Just after Haruto Saito left Furuta Village...
At the mountain pass where Haruto Saito and Hattori Ryuya had their final battle, three figures appeared out of thin air on the cliffside. A tall, busty female ninja in a green robe stood with one hand on her hip, squinting sternly at the battlefield below.
"Before the earth release jutsu attack, there was a massive explosion here," said a pale, cold-faced male ninja beside her.
"It was explosive tags! A huge number of them detonated!" added a tall, silver-haired ninja.
"What about that hole?" the busty woman frowned in confusion.
Hissss...
A large white snake slithered out from the underground tunnel.
"I've already checked it," said the cold-faced ninja—Orochimaru. He gazed below and added, "The tunnel goes thirty meters deep. There's a lot of blood at the bottom. It looks like someone crawled inside while injured... or perhaps a corpse was removed afterward."
"The explosion marks here seem unusual," Jiraiya furrowed his brows.
"It does resemble Haruto Saito's style—more explosions," Tsunade crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "But if he had set a trap with pre-planted explosive tags to lure Hattori Ryuya in, the chances of killing him that way are very slim."
"What if the tags weren't pre-planted?" Jiraiya turned to Tsunade.
"You mean he threw out that many tags at once?" Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya. "His opponent wasn't blind..."
"No, that's not what I meant." Jiraiya shook his head.
"Then what?"
"Do you remember what Haruto Saito was practicing before we left Konoha for our mission to the Land of Rain?"
"Huh?" Tsunade paused, blinking before shaking her head. "He couldn't have mastered the Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tag so quickly, even if he's a genius..."
"You never know," Jiraiya said thoughtfully.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a kunai whizzed through the air toward them at high speed!
Tsunade's eyes narrowed, and she shot forward, catching the flying kunai mid-air. She twisted midair before landing gracefully back in her spot.
"Who?!" she demanded.
"Hey," Jiraiya called out sideways.
"Hm?" Tsunade looked at him.
"Look at the kunai in your hand," Jiraiya said.
Tsunade flipped the kunai over and noticed an intricate marking—a Flying Thunder God seal!
"That little brat!" Tsunade clenched her teeth and shouted, "Get over here!"
Two hands suddenly covered her eyes from behind.
"Guess who—ow! Crap! Ugh...!"
Before Haruto Saito could finish, he doubled over, clutching his stomach. Tsunade had elbowed him hard.
"You little brat! What's with the theatrics? Trying to get yourself beaten up?" Tsunade scolded.
Jiraiya shook his head, stroking his chin. Better not say anything right now, or he might get hit too.
"You heartless woman! I made you so much money, and this is how you treat me? Doesn't your conscience hurt?" Haruto Saito groaned, rubbing his stomach.
"Enough nonsense." Tsunade grabbed him in a headlock, squeezing tightly. "Now, tell me the truth—who helped you kill Hattori Ryuya?"
"What do you mean, 'who helped me'?"
"You expect me to believe you did it alone?"
"Why not?"
"Bullshit! Quit messing around and talk!"
"It was me."
"Liar!"
"You don't believe me? Let's bet on it!"
"Bet—bet my ass!"
"Alright, alright, this isn't the place to talk. Let's go somewhere else. Come on."
...
Half an hour later, in the northern courtyard of the Furuta Village Governor's Mansion.
Inside the main building, Haruto Saito shut the door.
"You're setting up a ninja village here? Of all places? If you wanted to take over a village, why not go for a bigger one?" Tsunade asked as she studied a map on the wall.
Before entering the village, Haruto Saito had given them a quick briefing. The four of them had snuck in without being detected.
"One step at a time. I have too many enemies; I need to be cautious," Haruto Saito half-joked.
"You still haven't answered me. Tell me honestly!" Tsunade turned to him. "Is Hattori Ryuya really dead? What exactly happened?"
"Wait a second," Haruto Saito said before calling out, "Fenghuo, come in!"
Soon, the door opened.
A tall figure in a mask stepped inside, bowing respectfully. "My lord, you called?"
"Yes. Close the door first. Let's talk here," Haruto Saito instructed.
From the moment "Fenghuo" entered, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had all focused their gazes on him. Even though "Fenghuo" was suppressing his presence, the three of them still sensed a dangerous aura from him. Orochimaru, in particular, felt an unsettling chill.
The door shut.
Fenghuo moved further into the room.
"Take off your mask," Haruto Saito ordered.
Fenghuo removed his mask.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru instantly jumped to their feet. Tsunade, too, stiffened, gripping a kunai in her sleeve instinctively.
Because the man standing before them was Hattori Ryuya!
"Fenghuo" was the codename Haruto Saito had given him.
"Calm down, calm down!" Haruto Saito quickly reassured them. "Yes, he is Hattori Ryuya, but he's not the same Hattori Ryuya you remember..."
"Explain!" Tsunade glared at Haruto Saito, still tense.
"I killed him and then used a forbidden jutsu to resurrect him. Think of him as a kind of human puppet. Look at the sealing formula on his forehead—that's the revival seal... Orochimaru-sama, please don't get too excited, I didn't use Edo Tensei. He's not immortal, doesn't have infinite chakra, and he has the same weaknesses as a normal person."
Haruto Saito summarized the situation.
Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru slowly calmed down. They could tell this version of Hattori Ryuya was... different. Orochimaru, in particular, scrutinized him carefully, intrigued by the sealing formula on his forehead.
The three began circling Hattori Ryuya, observing him from all angles.
Tsunade even poked him a few times.
Hattori Ryuya remained expressionless but occasionally shot them sideways glances.
"Hey, don't push your luck," Haruto Saito warned. "He's just as strong as before, and still very dangerous..."
The three ignored him, clearly more interested in Hattori Ryuya than Haruto Saito at the moment.
"By the way, why are you guys here in the Land of Whirlpools? Weren't you on a mission in the Land of Rain?" Haruto Saito asked.
Tsunade suddenly stopped. In a flash, she grabbed Haruto Saito by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
"You still have the nerve to ask?! You ran off with our money! How could we not come after you? We're here to collect our debt! Pay up!"