Chapter 231: Transition of Power in Amegakure

Returning from the Land of Fire's daimyō residence...

Now that the daimyō herself had issued a direct command, Yagura could no longer afford to remain passive. He had to make a move, give this ambitious warlord of a woman—hell-bent on unifying the world under her banner—some kind of answer.

Fortunately, he held a full hand of cards. Multiple trump cards, even.

And Sunagakure? Do they even have a single decent pair, let alone a royal flush?

...

Amegakure, Land of Rain

Outside the highest and most secluded chamber, the corpses of Amegakure shinobi lay scattered across the floor—guards who had failed to protect the tower's heart.

At the deepest level of the tower...

Nagato stood face-to-face with Hanzo the Salamander. As Hanzo lunged forward in a sudden ambush, Nagato calmly raised a hand.

"Shinra Tensei."

Boom!

Hanzo's thrown scythe was repelled mid-air by an invisible force, flung away like a twig in a storm.

He had never seen anything like it—an attack formed purely from repulsion.

Even Hanzo himself was sent hurtling backward, crashing through wall after wall in the tower's interior.

"Who… are you—"

Hanzo stared in shock at Nagato, taking in the face, the red bangs... and those eyes.

"The Asura Path," Nagato said coldly.

A third mechanical arm extended from his body. With a hiss, it launched a volley of chakra-guided missiles. The warheads struck Hanzo dead-on in a fiery explosion.

Yet from the thick black smoke, Hanzo emerged unharmed, adopting a battle-ready stance. This time, he knew he was facing a real threat.

"Banshō Ten'in."

Another invisible force—but this time, it pulled instead of pushed. Mid-air, with nothing to grab onto, Hanzo was sucked back into the smoke.

Realizing the tactic, Hanzo immediately flung his chained scythe, embedding it in the rooftop, trying to reel himself out of range.

At the same time, his other hand formed hand seals in a flash.

Underneath Nagato's feet, hundreds of explosive tags—disguised to match the color of the tatami mats—flared to life, triggered by Hanzo's chakra.

They slithered like bloodthirsty serpents up Nagato's leg, igniting into flames.

But it was futile.

Nagato, now fully in control of the Six Paths' power, had become immune to such tactics.

Without even glancing down, Nagato raised the third arm again, precisely aiming at Hanzo.

"Preta Path."

The chakra powering the explosive tags was instantly absorbed, rendering them all duds.

At the same time, a massive beam of energy burst through the smoke—an energy cannon so large in caliber it pierced straight through the haze.

BOOM!

From above, several black rods shot forward, impaling Hanzo mid-air.

His neck, chest, and other vital points were struck dead-on.

Hanzo the Salamander—slain on the spot.

As his body fell, sheets of white paper drifted from the sky and wrapped tightly around him like a mummifying shroud.

Konan's form coalesced from the paper fluttering in the air.

"Hanzo the Salamander… the man once called a demigod."

She stepped closer, opened a gap in the paper wrapping, and checked his pulse with her own hand—confirming the death.

It was hard to believe. This man had once been worshipped as a god by the people of Amegakure. Now, he had fallen so far.

Even though Nagato had grown incomparably powerful, Konan hadn't expected this battle to end so quickly.

"But by the end of his reign… Hanzo was just a deranged old man."

That's how the Mizukage had described him—and now, it seemed spot on.

365 days a year, 24 hours a day, Hanzo locked himself in the topmost chamber of the tower, completely cut off from the outside world. No one knew why he had become like that—almost as if possessed.

A demigod turned into a shut-in. Some even joked that if the tower ever caught fire, Hanzo would probably burn to death rather than leave.

The paper wrapped up Hanzo's corpse.

Konan landed beside Nagato. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine," Nagato replied, shaking his head. "How about you and Yahiko?"

"Everything went smoothly," she said with a smile.

The entire operation against Hanzo and Amegakure's ruling elite had gone even better than expected.

As Konan looked at the bridge painted with rainbows and peace, her smile brightened.

"Yahiko and Kakuzu-san have already taken over the upper levels of Amegakure. The news of Hanzo's death is spreading. There may be some bloodshed ahead, but with Kakuzu-san on our side, we'll manage."

Nagato smiled as well, bolstered by their competence.

"Good. Let's make Hanzo's death public. That'll make Yahiko's job even easier."

...

With Hanzo gone, the Akatsuki swiftly took control of Amegakure.

Yahiko stepped in as the new leader.

The shocking news shook the shinobi world to its core.

What?! Hanzo the Salamander—dead?

And who was responsible? Akatsuki?

An organization capable of doing what even the Legendary Sannin couldn't?

Before the shinobi nations had even processed this bombshell or understood who Akatsuki truly was, Yahiko made his first official move: he ordered a complete purge of Hanzo's loyalists from Amegakure's ranks.

The ordinary shinobi and civilians of the village had no objections.

To the outside world, this seemed sudden.

But inside Amegakure, Hanzo had long become little more than a madman in a tower.

Over the years, Akatsuki had quietly supported Kirigakure's influence within Amegakure, introducing food, clothing, and jobs to the common people.

With that public goodwill as a foundation, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan assumed control almost seamlessly.

Yahiko handled political messaging and ideological work; Nagato commanded the shinobi forces; Konan managed internal affairs; and Kakuzu oversaw finance and taxation.

One veteran, three young leaders—each with clearly defined roles.

After stabilizing the village, Yahiko's next directive for Nagato was to seal the borders between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire.

All goods from Konoha were confiscated.

This wasn't a declaration of war—this was a directive from the Mizukage.

The goal wasn't to sever ties with the Land of Fire.

When news broke, the one who reacted with the most panic wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi—after all, the two countries didn't have especially warm ties.

It was Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage.

He had just reestablished trade with Konoha and was relying on imports to balance out Sunagakure's overwhelming dependence on Kirigakure's goods.

But with the Land of Rain sandwiched between Fire and Wind, Yahiko's move had struck precisely at Rasa's weak point—cutting off that trade route.

Before Rasa could send a diplomatic protest, he received a full intelligence report from Suna's spies in Amegakure.

The summary? Konan, now the Minister of Internal Affairs, was rapidly implementing complete "Kirification."

And within the Land of Wind, the new Amegakure government was receiving a steady stream of supplies from Kirigakure.

It was obvious: this new Amegakure was a puppet of the Mist.

(T/N: This chapter is originally short.)

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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