Chapter 177: Hanzo Loses an Arm, Madara Uchiha Strikes

A few days later.

Outskirts of Amegakure.

Hanzo was conducting a field inspection with Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.

"Do you see?"

Hanzo pointed to the ground. "To counter the extreme weather conditions of our Land of Rain, the surface permeability system requires a comprehensive overhaul."

"The core drainage pipeline network must also be upgraded to enhance discharge rates and prevent backflow."

"Operating a flood prevention system is thirty percent construction and seventy percent management. Given the perennial rainfall and the high corrosion and siltation rates of the infrastructure, we need to establish a standardized maintenance and operational mechanism."

"I have already allocated the corresponding capital. Yahiko, this time you will bear the responsibility of material selection and personnel allocation. Learn to refine your managerial skills."

Yahiko listened, his mouth unwittingly falling open.

Although the "Akatsuki Organization" they had founded touted a series of idealistic slogans, they hadn't implemented many practical solutions to alter the reality of the Land of Rain.

After all, they were just a few youths barely approaching adulthood.

While their combat metrics were acceptable, they possessed no meaningful political or economic assets to accomplish significant tasks.

Behind Yahiko, Nagato and Konan wore equally shocked expressions, looking completely awed despite not fully grasping the technical details.

No—

Hanzo-sama, if you were this visionary all along and actually executing these tangible operations...

Why did we even establish the Akatsuki organization?

"I—"

"Can I really do this?" Yahiko couldn't help but doubt himself, but he immediately took a deep breath. "Hanzo-sama, I will exert my utmost effort!"

"Do not place too much pressure on yourselves." Hanzo smiled. "I don't fully comprehend a lot of this terminology either. I outsourced the drafting of this project to the Hokage; it encapsulates his wisdom alongside that of the Nara Clan."

"I have already submitted a request to the Hokage. Your senior martial brother will arrive to mentor you. You must integrate with the Konoha shinobi as early as possible. If a shinobi world war erupts in the future, Amegakure and Konoha will be comrades fighting shoulder-to-shoulder, our bonds thicker than blood."

Yahiko nodded, half-understanding.

So this was the handiwork of the Hokage?

He honestly thought Hanzo-sama didn't possess such intellectual depth either.

"Wait, senior martial brother?" Yahiko blinked. "Who is our senior martial brother?"

Konan spoke softly, "Probably a disciple Jiraiya-sensei accepted in Konoha? Likely from before our time..."

Yahiko nodded thoughtfully.

"Correct, he is Jiraiya's eldest disciple, named Minato Namikaze."

"He is already a Konoha High Commissioner Candidate, an absolute elite among Jonin, and has mastered the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, the space-time forbidden jutsu created by the Second Hokage."

Hanzo spoke slowly. "You three represent the future executive leadership of Amegakure, while Minato Namikaze is an elite asset of Konoha's younger generation. You share the same mentorship lineage, providing a natural foundation for networking."

"The deep corporate integration and alliance between Amegakure and Konoha must establish its firmest roots beginning with your generation."

Nagato sighed, murmuring to himself, "It is time to move forward. We were all victims..."

Previously, when he learned of the rapid diplomatic normalization between Amegakure and Konoha, he felt internally conflicted.

Because of the incident involving his parents, Nagato had always harbored grievances against Konoha's brand.

However, shaped by Jiraiya's mentorship, Hanzo's aggressive PR campaign re-framing the causes of the Second Shinobi World War, and now Konoha's tangible, heavy-duty investments—

Nagato had already achieved closure.

Yahiko nodded solemnly.

Though hot-blooded, his mind was rather agile.

He comprehended just how drastically this weeping nation would transform once these joint ventures were fully executed.

Everyone would have stable employment, and the living environment would undergo massive upgrades.

More critically, Amegakure—a perpetual geopolitical battleground—would now have an ally in Konoha, preventing it from being forcibly reduced to a war-torn buffer zone.

"But... will Konoha truly view us as equal partners in battle?"

Yahiko pondered internally.

The arrogance of the major hidden villages was a deeply ingrained stereotype in his mind—and in the minds of all shinobi from minor villages.

