The Apex of the Ninja World, the Ninja Demigod Salamander Hanzo!

"They actually sent me an invitation to a duel? Hmph! Such audacity! What a bunch of arrogant brats!"

Salamander Hanzo gripped the invitation sent by Konoha so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

His eyes bulged with rage, veins throbbed on his forehead, and his expression was a mix of disbelief and fury.

He growled through gritted teeth, the sound forced out from between his jaws with bone-chilling coldness.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered this might be a Konoha scheme or a trap.

However, being a man of immense pride, how could he fear such a challenge?

He hurled the invitation into the air and slashed at it repeatedly with his chain sickle until it was shredded, his eyes radiating arrogance and disdain.

"Since they want a duel, I shall grant them their wish!"

Salamander Hanzo quickly calmed down and began to devise a countermeasure.

He summoned his most elite ninjas, his gaze sharp and resolute, and spoke in a steady, powerful voice:

"The people of Konoha are overestimating themselves, daring to provoke us! This time, we will make them understand the price of crossing us."

He then proceeded to lay out the battle plan in detail to Salamander Shinda and Heiji of the Sheltering Rain, considering every single detail with meticulous care.

Once everything was arranged, he crossed his arms and allowed a cold smirk to tug at the corners of his mouth.

"Konoha, prepare to face my wrath. In this duel, I will ensure none of you return alive!"

His eyes shimmered with confidence, as if he could already see himself repelling Konoha, crushing Sunagakure, and finally elevating the Land of Rain to a status equal to the Five Great Nations, crowning himself as the First Amekage.

Relying on his own strength and careful deployment, he was certain he could achieve an overwhelming victory in this duel and make Konoha pay a heavy price for their recklessness.

"That old man with the respirator agreed? Just like that?!"

Orochimaru and the others were momentarily dazed as they looked at Salamander Hanzo's affirmative reply.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, a flicker of imperceptible doubt crossing his slender gaze. He stroked his chin, silently speculating on the hidden meaning behind Hanzo's easy agreement—could there be a greater conspiracy at play?

Jiraiya scratched his head, his face full of surprise. The many persuasive arguments he had prepared were now stuck in his throat as he muttered:

"This is too smooth; I'm really not used to it."

Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, her brows furrowed as she locked her gaze on Hanzo. She knew well that Hanzo was no saint, and such a simple acceptance must surely hide a trap.

The three fell into a contemplative silence, the air around them seemingly frozen.

A light breeze brushed past, stirring their hair but failing to disperse the doubts in their hearts.

Several days later...

Salamander Hanzo stood silently atop his summoning, the salamander Ibuse, a faint smile on his lips and a look of unfathomable depth in his eyes.

After a long while, Orochimaru licked his lips and was the first to break the silence:

"Hanzo, truly worthy of being called a demi-god of the ninja world! Your skill certainly gives you courage!"

Hanzo chuckled but did not respond directly, saying only:

"No need for words. As agreed, send whoever you wish—as long as it is no more than five people, I will take them all on!"

Orochimaru and the others exchanged glances, their inner anxieties deepening. But things had reached this point, and there was no room for retreat; they had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept this duel between the top-tier combatants of both sides, limited to five people each.

Suppressing their unease, they nodded slightly to Hanzo and turned to leave.

Yet, their steps felt heavy, for they understood that behind this seemingly simple agreement, there might be an unknown conspiracy lurking.

After a brief discussion.

The Konoha side decided to send four people: the three disciples of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru!

And, in addition to those three, the strongest person Konoha had on the Amegakure battlefield—Qi Luna!

As for Amegakure, they sent only three:

Salamander Hanzo's "left hand," the rain ninja known as "Heiji of the Sheltering Rain";

The one hailed as Salamander Hanzo's "right hand," deeply trusted by him—Salamander Shinda;

And the pinnacle of the ninja world! The man known as the "demi-god"—Salamander Hanzo!

With the participants confirmed, the atmosphere became tense and ready to snap.

"Very well! Let's go!"

With a roar from Tsunade, the battle that would decide the fate of the war officially began!

Salamander Shinda quickly threw a barrage of kunai attached with explosive tags toward Orochimaru and the others.

Seeing the explosive tags on the kunai, Orochimaru did not attempt to block them, instead using a Body Flicker technique to appear behind Tsunade.

Tsunade understood instantly, slamming her fist into the ground to pry up a massive boulder, blocking all of Shinda's explosive kunai.

Jiraiya seized the opportunity to flicker behind Hanzo, preparing to use Fire Style.

"It's not over yet! Look here, Fire Style: Flame..."

Jiraiya quickly formed hand seals, but just as he was about to unleash his jutsu, he was swatted away by the tail of the salamander Ibuse beneath Hanzo.

"Watch this, Ninja Art: Cigarette Smoke Technique!"

Just as Orochimaru and the others were locked in a fierce battle with Salamander Hanzo and Shinda, Heiji, hiding behind them, pulled a spell tag from his ninja tool pouch.

Following Heiji's rapid hand seals, a bizarre green mist instantly enveloped the battlefield, obscuring everyone's vision.

"Ibuse, now! Use Poison Mist Spray!"

Under the cover of Hanzo's cold sneer and Heiji's eerie green smoke, the poison mist from the salamander Ibuse quietly spread throughout the entire battlefield.

"A spell tag? Interesting!"

With Qi Luna's Kagura Mind's Eye, every move Hanzo and his men made was under her control. Facing their covert poisoning methods and insidious schemes, Qi Luna could only let out a cold laugh.

Immediately, she pulled out a scroll, unfurled it rapidly, and performed a series of quick hand seals:

"Ninja Art: Sealing Technique: Absorption!"

The character "Void" in the center of the scroll transformed into a wind tunnel, rapidly absorbing and sealing the eerie green smoke and poison mist from the air.

"A sealing technique! That brat from the Uzumaki Clan?! No wonder she dared to challenge me! So she found a way to counter Ibuse's poison mist? Still, that alone won't be enough to defeat me!"

Seeing her meticulously planned trap fall through, Salamander Hanzo was clearly somewhat frustrated, though with his absolute strength, he didn't take it too much to heart.

With the first strike failing, Hanzo signaled Shinda and Heiji to continue throwing Explosive Kunai.

Tsunade and the others, who hadn't learned many long-range ninjutsu, had no choice but to dodge while slowly closing the distance to Hanzo.

Soon, the explosions from the Explosive Tags kicked up a massive cloud of dust. With her vision obscured, Tsunade was caught off guard and stepped into a precarious position...

"Now!"

"Fire Style: Explosive Flame Formation!"

As Hanzo's voice rang out, another pile of Explosive Tags burst from the ground, a multitude of them glowing with fire as they surged toward Tsunade's body, intent on attaching themselves!

"Uzumaki Style: First Form: Violent Step!"

Facing the swarm of Explosive Tags closing in, Tsunade dared not show the slightest negligence and immediately unleashed the Uzumaki Style Taijutsu she had finally mastered over the past few days.

"Oh? You actually dodged it? But leaping into mid-air without a point of leverage just makes you a sitting duck. Didn't your teacher teach you that? How irresponsible!"

Watching Tsunade "flash" into mid-air, Hanzo couldn't help but find it amusing; if he weren't on a battlefield, his disdain for stupidity might have flared up.

However, a foolish enemy was good news for him!

Adhering to the principle that hesitation leads to defeat, Salamander Hanzo launched an attack on the airborne Tsunade with great decisiveness.

"Ninja Art: Chain Sickle Double Strike!"

"I'll be taking your life!"