If not properly prepared in advance, Hanzō alone possesses the ability to poison an entire army.
Fortunately, there are two people in this world who can barely counter Hanzō's poison.
One is Tsunade. During the battle of the Legendary Sannin, it was thanks to Tsunade's antidotes and healing abilities that the fight could continue.
The other is Chiyo.
Chiyo's medical skills are formidable, and she is also an expert in poisons—antidotes are her specialty. Moreover, her puppets are immune to poison.
"Remember, after Hanzō's salamander sprays its poisonous mist, it needs five minutes to secrete enough toxin for another attack. Prioritize distributing gas masks to the jōnin to ensure their combat effectiveness. Any ninja below jōnin rank should stay away from the center of my battle with Hanzō."
"Sayama, take the puppet unit and block any reinforcements from Amegakure to the central battlefield."
"Satō, you're in charge of organizing the defensive line."
"Chiran, take the reserve unit and guard the logistics—don't let anyone attack the supply depot."
As Chiyo summoned the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets with her scroll, she issued her orders methodically.
She and Hanzō had crossed paths many times during this Shinobi World War; they knew each other well, even giving each other nicknames.
"Puppet hag! Come out and meet your death!"
Soon, a large group of running shinobi appeared on the distant horizon. At their head stood Hanzō, towering atop the massive salamander Ibuse.
"Hmph, you old man with the breathing apparatus! All talk, as usual."
Chiyo put on a look of disdain, but her ten fingers had already flicked out chakra threads, linking up with the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets.
In the distance, Hanzō, standing atop Ibuse, and his charging subordinates began forming hand seals.
"Earth Release squad, prepare!"
The jōnin named Satō immediately began issuing commands.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A torrential stream of water spewed from Hanzō's mouth, merging with the water release techniques of the Amegakure shinobi, forming a devastating flood that surged toward the Sunagakure encampment.
If left unchecked, more than half of the defensive structures the Suna shinobi had set up in that direction would be swept away.
At the logistics post, Hardy was still busy distributing antidote pills to those who hadn't received them yet, when he happened to catch sight of this scene.
The last time he came to the Land of Rain, he had only participated in minor skirmishes and wasn't qualified to join such a massive battle involving thousands of shinobi.
This was the first time he had witnessed such a cataclysmic scene.
He also realized that large-scale army warfare was completely different from the battles he'd experienced before.
Compared to this, those B-rank and C-rank missions he'd carried out before were mere child's play.
Only those shadow-level powerhouses—who could turn the tide of battle single-handedly, who could destroy a small nation alone—had the power to truly change the course of war!
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!" ×N
One after another, Suna shinobi skilled in earth release stepped forward under Satō's command, raising walls of earth outside the defensive structures, joining them together to form a barrier against the flood.
In this first clash, aside from expending some chakra, neither side gained the upper hand—it was a draw.
The flood was blocked, and as the currents churned, the Amegakure shinobi dashed forward across the water's surface.
Hanzō led the charge, trying to break through.
No one doubted that the massive Ibuse had the strength to smash through the earth walls.
Suddenly, Ibuse's movements paused.
Two puppets in white cloaks rushed at Ibuse from left and right, connected by razor-sharp steel wires imbued with wind chakra.
Hanzō tapped his foot, his figure instantly flickering forward, scythe in hand, ready to cut the wires.
Clang~!
A teeth-gritting clash of metal rang out as a long-haired puppet blocked Hanzō's strike with twin blades. At the same time, from two other directions, a cat-faced puppet and a slender puppet closed in swiftly.
Hanzō simply gripped the chain at the end of his scythe's handle with his right hand, swinging it to deflect Chiyo's poison needles, while his left hand formed a seal—his figure vanished again, leaving only a puddle of water behind.
When it came to mastery of the Body Flicker on water, no one surpassed Hanzō, except perhaps the long-dead Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
"You're as troublesome as ever, old man with the breathing apparatus."
Chiyo spread her hands, controlling her ten puppets to surround Hanzō from every angle.
Hanzō coldly swung his scythe, charging at Chiyo.
Against Chiyo, one of his trump cards—poison—was rendered useless.
But Hanzō's overall abilities were a natural counter to puppet masters.
In today's shinobi world, there were only a handful of Kage-level ninja who, like Salamander Hanzō, had maxed out both speed and close-quarters combat skills.
Sakumo Hatake was one, the Third Hokage might count as another, and the Third Raikage could be considered half of one—though his speed was decent, it wasn't top tier; his focus was more on physical defense.
Chiyo flicked her fingers, directing several puppets to intercept and entangle, while she herself used Wind Dash to retreat like a gust of wind.
At the same time, the Amegakure shinobi began their assault on the Suna defensive line.
Ninjutsu, ninja tools, and battle cries intermingled.
Though Amegakure was a small village, under Hanzō's leadership, both its numbers and quality were among the best of the small nations. After years of tempering on the battlefield, even the Five Great Shinobi Villages didn't dare underestimate them.
However, the Suna shinobi still held the upper hand, thanks to their fortifications and superior numbers.
"Eee—!"
Ibuse, as massive as a small mountain, let out a roar.
Unlike other beasts, this sound was not deep and heavy, but, like other salamanders, resembled the cry of a baby.
Sharp, but with a ferocity and malice far beyond any infant's wail.
In an instant, endless purple poison mist spewed from Ibuse's gaping jaws...
...The poison mist swept over like a tidal wave, as if it was about to engulf the entire Sunagakure encampment.
"Use Wind Release to blow the poison mist away!"
Kazekaze Chiran stood on the open ground outside the warehouse, leading all the reserve squad shinobi in casting their jutsu.
Hardy, Baki, Pakura, and several other reserve squad members skilled in Wind Release lined up behind Kazekaze Chiran, forming hand seals.
"Wind Release: Passing Typhoon!" ×N
All these Wind Release shinobi, without prior coordination, chose the same jutsu.
Passing Typhoon was a relatively basic Wind Release technique—not very powerful, not very difficult, just a D-rank jutsu.
Basically, any Wind Release user who had made it to chunin could perform it, able to control the force of the wind to be strong enough to disperse obstacles without causing excessive disruption to allies.
A howling gale swept through, scattering the purple poison mist.
Even with antidote pills, if someone inhaled too much salamander toxin and the antidote's ingredients were insufficient to neutralize it all, they would still be poisoned.