The mantis stalks the cicada!
"Finally found you, Hanzo of the Salamander!"
Hearing the sound, everyone turned to look, and a unit of Iwagakure troops had appeared out of nowhere.
The leader was Four-Tail Jinchūriki Roshi of Iwagakure. Roshi's gaze was icy as he looked at Hanzō, his tone chilling. "I've heard you've been wantonly slaughtering our Iwagakure ninjas lately?"
"You're just a lowly ninja from a small, insignificant country. What gives you the audacity to attack Iwagakure?"
Upon hearing this, Hanzō, who had already stopped fighting Orochimaru, instantly turned cold.
Is this the same old excuse again?
What does it mean to be a lowly ninja from a tiny, insignificant country?
I am Hanzo, the hero of the Land of Rain! Known as the Demigod, the Hanzo of the Salamander!
With this thought in mind, his expression grew even colder, and he shouted sharply, "Shut up! You damned ninjas from the Great Nation, you have trampled on my dignity time and time again!"
"You've come at the perfect time! It saves me the trouble of searching for you. Today, I will slaughter you all!"
"Ibuse!"
"Ibuse?" Seeing that the Ibuse did not respond, Hanzō immediately turned to look at the battlefield of the Summoning Beast. Just one glance made his eyes widen in horror. Salamander Ibuse that had accompanied him in battle for many years, was now covered in blood. Even its tail had been chopped off by that damned Toad. Most importantly, that damned purple snake had swallowed Ibuse's tail whole.
"Aaaaaah!" Hanzō was furious and quickly dispelled the Summoning Technique. With a bang, the battered and bruised Ibuse vanished from the battlefield in a puff of white smoke.
Just then, Orochimaru looked up at Roshi, his expression calm, and said indifferently, "Iwagakure ninjas, you must have received orders from your Tsuchikage as well, right?"
"Hanzo of the Salamander is utterly rebellious and acts perversely, declaring war on Three Great Nations simultaneously. How about we join forces, first eliminating Hanzō and Amegakure, and then settle our score?"
Upon hearing this, Roshi fell into deep thought...
His companion, Hunter, his face hardening, immediately interrupted, "Why waste words with them? Just kill them all! Whether they're from Amegakure or Konoha, your strength is more than enough to wipe them out!"
"Besides, when I wanted to Shimura Danzō to wipe out Sunagakure first, I was thoroughly ridiculed!"
Roshi, whose mind wasn't particularly sharp to begin with, nodded slightly after being interrupted by Gari, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. "That's right, do you Konoha ninjas even deserve to join forces with our Iwagakure?"
"Shou is right, I'm going to kill you all!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Roshi swiftly Hand Seals: "Lava Release, Lava River Flow!"
Immediately afterwards, Roshi opened his mouth, and several scorching red lava balls shot out from it, roaring as they hurtled towards Hanzō and Orochimaru.
The Lava Release Bloodline Limit is incredibly powerful; it can incinerate everything upon landing, and ordinary Ninjutsu simply cannot counter it.
Seeing the incoming lava ball, the battle-hardened Hanzō reacted swiftly, rapidly forming hand Hand Seals with one hand and coldly shouting, "Water Release: Water Formation Wall Technique!"
In an instant, a torrent of water rose from the ground and surged rapidly, instantly forming a thick wall of water in front of him, firmly blocking the incoming lava ball;
At the same time, Orochimaru swiftly unleashed his Earth Release Ninjutsu, Earth Flow Wall! A thick wall of earth rose up in front of him, firmly resisting the impact of the lava.
As water and fire clashed, a hissing sound echoed as white mist billowed wildly, and scalding steam swept in all directions.
The collision of fire and earth produced a tremendous explosion that made people's eardrums vibrate.
However, the domineering power of Lava Release far surpasses that of ordinary Fire Release. The water wall was scorched and evaporated by the lava, and the remaining lava ball pierced through the water curtain and exploded in all directions.
Orochimaru's Earth Release was not Omnipotence block the power of the lava ball; the earthen wall cracked continuously under the intense heat of the lava until it exploded.
Upon seeing this, Orochimaru's pupils constricted sharply, his body blurred into a blur, and he instantly activated his Body Flicker Technique, narrowly dodging the lava ball head-on.
The remaining lava spheres went unchecked and crashed directly into the surrounding ground. The moment they hit the ground, the muddy surface was instantly melted through, and hot lava sprayed out in all directions.
Immediately following, screams of agony filled the air. Those ninjas from Amegakure and Konoha who had no time to dodge were instantly injured or killed upon contact with the destructive power of the Lava Release. Many ninjas were engulfed by the lava and died on the spot.
In a short period of time, the ninjas of Amegakure and Konoha suffered heavy casualties on the battlefield, and the entire area was scorched.
Witnessing their comrades die so tragically, at this moment, all the surviving ninjas, whether from Konoha or Amegakure, turned ashen-faced and their hearts burned with raging anger.
Seeing the miserable state of the Amegakure, Hanzō's face was filled with murderous intent. His hand gripping the Scythe tightened slightly, and he immediately prepared to find Roshi and fight him to the death.
But as soon as he took a step, he suddenly froze in place.
He glanced at Orochimaru opposite him and immediately calmed down. No, he was already locked in a deadly stalemate with the Konoha ninjas. If he were to start a fight with the Iwagakure Ninja who possessed the power of the Tailed Beast, he would anger Iwagakure and leave Amegakure vulnerable to attacks from both sides. They definitely wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
With this thought in mind, Hanzō forcibly suppressed his murderous intent towards Roshi and stopped to observe.
He wanted to see how Konoha's genius ninja would handle this situation.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru, having dodged the attack, had an extremely grim expression. He was equally aware that now that Iwagakure had entered the fray, if they fought Iwagakure to the death, Hanzō would surely reap the benefits.
But he couldn't just stand by and watch as Iwagakure relentlessly slaughtered Konoha ninja. As the Jonin leading the group, how could he possibly stand idly by?
"Hateful!"
Orochimaru stood still for a moment, then without further hesitation, he leaped through the rain and charged straight toward the distant Roshi.
Meanwhile, behind the battlefield, thanks to Tsunade's continuous treatment, Ibuse's poison from the Jiraiya was finally suppressed, and his weak body regained some strength.
Jiraiya slowly stood up, supporting himself on the ground. He looked at the Konoha Ninja being slaughtered by the Lava Release in the distance, and the tragic scene of his comrades falling one after another.
His face was filled with rage, and he shouted in a deep voice, "Damn it! That damned Four-Tail Jinchūriki dared to kill my comrade like that!"
At this point, he turned to look in the direction of the Konoha camp, his brows furrowed, and muttered under his breath, "When will Danzo finally arrive? We've been fighting to the death here for so long, suffering such heavy casualties, what is he dawdling about?!"
The words had barely left his mouth--
A deep, hoarse voice rang in his ear. "Hmph! Jiraiya, you've got some nerve, daring to speak ill of me behind my back?"
Having said that, Shimura Danzō, dressed in full military uniform, emerged from the shadows with a squad of Konoha's Elite Ninja behind him, walking through the rain.