Chapter 167: Is the Spirit a Non-Renewable Resource? Completion of the Medical Scroll
Hanzo stared intently at the line of words reading "Hiruzen Sarutobi."
His chest felt somewhat tight.
"Why..."
"Why, when you had already fallen down, were you able to stand back up, even more fiercely courageous than when you were young? Just what is supporting you?" Hanzo muttered to himself.
He couldn't figure it out.
In the past, the Hiruzen Sarutobi in Hanzo's eyes only had average aptitude, merely relying on his status as Tobirama Senju's disciple to luckily become the Hokage of Konoha.
His strength, too, was merely due to his background in the Sarutobi clan and the resources of a great hidden village.
Whether in talent or spirit, compared to him, Hiruzen fell far too short!
Hanzo closed his eyes, recalling his younger self.
When he was a youth, to enhance his strength, he took the extreme risk of implanting a salamander's venom sac into his body.
Fortunately, his gamble paid off; Hanzo gained antibodies and consequently formed a summoning contract with the salamander.
But every time he breathed, he would exhale poisonous gas, causing everyone around him to fear him.
Because of this, Hanzo had to wear a respirator mask.
"After that, I discovered I had the bloodline of the Hozuki clan."
"I tried every possible method to learn the Hydrification Technique and the Great Water Arm Technique to enhance my speed and strength."
"I also absorbed the essence of the samurai. My blade became faster than anyone else's; no one could form hand seals when approaching me, not even one or two seals."
Hanzo suddenly smiled with emotion.
He realized that he actually had an affinity with Konoha.
His combat strategy of engaging in close-quarters melee combat and using his blade to prevent enemy hand seals was inspired by reading about Izuna Uchiha's fighting style in ancient texts; he had borrowed the concept.
"Learning from Izuna Uchiha's strategy truly is a bad omen."
"He was a failure, after all." Hanzo mocked himself. "And I have failed, too."
His thoughts drifted back to the time he ignited the Second Great Ninja War.
At that time, although Hanzo didn't believe he could compare to Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha, he still felt he was in a tier of his own—a shinobi possessing the ability to decide the course of a war.
The Hydrification Technique that ignored physical attacks, extreme speed, and outstanding strength.
Combined with the salamander's venom array capable of causing large-scale lethal damage.
This loadout was undeniably luxurious!
Because of this, when Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha were having small-scale skirmishes, Hanzo chose to actively intensify their conflicts, expanding them into the Second Great Ninja War!
His intention was to showcase his martial prowess during this war.
Not to unify the shinobi world, but to let the major hidden villages know his ability to influence the war's outcome, using his strength to facilitate a peace-negotiating alliance, indirectly causing the war to disappear.
He hoped the major hidden villages would be wary of him as this "Alliance Leader" before the war fully broke out and sit down for talks.
The idea was brilliant, but reality was cold.
Only after the war started did Hanzo realize that although he was indeed very strong...
The underlying foundations of the major hidden villages were far more exaggerated than he had imagined.
The mutual hatred among shinobi and the inertia of slaughter were absolutely not things that could be easily braked.
His salamander venom played a powerful strategic role at the beginning, but was subsequently countered by both Chiyo and Tsunade, drastically reducing its effectiveness.
His swordsmanship, Body Flicker Technique, and exquisite Water Release were indeed powerful, but the strongmen of the other hidden villages were no pushovers either.
The combinations of various secret techniques, Kekkei Genkai, and large-scale war ninjutsu, along with the powerful logistics differentiating them from Amegakure, as well as the financial backing and personnel reserves of a great nation...
All of this taught Hanzo a harsh lesson.
He individually was indeed very strong, but his strength wasn't in a completely unreachable tier.
And although Amegakure was boasted as the "Sixth Great Hidden Village," when actually compared to Sunagakure—the dead last of the Five Great Hidden Villages—there was a considerable gap in every aspect.
They weren't even in the same league!
Hanzo's expression turned melancholic.
"After that, I slackened."
"A person is like a sword, and their will is the blade's edge. My will grew blunt after that."
Hanzo sighed.
After the Second Great Ninja War ended, his fantasies were pierced by cold reality. His former lofty ambitions dissipated for the most part, just like his countered salamander venom.
His thoughts shifted from being the "Alliance Leader of the Shinobi World" to merely hoping Amegakure could avoid war, protect its borders, and secure the peace of its people.
After all, with his combat style, he was still highly dominant in the predominantly water-filled terrain of the Land of Rain.
Taking a step back, surely protecting the borders and the people was doable, right?
"But this doesn't work."
Hanzo leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "I'm becoming less and less like myself. Although my body hasn't degraded much, the blade in my hand and my will have grown blunt together."
As he closed his eyes, the name Hiruzen Sarutobi flashed continuously in his mind's eye like a genjutsu.
In Hanzo's view, the two of them were simply too similar.
