The main forces clashed fiercely, the sounds of battle heavy and far-reaching.
At this moment, Hanzo and his companions arrived hundreds of meters away from the battlefield—an open clearing with no cover in any direction.
"[Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!]"
After observing the terrain, Orochimaru wasted no time. He raised both arms, and instantly, intertwined snakes shot out from his sleeves.
"Sss!"
More than ten long snakes hissed, flicking their tongues as they coiled toward Hanzo.
"You really are decisive," Hanzo chuckled lightly, gripping the katana at his waist.
Shwa-shwa!
Without even drawing the blade fully from its sheath, he sliced all over ten long snakes into pieces.
"[Earth Release: Earth Flow River!]"
At that moment, the previously moist ground beneath his feet transformed directly into a wide river of earth.
Hanzo narrowed his eyes slightly. It turned out that while Orochimaru launched his [Hidden Shadow Snake Hands], Jiraiya had already begun preparing his Earth Release Ninjutsu.
By the time the former's attack reached him, the latter's technique was already complete.
The seamless coordination between their techniques left no gap whatsoever.
The ground beneath him turned treacherous—Hanzo himself momentarily lost his footing.
But the attack wasn't over yet.
"[Reverse Current!]"
Jiraiya, who had initiated the Earth Flow River, shouted. The flow of the earthen river, which should have washed Hanzo away, suddenly reversed direction entirely.
Caught in the current, Hanzo was pulled closer.
In an instant, Hanzo looked up to see Tsunade descending from above.
"[Heavenly Defending Foot!]"
With one powerful kick, Tsunade came crashing down, the sheer force creating a sound from friction against the air itself.
Such power forced even Hanzo to grimace slightly.
Yet just as he had lost balance, he stabilized his body firmly upon the flowing earth river.
[Shifting Body Technique]!
In the instant before Tsunade's [Heavenly Defending Foot] struck, he vanished, reappearing over ten meters away.
Boom!
Tsunade's attack landed, completely obliterating the entire earth river, sending shards of rock and mud splattering everywhere.
"This guy let himself get caught on purpose," Orochimaru appeared beside Tsunade, his narrow eyes narrowing further.
Jiraiya's Earth Flow River could reverse its course, but during the transition, the flow inevitably slowed. Seizing this opportunity, Hanzo had used the chakra adhesion technique to steady himself and then leapt out using the [Shifting Body Technique].
Still, judging by how effortlessly he moved, Orochimaru knew that unless he had chosen to be hit, not even the edge of his clothing would've been touched by the [Hidden Shadow Snake Hands].
"Impressive—someone who stands alongside The Third in strength. He's going to be trouble," Jiraiya arrived shortly after, eyes fixed seriously on Hanzo.
All three kept their eyes locked on Hanzo, not for a second looking away.
"Hehe, your coordination is excellent. It's been many years since I've seen a ninja squad quite like this."
Hanzo remarked. Among the three of them, Orochimaru, whose Ninjutsu was the most unique, served as the bait, while Jiraiya, skilled in powerful Earth Release techniques, focused on controlling the enemy.
Finally, Tsunade—with her overwhelming physical strength—delivered the finishing blow.
Her monstrous strength—if a ninja took a direct hit, even the strongest wouldn't survive without some kind of protection.
Unless it was someone on Hanzo's level, others—even if stronger than any one among the three—would still be crippled in one round of their combined assault.
No room for carelessness whatsoever!
[Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique!]
Before the three of them, Hanzo formed a single hand seal and spat out three small fire dragons from his mouth.
Yet those fire dragons moved astonishingly fast, their heat so intense it evaporated rainwater within several meters around them.
In Amegakure's perpetually rainy environment, fire-based ninjutsu usually lost much of their power. Yet Hanzo's fire techniques were overwhelmingly powerful!
[Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!]
In an emergency, Jiraiya slammed both hands onto the ground, raising a thick earthen wall.
"Chi chi!"
However, cracks immediately spread across the surface—it couldn't withstand the extreme heat and was about to break apart.
"Quickly, back away!"
Jiraiya shouted to the two beside him. Tsunade and Orochimaru didn't hesitate—they immediately retreated.
[Water Release: Water Formation Wall!]
A second later, the earth wall crumbled, and right after, a wave of water surged up in front of Jiraiya.
The clash between water and fire created a deafening sound. Even so, the temperature from those three fire dragons continued evaporating the water wall.
Swish!
Jiraiya leaped aside directly. A few seconds later, the water wall completely vaporized into steam, while the ground he had stood upon turned into scorched earth.
"Jiraiya, are you okay?" Tsunade quickly asked.
"Nothing like that could lay a finger on me," Jiraiya replied, winking at Tsunade as he struck a casual pose.
Seeing Jiraiya's condition, Tsunade knew he was safe. Then her gaze locked tightly on Hanzo.
This guy's fire-based jutsu was actually that strong—and just now, he performed the technique using only one hand for the seals.
Though she'd heard of such techniques before, this was the first time she'd seen one in action.
"Is this the man known as the Demigod?"
In this initial exchange, whether attacking or defending, Hanzo had clearly held the advantage throughout.
Even while fighting all three at once, Hanzo still looked completely at ease.
[Ninjutsu: Poison Mist!]
Hanzo partially opened the mask covering half his face. With just a few breaths, the air before him began changing color.
*The deadly poison of Sanshouo?* Tsunade narrowed her eyes. It was said that a Sanshouo's toxic sac had been transplanted inside Hanzo, allowing him to exhale terrifyingly potent poison with each breath.
His chest rose and fell several times, and soon, the toxic mist drifted toward the three.
[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!]
Instantly, Orochimaru formed hand seals, unleashing a powerful gust that blew the approaching poison mist away.
"Hehehe." However, seeing this, Hanzo simply let out a soft chuckle.
As the dispersed poison mist blew outward, it contaminated the air along its path. The area where Jiraiya and the others stood was soon completely enveloped by the toxin.
"That's one hell of a poison!"
"Orochimaru frowned deeply. Even he could feel the deadly threat of this poison mist.
The poison of Sanshouo... it's indeed not that simple...
"Eat this."
At that moment, Tsunade handed Orochimaru a pill—the same kind Jiraiya had taken earlier—and then swallowed one herself without hesitation.
Orochimaru followed suit.
The poison mist closed in on the three of them, but they remained unaffected.
"You actually countered my poison..." Hanzo narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Tsunade.
Tsunade ignored him. Instead, she turned toward Jiraiya and Orochimaru and warned firmly, "Although my special pills can neutralize Sanshouo's toxin, their effect is limited to this kind of mist. Its potency exceeded my expectations."
"Therefore, we must avoid close combat with him from now on and avoid sustaining any serious injuries. If our blood comes into direct contact with this toxin, we'll be in serious trouble..."
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