The figures of Hyuga Ao and the other three appeared in the distance.
As the Explosive Tags appeared, Hyuga Ao slapped the oil pool beneath her feet apart.
Before the Explosive Tags could ignite the oil, Orochimaru and Jiraiya each grabbed one person and used Earth Release to carry Hyuga Ao and Tsunade away from the spot.
Hanzō frowned. "What a quick reaction!"
This move had tricked countless people before. He hid the oil cloud in the rain clouds and let it fall, then found a way to ignite it. Since oil was difficult to remove, it would cause moderate burns at the very least.
Beside the sea of flames, the oil floated on the water and burned. Tsunade snorted. "What a vicious technique!"
"Heh heh." Hanzō chuckled. "As long as it works."
"Patter, patter." Raindrops the size of beans struck their exposed skin, causing even a hint of pain.
Hanzō tightened his grip on the sickle. "Looks like the heavens think we've been dawdling too long and have started urging us on."
A terrifying aura pressed down on the four of them. Hyuga Ao felt as if she were standing in a sea of corpses. Everywhere she looked, there were severed limbs, while a thick stench of blood surrounded her.
Hyuga Ao was horrified. "Can sheer aura alone reach the level of a genjutsu?"
"This is the strength of the top experts in the shinobi world!" Hyuga Ao's expression grew solemn as she stared intently at Hanzō. She knew Hanzō was about to get serious.
The sickle blade swept horizontally, carving out a half-moon arc as everyone scattered. The blade's sword wind made their skin sting.
A short sickle combined with a long chain made it suitable for attacks at any range under Hanzō's control.
Hyuga Ao closed in and thrust her blade. Hanzō pulled up the chain, blocked once, wrapped it around her, and then used the returning sickle blade to force Hyuga Ao back.
Taking advantage of the brief opening, Orochimaru's chest swelled.
Wind Release: Infinite Breakthrough!
A hurricane swept in, carrying countless tiny Wind Blades and indiscriminately covering Hyuga Ao and Hanzō.
Water Release: Water Curtain Shield.
An arc-shaped water curtain condensed before Hanzō. Hanzō glanced aside, wanting to see how Hyuga Ao would deal with her teammate's ninjutsu.
Hyuga Ao's Wind Cloak billowed as she perfectly merged with the gale behind her. Her sword momentum, like a violent storm, enveloped Hanzō.
Hanzō was astonished. He had never expected the layer of airflow around Hyuga Ao to be used like this.
She borrowed the wind's force, and her blade carried the gale. In an instant, seven swords became one.
Although the rain continuously replenished the water, Hyuga Ao's blade was simply too fast!
Seven slashes converged into one.
The water curtain split apart. The gale carried the Wind Blades and rainwater inside.
Hanzō swung the chain. The sickle blade spun rapidly and became a millstone, grinding away the Wind Blades and rainwater.
However, the powerful wind brought by Great Breakthrough still forced Hanzō back.
Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet.
Jiraiya's Fire Release followed.
Wind and fire combined. Borrowing the wind's momentum, the flames swallowed Hanzō in the blink of an eye.
Hyuga Ao stared at Hanzō with her Byakugan. She saw the flames engulf him, but before long, his body turned into a puddle of clear water.
"Water Clone!"
"When did he—?" Hyuga Ao was puzzled. Her Byakugan expanded as she searched for Hanzō's figure.
The three Sannin were startled at the same time and each became vigilant.
Suddenly, a figure leaped up behind Tsunade.
Hanzō swung his sickle through the air toward Tsunade's slender neck.
Hearing the wind, Tsunade twisted and punched. To everyone's surprise, her strike landed first and sent Hanzō flying.
The moment her fist connected, Tsunade immediately sensed that something was wrong. The impact didn't feel like flesh. It felt more like striking the surface of water.
Tsunade grew alert. A sense of danger came from beside her. Without thinking, she shifted her body, and the sickle blade grazed the skin at her waist.
Tsunade felt a chill sweep past her side. The sharp edge cut open her skin and drew out several drops of blood.
Hanzō's blade missed. He followed with a whip kick that struck Tsunade in the abdomen and sent her flying.
Tsunade spat out a mouthful of blood in midair and flew in a C-shape toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya leaped up and caught her, only to find that the ground beneath his feet was already covered in Explosive Tags.
With no other choice, Jiraiya used Needle Jizo, shielding Tsunade in his arms and wrapping them both inside it.
Boom!
The Explosive Tags fit tightly against Needle Jizo, and the force of the explosion poured out perfectly.
Ninja Art: Needle Jizo could make Jiraiya's white hair as hard as steel, but Hanzō's specially made Explosive Tags were no ordinary ones either.
As the smoke cleared, the figures of Tsunade and Jiraiya were revealed.
"What?" Hanzō was astonished. They had actually survived such an explosion?
Shadow Snake Hand!
While Hanzō was distracted, several venomous snakes flew over and tightly bound him.
Hyuga Ao arrived and expanded her Eight Trigrams Domain.
