Splish! Splash!
The rain grew heavier, with large drops hammering the ground and the ninja's raincoats, splashing up like tiny flowers. But the attention of the Amegakure ninja was not diverted in the slightest. Their gazes were all fixed on the two men standing face-to-face in the center of the square.
"Leader Hanzo, it's been a while," the Ice-Fire Clone said with a smile.
Hanzo gave a slight nod, his eyes looking past the clone to the Amegakure ninja held captive by the sanctuary's people. His brow furrowed. "Kaito, what is the meaning of this? I can tolerate you taking in rogue ninja from my village. But now you've taken the initiative to attack Amegakure's ninja. Do you truly believe my patience is limitless?!"
The wrath of a Demigod was no small matter. The people from the sanctuary felt a heavy pressure settle on their shoulders, weighing them down like a mountain.
The Ice-Fire Clone let out a derisive laugh, which seemed to invisibly disperse much of Hanzo's killing intent. "That's the same question I wanted to ask you. Why did you allow your subordinates to come to the sanctuary and attack me? I recall you once said you wouldn't make a move against the sanctuary, correct?"
"Yes, I did promise you that. Therefore, Kanda, who is loyal to me, would not disobey my orders. There must be something strange about this matter."
"Are you saying you know nothing about this?"
"Correct," Hanzo said with righteous conviction.
"Heh, I overestimated you, Hanzo." The Ice-Fire Clone shook his head. "You don't even dare to admit what you've done. Are you still fit to be the leader of Amegakure? Are you still fit to lead the people of the Land of Rain?"
The great Demigod, when had he ever been scolded so directly to his face? Hanzo's anger flared, and he could no longer suppress his rage. He sneered, "Whether I am fit to be the leader of Amegakure is not for you to decide. Besides, your claim that Kanda led men to attack you is just your side of the story. Right now, I suspect you've come here specifically to cause trouble."
"If you want to start something, just do it! There's no need for such complex schemes! I am right here. Whatever you want to do, just say it to my face!"
Hanzo's roar echoed across the Village Hidden in the Rain, enraging nearly all of its ninja. They glared at the Ice-Fire Clone and the people from the sanctuary with murderous intent.
"That's right! If you want a fight, then let's fight! Stop with all the scheming!"
"Kill them and rescue Lord Kanda!"
The thick killing intent almost solidified, washing over the Ice-Fire Clone and the others from the sanctuary like a tidal wave. Fear appeared on many of their faces.
"Hanzo, did you get your 'Demigod' title from winning verbal arguments? You're quite the eloquent speaker." The Ice-Fire Clone seemed completely unaffected, and he sneered back just as coldly. "We of the sanctuary are all people who love peace and want to live stable lives, but that doesn't mean we will allow ourselves to be bullied. I'll return your own words to you: if you don't like the sight of the sanctuary, if you want to destroy our peaceful lives, then by all means, come at me. I will bear it all on behalf of the sanctuary!"
"That's right! We in the sanctuary long for peace, but we will never beg for it!"
"Peace is earned through the hard work of our own hands!"
"If you want a war, you'll get one!"
The fighting spirit of the sanctuary's people was ignited, and they stared back at the Amegakure ninja, unwilling to show any weakness. The tension on the field was drawn taut like a bowstring.
"It's been a year. Let me see how much you've grown, number one genius of the ninja world," Hanzo said, waving a hand behind him, signaling his ninja to fall back.
"Enough to defeat you," the Ice-Fire Clone replied with a faint smile, similarly signaling his own people to retreat a great distance.
"Heh, what arrogance!"
"You'll know once we try."
In a flash, both of them shot toward each other simultaneously.
Hanzo drew the large scythe from his back, slicing through hundreds and thousands of raindrops, which burst into a spray of water as he brought the weapon down with a powerful chop.
The Ice-Fire Clone took a heavy step forward. An intense cold erupted from his entire body, coalescing in his hand to form a greatsword of ice crystal, which he held horizontally before him to block the scythe's strike. At the same time, the pooled water on the ground froze solid. One by one, ice spikes shot up from the ground, stabbing at Hanzo from all directions.
"Water Body Flicker Technique!" Hanzo was not the least bit flustered. His body dissolved into a mass of water and vanished. Reappearing in mid-air, he quickly formed hand seals. Five massive fire dragons rapidly took shape around him and dove toward the Ice-Fire Clone with bared fangs and brandished claws.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
"That trick doesn't work on me anymore." The Ice-Fire Clone wagged a finger. The frost on his body immediately melted into water, which was then quickly evaporated by the raging flames that erupted from him.
To Hanzo's astonishment, the flames on his body suddenly expanded, enveloping the Ice-Fire Clone and transforming into a giant fire salamander with wide wings. The salamander threw its head back and roared, then flapped its fiery wings, instantly appearing next to one of the fire dragons. It opened its massive jaws, bit the fire dragon in two, and swallowed it, its body immediately growing much larger.
It can actually devour my ninjutsu to become stronger?
After landing on the ground, Hanzo was shocked. "What in the world is this jutsu?!" But he had no time to remain stunned, or else all his fire dragons would be devoured. He quickly controlled the remaining dragons to entwine themselves around the fire salamander, then detonated them all at once.
With a deafening BOOM, a blinding light flared in the sky. The shockwave from the explosion forced the spectating ninja to retreat again and again, not daring to linger nearby.
"Did it work?" Hanzo shielded his face with his arm, his eyes narrowed as he stared intently at the ball of fire in the sky. Soon, his eyes widened, his pupils contracting violently. "How is that possible?!"
What appeared before him was a colossal fire salamander, even larger than the village's tallest building. Its features were clearer than before. Its eyes, filled with blazing fury, and its fearsome, sharp teeth were all vividly real.
"ROAR!"
A sky-shattering roar exploded from its mouth, forcing Hanzo and the others to cover their ears in pain. After its roar, the giant salamander lowered its head, its gaze locking onto Hanzo. It opened its mouth wide, slowly forming a massive fireball.
Hanzo was horrified, his hands reflexively forming hand seals for a new jutsu. Just as his technique was ready, a pillar of fire more than ten meters thick erupted from the giant salamander's mouth. Wherever it passed, all the moisture evaporated, and even the air was distorted beyond recognition.
In an instant, the pillar of fire was almost upon him. Hanzo puffed out his cheeks and spewed a massive torrent of water. "Water Style: Water Shockwave!"
Water and fire collided, immediately kicking up a thick cloud of steam. However, under the giant salamander's continuous output, the water was completely vaporized. The diminished pillar of fire slammed into the ground, causing another earth-shattering explosion.
"Lord Hanzo!"
The sheer power of the attack caused a commotion among the Amegakure ninja. Expressions of panic and dismay were on many of their faces. If the ever-victorious Hanzo were to be defeated, the blow to them—who regarded him as a god—would be devastating.