Both had once made a name for themselves in the shinobi world, and both had grand ambitions and aspirations in their youth, only to be crushed by cold reality and forced onto a path of merely "maintaining the status quo."
Hanzo exhaled a breath of stale air.
The young Hiruzen Sarutobi was known as the "God of Shinobi." Many believed he took on the role of Hokage with the goal of surpassing Tobirama Senju.
But the complexity of Konoha was, frankly speaking, something even an outsider like Hanzo knew about.
The power and ambitions among the various shinobi clans, the massive interfering factor that was the Uchiha, and even his deputy Danzo being extremely disobedient...
Hanzo felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi managing to act as a paperhanger—merely keeping things patched together—was already quite capable.
Under this bizarre psychological state of feeling like they were "brothers in misfortune," Hanzo had privately maintained a high level of attention on Hiruzen Sarutobi since the end of the Second Great Ninja War.
It was as if, as long as Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't doing well, he could feel a bit more at ease with his own situation. And Hanzo wasn't wrong to think so; after the war ended, the conflicts within Konoha only grew more intense. But everything changed a little over three years ago...
Konoha began to soar at an astonishing speed!
The village gradually coalesced into a single entity, its economy rapidly elevated, and it repeatedly achieved military successes.
They even dared to break the Shinobi Code of Conduct without triggering a backlash from the nobility, even gaining their support...
This left Hanzo utterly dumbfounded.
Weren't we supposed to lie flat together and just muddle through our days? What are you doing working so hard?
Of course, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no idea what Hanzo was thinking.
Just like he didn't know he was Madara Uchiha's 'rival'...
They really weren't close at all; it was entirely one-sided forced bonding with the Hokage!
And even if a bond was forcibly constructed, as long as one side recognized it, it still took effect in the shinobi world.
After Hiruzen Sarutobi devoted himself to governing, Hanzo, who was always secretly paying attention to him, couldn't sit still either.
He felt an itch all over, as if he had been left behind.
Originally, the reasoning was that reality was too cruel, so no matter how hard one tried, it was useless.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi had produced results, so didn't Hanzo's posture of lying flat...
Mean that he had simply given up his ideals despite having the ability to pursue them?
"I originally thought Konoha's rapid ascent was the product of Hiruzen Sarutobi liquidating the legacy of the God of Shinobi, a final burst of madness." Hanzo sighed.
His initial thought was exactly the same as the rhetoric Madara Uchiha used to deceive Kisame and the others.
But the problem was.
Kirigakure was isolated overseas and had been in a state of semi-to-full closure for a long time. Their understanding of other hidden villages was inherently thin, allowing information gaps to be used to create highly convincing narratives.
But Amegakure was different.
The Land of Rain was located at the junction of three great nations and directly bordered the Land of Fire. The flow of merchant caravans and the transmission of information were very rapid on a daily basis.
Not only that, it also possessed a unique advantage specific to small hidden villages.
Great nations and great hidden villages had complete systems and correspondingly powerful controls.
For example, in Iwagakure and Kumogakure, the Daimyo and the Kage were two sides of the same coin, cooperating deeply and maintaining strict control over domestic ideology and resources.
After news spread of Hiruzen Sarutobi becoming the Land of Fire's "Grand General of National Pacification," the reason behind a shinobi entering the ranks of top-tier nobility provoked the curiosity of many foreign nobles.
Furthermore, when Masamune Madoka launched his impeachment, he also mentioned the "Sovereign Sage Pill" when rallying foreign nobles.
A portion of nobles in various countries had already learned of Konoha's flagship product.
But the Daimyo and Kage of the great nations were by no means fools.
They knew clearly that while the Sovereign Sage Pill could bring the immense benefit of longevity to the nobility, it would severely shock their own nation's economic system.
Once the nation's and the hidden village's strength waned, no matter how long their lifespans, they would be nothing more than fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of others.
Both Kumogakure and Iwagakure harbored extreme wariness and rejection toward the Sovereign Sage Pill, strictly forbidding its mention, and the domestic nobility rarely voiced opposition.
But small nations like the Land of Rain were different.
Under the impact of the flames of war, the major nobles of small nations were loosely bound year-round. Moreover, their personal safety was frequently challenged by war, making them even more greedy for personal longevity.
Consequently, in the Land of Rain, the legend of the "Sovereign Sage Pill" instead grew increasingly intense. Many nobles even approached Hanzo, begging him to negotiate peace with Konoha so they could import some.
"Integrating ninjutsu with civilian livelihood, turning it into a necessity for the nobility?"
"What a terrifying concept."
On many nights, Hanzo had wondered if Amegakure could replicate it, but after some thought, he gave up.
Let alone Amegakure, even Iwagakure and Kumogakure would find it difficult to pull off.
The technology was a major hurdle.
And the endorsement of the Three Great Sage Regions was exclusive to Konoha; invoking the name of a "Sage Region" wasn't considered false advertising!
