Hanzō the Salamander, Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Although Qian Yun had concealed his presence to the utmost, Onoki still tracked him down through his chakra nature.

Whoosh!

Onoki suddenly flashed over and instantly drove a fierce punch into Qian Yun's back.

It was a vicious move.

His fist was coated in rock as he muttered, "Added Weight Rock."

Bang!

As Qian Yun's scalp went numb, he instantly used a sand substitution to escape.

Onoki pursued him relentlessly through the crowd. Even Qian Yun's repeated body flickers were useless.

Damn it, no more pretending!

Wasn't this about snatching tailed beasts?

I won't just release the One-Tail—I'll release the Four-Tails and Five-Tails too.

Whoosh!

Qian Yun flashed forward on the wind, snatched a clay jar from the back of a Hidden Stone ninja, and flung it at a distant boulder.

Whoosh!

Just his luck, a Hidden Rain ninja was near the boulder. He flashed over and caught the jar.

Then, a horrifying sight appeared before Qian Yun's eyes. That man instantly transformed into Qian Yun's appearance and bolted toward the Land of Fire.

Countless ninja gave chase, and even Onoki grew anxious.

They had gone to such lengths this time, with so many ninja dead and injured. If he failed to bring back the One-Tail Shukaku, he would be condemned by the entire Hidden Stone Village—and even the entire Land of Earth.

Onoki decisively gave up on Qian Yun and took to the air to pursue the Hidden Rain ninja.

But the other man was like a loach. Dust Release could not lock onto him, and he could easily evade every other ninjutsu.

This was practically Qian Yun himself!

Qian Yun, trailing behind, was gritting his teeth as well!

As tens of thousands of ninja pursued the impostor, Qian Yun transformed into another Hidden Sand ninja and collected corpses.

Onoki was too terrifying. He could not fight him for the time being.

He would remember this grudge.

After collecting a batch of corpses, he was about to leave the area.

The crows happened to return as well, flying into the sealing space in orderly fashion.

Just his luck, he had already sensed that no one was nearby when Granny Chiyo suddenly appeared.

She was like a ghost. Her movement technique and breath-concealment technique filled Qian Yun with fear and unease.

"You're not Kusakusa of Hidden Sand. What exactly are you planning by collecting so many corpses?!"

After Granny Chiyo spoke, she had already taken out her White Secret Technique scroll. Ebizō arrived at this moment as well.

Qian Yun truly did not want to be hunted down again, so he shouted, "Wait! I'll show you something. I hope you'll stop pestering me after this!"

He transformed a photograph into a shuriken and tossed it over at an unhurried speed.

Granny Chiyo remained expressionless and caught it between two fingers.

Upon seeing the photograph, Granny Chiyo and Ebizō's pupils contracted violently, cold sweat streaming down their faces.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Qian Yun seized the opportunity to flash away, but his chakra nature was instantly exposed.

"Sasori is alive. This Qian Yun encountered Sasori!

"They fought, and this brat even had time to take pictures!

"Waa... waa...

"But... why would Sasori do this?

"He had no reason to do this!

"Waa... waa..."

Granny Chiyo broke into bitter sobs, swaying as though she were about to collapse. Ebizō caught her in his arms.

"Sister, the matter hasn't been fully confirmed. Why jump to conclusions so early?

"Perhaps there are still unknown circumstances involved. Only by finding Sasori and asking him directly can we learn the truth!

"In any case, don't make this public for now!"

Granny Chiyo nodded, then looked toward the direction Qian Yun had left.

"Damn brat, he got lucky this time!"

Granny Chiyo wiped away her tears and immediately headed for the Land of Fire.

Meanwhile, Qian Yun had already stopped at the border of the Land of Rain.

He wanted to see how Hanzō the Salamander would clean up this mess.

Could a Transformation Technique fool the entire ninja world?

That was simply wishful thinking.

Sure enough, three hours later, while Qian Yun leisurely sorted through corpses, the Hidden Rain ninja returned from the Land of Fire with the clay jar.

Onoki followed quietly through the air, while Granny Chiyo trailed behind as well.

