"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
"Wind Style: Violent Air Current Dance!"
"Wind Style..."
Dozens, even hundreds, of voices exploded from every corner of the camp, carrying the desperate roars of those ready to break the cauldrons and sink the boats! Waves of either robust, piercing, or lingering air currents burst forth from the bodies of the Sand shinobi!
In an instant, countless pale blue, translucent wind masses surged madly, gathering from thin, scattered wisps into high-speed tornadoes. Meanwhile, Chiyo unfurled another scroll, channeling chakra into the hand seals.
Boom!!
The remaining four puppets, each with a unique form, flew out from within. The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets all gathered around Chiyo, uniformly draped in white robes but wielding different weapons. In the face of the wind currents formed by countless Wind Style ninjutsu, three puppets positioned themselves in a triangular formation, opening their "Buddha," "Dharma," and "Monk" mechanisms.
"Sanbō Kyūkai (Three Jewels Suction Crush)!!" Chiyo's fingers twitched as she roared.
Instantly, the three puppets in the triangular formation brought their hands together, their mechanisms grinding with a dull clunk, then generating an incredibly terrifying suction force. The dust, stone fragments, and blood before them... even the pouring, icy rain, were wildly swept and pulled by this invisible, violent suction!
Previously, this jutsu was used to absorb enemies or ninjutsu into the center of a fierce tornado, then crush and shred them. But at this moment, Chiyo used it to suck all the scattered Wind Style ninjutsu into it. Like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, they were forcefully dragged towards the center of the triangular formation, compressed little by little, and then shot out from the rear of the formation!
Whoosh!!
Wind! Countless winds! Scattered wind blades spun, gathered, and merged! Piercing wind sounds, dull wind pressure, and sharp whistles of air breaking, no longer chaotic, transformed into a madly rotating, tearing, grayish-white horizontal tornado.
This hurricane, formed from the converged Wind Style ninjutsu of countless Sand shinobi, roared and charged towards Hanzō, carrying their concentrated power! Where the hurricane passed, the air was sucked dry, and the ground was plowed into deep furrows!
"..."
Hanzō stood atop Ibuse the salamander's head. The fierce wind whipped his platinum-blonde hair wildly backward, and cold rain lashed against his resolute face. Facing a hurricane formed by the combined might of hundreds of Sand shinobi, powerful enough to shred anyone into dust, he felt his body trembling violently.
But this time, it wasn't out of fear.
Instead, it was from a pure, extreme... ecstasy that threatened to burst from his chest and ignite his entire being!
"Hahahahaha!"
A hearty, unrestrained laugh suddenly erupted, piercing through the storm's shriek and echoing across the heavens! There was not a shred of gloom in that laughter, not a hint of fear of death, only a near-crazed satisfaction and battlelust, like rain after a long drought!
How long had it been? How long had it been since he felt this battlelust that made his blood boil, his muscles swell, and his soul rejoice? Ten years? Or twenty? It had been too, too long; he had almost forgotten when he last enjoyed a battle.
Now, the past powerlessness and despair, the present rumors and gossip—at this moment, before this storm capable of tearing him apart, they all transformed into the purest fuel! This feeling was simply magnificent! It was as if he had returned to decades ago, the Hanzō who had not yet borne the title of hero, who relied only on fervent passion and ambition, daring to fight countless strong opponents! The Hanzō who yearned for challenges, yearned to surpass, yearned to dance on the brink of life and death!
He had never been so grateful to 'Shadow'. If not for 'Shadow''s appearance, the true Hanzō would have long rotted in the mud, long dead in the rainy night ten years ago. And now, that Hanzō was back.
Courage is humanity's anthem. To know it's impossible, yet still strive for it, that is a "hero"!
"Ha!"
Hanzō's wild laughter abruptly ceased. He tore off the mask from his face, abruptly spread his arms as if to embrace the storm, and grinned, "Come, old hag!"
"Let me give you the most spectacular curtain call!"
Boom!!
Black patterns covered his left side. The chakra, long dormant within his body, erupted like a reawakened volcano! The chakra began to frantically stimulate the poison sacs within him, extracting venom. A purple poison mist, carrying a deadly aura, surged out from his body.
"Roar!"
Ibuse, beneath Hanzō's feet, seemed to feel his master's boiling battlelust, also letting out an earth-shattering roar. His massive body lowered slightly, took a deep breath, then exhaled.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle!!
The sky, where moonlight was once faintly visible, grew dim. The extremely dense poison mist even turned into dripping venom, corroding countless visible holes in the ground.
The next moment, Hanzō made a hand seal. The viscous, deep purple poison mist, under his exquisite chakra control, was kneaded, stretched, and molded by an invisible giant hand! A massive purple hydra, large enough to rival the salamander, composed entirely of highly concentrated, potent poison, grandly formed and slithered before Hanzō! Its body was made of viscous poison, boiling and bubbling like magma, and its enormous mouth, occupying most of its head, contained sharp, interlocking teeth like a meat grinder!
"Secret Technique: Okami-no-Kami!"
Hanzō stood atop Ibuse, forming hand seals, controlling this condensed, venomous beast. His eyes gleamed with a near-crazed light, and he abruptly roared, "Go!"
