With that slap, even the heavens seemed to understand the situation and cleared up.
Unfortunately, it couldn’t wake the big shot standing atop the clouds.
Hanzo of the Salamander’s expression was extremely ugly.
After all, compared to the previous slap, that one had simply been a case of being outmatched. No one had seen exactly how it happened.
As long as he didn’t explain himself, there was room for all kinds of speculation.
He had lost, but he hadn’t completely lost.
This slap, however, was different.
It had been delivered openly and squarely across the face of the demigod, right in front of everyone.
The damage was negligible, but the humiliation was immense.
If Hanzo weren’t afraid of death, he could have chosen to make a dignified exit already.
Social death was more painful than actual death.
But Salamander Hanzo still wanted to preserve his dignity.
He still had a wonderful life ahead of him.
As long as he remained alive, he was still the ruler of the Rain Shinobi.
And right now, he needed a way out—a step down that would allow him to live with dignity.
"If I’d known this would happen, why did I have to show off in front of him in the first place?"
Hanzo stopped struggling internally.
The arrogance he had maintained until now began to recede.
Because Salamander Hanzo believed that no one could refuse praise from a demigod.
Not the Three Shinobi.
Not Mifune.
And certainly not the young man before him.
Young people always thought glory was more important than anything else.
Lying on the ground, Hanzo put on the appearance of a hero in his twilight years.
His weathered voice carried the approval of the older generation toward the younger.
"I’m old. I’m old."
"I should have realized it."
"The one who overthrew the corrupt Konoha must naturally be an invincible young hero as well."
"Remarkable. Truly remarkable!"
"Young man of Konoha, the future of the shinobi world belongs to you."
"Step upon the reputation of this old man who has reached the end of his road and advance toward a greater future!"
"I, the Demigod, am willing to acknowledge you as the strongest in the shinobi world!"
The Demigod’s scheme was ringing like a well-struck abacus.
Everyone was bound to experience failure in life.
But when you failed, there was no reason to lose heart.
As long as you remained alive, there were always ways to make yourself face failure and accept it.
For example, once you lost, praise your opponent to the heavens.
Elevate your opponent to an incredibly lofty position.
That way, your own defeat no longer counted as a defeat.
If you were lucky, some future figure of even greater renown might also lose to the same opponent.
That could become another means of salvaging your reputation.
"I and the God of Shinobi both suffered honorable defeats at the hands of so-and-so."
Doesn’t that make the person who defeated you sound almost as powerful as the God of Shinobi?
That was precisely Hanzo’s plan.
He didn’t want to die.
And losing to the young man before him wasn’t completely unacceptable.
The Shinobi Hero, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had lost and paid for it with his life.
But Salamander Hanzo had lost without dying.
Come to think of it, that meant the Demigod was still stronger than the Shinobi Hero!
Hanzo was performing with his life on the line.
He needed to seize the chance to establish himself as superior to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But Kei had no intention of giving the Demigod a way to save his life.
"Unfortunately, I still haven’t seen anything remarkable about this so-called Demigod."
"You can’t even give me a satisfying fight!"
"And I know myself well enough to understand that I can’t be called the strongest in the shinobi world."
Kei was quite self-aware.
He didn’t know exactly how strong he was, but he knew that there were definitely more than a handful of people in this world who were stronger than him.
If not for Hanzo being so undeserving of his reputation...
If Joseph hadn’t unleashed that astonishing blow...
If not for the sonic boom that had split the sky...
If not for the flames that had burned across the entire forest...
If not for all those things combining to fill the entire region with Fear and terror...
Kei absolutely would not possess his current level of power.
And Hanzo had disappointed him far too much.
Kei desperately wanted a truly exhilarating battle.
The kind of battle where he knew he would win, but could still fight to his heart’s content.
The kind where every punch landed with satisfying weight.
As for battles he might lose?
Forget it.
Everything had to begin with victory guaranteed.
Kei needed an outlet.
The higher one’s position, the less freedom one had.
The more things there were to consider.
The more people there were to accommodate.
And that made Kei extremely unhappy.
What annoyed him even more was that Salamander Hanzo had originally been the ideal opponent in his eyes.
Kei completely countered the Demigod’s strongest methods, while Hanzo’s reputation as a Demigod should have been enough to let him put up a decent fight.
It should have been a guaranteed victory that could still last a long time.
Unfortunately, Kei had overestimated the Demigod.
Of course, it was also possible that Kei had underestimated himself.
"Demigod, why can’t you even give me a chance to enjoy myself?"
Hanzo’s face turned livid.
He had already given this young man so much face.
Why was the boy still refusing to play along?
Did he really think the Demigod had no trump card left?
"Young man, you’re still young. Don’t be excessively rude!"
As he spoke, Salamander Hanzo actually used his chained sickle to support himself and stand.
Then, after thinking for a moment while holding his weapon, Hanzo put it away.
"Looks like today is the day I die."
"Young man, you never intended to spare this old man from the beginning, did you?"
Then Hanzo changed to a passionate, heroic tone.
"A person’s end is not death."
"It is the moment he loses his faith."
"Even if I die here today, I am not a blunt blade."
"Young man, I hope you will tell the world that I was a hero."
After saying this, Hanzo formed the one-handed farewell seal.
It was as though his heart had died and he had become a living corpse without faith.
Kei was prepared to watch the Demigod’s final performance.