Gentle Fist: One Thousand Two Hundred and Eighty Palms!
One palm, two palms, four palms.
The force of her palms was fierce. Hyuga Ao rapidly struck the major acupoints around Hanzō's body, but after she had landed only sixty strikes, Shadow Snake Hand loosened, and Hanzō took the opportunity to Body Flicker away.
"He can escape even from that?" Hyuga Ao complained, thoroughly vexed.
Elsewhere.
Tsunade spat blood as she helped Jiraiya up and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, because of me..."
"What are you talking about? Burns of this level don't count as injuries." Jiraiya forced himself to say it.
"Even this combination was ineffective?" Orochimaru's expression was grave.
Hanzō swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva. Looking at Hyuga Ao's astonished eyes, he said calmly, "A Salamander Poison Sac was buried inside my body when I was young. I've long since become different from ordinary people. Your palm techniques are powerful, but they still can't seal my acupoints."
"Then what about the clone?" Hyuga Ao asked.
She really wanted to know when Hanzō had created the Water Clone.
Hanzō looked at Hyuga Ao and slowly stated a number. "Fifty meters."
"What!?" Hyuga Ao was utterly shocked.
Fifty meters was the observation range of Hyuga Ao's Byakugan in battle mode. During combat, she could maintain a field of vision of only fifty meters. That was the limit determined by her current mental capacity. She couldn't process any more than that.
She had never expected Hanzō to discover it so quickly.
"So this is the pinnacle of the shinobi world? How terrifying!" Hyuga Ao had finally witnessed why Hanzō was called a demigod.
A shinobi of this level could not be underestimated when it came to gathering information!
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"
With three successive sounds, the Snake, Toad, and Ibuse all vanished one after another.
All three summoned beasts had been dealt with by the poison of Ibuse.
Ibuse walked behind Hanzō, lifted him up, and placed him on his back.
"You've already dealt with them? Very well, then. Let's finish this battle quickly."
Standing atop Ibuse, Hanzō swung the sickle and chain. With Ibuse's arms sweeping in concert, they attacked Hyuga Ao and the other three.
The four of them could only shift and dodge. The three Sannin no longer had any spare chakra to summon their beasts.
Hanzō's sickle blades, Water Release, and Explosive Tag traps, combined with Ibuse's broad, sweeping strikes, interwove into a net that firmly trapped the three Sannin and Hyuga Ao.
Hanzō's attacks were like today's rain—fine and unending, growing increasingly rapid and fierce. Gradually, Hyuga Ao and the other three found it difficult to hold on.
Their various wounds multiplied, threatening to crush them.
Just as Hanzō thought the three Sannin were about to collapse, he discovered that they were slowly adapting to this assault.
At that moment, the three Sannin stood together while Hyuga Ao fought alone. Relying on her speed advantage, Hyuga Ao could still endure.
As for the three Sannin, at first they could only move passively and dodge. But gradually, they began taking the initiative to create and search for openings. Under such immense pressure, all three actually broke through.
Hanzō watched the state of the three Sannin, his feelings complicated. His appreciation for talented young shinobi began to grow.
He hardened his heart and shifted most of the pressure he had placed on Hyuga Ao toward the three Sannin.
Hanzō went all out. Ibuse, Water Release, sickle blades, and Fire Release interwove into a flawless melody.
And within that melody, the three Sannin danced.
Orochimaru's secret techniques flew in all directions, Tsunade's monstrous strength split the earth, and Jiraiya stubbornly held his ground.
No one knew how long it had been.
Under his exhaustion, Jiraiya let his guard down for an instant and was sent flying by Ibuse's tail.
Tsunade helped Jiraiya up. Orochimaru stood to the side, his fighting spirit soaring.
Hanzō looked down at the three young Sannin before him. He could already imagine what they would become in the future. They would certainly rise to astonishing heights.
The shinobi world would surely bear witness to them.
"Enough." Hanzō sighed inwardly.
Hanzō lowered his head and carefully observed the three Sannin from head to toe.
After a while, Hanzō proudly raised his head and folded his arms.
"This war will most likely end in Konoha's victory. Since that's the case, I'll spare your lives."
"We don't need your pity! We can still fight!" Jiraiya roared.
"All right, Jiraiya. Don't say anything more." Tsunade tried to persuade him.
Hanzō glanced at Hyuga Ao, who stood to the side, and continued, "The three of you are impressive. You managed to survive under these conditions."
"From this day forward, I, Hanzō, shall call you the Konoha Sannin."
"Treasure this title, which you earned at the cost of your lives!"
Hanzō looked toward Hyuga Ao.
"You're already this capable now. Your future is limitless! As for your title, go earn it for yourself on the battlefield in the future."
Hanzō turned and left, bringing the battle to an end. He sighed inwardly.
"The Byakugan is truly formidable! Did she see through my intentions back then?"
"The Land of Rain... so be it. From now on, neither of us will interfere with the other."
Before you continue