Their two sides had repeatedly sought to destroy the Hidden Rain Village in order to claim the Land of Rain's iron mines. This time, they finally had an excuse.

As the Hidden Rain ninja entered the Hidden Rain Village, Onoki immediately let out a roar.

"Hanzō, hand over the One-Tail Shukaku, or this old man guarantees that everyone here will be slaughtered!"

Onoki sneered inwardly. Given Hanzō the Salamander's obsession with saving face, he would never compromise.

Before Hanzō the Salamander could come out and speak, Granny Chiyo also erupted with chakra and roared.

"Hanzō, the One-Tail Shukaku belongs to the Hidden Sand Village! If you hand it to Onoki, Hidden Sand will launch a full-scale assault on the Hidden Rain Village!"

After Granny Chiyo shouted, Onoki actually gave her a curious smile.

The relationship between their two sides had always been delicate. War could break out at any time, and so could an alliance.

As the saying went, there were no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

At the same time, the people of the frontier town panicked, and the Akatsuki members were even more flustered.

Before they could devise a response, Nagato suddenly sensed tens of thousands of ninja surrounding the outskirts.

Akatsuki was dumbfounded, while Hanzō the Salamander was even more stunned.

He never expected that, because of a casual order, his subordinate would truly bring back the One-Tail Shukaku—and even draw the allied forces of the ninja world here.

They could not go to war. Otherwise, the Hidden Rain Village would surely be destroyed.

With that in mind, Hanzō roared at the subordinate who had just returned.

"You idiot! You didn't even notice the allied forces of the ninja world following behind you? Are you trying to get the Hidden Rain Village destroyed?

"Go! Take the One-Tail Shukaku and leave the Land of Rain. Go anywhere you like, the farther away the better!

"From this moment on, do not call yourself a Hidden Rain ninja again, or you know the consequences!"

After Hanzō finished roaring, he turned away. The Hidden Rain jonin was completely dumbfounded.

Even if he had to sacrifice a pawn to save the king, could the old bastard not have put it more tactfully?

He left filled with resentment, thinking of causing some trouble for Hanzō.

Meanwhile, Onoki had already led people into the Hidden Rain Village and begun a massacre.

Hidden Sand and the allied forces of the ninja world charged in as well. Most of the ninja were looting civilians.

Under Yahiko's leadership, Akatsuki continually rescued the helpless residents of the small town.

Their strength was small, but they were still a ray of light in the hearts of the Hidden Rain Village's civilians.

More and more Hidden Rain ninja joined Akatsuki, because they were not targets of the great ninja villages and had a much higher chance of surviving.

Elsewhere, the Hidden Rain jonin carried the clay jar into the neighboring Land of Birds. He intended to release the One-Tail Shukaku in the Land of Earth and claim it was Hanzō's order.

It was not that his thinking had become twisted. Given Hanzō's nature, he would definitely send someone to execute him later.

This counted as revenge for himself.

Qian Yun followed from afar. He was becoming increasingly interested in the seal inside that clay jar.

Aah...

Suddenly, the Hidden Rain jonin screamed and instantly turned into a dried corpse.

Pakura had arrived. Granny Chiyo had most likely notified her to intercept him along the way.

Qian Yun's scalp tingled as he watched. He felt that he would be unable to avoid such an ambush method as well.

Pakura had succeeded and was just about to leave when an unexpected change occurred.

Bang!

A tower-like figure suddenly appeared. Before Pakura could react, she was sent flying.

Blood continuously spilled from the corner of her mouth as she could only watch helplessly while the other party seized the One-Tail Shukaku.

Many ninja sensed what had happened here, especially the Hidden Stone explosion woman. After being treated, she was lively and energetic again.

Qian Yun smiled from the shadows. His improved Wind Release: Black Sandstorm was not particularly impressive, but it was now presentable.

Many ninja had gathered in the northern strait of Kannabi Bridge. Onoki immediately pursued them, but Granny Chiyo continued leading the allied ninja forces in sweeping through the Hidden Rain Village.

She had suffered a major loss at Hanzō's hands last time. This time, even for the prestige of the Hidden Sand Village, she had to teach Hanzō a lesson he would feel to the bone.