A flash of light passed, and Hanzo the Salamander was astonished to see the young man before him clad in white armor, his cape billowing behind him.
Yusuke held a long red-bladed spear. A red gem was set into the center of its head, its light swirling within like a blood-red eyeball.
He had entered [Incursio*Stage One].
However, while Yusuke looked instantly imposing to everyone else, the armor inside his suit of leather was already putting his body under tremendous strain.
This was especially true of his nervous system, which was far more responsive than an ordinary person's.
The feeling of his organs being squeezed, and the pain of his bones and muscles trembling and groaning, were torture to him.
Because Tsunade was lying in his arms, she was the first to feel Yusuke's body trembling.
But there was nothing she could do now. Tsunade could barely look after herself. All she could do was use Medical Ninjutsu to stimulate her own cells and resist the poison.
"In this state, I can last five minutes at most."
Yusuke made up his mind. He didn't dare waste any time. He propped Tsunade against the wall, turned, and charged at Hanzo.
"Is that a divine weapon?"
Hanzo had already grown wary when he saw Yusuke transform.
Even so, he had underestimated the transformation. With Incursio boosting him, Yusuke's speed had increased tremendously.
A flash of white, and he was right in front of Hanzo.
Hanzo's pupils narrowed. Yusuke's raw physical speed had already reached Kage Level. With any additional ninjutsu boosting him, even an ordinary Kage would have trouble reacting.
Clearly taken by surprise by Yusuke's sudden burst of speed, Hanzo hurriedly raised his scythe to block.
Yusuke swung Red-Backed Shrike down in a powerful blow.
A clang rang out as metal struck metal. Red-Backed Shrike scraped against Hanzo's scythe, sending a spray of sparks glittering briefly even in the rainy night.
Hanzo's figure, which had been standing on the roof, was smashed straight through it and into the building.
"Lord Hanzo, are you all right?" the ninja behind him shouted anxiously. He glared viciously at Yusuke and ordered, "Go, capture that woman first."
But a flash of cold light passed, and the ninja suddenly felt the world spin. His headless body fell to the ground.
"Everyone, stand down!"
Hanzo shouted as he leaped out of the building.
It wasn't because he was some sort of upright gentleman who insisted on a one-on-one duel.
He was worried that if anyone dared use that woman to threaten him, the boy might charge into the crowd and kill all the ninjas around him.
These Amegakure shinobi were all going to help him wage war. He couldn't afford to lose too many of them here.
Yusuke's actions at the Amegakure Building, where he had prepared a fallback plan, showed that he was a cautious man who valued his life.
And why would someone who valued his own life die for another person? He had only dared to come back this time because he had something to trade with Hanzo.
At this moment, Tsunade was more like a tether restraining Yusuke.
If Hanzo attacked Tsunade, he would clearly be helping a beast out of its cage.
Hanzo's thoughts raced, and he reached a decision. He can't keep this up for long. Otherwise, he would've used it earlier. Why wait until now?
All he had to do was wear his opponent down.
Hanzo shook out his somewhat numb arm and said calmly, "Not bad strength."
He was even more interested in the armor Yusuke wore. "Kid, hand over your divine weapon, and I'll let the two of you go. How does that sound?"
"Like it, do you? Then come and take it!" Yusuke charged forward again.
Having experienced Yusuke suddenly getting in his face once already, Hanzo the Salamander was much better prepared this time.
Most of the time, he dodged, using his weapon to block only when he couldn't avoid an attack.
Yusuke also realized what his opponent was trying to do. Hanzo clearly wanted to wear him down.
He cursed inwardly. What a sly old fox.
The fight was at a stalemate. Three minutes had passed, and the pressure from the armor made Yusuke feel as if his insides were bleeding. The taste of rust spread through his mouth.
I can't drag this out any longer. Yusuke made up his mind.
He rushed in again, gripping his spear and thrusting straight at his opponent.
"Hey, kid, I've found your weakness. You can't keep this state up for long, can you?"
Hanzo didn't know how much longer Yusuke could maintain this state, but that didn't stop him from continuing to taunt him and try to make him slip up.
Hanzo had grown used to his opponent's speed by now. If Yusuke had no other tricks, Hanzo could wear him down with ease.
But Yusuke's thrust concealed a hidden move.
"Genjutsu: Mist Servant Technique!"
The red-glowing spearhead flickered rapidly in front of Hanzo, splitting into two, then four, then eight. In moments, the space before him was filled with shadows of spears.
"This is... genjutsu?!"
"Damn it, when did he—?!"
Hanzo hurriedly retreated, simultaneously disrupting the flow of his own chakra.
The countless spear shadows vanished, leaving a single spear that had already closed in on him, aimed straight at his heart.
Hanzo could only sacrifice the less important to save the more important. He twisted his body in midair and turned sideways, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
The two figures crossed paths, and a spray of blood burst into the air.
Hanzo the Salamander clutched his injured shoulder and put some distance between them again.
The attack had torn off half his shoulder. Pain made his eyes flicker, brimming with murderous intent.
"Hanzo, are you still confident you can defeat me and bring those Amegakure shinobi back from the front lines?"
Yusuke's hoarse voice rang out. The tables had turned, and now it was Yusuke provoking Hanzo the Salamander.
Hanzo's expression darkened. He calculated inwardly, The kid's speaking up, which means he doesn't have much time left either.
I'm confident I can still wear him down, but I don't know what other tricks he has up his sleeve—or whether I'll get hurt again.
If I'm injured again, then the ninja force I sent to ambush the Land of Iron will be going there and never coming back.
He snorted and made up his mind. "You win this time, kid."
He took an antidote from his pocket and tossed it to Yusuke, then strode away.
Yusuke breathed a sigh of relief. He caught the antidote, used Body Flicker to reach Tsunade, picked her up, and turned to leave without a moment's hesitation.
Hanzo the Salamander returned to the Amegakure Building. Under the care of the medical ninja, the bleeding from his wound gradually stopped.
He instructed his trusted subordinate, Shindatsu the Salamander, who was standing beside him, "Send out the Ninja Dogs and three squads of ninja to track those two."
"They're both at the end of their rope, but don't get too close in case they make a last stand. Keep your distance and wear them down."
"Amegakure needs you to hold down the fort. I'm going to the Land of Iron to bring our troops back."
Shindatsu the Salamander, Hanzo's trusted subordinate, hurriedly said, "Lord Hanzo, I can go. You're so badly injured; you should rest in the village."
Hanzo said helplessly, "We might run into Konoha's forces on the way. You wouldn't be able to bring them back safely."
That was Amegakure's disadvantage. Although it had produced a demigod, Hanzo the Salamander, it had no other ninja of any real standing.
"Yes, sir."
Shindatsu the Salamander lowered his head in shame, accepted the order, and left.
Meanwhile, Yusuke carried Tsunade as he ran swiftly through the forest.
He had already given Tsunade the antidote, and the purplish-black discoloration on her arm was slowly fading.
But her body, ravaged by the poison, wasn't recovering so quickly. Her face was still pale.
That gave the usually bold and imposing Tsunade a softer, more delicate air.
The two of them didn't launch into some melodramatic, tiresome exchange about how he shouldn't have come, only for him to say he had come anyway.
Yusuke's armor had already disappeared. He had been using [Incursio*Stage One] for more than four and a half minutes, and he was nearing the five-minute limit.
Running Incursio beyond its limits had severely damaged Yusuke internally.
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