The Pure Land, a scorched battlefield ravaged time and again by poison and paper.
Hanzō stood atop the mountain-like head of his salamander, looking down at Konan, the blue-haired woman who moved through the air with a butterfly's grace and a deadly edge.
Beneath his gas mask, his weathered face bore a cold, smug smile now that he had discovered a crucial weakness. A calculating gleam shone through the gaps in the mask.
As a "demigod" who had survived from the end of the Warring States Period until after the Third Shinobi World War, fought countless battles, and faced all manner of kekkei genkai and bizarre ninjutsu, Hanzō possessed combat instincts and powers of observation that could not be underestimated.
Konan's seemingly endless, ever-changing Paper Release had not intimidated him. Instead, their earlier exchanges had allowed him to keenly identify a potential weakness in her technique.
When it came to using "paper" for offense and defense, the first counters anyone would think of were naturally water and fire.
Hanzō believed Konan herself was certainly aware of this and must have taken precautions.
During his lifetime, he had seen Konan freely control paper to attack even in the rain. That meant ordinary rain had little effect on her Paper Release. She had likely made her paper somewhat waterproof through special chakra treatment or improvements to its material.
As for fire...
Ordinary fire attacks would indeed struggle to deal decisive damage to Konan, who could detach and discard burning sheets at any moment and replace them with fresh paper. She might even use the burning sheets to create confusion or launch a second attack.
But so what?
Hanzō sneered inwardly.
After careful observation and several probing attacks, Hanzō had noticed one detail: Konan's paper might resist ordinary water, but its resistance seemed