The unending rain and the persistent chill made the kikaichū within his body particularly uneasy. Insects liked dampness, but not excess moisture; they liked coolness, but not freezing cold. Aburame Shisei said nothing as he tunneled through the earth.
Years of Root training had instilled in him a level of endurance and restraint uncommon among ordinary shinobi. Though his insects were agitated, not a single one escaped his body—they remained obediently contained.
The journey to the Land of Rain was pure torment.
The rain, laced with foreign chakra, fell without end. Only underground could one avoid its ever-present surveillance.
Shisei had already burned through two-thirds of his chakra reserves, now lying in wait within the soil, allowing his kikaichū to emerge. These insects would collect the rare oxygen, trace minerals, and nutrients from the earth and return them to nourish him.
He waited until his stamina slowly returned—then resumed his subterranean travel. He had forcibly repurposed what was originally a Doton assassination technique into a long-distance tunneling method.
He truly was a genius.
After skirting scorched battle zones and traversing the entirety of the Land of Grass, he finally entered the borders of the Land of Rain. At last, his insects brought good news:
The chakra in the rain had vanished.
These were now ordinary raindrops. Only then did he emerge from the ground after lingering beneath the surface for some time.
Through the curtain of rain, monolithic buildings loomed—dark towers of concrete that pierced the sky like sword blades.
The Hidden Rain Village's signature cold, steel-clad architecture resembled a forest made of iron.
And at this moment, it stood silent.
"At last…" Shisei muttered with rare relief, striding boldly toward Amegakure.
Shff!Shff!Shff!Three senbon silently shot through the rain, embedding into the mud just ahead of him with faint digging sounds. Three masked Ame-nin, holding oil-paper umbrellas, quickly approached.
"Stop! Who are you?" one demanded.
All three were on high alert—one held thirteen senbon between his fingers, while another had already begun forming hand seals for a jutsu.
The one in the lead pointed his umbrella directly at Shisei.
Reaching into his coat, Shisei produced a forehead protector and showed it to them."I'm a shinobi of Konohagakure. I've come to seek an audience with Lord Hanzo the Salamander. This concerns the very survival of the Land of Rain. Please, take me to him."
"Follow us," the lead Ame-nin replied.
The three flanked him cautiously, escorting him into the village.
Shisei was first placed in a holding room, instructed not to move or even step out of the door. They then left to report.
Soon, a shinobi returned with good news. "Lord Hanzo will see you now."
Hanzo the Salamander wore black robes and a plated armor vest. Though his body showed signs of age, his presence remained sharp as ever. His eyes, like curved blades, swept over Shisei.
"Young one from the Aburame Clan… So Konoha sends you to speak on their behalf?" Hanzo said coldly, with an air of supreme arrogance.
He had every right to be. He was Hanzo the Salamander—the demi-god of the shinobi world. Once, he alone had overpowered Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, then still young prodigies of Konoha, and had bestowed upon them the title of "The Legendary Sannin." To withstand the might of a demi-god was a mark of honor.
His arrogance was born of strength.
But...
Even demi-gods grow old.
The insects inside Shisei were trembling under Hanzo's pressure, but his face remained expressionless. Calmly suppressing the disturbance within, he said:
"Lord Hanzo, compared to the days when you humbled the Sannin during the Second Great Ninja War... you've grown old."
Hanzo didn't respond. But the killing intent that surged from him in that instant was like a blade drawn from its sheath, slicing toward Shisei.
Several kikaichū crawled out of his pores, dropped to the ground—and died from sheer fear.
Their bellies faced the sky, backs on the earth—lifeless husks.
The wrath of a demi-god—without a move, his killing intent alone could kill insects.
"…Very well," Hanzo finally spoke. "Just the fact that you could suppress your kikaichū under my pressure proves you're exceptional—even among the Aburame Clan."
"Every man grows old," he continued. "But an aging demi-god... is still a demi-god. And that decrepit Sarutobi Hiruzen—what is he, compared to me?
"'Demi-god' is relative to 'god'. And now that the gods have died, I am the shinobi world's only true deity.
"The Land of Rain may be small, but with a demi-god, we are the strongest nation alive. Spare me your petty rhetoric—
"To speak such things before me is laughable."
Shisei bowed."Your insight pierces a thousand leagues, Lord Hanzo. I was sent on a mission only to inform you:
"In Amegakure, there exists an organization called Akatsuki. They are currently active on the battlefield, and have brought trouble to both our nations.
"Though you are powerful, the Land of Rain remains a small country. You must consider the consequences. Lord Danzō…"
"Oh? What did that old mutt say?" Hanzo scoffed.
Shisei clenched his fists at the insult but said nothing more.
He replied calmly,"Lord Danzō asks you to consider: Do you truly wish to doom the Land of Rain to eternal destruction? As the great nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth clash, do you—a minor country—really wish to test your blade in this storm?"
Hanzo said nothing.
After a long pause, he waved them away. Shisei was escorted back to his room and placed under surveillance.
Hanzo never saw him again. The next morning, a single shinobi came to deliver a message:
"Lord Hanzo says: If that old dog wants to talk, let him come in person."
Then they expelled Shisei from the Land of Rain.
It took another full day before he returned to report to Danzō.
Danzō remained silent for a long time, before making his decision.
"Let's go. We're heading to the Land of Rain."
Meanwhile, within those same two days, Yahiko and Konan traveled between the territories of Fire and Earth, making some modest "progress."
Both nations gave near-identical responses:"We will do our best to avoid civilian casualties and minimize the suffering of those in the Land of Grass. But if the other side escalates, we won't be able to stop it… After all, in war, we can't be everywhere at once."
Yahiko's retort, however, rang hollow:"Our organization will be monitoring both sides!"
And then—
The rain finally stopped.
The skies cleared quickly.
A blazing sun began drying the earth, leaving behind a thin layer of pale dust. Jasmine, thrilled, used a kunai to draw a large smiley face in the ground."Captain! The sky finally cleared!"
Uchiha Kin smiled."Yes… it finally cleared."
But in his heart, he thought:
"The skies may have cleared—But the war is about to begin again."