"I'm fine. Sit down and rest for a while. You've been researching for more than six hours this time, so make sure you get some rest." Orochimaru didn't look too pleased either. His right hand kept tapping the map on the desk.
Jiraiya sighed beside him. "It's been a week. The pressure from our teacher keeps mounting, yet we haven't even managed to enter the Land of Rain head-on."
"It's all my fault. I couldn't find an antidote sooner." Tsunade clenched her fist. As the most skilled medical ninja in the entire unit, she still hadn't been able to come up with an antidote right away.
It had started
a week ago, when they launched a surprise attack at dawn. That was the very day the Rain Ninja had saved Chiba.
Everything had gone smoothly at first.
That was, until the man appeared—"the Demigod of the Ninja World," Hanzo the Salamander.
The gigantic salamander beneath his feet opened its maw,
and actually held off an army of five thousand!
The Salamander Toxin had become a serious problem.
If they couldn't neutralize the Salamander Toxin in time and win the battle against Amegakure, Third Hiruzen Sarutobi would be impeached by the village elders.
Although those elders had all been students of Second Hokage Senju Tobirama and teammates of Third Hiruzen Sarutobi, their long-held positions had given rise to tremendous ambitions. The Council of Elders, led by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, had accepted Danzo's bribes.
"How about I take a squad and charge in? Don't worry, I've never failed before." Jiraiya's eyes were cold. His idea was simple: he would use his own life to open a path through.
But
that kind of thing was...
"Idiot... Setting aside how pointless that would be, do you really think that just because you have the idea, you can open a path through? Do you think Hanzo the Salamander is a pushover? This is their home turf. Don't you think he knows better than you what is and isn't here, you fool?" Orochimaru slapped the table. His hoarse voice carried a hint of irritation. Even a man known for his composure was growing frustrated at their failure to break through Amegakure's defenses.
Then
Tsunade suddenly spoke.
"Give me three more days. I can crack this poison."
Meanwhile,
in Sunagakure,
the young Chiyo put down the intelligence report in her hand.
Her calm eyes, far too composed for someone her age, swept across the sky. Her looks and physical prowess, both at their peak, were the foundation of her standing as Sunagakure's foremost puppeteer.
"That woman is terrifying. She figured out the poison on my puppets from all the way over in Amegakure... and now, after just one week, she's almost cracked that disgusting salamander poison too... Princess Tsunade, one day, I'll face you in a proper match." Chiyo waved her hand, then took a scroll from her ninja tool pouch.
The scroll contained an antidote to the Salamander Toxin. Chiyo had spent a month figuring out how to neutralize it. While working on the toxin, she had also uncovered one of Hanzo the Salamander's secrets: each time Ibuse released its poison, it needed about five minutes to gather and concentrate the toxin. That was precisely why Hanzo the Salamander had withdrawn instead of continuing his assault on Sunagakure.
"Someone," Chiyo said calmly.
Then
a Sunagakure Ninja appeared outside the command center.
"Take this intelligence and get it to the medical unit of the Konoha forces in the Land of Rain... If that White Fang spots you, destroy it. If you can't help them, then that's their good teammate's problem... Go." Chiyo closed her eyes, then tapped the table.
The Sunagakure Ninja vanished.
Then
a man and a woman walked in.
"Mother."
"Mother."
Amegakure training ground.
Uchiha Chiba stood in the rain.
"Don't resist the poison. It can't hurt you." Hanzo the Salamander was bare-chested, holding a Kusarigama. His muffled voice came from beneath his mask.
Uchiha Chiba kept his eyes closed, trying to adjust to the poison in his body.
Then
Hanzo the Salamander tossed him a Kusarigama of the same make.
Smack!
Uchiha Chiba opened his eyes and caught it securely.
"Kid, do you know what samurai are?" Hanzo the Salamander gripped the chain in his left hand and spoke slowly.
"I do. They generally don't use ninjutsu, but some samurai can rival ninjas." Uchiha Chiba followed his example and gripped the chain too.
Then
Boom!!!!
The stone slabs beneath Hanzo the Salamander's feet shattered.
Uchiha Chiba abruptly activated his Sharingan.
Unfortunately, his Single Tomoe Sharingan couldn't make out Hanzo's position at all!
The next second,
a tremendous force exploded against Uchiha Chiba's abdomen.
Uchiha Chiba flew backward.
When the dust settled,
"Too slow, kid." Hanzo the Salamander rested his Kusarigama on his shoulder and chuckled.
"Someday, I'll be stronger than you." Uchiha Chiba climbed out of the rubble by the wall, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and exhaled.
Hanzo the Salamander narrowed his eyes.
Then he continued,
"There's a country called the Land of Iron. Everyone there is a samurai. I once set foot in that land, and it nearly became part of the Land of Rain. Kid, do you know why it didn't?" Hanzo the Salamander spun his Kusarigama, apparently preparing for his next strike.
In the original story, Hanzo the Salamander attacked the Land of Iron. At the time, it had many powerful samurai, but when they heard Hanzo's name, they were so terrified their legs went weak. They fled the battlefield in droves. Only one samurai, named Mifune, dared to fight him. In the end, Mifune earned Hanzo's respect, and the Land of Iron was spared.
"The spirit of the samurai." Uchiha Chiba watched Hanzo the Salamander warily. His body couldn't take a second strike—not even one where Hanzo held back. The gap in their strength was simply too great.
"More or less. There was a samurai named Mifune. He was the only one who didn't run away. Because of him, I spared the Land of Iron." Hanzo the Salamander gripped the chain with his left hand and angled the Kusarigama downward with his right, then charged.
A blurry shadow appeared in Uchiha Chiba's Sharingan.
He couldn't see it.
He couldn't see it at all.
Uchiha Chiba suddenly felt a bone-deep chill, as if his scalp were prickling. He abruptly raised his Kusarigama.
The next second,
Bang! Clang!!!!!!!
Sparks flew everywhere.
Hanzo the Salamander had swung his Kusarigama with one hand, and it landed squarely against Chiba's.
"Oh? Let me guess. It was your body's reflexes, right? Your muscles were twitching, and the way you planted your feet was wrong. Not to mention, you even got the angle of your block wrong... Kid, you know, if you asked me to teach you ninjutsu, I might not be the best choice. But when it comes to Taijutsu, I, Hanzo the Salamander, dare say there's no one more qualified than me." Hanzo the Salamander spoke lightly, without easing the pressure of his strike.
The rain kept falling.
From time to time, the training ground rang with the sound of stones shattering and someone being hurled through the air. After three days like this, Uchiha Chiba was sure to have learned a great deal more...
Before you continue