Hanzo slowly stood up, walked over to a mirror, and looked directly at his own reflection.
Actually, he hadn't aged that much.
But he as a person had become ugly.
"In the past, when facing talented youths, I would magnanimously provide them with resources, hoping they wouldn't suffer as many hardships as I did when I was young."
Hanzo stared at himself in the mirror. "Because I was confident I could manage their abilities. I needed more helping hands to make Amegakure better, so I didn't care if young people grew stronger."
"But ever since I lost my ambition, Amegakure is my last territory. I instead became afraid that once talented young people grew up, they would threaten my position."
"I was even wary of the vague rumors of the Rinnegan. How utterly laughable!" Hanzo thought of the rumors in the Land of Rain.
There was an organization rising in fame called "Akatsuki," one of the many shinobi factions in the Land of Rain.
Among them was a shinobi rumored to possess the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.
"When I found out back then, my very first thought was actually to kill him!"
"Even if it was just a subconscious thought that I later rejected, it still proves that something is wrong with me now." Anger towards himself surged in Hanzo's heart.
The Rinnegan had always just been a legend in the shinobi world for thousands of years.
Every few decades, someone with similar ripple-patterned eyes would appear.
They would be claimed to potentially have the Rinnegan, only to eventually be discovered as just having a physical condition or a garbage Kekkei Genkai from crossbreeding.
After all, claiming to have the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths required demonstrating corresponding combat power to prove it.
The current "Akatsuki organization" hadn't displayed astonishing combat power, which was why Hanzo felt he was laughable.
To have his mind thrown into chaos by such an unsubstantiated dojutsu rumor, even entertaining the thought of unjust murder.
How did this display even a fraction of the composure a leader should have? How was he worthy of the word 'hero'?
'Clown' would be more fitting!
"I must atone..."
"Atone to my younger self. Otherwise, if this continues, I fear one day I will die a very ugly death."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi possesses a heart for peace."
"He struck down Kusagakure, but didn't annex their secret techniques or take prisoners; he merely supported the dovish faction."
"Just from this point alone, one can see his difference from Iwagakure and Kumogakure. His attitude toward the nobility is also one of cooperation, not violent coercion."
A person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree.
A tree trunk needs to grow, and a person's reputation is also accumulated through individual actions.
Over the past few years, it was evident that Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation in Hanzo's heart was rock solid.
Hanzo retracted his gaze, lightly exhaling a breath of stale air. In that moment, he seemed to grow several years younger!
He made a decision.
He would travel to Konoha alone on horseback!
By doing so, he could maximize his diplomatic sincerity and eliminate Konoha's wariness right from the start.
It was just that he himself would be in danger.
But Hanzo didn't care; on the contrary, he felt a long-absent excitement.
This feeling of ignoring risks for the sake of the village made his heartbeat feel stronger!
"Hiruzen Sarutobi..."
"You bastard, don't let me down."
"I truly can't wait to see you!" Hanzo curled his lips upward, looking toward the direction of Konoha.
He quickly threw himself into his work.
Restoring his combat state, drafting the details of cooperation with Konoha, determining what Amegakure could provide and what it needed.
All just so that when he met Hiruzen Sarutobi, he could speak with substance and present his absolute best state!
...
Konoha.
R&D Division.
Tsunade looked tense.
In front of her.
A scroll was laid out flat. Pale green chakra slowly and steadily seeped out from it, releasing evenly like a thin mist.
The flow rate was steady and undisturbed, constantly hovering above the scroll.
Subsequently, this gentle chakra slowly descended, covering the severely damaged areas of a cloned limb, repairing them steadily and rapidly.
The data on the monitors also indicated that the wound was being comprehensively mended.
Tsunade suddenly clenched her fist, overjoyed. "Yes!!"
The "Nawaki-Pattern" medical chakra scroll had finally broken through the two technical hurdles of "slow release" and "sealing," and the first-generation blueprint had been successfully developed.
The foundation for mass production was now laid!
"Further simplifying the process and having the grassroots industrial shinobi master one module each will allow us to achieve streamlined, large-scale mass production, just as Sensei mentioned."
"If that happens, Konoha shinobi going to the battlefield will practically have a second life!"
Tsunade saw the future.
After a Konoha shinobi was injured, they would slap a medical chakra scroll over the wound and recover their combat capability under the enemy's shocked gaze!
"The current problem is..."
"We urgently need more blank rough scrolls for the production shinobi to practice on."
"Kakuzu mentioned before that Amegakure could serve as an OEM factory... but how exactly should we negotiate?"
Tsunade pondered bitterly for a while, then decided to stop thinking about it.
She would just leave it to Sensei!
Sensei would definitely have a way to solve it.
Her mission was to ride this momentum and perfect the process details of the medical scroll.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the R&D Division.
Orochimaru stared at Tobirama's operations, his expression gradually twisting.
Wait—
This kid actually knows how to do scientific R&D!
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