To him, Konoha merely providing financial subsidies was already an epoch-making policy. But if a war broke out, they would likely still treat Ame shinobi as expendable cannon fodder.

Yahiko didn't voice this, however. Even if that were the reality, Amegakure would just have to grit its teeth and accept it.

The village couldn't just remain stagnant, right?

"Konan, that Paper Ninjutsu of yours is highly intriguing."

"This time, you need to heavily prioritize networking with Minato Namikaze. See if you can expand the operational scope of your jutsu to bolster Amegakure's production quotas."

Hanzo spoke with absolute seriousness.

One of the primary collaborative sectors between Amegakure and Konoha was the manufacturing of rough medical chakra scrolls.

Konan's Paper Ninjutsu had instantly triggered Hanzo's strategic projections regarding this industry.

"I understand, Hanzo-sama."

Konan nodded, then asked hesitantly, "I was also considering whether I could expand the applications of my Paper Ninjutsu! If I consult Minato Namikaze about that specific jutsu, would it be considered inappropriate?"

In Konan's conceptual blueprint, she aimed to optimize her origami jutsu to its absolute limit, reaching what she dubbed the realm of "God."

Though the title was somewhat juvenile, it was coined by Yahiko, so Konan simply retained the branding.

The "Origami Jutsu of God" involved Konan generating a localized domain; any paper within this zone could rapidly replicate itself based on a designated physical anchor.

For example, explosive tags.

By using a few explosive tags as anchor points, she could mass-produce an overwhelming volume of duplicates.

Konan also hypothesized whether she could utilize sealing tags as anchors, but her database on fuinjutsu was far too limited.

"If you merely extract knowledge from others without offering any return on investment, then naturally, it is inappropriate."

Hanzo said evenly, "Therefore, when you consult Minato Namikaze, if he expresses interest in your Paper Ninjutsu, you must not withhold any proprietary data. That way, there will be no friction."

"I evaluated your jutsu after our last meeting; it possesses massive growth potential."

"It shares similarities with the Hokage's 'Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu' and has overlaps with Tobirama Senju's 'Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.' Fundamentally, they all utilize chakra to execute the temporary duplication of physical assets."

"But you can achieve even more!"

"Shuriken Shadow Clones will eventually dissipate, but your Paper Ninjutsu harbors the potential for permanent materialization."

Hanzo was highly optimistic about Konan's stock.

This young girl, lacking Fire Release chakra, could still replicate explosive tags using Paper Ninjutsu.

The only drawback was that the duplicated explosive tags suffered a downgrade in quality—similar to shadow clones—and would dissolve once the jutsu deactivated.

But she was still young.

Both personnel and jutsu were subject to continuous development.

Hanzo didn't expect Konan to truly multiply paper assets a hundred or a thousandfold permanently. Just accelerating Amegakure's production pipeline was already a monumental achievement.

Once these rough scrolls were shipped to Konoha, the finalized products represented a second life for shinobi operatives!

Konan nodded. "I understand, Hanzo-sama!"

Konan couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret.

The Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags Jutsu?

It certainly sounded conceptually similar to her theoretical ultimate technique.

"If it were the Second Hokage, perhaps he could actually offer actionable feedback for my Paper Ninjutsu. I don't normally have access to mentors or seniors to consult."

Konan shook her head ruefully, realizing she was still too naive.

That was the Second Hokage, not the Third Hokage!

Even if Tobirama Senju were still active, Konan felt it wouldn't just be a matter of asking for advice. She would have to entirely re-evaluate Amegakure's partnership with Konoha from a new paradigm. She could never accept it as seamlessly as she did now.

Tobirama's PR reputation in Amegakure—and across the entire shinobi world—was notoriously unflattering. He was practically the polar opposite of the First Hokage!

His ideology starkly contrasted with the "Akatsuki Organization" vision promoted by Yahiko, Nagato, and herself. They were clearly not on the same operational wavelength.

Who could possibly hold a favorable impression of a man who invented the Edo Tensei?

Hanzo observed their micro-expressions and smiled faintly.

Minato's deployment was a joint executive decision drafted by him and his Big Brother.

To rapidly escalate diplomatic relations between the two villages, it wasn't enough for just the two CEOs to maintain a rapport. The critical objective was forging bonds among the younger generation of elite personnel.

