Chapter 48: Different Lives.

Land of Rain.

Hanma was running slowly around the border, like a lion patrolling its territory.

He had expanded his domain of predation to its maximum, with a drizzling blood aura enveloping the land and meticulously probing the chakra of all living things around. On his shoulder, however, there was a vacuum area devoid of any blood aura, where a cute and obedient little girl was sitting with her legs dangling.

Hanma squinted his eyes, feeling a slight tinge of disappointment in his heart.

"Didn't expect that after intending to directly snatch Nagato's Rinnegan, I would find Konan instead?"

Turning his head to look at the adorable young Konan, he comforted himself, thinking it wasn't a wasted trip after all.

"Well, at least I gained something. Shēng Shù is currently researching explosive tags, and now there's a future master-level figure."

"If Shēng Shù doesn't seize this opportunity, he can't blame me, his brother-in-law, for not finding him a wife."

This was already the third time Hanma had toured the Land of Rain. The Rain Ninja forces had been so scared by him that they were paranoid, not daring to step across the border.

After all, the malicious blood aura was extremely conspicuous, and Hanzo indeed feared this poison-immune monster greatly.

Hanzo had clearly informed the Sand Ninja that he would never take action if Hanma wasn't held up on another battlefield.

Because of Hanma, the Rain Ninja had set up an ironclad defense like a turtle shell, leaving Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya speechless.

Even though Hanma repeatedly emphasized Hanzo's might, the three of them were still eager for a showdown with him.

After all, this was the first main battle the Sarutobi team would be fighting against a nation, and in their hearts, they believed their combination was unbeatable by Hanzo.

As a result, Tsunade had already contacted Hanma, expressing her slight discontent.

"If you're not helping us defeat the Rain Ninja, then retract your blood aura. Don't be so high-profile and disrupt our combat plans."

Hanma, still unable to sense high-tier special chakra even after withdrawing his blood aura, had no choice but to abandon his plan to seize the Rinnegan.

He had initially thought he could preemptively complete the first assault on Uchiha Madara before Black Zetsu did, but it turned out to be wishful thinking on his part.

"This isn't right, Nagato should have the Rinnegan by now. I remembered he revealed it when his parents were killed."

"Could it have been transplanted during the war? No, it should have been replaced at birth, otherwise, his parents wouldn't have been unaware."

"So he must have it. How could this be?"

Lost in thought, Hanma pondered where the problem lay.

Although he strived for the utmost in taijutsu and was very stable internally, he didn't want Nagato to grow up just like that. 

Despite not practicing eye techniques himself and firmly believing in the correctness of his taijutsu path, who would want to let go of such a treasure?

Hanma, longing to become the freest man in the ninja world, had no interest in following any storyline. Since he was here with deep blue eyes and a golden finger, he must carve out his own story.

Moreover, he was living comfortably in the ninja world and might even marry and have children in the future. Leaving such a hidden danger was just asking for trouble. Additionally, Nagato was just an eight or nine-year-old child who shouldn't bear the burden of the Rinnegan.

As a legitimate Uchiha descendant with a firm pedigree, Hanma believed he had the duty to help his elder safeguard these precious eyes.

Yet now, his plan had failed miserably, leading to a rare sense of depression. He even began to doubt his youth, recalling how as a child, he had scrubbed floors for a month just to buy a manga.

In fact, Hanma's memory hadn't betrayed him. It was indeed Uchiha Madara who had given Nagato the Rinnegan around the time of the Second Ninja War. However, he had forgotten a variable and underestimated himself. Madara had always been watching him, even harboring a shred of wariness.

Two years ago, at the Konoha border.

"Nagato, come help mom with the groceries. These are good things bought from Konoha. I'll make some meat for you tonight!"

"Okay!"

A warm family of three, carrying baskets full of vegetables, basking in the warmth of the setting sun, was heading home hand in hand.

His mother, Fūsang, was from the Uzumaki clan, with beautiful red hair and an excellent cook.

Nagato looked happily at his family, feeling immensely satisfied at this moment. Little did he know that a nightmare was about to strike.

"Boom—!"

With a loud explosion, an intense Great Fireball suddenly appeared, engulfing the family of three. 

The Konoha ninja had suddenly appeared and killed his parents without any reason. Nagato was severely injured and on the brink of death. 

In his final moments, Nagato barely opened his eyes, remembering the scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

A bearded ninja and a tall, thin Konoha ninja were chatting while smoking cigarettes, casually slitting his parents' throats. 

Their casual demeanor was just like Nagato's family buying meat at the market moments ago.

"Sigh… Konoha's that person isn't taking on side jobs anymore. My special jonin role hasn't been resolved yet, it's really frustrating."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Minister Shinzō has already hinted at everyone, hasn't he? Don't go overboard; we're ninjas, after all."

"Hmph, you're a special jonin now, getting 10% more commission for each mission. Isn't that nice?!"

"Whatever, the minister already said we can be lenient. These two Rain Country ninjas can be brought in as spies, the minister will credit you for it."

"Ah, how did he become the minister? Does he think we don't know? I hope he gives us common ninjas some leeway."

Then, the two of them carried his parents away slowly.

Nagato roared in anger, but couldn't make any sound due to his burns. Consumed by grief and rage, he passed out. 

When he woke up, he was in a dark cave. 

An old man had saved him, surrounded by a group of white creatures. Nagato thanked the old man, who told him it was his destiny, part of his fate.

That old man was Uchiha Madara.

All this was part of Madara's plan. He had used the Sharingan's Genjutsu to incite the greed of these Konoha ninjas, creating this tragedy.

Having awakened the Rinnegan, Madara was very old and could only sustain his life through the Gedo Statue, hiding underground.

Passing the time and selecting his "successor," he had always been observing the happenings in the Uchiha clan through White Zetsu.

For the past two years, Madara had been watching Hanma. Initially, he had merely seen him as a source of amusement in his idle time, but he was soon shocked by Hanma's rapid growth, feeling a deep sense of regret.

Originally, Hanma should have been his best successor: no Sharingan yet, but possessing a body more akin to the Senju's than even the Senju themselves.

After two or three years of observation, Madara witnessed Hanma's patience, persistence, greed, and even love for the world, complemented by his immense and undeveloped martial prowess.

However, what impressed Madara most was Hanma's deep-rooted yearning for power.

From the age of twenty, Hanma had subjected his body to all sorts of high-power ninjutsu, even jumping off cliffs hundreds of times just to train his physical body.

As an unrivaled hero from the Warring States period, Madara had keen insight and vast knowledge, but he had never seen anything like this.

Faced with someone capable of such craziness, Madara was convinced that if Nagato roamed free in the ninja world as per his original plan, he could only hope he wouldn't encounter this clansman.

If he did, Madara would bet with Hashirama's feelings that Hanma would undoubtedly seize Nagato's eyes.

Facing such an outstanding clansman, Madara occasionally felt a faint regret, wishing he had either guided or eliminated him earlier.

But he couldn't give up on Nagato, who had been his carefully selected vessel found by White Zetsu, possessing superior genes from the Senju and Uzumaki clans.

According to his estimation, Nagato could fully wield the power of the two Rinnegan, showcasing terrifying abilities.

To preemptively secure this, Madara had orchestrated a grand act before the war, capturing Nagato's heart.

Due to Hanma's emergence and Madara's cautiousness, Nagato thus embraced a "future similar to Obito."

At this moment, Hanma was listening to Konan's story, while Madara was imparting his understanding of the ninja world and war to Nagato.

The two who were supposed to rely on each other were instead taken away by two Uchiha, embarking on different lives.