Hanzo of the Salamander

When Hanzo of the Salamander appeared, the atmosphere around them turned tense.

A man's reputation preceded him.

Hanzo was now hailed as the Demigod of the Ninja World, a figure who stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world.

His Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and swordsmanship were all peerless.

Combined with the wide-reaching poisonous mist released by Salamander Ibuse beneath his feet, he was practically a reaper of lives.

As soon as Hanzo of the Salamander appeared, his gaze went straight to Danzo, his eyes filled with undisguised hatred.

"Danzo, you've repeatedly caused trouble in the Land of Rain. Today is the day you die."

Danzo snorted coldly and ignored Hanzo completely. Instead, he revealed the eye he had been covering.

"Take a look. Is there any hope for this eye?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo examined the eye carefully, then frowned. "A poison needle?"

Danzo nodded.

"It's too late. The eyeball has already died. If we don't remove it immediately, the poison will spread. Then it won't just be your eye at risk—your brain will be affected, too."

In truth, the eye could still be treated. He simply didn't want to treat it.

If Danzo weren't going blind, how could he possibly set his sights on the Uchiha? He detested them.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had deliberately made the situation sound as bad as possible to force Danzo to decide quickly.

Danzo's expression finally darkened. He took a deep breath and said, "Do it!"

A hint of amusement showed in Shiraishi Yoshijo's eyes beneath his mask. Then he reached out.

His fingers suddenly tightened, and he gouged out a bloody eyeball, holding it in his hand.

Veins bulged on Danzo's forehead from the pain, and his single eye gleamed with murderous intent.

Shiraishi Yoshijo casually tossed Danzo's eye to the ground, then crushed it underfoot.

With a wet pop, it burst.

The killing intent in Danzo's single eye grew even stronger.

Shiraishi Yoshijo wasn't bothered by Danzo's murderous glare.

He was already strong—in every sense of the word.

If he wanted to, he could even unleash a more terrifying killing intent than Danzo's.

Only after Medical Ninjutsu took effect did Danzo's complexion gradually improve.

Hanzo watched the whole scene from atop Salamander Ibuse.

He lightly tapped his foot a few times and said, "Get to it, Ibuse."

Salamander Ibuse opened its mouth.

Purple poisonous mist poured out.

Shiraishi Yoshijo immediately took out a gas mask and put it on. His teammates did the same.

This wasn't merely a precaution.

He was now an expert in poisons himself. If he didn't carry a gas mask, he might end up poisoning himself.

After getting caught out a few times, his teammates had also started carrying gas masks.

The poisonous mist rapidly spread toward them, and Danzo no longer had time to ask Shiraishi Yoshijo for treatment.

"Retreat!"

Danzo led the Root shinobi away, with Hatake Sakumo and his team following close behind as they fled toward the Land of Fire's border.

Because of the poison released by the salamander, the Rain Ninja didn't dare approach. They could only follow from a distance.

Hanzo remained atop the salamander and pursued them, his gaze fixed on Danzo.

Danzo turned his eyes toward Hatake Sakumo's team.

"Sakumo, I'm counting on you."

Beneath his mask, Shiraishi Yoshijo rolled his eyes.

He knew this would happen.

There was nothing to say. He wasn't the team leader, after all.

Hatake Sakumo stopped and drew the short sword from his back, facing Hanzo.

Hanari, Shincho, and Shiraishi Yoshijo also stopped and turned to look at Hanzo.

The salamander's poison was potent. Even with gas masks, they couldn't stay in the poisonous mist for long.

That meant they had to end the fight quickly.

Shiraishi Yoshijo: "Captain, what did I just say? Joining up with Danzo would definitely lead to this."

Hatake Sakumo: "We're the only ones with gas masks. This is already the best decision we could have made."

Hanari: "Enough complaining. We should focus on a plan and finish this quickly."

Hatake Sakumo: "I'll hold off Hanzo. You deal with the salamander beneath him."

Shiraishi Yoshijo shook his head. "That won't work. That salamander can burrow underground. And, Captain, are you really confident you can beat Hanzo quickly?"

Hatake Sakumo fell silent.

I knew it, Shiraishi Yoshijo thought with a sigh.

Hatake Sakumo specialized in close-range Taijutsu and swordsmanship. Hanzo was the same.

Shinobi like them could often sweep aside enemies weaker than themselves.

But against opponents of the same type, they either traded injuries or both ended up badly hurt.

