"How is it?"
Orochimaru silently handed Tsunade the reply in his hand.
After reading it, Tsunade slammed it onto the table. Her chest heaved, and she was already furious.
"How could she do this? How could the frontline commander not know about such a major matter as negotiating an agreement?"
"Doesn't the teacher care?"
A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Orochimaru's mouth.
"Most likely, the teacher was the one who suggested it."
Tsunade dropped heavily onto the stool.
"So the reason Hanzō didn't attack that day, as well as the ambush the night before, was to show off his strength?"
Orochimaru nodded.
Tsunade rubbed her temples in distress.
"No matter what, we have to relocate as quickly as possible before the village's reinforcements arrive."
"Otherwise, Hanzō will shatter us remnants with a single touch."
"I'll go find Jiraiya. We'll slowly move the wounded out first."
With that, Tsunade turned and left.
The Konoha forces began relocating, but because there were so many wounded, the transfer of supplies was slow.
And just as the last group of ninjas was leaving camp—
The Rain Ninja arrived!
Half-God Hanzō stood casually by the roadside.
Behind him were the Rain Ninja who followed him.
Hanzō stood there so ordinarily, yet everyone present felt an invisible pressure bearing down on them.
A person's reputation was like a tree's shadow.
The name Half-God Hanzō had been bought with countless lives.
Amid the silence, Orochimaru stepped out from the crowd and said with a low laugh:
"May I ask why our senior has come?"
Hanzō's pupils focused as he answered unhurriedly:
"You Konoha people don't keep your word! I've come to take what the Land of Rain is entitled to."
"Why don't you tell me what the Land of Rain is entitled to? I'll go find it for you right now."
Orochimaru narrowed his snake-like eyes slightly, observing Hanzō's reaction.
"Hmph, youngster." Hanzō raised his sickle. "What I want is something you can't give me!"
Another stretch of silent stillness followed, but this time, it was different.
Something was struggling against something else in the air.
The auras of Kage Level fighters intertwined. Orochimaru's long-accumulated killing intent was clearly inferior to Hanzō's. Before long, sweat appeared on his forehead, and he felt a faint stabbing pain in his head.
At that moment, Tsunade and Jiraiya stepped forward, joining forces to withstand Hanzō's pressure.
With the three of them working together, they finally managed to match Hanzō evenly.
A hint of a smile appeared on Hanzō's face. "Not bad, youngsters!"
The smile faded, and the sickle's blade pointed at the three Sannin. "But I wonder whether you can withstand what comes next!"
Hanzō swept his blade through the air. The Rain Ninja streamed forward, charging at the Konoha forces at his command.
The three Sannin glanced at the number of Rain Ninja and issued an order almost simultaneously.
"Everyone, retreat! I'll hold them off!"
The Konoha forces turned and left, while Hyuga Ao secretly found a place to hide.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!" ×3
Amid the enormous clouds of white smoke, Manda, Gamabunta, and Katsuyu appeared one after another, blocking the Rain Ninja's path.
At the same time, Ibuse appeared behind the Konoha forces, cutting off their escape route.
The three Sannin hurriedly ordered their summoned beasts to intercept Ibuse, but Ibuse sprayed poisonous mist everywhere, and many Konoha ninjas still fell unconscious after being poisoned.
The Konoha forces continued retreating.
Hanzō signaled for the Rain Ninja to stop and advanced with his bladed sickle in hand.
"Let me see just how much the Third's prized disciples are worth!"
Hanzō and the three Sannin sent their summoned beasts crashing into one another.
At this time, Manda and Gamabunta had not yet fully matured, while Katsuyu's own combat strength was weak.
With Hanzō's ninjutsu supporting him, Ibuse actually did not fall behind, taking on all three alone!
Hanzō had grown up alongside Ibuse. Man and beast worked together seamlessly, learning from each other.
Gamabunta swung his blade down, but Ibuse forced him back with a mouthful of poisonous mist.
Manda tried to rely on his sturdy body to constrict Ibuse to death. His serpentine body wrapped around Ibuse, but Ibuse's massive build was practically unlike that of an amphibious reptile.
With a grab and a yank of his arm, he tossed Manda aside.
Katsuyu's acid bullets flew everywhere, yet they could not harm Ibuse at all. If she engaged him in close combat, she might be forced to split apart after only a few blows.
"This won't work! Find a way to force him down. We'll fight without the summoned beasts!"
"Got it!"
Jiraiya responded and called out to Gamabunta. "Gamabunta, use that move!"
"Got it!" Gamabunta slapped his belly and sprayed a large amount of Toad Oil from his mouth.
"Fire Release: Great Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"
A blazing white flame followed the spray of Toad Oil. Ibuse flipped over and burrowed underground.
Jiraiya's Fire Release struck empty air, but they had achieved their objective.
Ibuse moved beneath the ground while the three Sannin set up their defenses above. In doing so, they inadvertently left an opening.
Ibuse surfaced and snapped at Tsunade, who was standing atop Katsuyu.
