Chapter 50-The Ghost of the Uchiha!
Chapter 50
HANZO HATTORI-The Salamander
Hanzo looked down at the white-haired Konoha nin with apprehension, recognizing him to be one of Hiruzen's three brats he had fought all those years ago. Yet what he was doing here, deep into his territory, irked him.
"I ask again, what do you think you are doing here, Jiraiya?" he asked as he focused his charka onto the white-haired man. The ground underneath him cracked up, yet the white-haired nin did not back down and met his gaze.
He was impressed. The boy had grown quite a bit since he had faced him.
"I come in peace..."
"Peace," he scoffed as he looked towards the three unconscious Ame lying beside him. Though he recognized them as the leaders of the Akatsuki, they were yet Ame in, his nin, and so if this brat had attacked them, then it was up to him to bring him to justice.
"You attack my men and call it peace. Has Konoha lost its bearings that they have sent a shinobi to attack my men in my own territory," and he shook his head.
"I did not attack them, I came here as the daimyo's representative for the dispensation of aid, and to facilitate talks between you and The Akatsuki," he made an excuse.
And it was an excuse for which noble would send a shinobi on a peacekeeping mission.
"You li..."
"He is not lying," a third voice cut in as two people appeared from behind Hiruzen's brat.
He recognised the taller one. She was with him all those years ago, the one with that iryo—ninjutsu so reminiscent of her own grandfather, the Senju Princesses. Tsunade Senju.
Yet he did not recognize the person standing infront of her. He wore no hitai ate, and was clad in ornate robes that no shinobi would wear.
Yet his chakra spoke of years of training and was trained to perfection as he stepped forward.
"He is indeed the representative I chose for the dispensation of aid and to facilitate the peace talks between you and the Akatsuki," he answered.
'I chose,' and it took him a second to make sense of that word.
"Who are you?" he asked as he pulled in his chakra and jumped to their level.
"I am the fire daimyo, Akihito Shirahoshi," the young man said, closing his fan as he stepped forward.
And his hunch was proven correct. This man was no shinobi. He was a noble. And not just that, he was the damned fire daimyo.
"Do you have any idea of how vulnerable you are? You stand here in a foreign land all alone, face to face with a man whose very name strikes fear into the hearts of even the most seasoned shinobi," he began as he took a step forward as both of Hiruzen's brats stood infront of the young daimyo.
"I believe I stand face to face with Hanzo Hattori, the man who wishes to lead Ame, and though you could try and attack me, it would be futile," he began.
"And why would that be?"
"Because I am just a clone." He answered with a smile, and he stopped in his steps before he suddenly burst into a chuckle.
"AHAHAHAAHAAAAHA," he laughed out loud at the brat's cheek and courage. It was no wonder Konoha was becoming so bold and why the other nobles of the surrounding nation seemed so apprehensive about his ascension.
Yes, he saw it in those eyes. He was not an ordinary person; no, he was something else, and it reminded him of those two brats, the ones who had started it all those years ago—the very men he had once looked up to, the ones who changed the very fate of this world.
Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
His eyes reminded him of those two monsters, and so he pulled his chakra and cycled through a set of seals, before he struck his hand on the ground.
"Doton: Earthen Castle Emergence!" and with that, the ground shook as a castle appeared out of the ground, a simple one to shield them from the rain.
"Then let us talk as one leader of the nation to another," he offered as he pointed towards the door, and the daimyo's clone nodded.
"Of course, but before that," he looked to the side at the three young Ame nin.
"I believe those three need medical assistance. Allow my shinobi to heal them," he asked, and he nodded.
"They have my permission."
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TSUNADE SENJU
"Never ever put me in a situation like that again!" she raged, knowing full well that her words would have no effect on the person sitting opposite to her.
"Do you have a death wish? Sending even a close with me to Ame could have ended in a disaster! I don't even know why I agreed to it in the first place!" she raged as she threw up her arms in indignation at her own behavior.
"Without me, things could have become more complicated. I was able to placate Hanzo Hattori and absolve Konoha of any blame that may have come our way because of Orochimaru's attack on those Ame-nin," he answered.
And he was right. Orochimaru's attack on Ame's territory could have soured their peace-making efforts and made this whole exercise moot. Yet, with Akihito sitting down with Hanzo, they had been able to make progress as the young daimyo had somehow convinced the seasoned shinobi of their better intentions.
"But more than that, we have a problem," Akihito began, and she had not missed how he seemed to be on edge ever since he had met Hanzo.
"And what is that?" she asked.
"Orochimaru, I was told that he killed Shimura, yet I was not told of the presence of that whitish material," he questioned, surprising her. His words had frustration and anger in them, a first in all the years she had known him.
"It did not seem relevant at the time, and even now, the village does not know what that material is and what it represents," she answered honestly.
"Many speculate that it is part of a Jutsu he may have crafted," she added and saw him shake his head.
"That is no Jutsu," he answered, surprising her, for he spoke as if he knew what that thing was.
"Then what is it?" she questioned.
"Something that tells me that we may not have enough time," he said ominously before he stood up and began to face, his face marred by worry.
It was her first time seeing him worried. He had not been like this even when war had begun.
"Just what was that? Why are you so worried over some whitish material? What does it represent?" she asked, seeing him stop as he bit his lip, and she could see him hesitating.
"Does it have something to do with what you told me of the last time we met," she asked.
"Is it related to the danger, and the enemy you spoke of?" she confirmed and saw him nod.
"It does."
"Who is it, then? Tell me so we may be better prepared to deal with it. What kind of an enemy are you so worried about? Konoha has five S-ranked shinobi in its ranks. What enemy is out there that we cannot even face?" she asked, and she saw him sigh as he plopped down.
"If my fears prove right, then even if we gather twenty S ranked in, they would be useless against that man," he said tiredly, and she frowned.
'That man.'
One man. What kind of a man would have him worried like this?
"You believe one shinobi could defeat twenty S-ranked nin. Just who is it?" she asked.
"I speak of the very man who built Konoha besides your grandfather before deserting the village..." he began. She stilled at those words, and she realized just whom he talked off.
"...I speak of the Ghost of the Uchiha...." And she could not believe her ears.
"Madara Uchiha."
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"Have you recovered the eyes?" came the question in a husky voice as Orochimaru found himself deep in that cave once more.
"I have though, I was not able to finish off the one who possessed them because of an intervention," he added.
"Then so be it," came the answer, and even as he was on his deathbed bed, Madara Uchiha was a monster, and he could see why nations would cower in fear of his name.
"Now, how long will it take you to build a body worthy of myself?" came the question.
"It will take time. Your conditions and chakra are quite unique. Building something that could handle both those things atop these special eyes of yours will not be easy," he answered.
"I have waited so many years for it. What are a few more years?"
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