Uchiha Riu VS Hanzō at His Peak!

"Hm? The Sharingan!" The instant Hanzō noticed Riu's Sharingan, he hurriedly withdrew his gaze.

As someone who stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World, he had naturally fought powerful Uchiha before!

During the Third Shinobi World War, the current Uchiha clan head—Uchiha Fugaku—had been defeated by Hanzō! In that battle, Fugaku's companions had risked their lives to save him, and Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan as a result.

Hanzō possessed extremely sharp battle instincts. Naturally, he had mastered methods of fighting without making eye contact.

"Oh~ You're not even giving me an opening to cast genjutsu..." Riu said in surprise.

Clang! After their weapons collided, the two separated. Hanzō formed hand seals, flipped through the air, landed, and pressed both hands against the ground.

Ninjutsu: Jizo Curse!

Gurgle, gurgle! Purple venom surged from the ground. The corpses of Jiu Zhu and Daibutsu sank into it, instantly turning into withered bones!

Konan supported Nagato as they retreated, but the venom rapidly corroded the earth and was about to reach them...

Gurgle, gurgle...

In midair, Riu narrowed his eyes. "He summoned a poison pool, cutting off my footholds. Even Nagato and Konan are within its attack range. No choice..."

Susanoo!

Crack!

Azure Chakra flames enveloped Riu's entire body, forming a skeletal Susanoo. After landing, it sheltered both Konan and Nagato within it...

"Who are you? Why did you save me?" Nagato asked.

"Who I am isn't important. What matters is that, Nagato, you shouldn't die in a place like this. You haven't yet brought out the Rinnegan's true power..." Riu's voice drifted back to him.

"You know my name and my eyes?!" Nagato exclaimed.

"In time, you'll come to know..." Riu said gravely.

Back atop the Salamander's head, Hanzō stared into the distance with grave eyes.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan, Susanoo... It can even withstand my deadly poison. Is there someone like this hidden within Akatsuki? But..."

Fire Release: Exploding Flame Formation!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!

The ground beneath the Susanoo sank, and countless Explosive Tags emerged from the soil, flowing over the Susanoo.

Riu's Sharingan observed everything. "There are no fewer than a thousand Explosive Tags. This isn't a trap prepared in advance—they're being summoned along with the technique. This form of Susanoo can't withstand it..."

Nagato's expression grew even grimmer. Hanzō's Fire Release was an amplified version of the technique that had burned his legs. If he had not used the Rinnegan's power to absorb part of the blast's force back then, he likely would not have survived... But the scale here was several times greater than before.

"Die!!" Hanzō formed hand seals.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble!!!!

Explosive flames shot into the sky, their heat even evaporating the rain within dozens of meters...

Buzz!! Two golden lights emerged from the flames. Those were... Susanoo's eyes!!

As the flames faded, a scene that stunned Hanzō and the Hidden Rain Village shinobi appeared before them.

The Susanoo's battered skeletal body rapidly repaired itself. Muscles and veins wound around its bones, forming a layer of armor that wrapped around the skeleton!

Susanoo: Second Form!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

A massive black shuriken appeared in Susanoo's palm...

"What is that..." Hanzō's pupils shrank.

"Kamui Shuriken!"

Whoosh!! After gathering power, Susanoo hurled the Kamui Shuriken...

"Not good!" Hanzō leaped backward at once.

The Kamui Shuriken struck the Salamander beneath his feet.

Crack!! Kamui's spatial distortion field appeared...

"Roar!!!" The Salamander let out a miserable scream as its massive body was twisted into a ball by Kamui's power... In the end, it exploded with a bang, scattering blood mist and Poison Mist everywhere...

The nearby Hidden Rain Village shinobi were struck by the Poison Mist and instantly collapsed dead. Even their anti-poison masks were useless...

From behind, Hanzō's eyes turned completely solemn. "A dōjutsu that can distort space... This is an even more terrifying power than that Rinnegan. It killed the Salamander in an instant. Just how many secrets is Akatsuki hiding?!"

Whoosh! The Kamui Shuriken flew toward Hanzō once more!!

"That thing is coming this way!!!"