"Okami-no-Kami" is the incarnation of the mythical water god, dragon god, and water snake god, controlling water bodies and bringing floods and epidemics.
Roar!
At Hanzō's command, the poison hydra's fanged, blood-red maw opened wide, seemingly emitting a silent roar. Its foul stench rushed forth like a tangible force! The next moment, it transformed into a purple shadow emanating death and decay, carrying a pungent odor and the determination to corrode everything, and slammed directly into the incoming gray hurricane!
Wherever it passed, vegetation was completely corroded, and even the ground was stripped bare, withering and being pulverized into dust, turning into a barren wasteland.
Boom!!
Like waves crashing against rocks, or raging floods charging a dam. The overwhelming hurricane, struck by the purple poison hydra, let out an earth-shattering roar!
This seemed to be an unequal collision. The combined, desperate strike of all Sand shinobi was not something Hanzō alone could easily break through. The solidified poison hydra collided with the hurricane, its body's surface disintegrating and scattering! The dispersed poison mist, like a tide, flowed around the hurricane's left and right.
"Good, it can block it!"
The tense Chiyo breathed a sigh of relief, shouting, "Everyone, hold on..."
But before she could finish, a piercing shriek, unlike any human sound, erupted from a Sand shinobi's throat.
"Argh!!"
Chiyo instinctively turned to look. She saw the Sand shinobi release his hand seals, clutching his own throat, his eyes bulging and bloodshot. His cheeks, neck, and all exposed skin violently swelled, blistered, and then festered, as if splashed with an invisible strong acid! Pus and blood oozed from beneath the festering skin, emitting a nauseating stench!
"Save... save me..."
He staggered forward, falling, futilely reaching out. His body convulsed violently, and purplish-black liquid, from corroded internal organs, gushed from his mouth. But in less than three seconds, this once formidable jōnin stopped convulsing in extreme agony. Large areas of his skin festered and dissolved, revealing blackened muscle tissue and white bone! He ultimately turned into a puddle of black blood and rotting flesh, emitting purple smoke and a foul stench. Even the mud beneath him sizzled and turned charred!
"How is this possible? There was clearly no..."
Chiyo's expression instantly changed. Her next words suddenly caught in her throat, her face visibly paling.
Pfft!
She abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood, also mixed with purple fluid. As if all the bones in her body were being eaten away and gnawed at, Chiyo knelt on the ground, her expression distorted in pain, struggling to raise her bloodshot eyes.
She finally noticed that upon contact with the poison mist from the hydra, the falling rainwater was rapidly corroded and evaporated, making horrifying hissing sounds, and the moisture then condensed back into poison mist. As long as someone inhaled even a wisp, it would use the chakra within their body to rapidly erode their human cells and flesh.
Even without inhaling it, it carried extremely strong toxicity and corrosiveness. A Sand shinobi watched in horror as his strong arm, starting from the point of contact, his skin rapidly blackened like burning paper. Then, it melted and peeled away like wax, revealing the bright red muscle beneath, followed by the muscle also rapidly blackening and dissolving into pus and blood before his very eyes!
The intense pain made him let out an inhuman howl. He tried to use a kunai to cut off the corroded parts, but the kunai sizzled upon touching the wound! He could only watch in despair as his arm, from fingertips to shoulder, completely dissolved, leaving only a section of white bone emitting purple smoke and dripping pus!
The intense pain and toxins instantly destroyed his will. He screamed, fell to the ground, and rolled, other parts of his body rapidly beginning to fester! But it soon stopped abruptly. Like everyone else, he melted like a block of snow, turning into a puddle of black blood and rotting flesh.
Skin dissolving, muscles festering, bones exposed! Screams, wails, and sounds of vomiting echoed through the camp! Some tried to wash it off with Water Style, but the water instantly boiled and evaporated upon contact with the poison, instead spreading the toxic gas! Some tried to bury the wounds with earth, but the dirt was also corroded!
The entire camp instantly transformed into a terrifying purgatory, flowing with pus and blood, emitting a foul stench, and littered with dissolving human remains! For a time, beast-like screams and wails, mixed with pain and despair, filled the entire world!
"Cough cough! Hanzō..."
Feeling the loss of her life force, and seeing the constant deaths of the Sand shinobi, Chiyo's eyes first showed unwillingness and anger, but soon became calm and resigned.
"I've lived this long, I never thought I'd die like this. How ugly."
Thinking this, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Finally, her consciousness plunged into darkness.
...
She didn't know how much time had passed, perhaps an instant, perhaps a few minutes. It was as if she had drifted into a different world. Chiyo's consciousness vaguely opened its eyes.
Before her, there was darkness. In the darkness, she saw a person, and a huge black shadow. That huge black shadow was constantly devouring something. Just as the black shadow reached out, seemingly to swallow her, the person in the distance spoke.
"Enough," he said. "Leave this one for me."
Then, the black shadow actually stopped. A moment later, as if it hadn't spoken in a long time, it emitted a hoarse and unfamiliar voice. "Yes, as you wish."
And upon hearing that voice, Chiyo suddenly felt a surge of familiarity. It was as if it belonged to someone long dead in her memory. The hatred etched deep into her soul also awakened at this moment. She suddenly realized who the owner of this voice was.
It was the man who had killed her son and daughter-in-law.
—Sakumo Hatake!!
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