A figure emerged from the earth beside Katsuyu. Orochimaru formed seals with both hands.
"Genjutsu: Dark Walking Technique!"
"Oh?" Hanzō suddenly fell into darkness, but he did not panic in the slightest. His battle instincts, honed over many years, were enough for him to fight even after losing his sight.
Hanzō stood motionless, waiting for the three Sannin to make their move.
However, the three Sannin's attack did not arrive as he had expected.
Katsuyu drew its attention, Manda restricted its movements, and Gamabunta pushed and pulled. The three summoned beasts worked together seamlessly, dragging Ibuse toward a nearby spot.
Hanzō felt the ground shaking. Jiraiya, clad in Needle Jizo, rammed into him with his body and knocked him off Ibuse.
The battle had now become summoned beast against summoned beast, and ninja against ninja.
"Oh. So that's what you had in mind." The darkness before Hanzō's eyes lifted, and blood dripped from his sickle.
A bloody gash ran across Jiraiya's chest. Fortunately, Needle Jizo and his steel armor had protected him, so the wound was not severe.
The three Sannin gathered together and stared solemnly at Hanzō.
Hanzō relaxed his body, and his gaze gradually sharpened. "Then, youngsters, the second round is about to begin!"
The instant he finished speaking, Hanzō, who had still been relaxing his body, formed seals with one hand and appeared before the three Sannin.
Hanzō's seals did not change as a massive slash swept across. The three Sannin each used their own techniques, but beneath Hanzō's high-speed Body Flicker, their responses seemed rushed and powerless.
Tsunade's monstrous strength, the giant snake, and ninjutsu were all treated as nothing by Hanzō's incredible speed.
Each time the three Sannin barely blocked one or two attacks, they were immediately sent flying by another slash. Orochimaru had the greatest variety of techniques and could barely hold on, but Jiraiya could not keep up, relying entirely on his willpower to endure.
The three Sannin stayed together, only to be met by another bombardment of powerful Water Release.
Hyuga Ao had been hiding to the side. Seeing this, she knew she should lend them a hand.
"What a pity. I won't get to see the complete battle of the three Sannin." Hyuga Ao thought to herself.
"But isn't participating in and changing things the whole point of traveling through time?"
Hyuga Ao accelerated, clasped her hands together, and charged into the battle, catching Hanzō's downward slash.
"Ao'er?" Tsunade exclaimed in surprise.
Hanzō watched Hyuga Ao with interest.
She stood barely a meter and forty centimeters tall and looked to be only a teenager. Byakugan—she was apparently from the Hyuga clan. She looked fair and delicate, so he had not expected her to catch one of his blows head-on.
Then he remembered her speed and strength from earlier.
Another genius?
The more Hanzō thought about it, the more complicated his feelings became.
Why did Konoha have so many geniuses?
Hanzō's expression turned displeased. He twisted the hilt, forcing Hyuga Ao to release her grip and retreat. She then stood alongside the three Sannin.
"Ao'er, why didn't you leave?" Tsunade took the opportunity to treat Jiraiya's wounds while asking with concern.
Hyuga Ao lifted her little face and said proudly, "I could leave, but there's no need."
"Don't worry, Tsunade. Ao is very strong. Once we return this time, she can apply to the teacher for promotion to Jonin," Orochimaru said with a low laugh.
"But..." Tsunade still wanted to say something.
Hanzō, standing nearby, did not want to watch them chat so happily.
"Water Release: Black Rain Technique!"
A rain cloud drifted over, and black droplets mixed into the rain that was already falling.
"Hmm?" Something seemed to have appeared in the dim sky.
Hyuga Ao shifted her attention back to herself and discovered that the Wind Cloak, which appeared pale blue through her Byakugan, seemed to have many black lines inside it.
Hanzō keenly seized the moment when Hyuga Ao was distracted.
"Water Release: Torrential Surge!"
Within the pits left by the earlier Water Release bombardment, countless black streams converged into a torrent. The torrent surged forth, sweeping Hyuga Ao and the three Sannin into one of the pits.
Even with the Wind Cloak's filtration, Hyuga Ao could still sense a peculiar, pungent smell with a hint of fragrance surrounding her.
Hyuga Ao looked at the black liquid beneath her, and her expression changed drastically. Having come from modern society, she was all too familiar with this substance.
Oil!
"Get out of here!" Hyuga Ao cried out.
Too late! A cruel smile curled across Hanzō's lips as a formation of Explosive Tags unfolded, completely surrounding Hyuga Ao and the three Sannin.
A violent explosion engulfed the four of them.
The Explosive Tags detonated and ignited the oil. The oil splashed in every direction, forming a sea of flames.
The flames leaping upward reached five or six meters high, and the surrounding air twisted slightly under the scorching heat.
The sea of flames evaporated the rain, unexpectedly creating a layer of mist within a short time.
Hyuga Ao and the three Sannin were still trapped within the sea of flames, their fates unknown.
Before you continue