Hanzo's Desperate Last Stand

Violet flames exploded in an instant, forming a pillar roughly four meters across. Hanzo, already caught by Banshō Ten'in, was blasted into the air.

Ibuse was as massive as a hill. Too heavy to be lifted, he remained firmly on the ground, his mouth open as he cried out in agony.

Deathfire burned far hotter than ordinary flames, and compressed as it was now, its temperature rose even higher. It could also devour life force.

Caught within the Eight Sake Cups, Hanzo and Ibuse poured chakra into resisting the flames, but neither escaped unscathed.

Deathfire's ability to devour chakra left them in agony.

"Get back."

Move! I used the wrong skill!

Uchiha Mai barked the warning and used the Body Flicker Technique to charge at Hanzo. He was still under Double Time Flow.

Nagato, who was closest to Hanzo, knew Uchiha Mai was about to unleash something big. At the order, he withdrew from the heart of the battlefield without a word.

"Blood Prison Massacre!"

Uchiha Mai growled. The Blood-Energy Blade on his back blazed red, floated before his chest, and merged with the Famous Sword Izumi no Kami Kanesada.

Wielding the two-meter-long blade, Uchiha Mai rushed up to Hanzo, raised it in one hand, and brought it down hard against the ground beneath him.

The blood energy and Deathfire contained in the Blood-Energy Blade were driven into the earth in an instant.

As soon as the blow landed, Uchiha Mai retreated just as swiftly, leaving the center of the battlefield.

After lasting a second or two, the Eight Sake Cups began to weaken. Hanzo had only just glimpsed a chance of survival when he felt the pillar of flames surrounding him distort.

What was happening?

The next instant, a patch of ground roughly ten meters across shattered beneath Hanzo.