"It's over if it hits us!!"

The Hidden Rain Village shinobi along its path fled in panic.

"Hmph! Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!"

Hanzō snorted and slammed his palm onto the ground. A huge boulder separated from the earth and rose into the air.

Boom!! When the Kamui Shuriken struck the boulder, the spatial distortion field appeared, shattering and transferring the boulder away...

Inside Susanoo, Riu raised a brow. "Oh~ He realized that hitting a solid object with the Kamui Shuriken triggers spatial distortion, and immediately thought of using a Plum for Peach tactic. He truly is that Hanzō. But..." His voice paused, and Riu's gaze suddenly sharpened. "How will you deal with the second one?!"

Whoosh!!

A second Kamui Shuriken was hidden within the shadow of the first one, spinning as it flew toward Hanzō.

Kamui: Shadow Shuriken!!

"What?!" This move completely exceeded Hanzō's expectations. At this distance... even the Body Flicker Technique was too late!!

Boom!!

"Argh!!" The Kamui: Shadow Shuriken struck Hanzō. Under the spatial distortion, Hanzō's body was shredded apart—but in the process, it transformed into earth...

"An Earth Release: Shadow Clone? He set it up under cover of the Poison Mist from the Salamander's explosion? Even my Sharingan failed to notice it. Impressive. Then the real body..." Riu looked beneath his feet.

Crack!!

The earth beneath Riu split apart, and a chain shot from the ground, wrapping around Riu's Gunbai.

So Hanzō had already discovered that Susanoo's weakness lay beneath its feet. This was also a shared weakness of all half-body Susanoo forms!

Taijutsu: Chain Scythe Double Strike!

Crack! At the other end of the chain, a scythe coated in deadly poison flew toward Riu's neck...

Against anyone else, this would have been an instant kill. But Riu was the exception...

Kamui possessed an infinite margin for error!

Whoosh! The scythe passed straight through Riu's body without causing any harm!

"Hm?!" Hanzō, hidden underground and controlling the scythe, let out a startled cry.

"It's time to put an end to this!"

Whoosh! Riu bent down and thrust his right arm into the ground... Surging Wood Release Chakra poured in.

Wood Release: Hell's Chaos!!!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Countless wooden branches erupted from the ground, blooming across the earth.

"Argh!!!" Amid miserable screams, every Hidden Rain Village shinobi in the area, whether Chunin or Jōnin, was pierced through and slaughtered by the wildly blossoming Wood Release!!

Boom! More than ten seconds later, a loud explosion rang out as Hanzō burst from underground. His protective armor was shattered, and his left arm had been badly wounded by the chaotic wooden spikes, blood streaming down it...

Once this Wood Release struck, it could grow wildly within his flesh and blood. Had Hanzō not used his own powerful Chakra in time to forcibly suppress the growing branches... his entire body would have been riddled with holes!

"Huff, huff, huff..." Hanzō breathed heavily, staring at Riu with extreme wariness.

He had fought countless battles, yet this was the first time he had been suppressed so thoroughly. His strategy had been flawless, yet not a single attack had produced any real result...

The Mangekyo Sharingan, a dōjutsu that controlled space, an ironclad defense like Susanoo, and even a flexible defensive method similar to—no, superior to—the Soul Transformation Jutsu. He was practically flawless. And he could even use Wood Release. Though I still have my ultimate killing ninjutsu in reserve, the cost of using it is too great. Whether it can kill him is still unknown...

After countless thoughts flashed through his mind, Hanzō gazed at Riu and said with utmost solemnity, "You are a powerful opponent I, Hanzō of the Salamander, have rarely encountered in my life. Your strength far surpasses that of the former Konoha Sannin. State your name!"

"Uchiha... Riu!" Riu declared, his words ringing like iron.

"Uchiha Riu, I will remember your name. From now on, I, Hanzō of the Salamander, will regard you as my equal. Your name will spread from the Hidden Rain Village throughout the Five Great Nations! In the future... we will meet again. When that time comes, you and I will determine the victor!"

With those words, Hanzō used the Body Flicker Technique. His figure and presence vanished into the bloodstained curtain of rain...