This strategy would drastically streamline the implementation of future policies.

"Hanzo-sama, this reservoir is...?"

Yahiko, who had been constantly cross-referencing the documents along the route, finally couldn't hold back his question. "While this will undoubtedly optimize the village's environmental control, if war breaks out and it suffers a kinetic strike, the systemic risk would be catastrophic!"

Hearing this, Hanzo smiled.

"This reservoir is engineered for flood regulation, but it also serves as our strategic deterrent."

"The Hokage briefed me on the specs. It will be reinforced by dual layers of fuinjutsu and architectural design, segmented into three tiers: a high-altitude peripheral retention basin, a central urban regulation basin, and an emergency buffer zone."

"The entire network is equipped with one-way sealing valves and blast-resistant barrier gates. The moment hostilities commence, we open the floodgates!"

"The ensuing flood peak will surge along the river systems directly into the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning. This asset is an area-of-effect weapon in itself. Furthermore, aquatic environments provide a massive tactical advantage for Amegakure shinobi!"

When Hiruzen Sarutobi first pitched this proposal, Hanzo had harbored identical risk assessments.

However, Kashan, the head of the Nara clan, had stepped in during a critical project phase.

Coordinating with Mito and various clan experts, he architected a reservoir blueprint that inflicted maximum collateral damage to enemies while maintaining zero friendly-fire casualties!

"This—" Yahiko was stunned for a moment. "Deploying Amegakure's floodwaters to annihilate the enemy?"

"If there are no hostile actors, the gates will naturally remain sealed. Konoha's Commissioner Orochimaru is currently R&D-ing hydroelectric power generation protocols. Amegakure, much like Konoha, prioritizes peace."

"But advocating for peace does not equate to operating with liabilities."

Hanzo stated with profound implication.

Yahiko processed this data for a moment, then nodded. "Your strategic projections are far more comprehensive!"

"It wasn't solely my design. This is the yield of collective brainstorming between the Hokage, myself, and the Konoha shinobi. Therefore, you must adopt this same methodology to actualize the integration of Amegakure and Konoha."

Hanzo struck while the iron was hot. "Do you comprehend?"

This time, Yahiko responded with genuine submission. "I understand, Hanzo-sama!"

Nagato and Konan also nodded, evidently in complete alignment.

The major hidden villages might indeed possess a culture of arrogance.

But in their current psychological framework, even if Konoha was arrogant, they held the capital to back it up!

Every investment they launched was massive in scale!

Hanzo, Yahiko, and the others continued their dialogue as they walked.

And at that exact moment, an anomaly manifested!

Nagato, who was trailing slightly behind, suddenly had his ankle seized by a ghastly pale hand.

A bizarre figure wearing a black hood phased silently out from the subterranean layer. With brutally efficient and clinical precision, he extracted Nagato's eyes in a fraction of a second!

The assailant was none other than Madara Uchiha.

Having rushed back from Kirigakure at maximum velocity, Madara was currently operating under Tobi's disguise, accompanied by White Zetsu A-Huo.

Even though he had visually confirmed Hanzo's proximity to Nagato, Madara disregarded the variable entirely. To him, Hanzo was merely a marginally competent junior operative.

"Nagato!"

Yahiko roared in utter disbelief.

Simultaneously, a razor-sharp kusarigama tore through the air from Hanzo's grasp, imbued with highly lethal Water Release chakra, driving straight toward Madara Uchiha's neck.

"Heh—" Madara extended his arm.

The hand encased within Tobi easily intercepted Hanzo's chain bare-handed, executing zero evasive maneuvers.

After securing the Rinnegan within the White Zetsu armor's payload bay, Madara hoisted Nagato by the throat, lifting him high and establishing a safe operational distance from Hanzo and the others.

He narrowed his eyes, assessing his captive and auditing the surging vitality within Nagato's system.

"Good kid. As expected of a member of Hashirama's lineage; your genetic specs are truly gifted."

"Not only did you serve as an incubator for my Rinnegan, but as I hypothesized, your hardware is fully capable of undergoing reverse-engineering by the Rinnegan itself."

Madara felt a twinge of regret.

