Chapter 77: Calm Before the Storm

While Byakuya 'seems' to sulking in a corner by himself, Hanzo came to find him.

Seeing Byakuya crouched in the corner, Hanzo felt a bit of a daze, recalling his own misunderstood youth. He sighed softly in his heart.

Back then, he had been just as naive.

Naive enough to want to change the state of the Land of Rain, to make it a great nation outside of the Five Great Villages.

But unfortunately, hot-blooded passion couldn't withstand the harsh realities. Now, he has to start crushing the dreams of the young.

When Hanzo saw Byakuya, Byakuya had already sensed his arrival.

He wasn't surprised at all by Hanzo's visit and could roughly guess what Hanzo wanted.

It was nothing more than temporarily pacifying him and then taking the opportunity to destroy the Akatsuki.

As long as Danzo was involved, there was no way the Akatsuki and the Amegakure could reach an agreement. Peace was a distant dream.

Thinking of this, Byakuya didn't wait for Hanzo to speak. He took the initiative and said, "Lord Hanzo, why have you come today? Have you found evidence that I killed the Jonin and come to execute me?"

Seeing Byakuya's arrogant demeanor, Hanzo felt his guilt lessen considerably.

If he had been this egotistical in his youth, he wouldn't know how many times he would have died by now. But for the sake of the upcoming opportunity, he had to put on a smile.

"I've investigated carefully these past few days. The one who attacked the emissary wasn't you but someone else. So, to express my apology to the Akatsuki, I plan to take you as my disciple and train you by my side, to show my sincerity."

Byakuya was taken aback upon hearing this.

Why was this different from what he had expected? Why would Hanzo want to take him as a disciple? Could it be that Hanzo was being controlled by a genjutsu?

But at this time, the best genjutsu user, Shisui, should still be in the Land of Fire, right?

Sensing Danzo's chakra nearby, Byakuya relaxed, realizing this was definitely a plot by Hanzo and Danzo.

This was the kind of reassurance he got from the dark side of the ninja world. There was no need to worry about betrayal because, sooner or later, Danzo would definitely stab his allies in the back.

After a moment of contemplation, Byakuya raised his head with a hint of doubt and said in disbelief, "Lord Hanzo, you want to take me as your disciple? Just because of an apology?"

Hanzo nodded, "Of course, it's not just that. I also want to understand the Akatsuki's ideology from you. By taking you as my disciple, I'll have a reason to persuade others to accept the Akatsuki. As a high-ranking member of the Akatsuki, you should know the organization is divided into different factions.

Amegakure is the same. Many times, as the leader, I can't act unilaterally. I have to consider the opinions of the majority."

"Amegakure is like that too?" Byakuya nodded skeptically.

Seeing Byakuya's disbelief, Hanzo proactively opened the cell door. As he led Byakuya out, he said:

"Actually, I found the culprit who attacked the emissary long ago. I just wanted to test you, young people, so I invited you here as a guest..."

Byakuya didn't even bother to mock Hanzo's clumsy lie.

However, since the other party was performing a comedy skit in front of him, he naturally had to cooperate. He immediately played the role of a young man who was doubtful of the villain.

Hanzo could see Byakuya's skepticism but didn't care.

He was acting like this for the Akatsuki. Whether Byakuya believed him was irrelevant.

If Byakuya was truly smart, he should understand Hanzo's intentions. After Hanzo exterminated the Akatsuki, he wouldn't mind having another disciple.

After all, there was only one ninja in the Akatsuki who could truly threaten his rule.

That was the Akatsuki's Yahiko. Yahiko's presence was so dazzling that it made Hanzo, the demigod, look insignificant. Someone so naive and full of dreams shouldn't exist in the ninja world.

---

Over the next few days, Hanzo appeared in public several times with Byakuya.

He expressed goodwill toward the Akatsuki and his intention to take Byakuya as a disciple. He talked about creating a beautiful Land of Rain with the Akatsuki and the Amegakure at its core.

Many ninjas from the Amegakure were skeptical of Hanzo's actions.

However, out of trust in Hanzo and fear of civil war, they chose to believe him. They didn't want the Akatsuki and the Amegakure to go to war, which would plunge the whole Land of Rain into chaos.

The day before the peace talks between the Amegakure and the Akatsuki, Hanzo officially accepted Byakuya as a disciple in the Amegakure Tower.

Witnessed by a group of Amegakure ninjas, Byakuya became Hanzo's disciple. This was the first time Hanzo had ever taken a disciple.

Looking at Hanzo and Byakuya on the stage, the ninjas and villagers of the Amegakure were very pleased.

They had heard of the good reputation the Akatsuki had within the Land of Rain.

The alliance between the demigod and the Akatsuki would make the Land of Rain stronger and avert a potential crisis.

After the discipleship ceremony, Hanzo went to Byakuya's room.

Once he had dismissed the Jonin responsible for surveillance, Hanzo looked at Byakuya and smiled.

"I know you don't believe me, but tomorrow you will understand. I truly do not want to see another battlefield in the Land of Rain. I sincerely want to negotiate peace with the Akatsuki."

Byakuya glanced at Hanzo with a blank expression and said, "Of course, I believe in you, Lord Hanzo."

Hanzo could see through Byakuya's insincere demeanor. He sighed and said, "Time will prove everything. Besides, I am now your sensei."

Byakuya nodded and replied, "Yes, I believe in Hanzo-sensei."

Faced with Byakuya's perfunctory response, Hanzo secretly shook his head. He couldn't fathom how Yahiko put up with Byakuya on a daily basis. These past few days had nearly driven him mad.

Byakuya seemed to have seen through Hanzo's entire scheme yet was still forcing himself to go along with the performance.

However, Hanzo and Danzo's plan was a transparent plot, and it didn't matter if someone saw through it. The Akatsuki couldn't counter it anyway.

The reason the Akatsuki had quickly become a threat to the Amegakure was due to the support of the ordinary ninjas.

If the Amegakure now extended goodwill and the Akatsuki refused to negotiate, the core of the Akatsuki would be shaken, making it difficult for them to pose a threat again.

And once the Akatsuki participated in the talks, they would fall into the ambush set by Hanzo and Danzo.

After one last glance at Byakuya, Hanzo tightened his surveillance on him. The number of Jonin guards increased from two to four, and a barrier was also set up.

Having done all this, Hanzo headed out of the village to discuss further with Danzo.

They needed to ensure that tomorrow's operation would go off without a hitch.