War was on the brink of erupting. On the front lines, flesh and blood flew, and horrifying scenes unfolded one after another. No one knew just how brutal the fighting had become.
"Lord Hanzo, something seems off. Their commander—that sinister-looking man who looks like a snake—isn't here." Hanzo's Right Hand narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze around, then quietly approached Hanzo.
Hanzo the Salamander wore a grim expression. As a leader himself, how could he fail to guess what the enemy was planning?
He knew they had to be heading for the sea near Amegakure, hoping to take the village directly and secure a swift victory.
"Youzo, handle the front lines with Zozo. I'm going to check the sea outside Amegakure. I have a feeling they'll show up there. We don't have many Rain Ninja stationed there." As soon as he finished speaking, Hanzo the Salamander summoned the enormous Ibuse, climbed onto its head, and plunged beneath the water.
A long while later
Hanzo was racing through the water at incredible speed when he suddenly sensed something.
"Chakra? Why are there only three? Do they really think so little of me?" Hanzo surfaced in an instant.
The enormous Ibuse swam toward the shore.
On the shore
"Damn it!" Tsunade threw a punch, sending a Rain Ninja flying.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" Orochimaru seized a Rain Ninja by the neck and snapped it.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Dozens of kunai fitted with Explosive Tags shot toward the three of them.
"Watch out!" Jiraiya pulled Tsunade and Orochimaru along.
Seeing the massive figure approaching the shore, the three were struck by a sense of foreboding. They had been held up for far too long.
"That's—"
"Hanzo the Salamander!"
"He's here! But the timing couldn't be worse!"
Hanzo the Salamander was only a few hundred meters away. Tsunade raised her leg and slammed it down, killing a Rain Ninja beside her on the spot!
"Fire Style: Toad Oil Bullet!"
Jiraiya spat out a burst of flaming oil.
"Orochimaru! Behind you!" Tsunade shouted.
Bang!
A Rain Ninja kicked Orochimaru away. He crashed hard into the ground, and Tsunade and Jiraiya used the Body Flicker Technique to reach him.
"Are you all right?" Jiraiya helped Orochimaru up.
Orochimaru shook his head and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Damn it!
There were too many elite Rain Ninja here for the three of them to handle!
They hadn't expected Hanzo the Salamander to have left a force of dozens of Rain Ninja here!
They had planned to draw Hanzo the Salamander's attention and then ambush him, but now they were the ones who seemed to have walked into a trap!
"Fire Style: Toad Oil Bullet!"
Jiraiya unleashed the technique again, driving back the Rain Ninja nearby. Water dripped from his hair.
"At this rate, they'll wear us down eventually. We're almost out of chakra. Damn it, our judgment was wrong. We never thought Hanzo would figure out we'd make a quick assault on the village from the sea." Orochimaru glanced around, on guard against attacks from every direction.
Suddenly,
Hanzo spoke. "You three are Konoha shinobi? You've lasted quite a while."
"Interesting... I could use a little warm-up."
Hanzo leaped down from Ibuse.
Whoosh!
The sickle flew straight at Jiraiya, who had just finished using a technique!
"I won't let you!" Tsunade coated her fists in chakra and met the sickle head-on. Then she leaped high, aiming to bring her fist down on Hanzo.
Hanzo retreated in an instant. Tsunade's punch left the spot where he had stood cratered and broken.
"Is that all? Too slow." Hanzo's voice was calm as his eyes rested on them.
Hanzo swung his sickle again.
"Snake Swarm Stealth!"
A swarm of long brown snakes appeared beside Hanzo.
"Hmph. A pointless little trick." Hanzo swung his sickle in midair, again and again. Pieces of flesh rained to the ground.
Hanzo used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Orochimaru.
"Lion Mane Jutsu!" Jiraiya's hair wrapped around Orochimaru, making Hanzo's attack miss.
"It won't help. You can block one round, then a second—but what will you do about the third?" Hanzo gave a cold snort, seemingly preparing more Explosive Tag Kunai.
Jiraiya and Tsunade stood to one side. Their chakra was almost gone...
Suddenly,
It happened again!
Countless kunai with Explosive Tags were thrown toward the three of them.
They had managed to dodge the first attack because they still had some chakra. Now, with all three nearly out, how could they possibly avoid it?
In an instant,
Orochimaru used the Body Flicker Technique to escape.
Jiraiya immediately used what little chakra he had left to perform the Lion Mane Jutsu, wrapping his hair around Tsunade and pulling her underneath him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Ugh!" Jiraiya spat out a mouthful of blood.
"I'm sorry... You got hurt because of me, Jiraiya." Tsunade helped him up.
"It's all right... Don't say that." Jiraiya's back was charred black. It was impossible to tell whether the dark patches were fragments of his armor or burned flesh and blood.
Hanzo the Salamander watched the three of them with interest from a distance.
"You can still stand? You're remarkably tenacious."
Suddenly, Hanzo felt his legs caught in a quagmire. He didn't struggle, but watched the three of them with interest instead.
"Use that move!"
"Snake Cage!"
Orochimaru used the last of his chakra. Countless snakes rose from beneath Hanzo's feet and formed a cage as they struck at him.
"Fire Style: Blazing Oil Bullet!"
Jiraiya also wrung out the last of his chakra and unleashed a technique he normally kept as a finishing move.
Finally!
"Die!"
Tsunade's fist, glowing with a turquoise-blue light, detonated the snake cage! It was a devastating punch delivered when she was pushed to her absolute limit!
A vast cloud of smoke slowly cleared.
What?!
As the smoke dissipated,
Hanzo stood atop Ibuse's head.
"Our combined full-power attack—?!" Tsunade's eyes widened in shock.
"No. His breathing is much heavier now. He must have used a substantial amount of chakra too. If we'd been at full strength, things wouldn't have turned out this way... We were still one step behind." Orochimaru struggled to stay upright as he looked at Hanzo.
"Ibuse!" Hanzo called coldly.
A gigantic brown salamander burst through the water. Then it opened its mouth!
In an instant, an endless cloud of purple poison engulfed the three of them!
Now,
All three had been poisoned. Even with the antidote Tsunade had developed for Salamander Toxin, they couldn't recover their ability to move in such a short time.
"Cough, cough..." Jiraiya spat out a mouthful of black blood.
"You're still alive? What are you three called?" Hanzo the Salamander asked with interest. He knew these three were students of the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, but he hadn't bothered to learn anything else about them—not even their names.
"If you're going to kill us, then get on with it! Stop dragging it out..." Tsunade clutched her arm, using chakra to protect her heart and keep the poison from destroying her body.
"You three are truly formidable. Even I had to exert myself to deal with you. Tell me your names, and I'll spare your lives. When you've grown stronger, come find me and we'll fight again." Hanzo had taken a liking to their talent. He had always been that way; otherwise, he wouldn't have given up the Land of Iron over Mifune.
"Jiraiya."
"Tsunade."
"Orochimaru."
Hanzo suddenly laughed.
"Good. Then I'll call you..."
"The Sannin of Konoha."
Then Hanzo the Salamander turned around and left, standing atop Ibuse's head...
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