The best they could hope for was a stalemate.

Hanzo wasn't alone. Although many Rain Ninja had gone after Danzo, Shiraishi Yoshijo could sense at least a dozen others nearby.

They were keeping themselves hidden and watching.

If Hatake Sakumo fought by trading injuries, even if their team beat Hanzo, they wouldn't be able to handle the Rain Ninja afterward.

Unless Shiraishi Yoshijo was willing to reveal every card he had—but he wouldn't do that.

There was no other choice. Shiraishi Yoshijo watched Hanzo draw closer, a glint flashing in his eyes.

"I'll give it a try. Maybe I can make him back down."

The other three looked at Shiraishi Yoshijo in surprise.

Hatake Sakumo shook his head. "Your Lightning Body Flicker is fast, but you can't beat Hanzo in close combat. Have you forgotten how many times you lost when we sparred?"

Hanari also urged him, "Let the captain go instead. Even if he gets hurt, your Medical Ninjutsu can heal him quickly. That's the safest option."

Shiraishi Yoshijo frowned. "Hanzo isn't that simple. If the captain can trade injuries with him, fine. But if he can't, Hanzo will pin him down completely. Are we supposed to abandon the captain and run?"

"I'm the only one here who can close the distance to Hanzo quickly. Even if I fail, I can pull back just as fast."

Hatake Sakumo took a deep breath. "What's your plan? Unless we help you set up a Flash Thunder Formation, how will you get away quickly?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo took out several Shuriken. Chakra Threads extended from his fingers and linked them together.

When Hatake Sakumo saw the Chakra Threads, he seemed to understand. "You can use Lightning Body Flicker with Chakra Threads, too?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo nodded. "Captain, I'm not the kid I was five years ago."

"I'm strong now—in every sense of the word. And when I get serious, I'm even stronger."

As Shiraishi Yoshijo spoke, he released the seals on five acupoints. His Chakra reserves surged rapidly.

A powerful aura rose in an instant!

Hanzo felt the force of that aura, and his expression turned grave. He stopped instead of moving closer.

"That kind of Chakra in a kid like you? Konoha really is full of talented people!"

Feeling the amount of Chakra Shiraishi Yoshijo had, Hatake Sakumo, Hanari, and Shincho exchanged glances and fell silent.

Shiraishi Yoshijo sighed. It wasn't that he was eager to step forward. Things had reached this point, and a decision had to be made.

If Hatake Sakumo really got pinned down, rescuing him wouldn't be easy.

They were at the border of the Land of Rain. The longer this dragged on, the worse things would get for them.

He wasn't foolish enough to watch the situation deteriorate while still keeping his trump cards hidden.

Revealing one or two was better than exposing them all.

He knew exactly what mattered most.

When it was time to act, he acted without hesitation.

Shiraishi Yoshijo stepped forward twice and said, "Hanzo of the Salamander, do you really have to take things this far? Do you truly want to go to war with Konoha?"

Hanzo snorted. "You know perfectly well how far Konoha has gone. If we let you keep this up, the Land of Rain will never get the chance to rise."

Shiraishi Yoshijo shook his head with a sigh. "The Land of Rain's rise would inevitably threaten the Five Great Nations. Do you really not understand the consequences?"

"Consequences? Ask the blade in my hand!"

Hanzo took a sickle from his back and gripped it. Killing intent began to radiate from him.

Shiraishi Yoshijo exhaled heavily. So much for talking him down.

Hanzo hadn't yet been battered by the harsh realities of life. He still had his sights set on pushing forward.

When he was finally forced to accept reality and lost that resolve, the demigod would become human again.

And as a mere man, Hanzo would be no more than an old man waiting to die.

But now, while he still held on to that resolve, Hanzo was undoubtedly at his strongest.

Could Shiraishi Yoshijo really gain the upper hand against him?

He didn't know, but he wanted to try.

He raised a Shuriken and pinned it to the tree beneath his feet. Chakra Threads connected to it in an instant.

Hatake Sakumo already understood Shiraishi Yoshijo's plan. His voice was full of concern. "You'll have to split your focus to maintain the Chakra Threads during the fight. Can you really control your Chakra that precisely?"

"Don't worry, Captain. I'm very afraid of dying, so I don't do anything I'm not confident about."

Shiraishi Yoshijo smiled confidently.

The four Butterfly Seeds inside him had fully matured. In terms of Chakra control alone, he was nearly as good as Uchiha Madara.