"Old fellow, I was waiting for the poison mist to cut off all your escape routes. As for you… what exactly were you waiting for?"
Hanzo of the Salamander (referring to the legendary poison master and his summoning beast) glared down at Kei Yamanaka, who had not launched another attack since the fight began.
Even with interference from Water Release: Cutting Rain,
a nearly minute-long standoff had been more than enough time for him to control his summoned beast Ibuse Poisoning, filling the surrounding district's roads and secret exits with toxic mist!
"Three, two, one!"
Kei Yamanaka began counting aloud, unflinching beneath Hanzo's grim gaze.
Boom!
The moment the countdown ended, chakra-infused smoke suddenly rose from beneath Hanzo's feet.
Ibuse Poisoning, which had been secretly accumulating toxic mist underground, unexpectedly broke the Summoning Jutsu without warning and vanished from the spot.
"Damn it—you have accomplices!"
Hanzo immediately suspected a diversionary tactic.
He raised his voice, shouting toward the Amegakure ninjas around him.
"Squads Two, Three, and Four—immediately head to the poison pool! Squad Five and Six, rush to support the Rain Tower! The rest of you, launch signal flares and lock down every entrance and exit in the village!"
"Yes! Lord Hanzo!"
A chorus of responses came quickly.
Several signal flares marked with special symbols exploded into the sky!
Thanks to Hanzo's unquestioned authority,
even those mentally unstable Rain Village shinobi sprang into action immediately.
When he looked back at Kei Yamanaka,
the killing intent in Hanzo's eyes felt almost tangible.
He lunged forward with his kusarigama like an arrow loosed from a bow, charging straight ahead.
Although he himself had transplanted poison sacs,
he didn't possess Ibuse Poisoning's ability to produce vast quantities of deadly toxins within a short period.
If anything happened to Ibuse,
his effectiveness against masses of enemy ninja would plummet drastically!
And once that deterrent power disappeared,
given the current state of the ninja world, Amegakure might fall into endless war once again!
"You bastard! Pray Ibuse stays safe—or you'll wish you were never born!"
Hanzo slashed open the poison sac on his waist, aiming the blade directly at Kei Yamanaka's throat.
He understood Ibuse's importance clearly.
But from their brief clash earlier,
he also knew just how devastating this Hozuki Clan ninja—who specialized in assassination and Water Release techniques—could be to ordinary shinobi.
If left unchecked, the Amegakure forces here would suffer massive casualties.
He must capture the enemy swiftly and find Ibuse!
[Vacuum Blade!]
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Countless vacuum blades shot forth, colliding with Hanzo's chain and kusarigama.
Compared to Madara Uchiha's iconic scythe-and-fan combo,
Hanzo's weapons were relatively compact—while faster and sharper in attack speed, they clearly lacked the power to block incoming attacks head-on or break through defenses.
As Kei Yamanaka continued his barrage of Vacuum Blades while steadily retreating,
Hanzo was directly slowed down.
Blood sprayed from Hanzo's foot.
[Invisible Severing Blade] suddenly activated, slicing cleanly through his left big toe at the base!
Puchi!
Hanzo frowned deeply, initially believing that a long period of comfort had caused him to slack in maintaining his condition, leading him to overlook a hidden slash.
With sheer willpower, he endured the intense pain accompanying every movement of his feet.
Chakra erupted from beneath his feet as he formed a one-handed seal, activating the Water Instant Body Flicker Technique and further accelerating his approach.
In his mind, considering the intensity of the poison seeping from his waist,
once close combat began,
combined with the environment already saturated with Ibuse toxins around them, under this dual onslaught of deadly poisons, within less than a minute, this opponent would collapse at his feet!
Whereas prolonging the fight through ninjutsu would likely extend the battle time severalfold.
He simply couldn't afford to wait that long!
Moreover, Vacuum Blade was no rare sword technique.
Continuously using such a move would undoubtedly place immense strain on the body.
At most, just several more breaths' worth of time—
his opponent's attack rhythm was bound to slow down!
Ding ding ding ding~!
Skillfully redirecting the incoming vacuum slashes without pause,
Hanzo of the Salamander charged forward. Observing the sudden drop in slashing frequency and narrowing distance to about eight meters, a glacial chill flashed in his eyes.
He gripped the kusarigama with his right hand, bending at the waist to build momentum. His left arm swung the iron weight to block an incoming strike.