If Hanzo really intended to commit suicide, Kei was willing to witness the curtain fall on a legendary figure.
But just as Kei was focusing on the show—
Hanzo threw down several explosive tags and leapt away.
Yes.
He ran.
Without the slightest hesitation, he ran.
The Salamander and its poison, which Hanzo had relied upon, were useless.
His taijutsu and ninjutsu were both inferior to his opponent’s.
The three people before him had already transcended the conventional concept of a shinobi.
Hanzo believed that even if he were facing the Second Hokage’s forces, he wouldn’t have been reduced to such a miserable state if he had the advantage of numbers.
But the strength displayed by his opponents had completely exceeded that of ordinary shinobi.
Perhaps only when facing the legendary God of Shinobi could one encounter such extraordinary circumstances.
And his opponent clearly intended to kill him.
Hanzo no longer had any desire to fight Kei.
He could find another summoning beast.
He could recruit new subordinates after losing them.
But if he died, he would truly be dead.
Nothing else would matter.
Hanzo could still stand in the position of a victor and deliver beautiful speeches.
But asking him to calmly face death?
Hanzo couldn’t do it.
The higher a person’s position, the less capable they were of doing so.
Because only after reaching the top did one realize how good the world had been to them.
How deeply they loved this world.
He had to escape back to Amegakure!
Unfortunately, before he could even move, Joseph rushed over and grabbed him by the neck.
He lifted the terrified Demigod into the air and forcibly turned his face toward Uchiha Kei.
Kei looked at the Demigod in this pathetic state and felt deeply disappointed.
"At least you were once called a Demigod."
"You should have a little dignity as a Demigod even in death."
"I was still waiting for your final speech."
"Why did you have to do this...?"
Boring.
Truly boring.
Sure enough, all those beautiful words rulers spoke were merely meant to fool others into going to their deaths.
Tell them to die, and those rulers would run faster than anyone.
Hanzo, whose neck was being squeezed, still tried to struggle.
It was completely useless.
He was like a fish that had been pulled from the water by its tail.
The more he struggled, the faster he would die.
At last, Salamander Hanzo let out a desolate sigh.
He stopped struggling and devoted all his energy to negotiation.
"I’ve lost."
"But young man, you need to think carefully."
"If you kill me, the entire Rain Shinobi will fight Konoha to the death."
"Oh?"
Kei wanted to hear what kind of ugliness a dying man could produce.
"How exactly will you fight to the death?"
Hanzo saw that he still had a chance to speak and answered forcefully.
"There are five thousand shinobi in the Land of Rain!"
"They will avenge me!"
Kei asked indifferently,
"Not enough."
"What else?"
Hanzo’s reaction was faster than ever.
"You’ll face a diplomatic crisis between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain!"
"Do you know how serious it is to kill the leader of a village in a diplomatic setting?"
Kei remained unmoved.
"How serious?"
Hanzo continued piling on arguments.
"The Second Hokage’s death sparked the Second Shinobi World War!"
"The cause was his death during an unjust diplomatic incident!"
"Uchiha, do you really want to start the Third Shinobi World War?"
"That is quite a coincidence."
Kei rolled his wrist and smiled.
"The shinobi world is far too quiet."
"So quiet that petty schemers have been given fertile soil in which to hide!"
"This is not the shinobi world a God of Shinobi should establish."
"If this is what the shinobi world is going to look like, then there is no need to establish it at all!"
"Perhaps it is time for a Third Shinobi World War."
"In fact, the Third Shinobi World War has already begun!"
"Without destruction, there can be no rebirth."
"Without blocking the old, the new cannot flow."
"Without stopping the old ways, the new cannot advance."
"The struggle between the new world and the old world is a struggle of life and death."
"It will be a fight to the bitter end!"
"If we don’t knock this sort of thing down, how can any new culture ever be established?"
"Unfortunately, Demigod, you won’t live to see it."
"And even more unfortunately..."
"Only after losing you will the Rain Shinobi..."
Kei’s voice gradually grew softer.
And his words became increasingly terrifying.
Hanzo’s heart beat slower and slower as he listened.
This young man had absolutely none of the awareness expected of a leader.
He didn’t care at all that a stable society was supposed to be the paradise in which an upper-level ruler could enjoy a comfortable life.
He wanted to make a huge mess.
Wasn’t Konoha always proclaiming itself to be a pacifist?
How had it raised such a monster?
The shinobi world’s disaster would have to be blamed on Konoha.
Salamander Hanzo desperately grabbed the hand around his neck.
Clenching his teeth, he shouted,
"The shinobi world will never forgive you!"
"The Uchiha truly are a brutal clan!"
"Young man, what exactly do you want?"
"Name your terms!"
"I’ll agree to anything!"
"I am willing to lead the five thousand shinobi of the Land of Rain and swear allegiance to you!"
"Master, give me a chance!"
Kei clenched his fist.
The surging chakra gathered around it.
Joseph hurled Hanzo high into the air.
Kei threw a punch.
Divine Void Strike!
The blow struck Hanzo’s body.
The entire Demigod shattered in an instant!
The sky once again rained crimson...
Blood fell together with the rain, staining the already filthy muddy ground red.
That single punch had not merely shattered Hanzo.
For several kilometers around them, the earth involuntarily collapsed beneath the force of the blow!
After the great fire, the sky over the Land of Rain darkened once more.
Torrential rain poured down.
And slowly, a small lake began to form.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ Chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789