There were objective constraints behind his previous decision to outsource operations via a proxy rather than launching a hostile takeover himself.

While the Rinnegan's chakra absorption capabilities could restore a user's vitality, his acquisition of the Rinnegan had mutated his physique into a vessel encompassing the creation of all things—he was 'cursed' by this power.

Standard chakra, even Tailed Beast chakra, entering his system could not patch his depleted core source code. At best, it could only trigger a temporary rollback to a younger state, similar to terminal lucidity.

To restore his peak operational specs, he required a uniquely gifted Uzumaki clansman like Nagato—someone who had undergone prolonged biological restructuring by the Rinnegan. Once fully matured, Nagato's immense vitality and jutsu capacity could execute a massive, one-time systemic reboot for Madara.

"If I had acquired the Rinnegan twenty fiscal years earlier, I could have passively supervised Nagato's complete conversion into a finalized asset..."

"But I don't have the luxury of time now. Hiruzen is no fool; having him flag the Rinnegan would generate severe operational friction."

These calculations flashed through Madara Uchiha's processor.

He began extracting the chakra from Nagato's internal reserves—specifically, the segments structurally altered by the Rinnegan.

Nagato's cheeks visibly hollowed out, as if his biological assets were being liquidated.

Meanwhile, beneath Tobi's armor, the tips of Madara's pale, withered hair miraculously began to regain their black pigmentation!

"Even this minor regression in age offers an indescribably exquisite user experience."

Madara let out a long sigh of immense satisfaction.

The sensation of his biological hardware revitalizing was a stimulus he hadn't processed in an age.

Madara cast a sidelong glance at Hanzo, emitting a mocking chuckle.

Possessing the White Zetsu surveillance network meant that, despite operating from a remote server, he had total visibility over the shinobi world's macro and micro events.

This was especially true after he initiated his current strategic pivot to intellectually spar with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Mortal hardware isn't entirely devoid of utility, I suppose."

"A casual upgrade has easily restored a significant percentage. This Salamander brat looks considerably younger."

Hanzo locked eyes with Madara Uchiha, treating him as a high-threat entity.

The oppressive pressure radiating from this hooded figure was staggering. Hanzo's sixth sense was firing off critical alarms.

"Identify yourself! What is your objective in raiding Amegakure?"

Hanzo demanded in a heavy tone.

"Nagato!" Yahiko roared from the sidelines. Drawing a kunai, eyes bulging with rage, he launched a frontal assault.

Nagato's current status was critical.

His eyes had been harvested, his physical form was entirely emaciated, and his life signs were plummeting toward termination.

"Fool."

Madara Uchiha scoffed coldly, casually waving his hand.

He had no intention of terminating personnel.

His ideological proxy war with Hiruzen Sarutobi was currently situated on a geopolitical chessboard, adhering strictly to standard operational conflicts within the shinobi industry.

But that didn't authorize low-level juniors to challenge his authority.

Several razor-sharp black receivers, synthesized from Yin-Yang Release, launched with blistering velocity, zeroing in on Yahiko instantly!

"This idiot kid—" Hanzo cursed internally. The chain of his kusarigama snapped out, instantly coiling around Yahiko's waist and violently reeling him back.

"Negative, evasion is impossible. The trajectory is too complex." Realizing Yahiko still wouldn't clear the strike zone, Hanzo utilized the Body Flicker Jutsu to interpose himself.

He raised his left arm, attempting to block the black receivers targeting Yahiko's vital sectors.

The Hydrification Jutsu was activated simultaneously. This was Hanzo's signature maneuver: feign taking critical damage to manipulate the enemy's threat assessment, then execute a lethal counter-strike during their vulnerability window.

However, a fatal error occurred. The moment Madara Uchiha's black receivers punctured Hanzo's left arm, his chakra network suffered catastrophic interference.

Hydrification Jutsu: Failed!

"What kind of jutsu is this!"

Hanzo was internally horrified. Fortunately, having had his jutsu forcefully deactivated by Hiruzen's Lightning Release just months prior, his psychological resilience allowed him to rapidly stabilize his operational mindset.

Suppressing the agony, he deployed the Body Flicker Jutsu to relocate both himself and Yahiko to the flank.

