As the Jonin squad leader for this mission, Mikoto had made up her mind to sacrifice herself in order to buy time for the other four to escape.
"Aoshi, I'll leave Ayame and the others to you!" As she gave her instructions, Mikoto turned to Aoshi with an apologetic expression.
Originally, Aoshi didn't have to get involved in this mess. But because of her request, he had been dragged into Amegakure's conspiracy against Konoha.
Even now, Mikoto firmly believed this entire situation had been orchestrated by Amegakure. That was why she felt so guilty toward Aoshi.
Understanding her thoughts, Aoshi didn't plan to leave. Instead, he quickly formed hand seals and created a shadow clone.
"Minato, take the other two and leave with my clone—go find Lord Jiraiya to save us!"
"Hurry!"
The situation was critical. Minato and the others dared not delay and immediately followed Aoshi's clone.
"Aoshi, why are you doing this? You didn't have to be involved..."
Seeing that Aoshi planned to stay behind and face Hanzo of the Salamander, Mikoto's expression grew complicated.
"We're comrades. I'd never abandon my comrades—you've forgotten, haven't you?"
Hearing Aoshi's response, Mikoto recalled a moment during the Second Great Ninja War when they were ambushed. At the time, things had been dire, and Mikoto had told Aoshi to run.
Back then, he had said these very same words.
This moment mirrored that one exactly. As memory and reality overlapped, Mikoto was deeply moved as she looked at Aoshi standing by her side.
"Then let's face the enemy together. This time, we'll survive too!"
"Survive? There's only one outcome for you two—death by my hand today!"
Hanzo's icy voice rang out as he launched his attack.
Seeing this, Aoshi gripped his blade tightly and charged to meet him.
Clang!
The sharp ring of steel echoed—Hanzo's chain-sickle clashing with Aoshi's ninja blade.
Although Aoshi had already mastered Konoha-style swordsmanship, his skills still fell short of Hanzo's.
In his youth, Hanzo had even dueled the samurai Mifune of the Land of Iron—and had won with swordsmanship alone. Considering Mifune's strength as the General of the Land of Iron, this was no small feat.
That alone proved Hanzo's expertise in kenjutsu.
Thus, when Aoshi met him head-on, he was quickly knocked back in a single strike. Before Aoshi could stabilize himself, Hanzo threw his chain, which wrapped tightly around him.
With Aoshi restrained, Hanzo swung his sickle downward.
The blade was coated in deadly poison. If the strike landed, Aoshi would either die instantly from the blow or succumb to the toxin.
In a moment of peril, Aoshi narrowly dodged the sickle. At the same time, he channeled Wind Style chakra into his blade, enhancing its cutting power and slicing through Hanzo's chain in a single stroke.
This scene made Hanzo's pupils narrow in shock.
He had assumed Aoshi was just another no-name ninja, yet the man could wield Wind Style chakra nature transformation so masterfully.
With that ability alone, Aoshi could already be considered an elite among Jonin.
Hanzo couldn't help but admire Konoha's depth—a previously unknown ninja possessing this level of strength.
Now free, Aoshi didn't back down. His blade still carried momentum as he continued his assault on Hanzo.
But Hanzo, having witnessed his power, was no longer willing to engage head-on. He sidestepped the strike and delivered a powerful kick, sending Aoshi flying.
In the next instant, a fierce blaze roared toward Hanzo, forcing him to activate the Water Body Flicker Jutsu.
The attack came from Mikoto. She had planned to use Fire Style to ambush Hanzo, but he reacted in time and avoided it.
Still, she successfully stopped him from finishing Aoshi off.
"You okay, Aoshi?"
"I'm fine." Aoshi looked toward Hanzo and sighed internally.
As expected of the 'Demi-God', the current pinnacle of the ninja world. To be honest, if he weren't afraid of exposing the Rinnegan and drawing attention from Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara, he wouldn't be so hard-pressed.
If he went all out, he might not win easily, but at the very least, he could fight on equal footing.
Once he fully mastered the Rinnegan's abilities, Hanzo would be nothing in comparison.
But alas, reality had its limits.
Compared to Hanzo, Madara, and Black Zetsu were far more dangerous. Especially Black Zetsu—a thousand-year-old monster capable of manipulating even the likes of Madara.
Aoshi had no intention of becoming the next puppet to be 'guided' with whispered sweet words. He'd leave that experience to Madara, who hated people standing behind him anyway.
And Madara, though old, was still a monster. Who could say he didn't have backup plans to act in person?
"Mikoto, Hanzo's too strong. If we're going to take him down, we need to combine our efforts like before." Hearing Aoshi's suggestion, Mikoto understood immediately.
Without hesitation, she formed hand seals and activated Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu.
A massive fire dragon burst from her mouth.
Though smaller in range than the Great Fire Annihilation, the Great Dragon Fire was a B-rank jutsu, ideal for targeting a single enemy.
With Aoshi's Wind Release enhancing it, the fire dragon's heat intensified, becoming a blazing inferno that scorched the very air.
The temperature around them surged. The fire dragon roared as it surged toward Hanzo.
Yet Hanzo remained calm and unshaken in the face of their joint attack.
"Not bad… but not enough!" Before his words even faded, he unleashed Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu.
Hanzo was known for his water-style mastery—regarded as the strongest in the current ninja world, even above the Third Mizukage.
A massive water dragon surged forth to meet the incoming flames.
The two dragons collided with a deafening boom! Fire and water canceled each other out.
Hanzo had blocked their combined jutsu on his own. His title of "Demi-God" was no exaggeration.
The explosion sent a wave of hot steam bursting outward, scalding enough to injure. But all three present were elite shinobi and weren't affected. After all, ninja bodies were far stronger than ordinary people, almost like a different species.
Meanwhile, Hanzo's subordinates weren't idle—they chased after Minato's group, attempting to flee.
Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!
Without hesitation, Aoshi's clone cast the same jutsu to intercept the pursuing Rain ninja. Although his version wasn't as powerful as Hanzo's, it was more than enough to deal with these enemies.
Even if some among them were Jonin.
But Jonin from a small village were nothing like those from the Five Great Nations—and Aoshi's strength far exceeded the average Jonin.
So at the very least, the enemies had to dodge the attack.
"Minato, take this and get Ayame and Tomoki out of here. I'll hold them off." As he spoke, Aoshi's Shadow Clone handed Minato a Fuma Shuriken.
A large, windmill-like throwing weapon resembling a shuriken, it was deadlier and stronger than a standard one.