Wind howled through the gloomy rain.
The four figures before the ruins watched one another. No one made the first move, and the atmosphere froze.
Hanzo looked at the three young people before him, his grip tightening around the sickle. The rain in the sky grew heavier. He hated this country's weather—it was always soaking wet and unpleasant, like an abandoned wife weeping in resentment.
He wanted to lead his people out of this country, and he had worked toward that goal. Over his lifetime, he had lost count of how many battles he had fought, or how many brushes with death he had survived to reach this point.
At first, every enemy had made him feel immense pressure. But around ten years ago, those former enemies could no longer pose any threat to him. The last time he had felt such pressure in battle had been against Konoha's Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō.
Yet he had not expected to feel the same thing again from these three young people. Though the pressure was not great, it still showed that these three were capable of threatening him.
"Interesting." A faint smile touched Hanzo's lips, though his mask concealed it.
"Earth Style, Earth Sink Technique!"
"Fire Style, Poison Flame Fire Formation!"
After a long standoff, Hanzo of the Salamander attacked without warning. Raising one hand, he formed two simple seals. The ground beneath the trio suddenly sank, and dark crimson flames appeared before erupting upward.
"Watch out! Those flames are poisonous!" Tsunade shouted immediately. Powerful chakra surged from her as she slammed a fist down.
With a thunderous crash, a chakra storm and countless flying shards of stone shielded her. In that instant, she leaped into the air.
At the same time, Orochimaru and Jiraiya broke free. The three exchanged a