Puchi~
The sickening sound of steel cutting flesh echoed abruptly from between his legs.
Without even glancing down,
the warm sensation of blood flowing from his inner thigh made clear to Hanzo exactly where he'd been wounded.
"Damn it all!"
Furious beyond measure, Hanzo roared aloud.
Surged by adrenaline, channeling all his rage into a momentary Iai Beheading maneuver, he unleashed more power than he had ever summoned before—even at his peak!
His form became a blur, rushing straight toward his opponent's neck!
"I swear I didn't mean to hit there—believe me?"
Kei Yamanaka's eye twitched slightly upon seeing Hanzo's trousers stained red.
Damn it all!
The very thing he feared most had still happened!
Luckily this was an enemy. Otherwise, no matter how unbreakable the bond, an attack like that would surely turn lifelong friends into bitter enemies forever!
"Die!"
Eyes bloodshot, Hanzo completely ignored whatever his enemy had just said.
Poison-coated kusarigama flashed toward Yamanaka Kei's neck in an instant!
[Zero-Frames Start] granted him near-instantaneous reaction speed.
Kei had already discerned Hanzo's movement pattern before the latter had even struck.
Swish~
[The Flying Thunder God Technique—activated!]
Before Hanzo's eyes, his target vanished entirely, leaving only a lifeless Samehada lying behind!
The full-force strike met nothing but air, momentarily stunning him.
Not a substitution, not an illusion clone, not even a genjutsu cast on himself!
What jutsu had the enemy just used...?
Before Hanzo could figure out which jutsu the enemy had used,
his abundant combat experience instinctively prompted him to slap his waist-mounted poison capsule, releasing a large amount of toxic gas to shield his body and prevent ambush attacks.
Already preparing to twist forcibly midair in search of his enemy's figure,
out of the corner of his eye, light flickered—and there stood his foe again, right beside the very same Samehada he'd passed moments ago!
Swinging the kusarigama, he shielded his back to guard against any ambushes.
However, the moment he shifted his focus, two hands erupted from the earth beneath him and seized his ankles!
An intense binding sensation momentarily stiffened his body.
Impossible!
Konoha's Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Jutsu!
Puchi!
Blood sprayed violently from the severed neck.
Hanzo's decapitated head soared skyward, and as it caught sight of the three solid shadow clones surrounding his body, he suddenly remembered the name of the jutsu from before.
[Flying Thunder God Jutsu]!
The legendary space–time ninjutsu created by Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, once hailed as the fastest ninja in the ninja world!
Gurururu!
Hanzo's head rolled onto the ground.
Kei Yamanaka's shadow clone swiftly moved forward and used the sealing scroll thrown by the original to seal the head.
"If only you had left a few subordinates around, I'd have to hold myself back during battle."
He internally taunted.
Kei Yamanaka took the sealing scroll and tossed it into the ninja tool pouch on his waist.
Even in death, an enemy's head retains valuable information for a certain period.
It must be collected—it definitely should be collected!
[System Alert: Victory over a major supporting character confirmed. A slight deviation in world line progression has occurred. Reward: Keyword Draw opportunity x1, Keyword Gift Opportunity x1, Keyword Detach opportunity x1.]
A surge of destiny power began to leak from Hanzo's lifeless corpse.
Thanks to the blue-tier fate-linked skill [Fortune Player], part of this destiny power quickly converted into personal fortune and flowed into Kei Yamanaka's body.
As he glanced at the swirling greenish-blue energy—clearly pulsating with the promise of imminent advancement—
plus the Keyword Detach opportunity among the system rewards.
Kei Yamanaka slightly clenched his fists.
Totally worth it!
Just the single keyword detach opportunity alone made this entire mission a major profit.
He accepted a summoning contract scroll of Sanshouo handed to him by a shadow clone—nearly half his size.
Meanwhile, the other two shadow clones dispersed one after another.
Their memories from their actions flooded back into Kei Yamanaka's mind.
Those three Cult of Xie Shen Jiao members, along with their White Zetsu companions, had already been neutralized and relocated beyond Amegakure's borders.
The Sanshouo clan, including Ibuse and four smaller ones totaling five giant salamanders, were steadily advancing toward the Land of Fire under the guidance of another shadow clone.
"Time to retreat."
Adjusting the mask of the elite Mist Anbu–level shinobi he was impersonating, Kei Yamanaka slung the Sanshouo Clan's summoning contract scroll across his waist and then lifted Samehada, the massive blade.
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