pjbooks Chapter 254 Lord Hanzo, it was my fault that you were harmed.
Chapter 254 Lord Hanzo, it was my fault that you were harmed.
The Land of Rain, border waters.
The gloomy sky hung low, and the leaden clouds looked as if they were about to fall onto the water.
The fine rain fell, creating countless ripples on the water's surface. It was impossible to tell whether it was rain or fog; only a chaotic grayness remained between heaven and earth.
Several broken pieces of wood and strips of cloth stained with blood floated on the water's surface, drifting with the current and slowly sinking to the bottom.
On the bank lay an old tree, withered and dead from the poisonous fog, its branches charred black, standing silently in the rain.
The water surface suddenly exploded.
A huge black shadow burst out from underwater, sending up a splash several meters high.
That's a salamander—a salamander with only half its body remaining.
Its forelimbs clung tightly to the rocks on the shore, and with three people in its mouth, it used its last strength to throw them ashore.
Then, it could no longer hold on.
Its massive body crashed down, shaking the ground.
It lay on its side on the ground, its chest still rising and falling weakly, and with each breath, more blood gushed from its wound.
The blood mixed with rainwater formed a dark red stream beneath it.
Its eyes were still open, gazing in the direction of Yahiko and the others, as if checking to see if they were safe.
"Cough...cough cough..."
Yahiko lay on the ground, coughing up large mouthfuls of water.
Rainwater mixed with river water poured into his mouth, and he couldn't tell what it tasted like. His hands and feet were trembling, not from the cold, but from fear.
He had never been so afraid before.
Xiao Nan knelt beside him, her hands supporting her on the ground, her wet hair clinging to her face, water droplets dripping from the ends of her hair.
She didn't cry, but her face was frighteningly pale, and her lips were completely bloodless.
Nagato leaned against a rock on the shore. His right leg had been cut by an underwater rock, and blood was flowing down his calf to the ground. But he seemed not to feel the pain. He just raised his head, his purple eyes swirling around him, watching the raindrops fall from the clouds.
None of the three—Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato—spoke.
After a long time, Yahiko finally managed to stand up and stagger to the salamander.
He reached out, wanting to touch its head, but his hand hovered in mid-air, unable to fall.
The salamander blinked slowly and let out a low whimper.
The voice was very soft, as if it had used up all its strength.
Yahiko's hand finally fell, placing it on the salamander's nose. The skin was rough and cold, devoid of its former warmth.
"Thank you." Yahiko's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.
The salamander blinked again, then slowly closed its eyes.
Its chest rose and fell one last time, and then it remained still.
He died, seemingly following his master in death.
Yahiko stood before the salamander's corpse, rain streaming down his face, indistinguishable between rain and tears.
He turned around and looked in the direction he had come from.
You can't see anything there, only a gray sky and a gray ground.
However, he knew that at the end of that gray expanse, there was a dense forest, and behind the forest stood a majestic old man.
The old man once stood in the center of ten thousand people, holding his long sword horizontally, and said to them with a smile, "The Land of Rain is now in your hands."
Yahiko's legs buckled, and he knelt on the ground.
The rain pelted his back, again and again, as if someone were whipping him.
"It's all my fault."
His voice, trembling, was forced out of his throat, "If I hadn't insisted on going to Lord Hanzo, if I hadn't insisted on signing that peace treaty, if I hadn't..."
He...couldn't continue.
Xiao Nan walked to his side, knelt down, and gently hugged his shoulders.
"It's not your fault. Yahiko, it's not your fault."
"It was my fault!"
Yahiko suddenly raised his head, his eyes red: "Lord Hanzo was right, the ninja world can't be solved through communication. I was so naive. I thought that as long as I was sincere enough, as long as I tried hard enough, they would listen to me. But they—"
His voice choked.
"They never intended to talk in the first place. They were just using me, using me to lure Lord Hanzo out. I was a fool, a fool who was completely played by everyone."
Yahiko knelt on the ground, his head hanging limply, his body trembling; Konan didn't speak, but just hugged him tighter; Nagato leaned against a rock, silently watching all of this.
He didn't say anything, but his expression was eerily calm.
In his heart, Hanzo's death truly enraged him. The old man could have ignored them, could have escaped on his own, but he chose to stay behind and cover their retreat.
He remembered this kindness.
If one day he has enough power, he will also avenge Hanzo.
But even stronger than anger is another emotion—hatred.
He hated those who had deceived them. Rasa, Onoki, Chiyo—they had clearly agreed, clearly promised to make peace, but in the blink of an eye, they had laid a trap.
He hated this ninja world, which was full of deception, betrayal, and killing.
He hated himself even more. He hated his lack of power, hated that he could only watch helplessly as Hanzo went to his death, hated that he could do nothing.
If he had enough power… Nagato reached out and touched his eyes, the eyes that were defined as those of the Sage of Six Paths, but in reality, they did not give him the power he imagined.
The rain was still falling, the icy rain pouring down on them, running down their clothes, washing away the blood, and making their wounds turn white.
After an unknown amount of time, Yahiko finally stopped trembling.
He broke free from Xiao Nan's embrace, took a deep breath, and then another deep breath.
"I'm fine now." Although his voice was still hoarse, it was much calmer than before.
He stood up, walked to the salamander's corpse, bowed deeply, and then turned to look at Konan and Nagato.
"Lord Hanzo entrusted the Land of Rain to us; we cannot let him down."
Konan stood up and walked to his side. Nagato also stood up, leaning on a rock for support; his leg wound was still bleeding, but he didn't utter a sound.
"Let's bury Lord Sansamosaurus first. Without him, we can't survive."
With difficulty, Yahiko raised his hand and slowly began to form hand seals. Using the little chakra he had left, he lowered the ground and dug out the grave using ninjutsu.
They didn't have Hanzo's body, so they just dragged the salamander into the grave with all their might.
He formed a new hand seal, closed the earth, and then found a wooden board, carving words on it with a kunai.
[The tomb of Hanzo, the demigod of the Land of Rain, and his summoned beast, the Salamander.]
The handwriting was crooked and messy, not pretty, but very deep.
Several people knelt before the tomb and kowtowed three times.
The rain gradually subsided, a crack appeared in the clouds, and a beam of light fell through the gap, shining directly on the tombstone.