It looked up and faintly spotted several small dots on the horizon.
With a casual flick of its paw, it sent a splinter of wood from the deck flying toward the coordinates using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
On the other ship, Konan was filled with anxiety.
"Konan, it'll be alright," Nagato murmured.
Even he, the wielder of the Rinnegan, couldn't fathom Raj's true strength.
How could someone like Danzo possibly kill him?