On the battlefield, Uchiha Chiba's figure rose and fell with the kusarigama in his hands. Every swing cleanly took the head of the ninja in front of him. Orochimaru, who had been watching from the sidelines, furrowed his brow and adjusted the battle formation:
"Ninjas on the central battlefield, use wide-area jutsu! Don't let them get close. Be careful!" Orochimaru's hoarse voice rang out.
Meanwhile
"Fire Style: Fire Separation Jutsu!"
A roiling fireball, trailing waves of scorching heat like a bloodthirsty demon, shot straight for Uchiha Chiba's face.
Feeling the terrifying heat, Uchiha Chiba's pupils contracted. I've been picking off easy targets this whole time. I didn't expect someone who feels about Kage Level to have their eye on me.
In midair
Uchiha Chiba sprang upward, using a burst of force to propel himself away.
The terrifying fireball barely grazed Chiba's ankle.
The long-haired ninja narrowed his eyes.
That long-haired ninja was "Hannya."
He chuckled. "Good. Just like that. I'll kill him in the chaos, then look for the map... Come to think of it, this kid's fighting style doesn't seem Uchiha at all. He relies on brutal, lethal attacks and doesn't leave any openings... Could that Uchiha brat have died at his hands? Probably. Heh heh heh."
"Hannya" formed Hand Seals, preparing a wide-area Lightning Release. It might hit Konoha Ninja, but who cared? Danzo-sama had only said not to let either side discover he was Root, and not to let them discover his objective. He hadn't said he couldn't kill a few people while he was at it. As long as he disguised himself as a ninja from either side, he could kill whoever he wanted, couldn't he? Heh heh heh...
Bzzzzzzzt!!!!
The terrifying Lightning Release swept across the entire area.
Then
Uchiha Chiba sprang backward.
"That long-haired guy... He must be the strong one. Once could've been a coincidence, but twice? Is something wrong with him? Why is he killing his own people, too?" Uchiha Chiba muttered, furrowing his brow. At this rate, I won't be able to kill anyone. Who's going to help me build up my combat experience?
No.
He couldn't leave the battlefield.
His strength was only at the Chunin level.
That guy was at least an elite Jonin. Staying on the battlefield was safer than going off alone. Who knew where that lunatic had come from? Maybe he'd seen Chiba killing too many people and gotten so worked up that he'd lost it.
If "Hannya" knew what Chiba was thinking, he'd probably have flown into a rage. As one of the Twelve Root Members, he'd killed more people than Chiba had eaten buns. Jealous? Not a chance! He just happened to feel like killing people.
"I have to get this kid away from the battlefield... Somewhere with fewer ninjas, at least... I've got it. Heh heh heh heh heh." "Hannya's" eyes turned cold as bloodlust seeped from his body. The chakra pouring off him made it perfectly clear to the surrounding ninjas that he was a Kage Level fighter.
The instant "Hannya's" chakra surged out,
Hanzo the Salamander's eyes shifted.
His gaze, cold and sharp as a sword, fixed on "Hannya."
The next second, he moved, his figure closing in on Uchiha Chiba with eerie speed.
"So fast!" A crimson glint appeared beneath Uchiha Chiba's mask. His Single Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly as his nerves screamed a warning.
"Fire Style: Fire Barrage!"
Dozens of terrifying flames, baring their fangs and claws, shot straight for Uchiha Chiba's head.
Uchiha Chiba swung the kusarigama one-handed and hurled it away. The blade embedded itself in a tree some distance away, while the scorching heat of the flames rushed toward the crowd.
BOOM!!!!!!
Several Konoha Ninja and Rain Ninja were blasted away together.
Orochimaru finally realized something was wrong. His hoarse voice rang out at once: "Everyone on the central battlefield, stay away from that long-haired ninja! He appears to be a Rain Ninja spy!"
A smile appeared on "Hannya's" face. A spy? He wasn't one, but borrowing that identity for a while was a good thing. At least he'd be able to kill more Konoha Ninja without having to hold back so much.
Uchiha Chiba landed steadily on the kusarigama.
His fox mask had been stained black and red.
"That was terrifying. If I hadn't kept that guy focused on me, that blast would've done more than just hit my arm." Uchiha Chiba grimaced in pain as he tore open the bandage in his pocket.
Uchiha Chiba's left forearm was charred black. Here and there, bits of ghastly white bone were visible.
"Wait, where is he? Something's wrong! Something's wrong!" Uchiha Chiba's brain sent out a buzzing warning, a chill of terror spreading from his spine.
As if in the next instant,
his guts would be ripped out.
Then
Just as Uchiha Chiba leaped backward,
"Hannya's" vanished figure shot up from the ground, a strangely shaped short blade in his hand.
"It's over... Kid, I have to thank you for giving me a little time to enjoy the game," "Hannya" sneered.
"You brat, how dare you?" Hanzo the Salamander's icy voice suddenly reached "Hannya's" ear, a deathly summons from the reaper himself.
BAM!!!!!!
Hanzo the Salamander kicked "Hannya" away.
The blow made "Hannya" spit out a mouthful of blood.
"Water Release: Water Flow Sickle!"
Hanzo the Salamander gave "Hannya" no time to react. He swung his spinning sickle, sending one blade of water after another flying into "Hannya."
"So this is... Hah, the Demigod of the Ninja World? What incredible speed. I've clearly reached Kage Level, and yet I still couldn't tell how he moved... He certainly lives up to his reputation... In that case, time to make myself scarce." "Hannya" leaped out of the battlefield and ran toward the vast forest within the Land of Rain.
"Leave something behind," Hanzo the Salamander said calmly.
"Hannya" was about to look at Hanzo the Salamander as if he were an idiot when, in an instant, black blood spewed from his throat. He'd been poisoned by the salamander's venom—the purest substance from its poison sac.
"Kid, live in fear. I'll come back for you!"
Uchiha Chiba's brow furrowed at the sight.
He couldn't let him get away.
If he let him escape, Chiba wouldn't be able to focus on anything he did in the Land of Rain. Just think: if a Kage Level fighter from some unknown faction was watching you from the shadows every moment, wouldn't you be afraid?
Hanzo the Salamander glanced toward Orochimaru.
Then he spoke. "He's been poisoned by the purest venom in the salamander's poison sac. Even an antidote made by Chiyo wouldn't save him. Go. I know what you're thinking."
Uchiha Chiba nodded.
He drew his kusarigama and immediately ran in the direction "Hannya" had just fled.
Meanwhile
In the forest
At that moment, "Hannya" was leaping from tree to tree.
"Hannya" coughed up a mouthful of black blood.
Trembling, he took the antidote for the Salamander Toxin from his ninja tool pouch, tossed it into his mouth, and swallowed.
"This poison really is vicious... No wonder those three useless disciples of the Third only just made it this far after a whole week. If it were Danzo-sama, hmph, he'd have finished the job long ago." "Hannya" snorted.
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