"Hanzo-sama!" Konan and Yahiko cried out in sheer panic.

Hanzo's left arm had been comprehensively impaled by several pitch-black chakra receivers.

Torn flesh peeled back gruesomely, blood coated the entire limb, and bone fragments were visible amidst the structural damage.

The volatile chakra leaking from the black receivers had completely shredded the chakra pathways within the arm.

The limb was permanently decommissioned.

Hanzo glanced down at his ruined left arm.

The frigid chakra radiating from the black receivers was aggressively propagating along his meridian network toward his shoulder and heart, locking his entire physical hardware in a state of paralysis.

Hanzo's eyes hardened viciously. His right hand clamped down tightly on the kusarigama that had accompanied him for decades. With a brutal backhand swing, he violently severed his own left arm at the shoulder joint!

This was no time for hesitation.

The left arm was a total write-off anyway; retaining it would only act as a critical liability. The optimal move was immediate liquidation!

"Somewhat interesting." A trace of marginal respect flickered in Madara Uchiha's eyes.

While Hanzo's combat metrics were still abysmally low in his view, the man undeniably possessed executive grit.

"Hanzo-sama!" Tears welled up in Yahiko's eyes.

He never calculated that a single tactical error on his part would result in Hanzo losing his left arm!

This was the legendary hero of Amegakure!

"Shut up and fall back!"

Hanzo barked sharply.

In truth, he did intend to shield Yahiko.

But his risk assessment had solely relied on the Hydrification Jutsu as an insurance policy—a calculated maneuver to win the kid's absolute loyalty. He never projected actual dismemberment.

How could anyone anticipate the enemy's payload being so anomalous?

Those seemingly mundane black receivers had effortlessly bypassed his secret technique.

But since the sunk cost was already incurred, Hanzo had no choice but to accept the loss and ride out the market volatility.

Yahiko clenched his fists tightly.

In this moment, he felt a crushing remorse for his past ideological naivety.

Peace without military dominance?

It was functionally impossible!

"But Nagato—" Yahiko stared fixedly at Nagato, whose life signs were hanging by a thread.

And at that exact second.

A Flying Thunder God kunai plummeted from the sky, landing precisely next to Nagato.

A flash of golden light erupted—Minato Namikaze had arrived on-site!

He had actually touched down in Amegakure earlier, but since Hanzo was leading a field inspection today, their itineraries had missed each other.

After inquiring with Ame shinobi about Hanzo's coordinates, Minato had rushed over, only to stumble straight into this active combat zone.

"Childish parlor tricks."

Madara Uchiha frowned in sheer disdain. He casually raised a black receiver, effortlessly deflecting Minato's kinetic strike, and silently neutralized the Flying Thunder God kunai embedded in the ground.

Minato's heart went cold.

Excluding Hiruzen Sarutobi, this individual was only the second entity he had ever encountered capable of casually tracking and intercepting his post-teleportation assault.

Executing zero hesitation, the millisecond his attack was parried, Minato triggered the Flying Thunder God and immediately extracted himself, re-materializing beside Hanzo.

"Granduncle Hanzo, identify the hostile." Minato requested in a low voice.

"Insufficient data."

Hanzo's expression was incredibly dark. "But his combat metrics are undeniably staggering. He's at least in the same tier as Big Brother! I have no intel on his origin!"

Madara Uchiha chuckled dryly.

In the same tier as Hiruzen?

What an absolute failure of risk assessment.

If his hardware were currently at peak capacity, even if Hashirama logged onto the server, Madara Uchiha would guarantee total market victory!

But Madara wasn't offended. After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the heir to his youthful ideological portfolio, so the Hokage's combat ratings were somewhat acceptable.

Ignorance was not a crime!

However, the mention of Hiruzen Sarutobi triggered a sudden tactical recalculation in Madara's partially restored processor.

"Boy."

"Neither you nor Hanzo possess the necessary clearance to open a dialogue with me."

"If you wish to retain this Uzumaki brat as a living asset, transmit a priority summons to the Hokage immediately!"

"I have an executive summit to conduct with him!"

Modulated by Tobi's acoustic filters, Madara Uchiha's voice echoed deep and muffled, sounding as if it were broadcasting directly from the depths of hell.

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