Hunter of Hunters (2)

"...Huh?"

I must've been crazy, I thought. As the sun rose and another day has begun, the sight of my cloak, which I drank from, was quite terrifying to look at.

The blood stains. Though I roughly washed beforehand, there were red spots all around the cloak, with each forming a shape that reminded me of a cloud.

And let me repeat it again. I drank from this thing.

'...I didn't get any taste that resembled a metal though,'

Oh well. I decided to shrug it off as I wore the cloak over my body,

'As long as I am fine.'

All traces of me having stayed here was skillfully got ridden of—something that Gin taught me well in the past. With all my belongings now packed within the seal scrolls, I was good to go.

"But I guess," I muttered to myself, "It won't hurt to change this cloak."

I was rich, after all.

And now, as for my destination,

'At the southern edge sits the port town, Yorumori. Straight above that town lies Koahi.'

And the village of Mesamatsu was located at Koahi's south-west. In a span of one month, this short distance is all I managed to travel.

'Month after. By logical means, the headhunter duo got less than one month to capture me alive, and has been tailing after me for almost a month by now. The location can't be somewhere far away, and the moment where their chase has begun was at Koahi.'

It seemed that in order to collect credible information, I first needed to go back to Koahi.

__________

In the land of rivers, right at the borderline in touch with the land of rain, the man with a bandage running over one of his eyes, Danzo, was silently reading the letter in his hands.

<We welcome you with hospitality once again, Shimura Danzo.>

"...Kek," Danzo found himself letting out a snort, unable to conceal his amusement,

"But of course, even Hanzo of the Salamander will find this chance as a great opportunity."

Danzo and Hanzo's history actually goes far past. In contrast to the maleficient war that was ongoing in the land of rain, Danzo took a neutral stance. During the war, instead of active participation, he sought one single thing: the connection with someone who's thought to be the world's very strongest at the current moment.

'Ah yes, how far have I come,' Danzo's lips curled up into a dark smile, as he looked at the sun that has risen above the sky from the forest below.

'Though I've been Konoha's shadow for quite some time now, what use does it have when the sun itself is incapable of producing sufficient light? The weaker the light, the weaker the shadow.'

He had the ambition to become the greatest Hokage that has ever been produced in Konoha, and the confidence to do so. He had the goal to conquer the entire Elemental Nations, and in the end...

'Stand above even those so-called "lords," the daimyos.'

Therefore, a long time ago during the Second Shinobi World Ward, Danzo, under the excuse of striking Iwa from the back by traveling through the land of grass, he secretly came in contact with the leading family of Kusa. Kusa, being the neighbouring country of Ame and also stuck in-between major villages, was well-known to have a good relationship.

<Hanzo surely is a seclusive fellow. You will never gain his attention with a straightforward approach; coming to us was a good choice, indeed.>

Danzo's eye became cold. Lowering his gaze, he reached for his inner vest and took out a bingo book.

<But what goes must come back. In return for us helping you reach your goal, we ask one thing.>

Kusa, being in mutual understanding with Ame, didn't dare to enter the country's border—especially since it was Hanzo that they were talking about.

<I ask you... to find him, and kill him.>

<Who?> Danzo asked during then, and the man's answer was none other than,

<My son.>

"I wonder if you still are alive, with Iwa's presence." Danzo said as he flipped the bingo book to a certain page, "Alliance? The mutual pact, allowing Iwa to pass through your land? Heh, more like an underlying threat behind their words, and perhaps, coupled with your death as well."

Danzo, heeding the man's words, returned to the battlefield in Ame, claiming that he couldn't find a gap to attack Iwa, and that he found it better to lend support in the front line instead. Although the ones like Jiraiya looked at him with suspicion, it was of no concern to him with Hiruzen's absolute trust.

And, he slayed.

"But now, of all possibilities," Danzo's face transformed into a frown as he glared at one image in the certain page, "The man's wife whom I killed, and their son that I had no choice but to let go of,"

His hands trembled. His plan was getting there, but at the same time, was facing a great problem that he couldn't ignore.

"had to be Hanzo's daughter and grandson. Just when I did all that for the establishment of the current relationship, I placed myself in a circumstance worse than it has ever been."

By the time Hanzo found out about the death of his missing daughter, years have already passed, and it was impossible to figure out the culprit. Therefore, he turned his rage on all the ninjas fighting in his land, and forcibly locked Ame's borders.

And when Hiruzen—back when he was conversing Jiraiya—showed this particular page of the bingo book, Danzo had to do his best to hide his shock and horror.

Brown hair, blue-coloured eye, and that appearance. Akashi.

The son of the man and woman who almost drove Danzo to death, was still alive.

And if he recognized, Hanzo probably would have as well. If this Akashi and Hanzo were to meet, and if Akashi remembered that fateful day...

'No.' Danzo knew that he couldn't allow that to happen.

"He has to be eliminated as quickly as possible."

Thankfully, Akashi was said to be outside of Ame right now; Danzo felt as if luck was on his side.

Danzo stood up from the rock that he was sitting on top of, and motioned his hand.

All of a sudden, two masked ninjas appeared in front of him, kneeling on one knee. They were still and unmoving, akin to lifeless dolls.

"Report," Danzo said.

"His exact whereabouts is unknown, but it is speculated to be around the southwestern region of the land of fire. The Gale Brothers have suffered defeat under his hands, and judging by the fact that he wasn't sighted in the port town Yorumori, it seems that he had a sudden change of mind."

Danzo, who fell into silence, thought with his hand placed on his chin. Then, he asked,

"What about Kakuzu."

"He was last seen in Koahi."

Danzo's eye sharpened, generating a shrewd look. Suppressing his joy, Danzo said in a monotone,

"...I believe that you know what to do."

""Yes, Danzo-sama!""

Danzo turned his head to the cliff that was seen at some distance away from his location, with two ninjas now gone from his sight.

"Just a little longer. As soon as that Akashi is gone, the final step in my plan to become Hokage, will be complete."