Outskirts of the Village Hidden in the Rain.
Drawn by the sounds of intense combat, more and more Amegakure ninja arrived at the scene of the battle, surrounding it completely. They stared, dumbfounded, at the giant fire salamander soaring through the air.
"What in the world is that monster?"
"It seems to be a jutsu created by that Kaito guy."
"That's a jutsu? How much chakra would it take to pull that off?"
"Lord Hanzo isn't going to lose, is he...?"
"Of course not! Lord Hanzo is a Demigod!"
"..."
When the steam finally cleared, Hanzo, the great hope of the Amegakure ninja, appeared in everyone's line of sight. His cloak was riddled with several new holes, and he looked slightly disheveled, but there were no obvious injuries on his body. Clearly, he had dodged the previous pillar of fire, but not completely, having been clipped by the blast.
Hanzo's appearance sparked a great cheer from the Amegakure ninja, reigniting the flame of hope in their hearts.
Amidst the thunderous cheers and laughter, however, Hanzo's heart plummeted like a falling meteor.
My dominance in the ninja world relies entirely on my swordsmanship, my Fire and Water Style jutsu, and my deadly poison. In this situation, my sword is useless, my ninjutsu is outmatched, and my poison is even more out of the question—it would just be burned to ash by its flames.
Hanzo simply couldn't think of a good way to fight this terrifying, flying fire salamander. But to admit defeat in front of everyone was impossible. Even if he had to give it his all, he had to win!
Just as he made his decision, the giant fire salamander's next round of attacks began.
The Ice-Fire Clone, hidden within its body, controlled the giant, Charizard-like creature. With a powerful flap of its wings, it appeared above Hanzo in the blink of an eye and spewed flames down at him.
Hanzo took a deep breath, now fully committed. He used the Water Body Flicker Technique to dodge the salamander's large-scale flame attacks, then countered with Water Style jutsu. Because of the salamander's massive size, it was essentially a living target. Hanzo's water jutsu could easily hit it, each collision creating a thick cloud of steam. Conversely, Hanzo's Body Flicker technique allowed him to dodge with extreme speed. Despite the wide range of the salamander's flame attacks, it was difficult to land a hit on him.
So, to an outsider, it looked as if Hanzo had the upper hand. The cheers of the Amegakure ninja grew even louder.
In reality, Hanzo's heart was filled with a bitterness he couldn't express. The continuous use of Body Flicker and Water Style jutsu was rapidly depleting his chakra, yet the results were pitifully small. The giant salamander's massive body had only shrunk a little, nowhere near the size it was when it was first created. This outcome was undoubtedly a huge blow to Hanzo.
Am I really going to lose to this boy who's barely more than a teenager?
Hanzo's focus wavered for a moment. When he came to his senses, he found himself completely surrounded by scorching flames, trapped. The giant fire salamander's head descended from above, looking down on him, and suddenly began to glow with a dazzling white light.
"Not good!" Hanzo sensed a terrifying energy fluctuation from its head.
The next second, the massive head exploded.
A light even more intense than the previous two rounds erupted. A massive fireball appeared at the edge of the Village Hidden in the Rain and began to expand continuously toward the center. Wherever it went, trees and houses were consumed, turning to ash. The Amegakure ninja, seeing the imminent danger, quickly banded together and used a combined Water Style jutsu to counter it, narrowly avoiding the village's complete destruction. Even so, the aftershocks from the final explosion sent numerous houses and people flying, and the number of injured was countless.
When the dust finally settled, a massive crater, covering an area equivalent to one-third of the village, was carved into the landscape. The entire village looked like a round biscuit with a giant bite taken out of it.
The people from the sanctuary had managed to take refuge in the lake in time and were not seriously injured. They quickly regrouped, staring in a daze at the scene of devastation before them.
"Is this Lord Kaito's true power? It's too strong..."
On the other side, the spectating Amegakure ninja, still shaken, scrambled to their feet. They looked at the giant crater before them, their faces pale and colorless.
"We... we survived..."
"Such terrifying power..."
"Where's Lord Hanzo? What happened to Lord Hanzo?"
Thinking of Hanzo being at the very center of the massive explosion, many of them lowered their heads, the flame of hope in their hearts extinguished once again.
Until a sensory ninja shouted, "Look! They're over there! Lord Hanzo is still alive!"
"What?!" Everyone rushed to the edge of the crater and looked into the distance. Sure enough, through the now-thinning curtain of rain, they could see the two figures standing far away.
In the crater, a tattered Hanzo knelt on the ground. Even his mask was torn, revealing his true face. He supported himself with his hands on the ground, gasping violently for breath. After a long moment, he looked up at the Ice-Fire Clone standing before him and asked, confused, "Why? Why did you save me?"
"It would be a pity for someone with your abilities to die like this." The Ice-Fire Clone extended a hand to him. "Stay and help me. The Land of Rain still needs you."
"Heh." Hanzo didn't take his hand. He shook his head with a smile. "Don't underestimate me. If I were still around, you would never be able to fully control Amegakure. Because even if I lost to you, I am still the Demigod of the ninja world."
"A Demigod, is that so? In that case, I will become a true god."
"?"
As Hanzo watched in confusion, the Ice-Fire Clone materialized a pair of fiery wings on his back and flew into the air, facing the regrouped Amegakure ninja.
Hanzo thought the clone was about to attack them and quickly staggered to his feet, shouting, "Kaito, don't do anything rash!"
"Relax. I am a man who loves peace." The Ice-Fire Clone flapped his wings and instantly appeared above the Amegakure ninja. Hanzo hastily followed after him.
The Amegakure ninja, having just witnessed the battle, saw the Ice-Fire Clone's figure and their faces immediately changed. They backed away in fear, without a single thought of resistance. Only a few people shouted, "Don't be afraid! He's only one person! Let's get him together!"
However, even fewer responded.
Looking down at the silent, fearful ninja below, the Ice-Fire Clone shook his head. "And you call yourselves ninja? Have your hearts also rotted away from living in this sunless country? With your strength, you still want to contend with the great nations?"
This verbal assault made everyone blush with shame, but no one dared to refute him. It was Hanzo, who had followed him up, who spoke. "Don't act so high and mighty. Even if you are stronger than me, when it comes to managing the affairs of a country and a village, you are still too young."
"Heh heh, judging ability by seniority... you truly have become decadent. Then let me be the one to change this rotten country."
"You think you can change this country by yourself?" Hanzo shook his head and laughed. "Who do you think you are? You think you alone can change this country of rain?!"
"Just watch me!"
The Ice-Fire Clone threw his head back and roared at the sky, "Mere dark clouds, DISPERSE!"