Theatrics and Deception

"Konoha had suffered another defeat..."

"The Yellow Flash used the Flying Thunder God to teleport the entire Konoha position..."

Salamander Hanzo sat in the central command tent built especially for him, holding the battle report just delivered by the Anbu. His expression was unusually grave.

Just half a day ago, they had still been hurrying through the rain toward the front lines.

But now, the Amegakure Anbu responsible for keeping constant watch on the front had sent back this report.

They had been forced to abandon their entire position...

Such a complete rout had left him no choice but to halt the entire march. He had set up camp along the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass, where he could reconsider this hard-won "alliance."

"Konoha may have talented people in abundance... but its core forces are far inferior to Iwagakure's."

"And Sarutobi Hiruzen must have noticed the problems at the front by now, too, right?"

"What about his students? Orochimaru and Tsunade?"

Questions tangled in his mind, drawing him into deep thought.

By rights, no matter how weak Konoha was, it shouldn't have been beaten into such a sorry state by that old man Ōnoki.

What was more, on the front lines, it was always Jiraiya and his student, the "Yellow Flash," Namikaze Minato, who stood out with their overwhelming strength. The other two whom he had personally named the "Konoha Sannin," meanwhile, had gone completely quiet.

"Could they have fallen out with the Hokage?"

Salamander Hanzo rose to his feet and paced back and forth through the tent, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Should my Amegakure really get involved in this mess? Should we help an ally who might collapse from within?"

At that moment, under the ceaseless rain, Hanzo seemed like an old man in the twilight of his years, beset by doubts and fears.

Just as his thoughts wandered, an ethereal voice, utterly devoid of warmth, suddenly came from the other side of the tent.

"So this is what the so-called 'poison weapon' looks like? A posture of nothing but fear and hesitation?"

"Who?!"

Salamander Hanzo spun around. A pitch-black figure stood silently behind him.

"Who are you? How did you get in?"

Salamander Hanzo instinctively reached for the sickle at his side, fixing the shadow with a dark stare.

Even though he had stationed his subordinates far away to guard the area, an enemy shouldn't have been able to slip into his camp so easily.

"Me?"

The shadow tilted its head slightly, its voice carrying a trace of desolation.

"I'm just a ghost forgotten by the Shinobi World..."

"I came here only to see with my own eyes how much of his old pride Salamander Hanzo—the man who once sparked a great shinobi war all by himself—still had left..."

"I just didn't expect you to be like an old dog now..."

Whoosh—!!!

The instant the words "old dog" fell, killing intent surged in Hanzo's eyes.

A fierce slash flashed toward the shadow.

But to his shock, the shadow didn't panic in the slightest. It simply leaned aside and dodged the thunderous blow with ease.

"Hm?"

Salamander Hanzo was deeply shaken.

But the battle-hardened veteran didn't stop moving. The instant his slash missed, he twisted his wrist, and the chain at the end of his sickle shot toward his opponent's ankle like a venomous snake.

At the same time, a cold glint flashed in Hanzo's eyes.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!"

Purple poison spewed from his mouth, instantly filling the entire tent.

The deadly toxin contained in it was the result of years of his painstaking work.

He was absolutely confident that even Tsunade, whose Medical Ninjutsu had reached its peak, or Chiyo, a master of poisons, wouldn't dare withstand it head-on.

Just as the poisonous fog was about to touch the shadow's skin, a strange whirlwind suddenly rose from beneath its feet.

Wind Release chakra, tightly controlled, sliced through the chain in an instant, then formed a wall that swept away every trace of the poisonous fog.

The mysterious figure remained standing right where it was, completely unaffected.

Wind Release without hand seals?!

Even my signature poison was useless?!

"You..."

Hanzo was shaken.

Poison was useless against him, and Hanzo's blade couldn't touch him.

If he unleashed his full strength now, summoned Ibuse, and combined their attacks with a wide-range Water Release technique, he might still have a chance of winning.

But the problem was, this was right in the heart of Amegakure's camp!

If he summoned Ibuse, nearly a thousand elite Amegakure shinobi outside would die from his own poison in an instant!

This was infuriating...

More infuriating than anything he had ever experienced!

"Who are you, and what do you want?"

Salamander Hanzo lowered his sickle, suppressing his humiliation and murderous intent. He decided to retreat for the moment and learn more about his opponent and their intentions.

"My name is Ao."

Chakra began to roil around Ao, and purple chakra light blurred the outline of his clothes.

"My reason for coming here is simple."

"The red-haired brat in your Akatsuki... is interesting. He possesses unmatched power."

"I came here only to warn you... if you keep standing still, all your ambitions will be destroyed once again."

"If you're wondering why I went out of my way to tell you all this..."

As Ao spoke, he sensed the Amegakure Anbu outside the tent, who had finally noticed the leaking poison and were rushing over in alarm.

"Then consider it... a little test, ahead of our future partnership."

"To see whether you still deserve a place on this chessboard."

"Remember to keep a close eye on that red-haired brat. I'll come find you again..."

As his voice faded, the purple chakra gradually blurred his figure. With a soft poof, he seemed to be torn apart like a cloud of mist in a gale.

A moment later, the tent was empty.

"..."

Wind Release without hand seals...

Ao...

Salamander Hanzo's gaze flickered as he seemed to ponder something.

"Lord Hanzo!"

"What happened?"

"That chakra just now was..."

The Amegakure shinobi hurried in wearing gas masks. Those at the front anxiously scanned the inside of the tent.

Hanzo's gaze swept over them one by one, then came to rest on a member at the back of the crowd, dressed in the battle uniform worn by members of Amegakure's "Akatsuki" organization.

The red-haired brat in Akatsuki...

Unmatched power...

What could it be?

"Nothing."

He looked away, his voice regaining its usual composure and authority, as if his earlier embarrassment had never happened.

"I haven't stretched my muscles in a long time. My body was almost getting rusty. I was just testing a new jutsu and getting some exercise. You may leave."

They exchanged glances, but didn't dare say anything.

But then, their spirits suddenly soared.

Because...

All the age, hesitation, and uncertainty that had weighed on Salamander Hanzo were gone.

"Take my orders!"

"Break camp! The entire army moves out at once. We'll march at full speed and support Konoha!"

"I want to see whether this Shinobi World still has room for me!"

"Yes!!!"