The poison swamp churned with waves of purple-black viscous sludge.
The massive form of the salamander Ibuse was half-submerged, its sturdy limbs stirring the mud as humus crept over deep-blue scale armor.
It raised its head, yellow eyes locking on the dark-red figure tearing through the rain curtain at the edge of the toxic mist. A low, threatening growl rumbled from its throat.
Each breath expelled thick purple fog, merging with the already dense poisonous vapors rising from the swamp.
Hanzo leaned back against the beast's cold, rough scales. His breaths came heavy and urgent through the respirator.
The sword wound on his left arm had cut to the bone, pulsing with searing pain. Each heartbeat tore through the nerves. Blood soaked one side of his uniform. In his right hand, he gripped a sickle-chain so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The cold metal was the only thing keeping his mind grounded. Rain washed through his disheveled hair and across his broken forehead protector, but it couldn't wash away the humiliation and dread in his eyes.
He stared intently toward the edge of the poison mist, his eyes filled with fear, resentment, and a faint, desperate dependence on Ibuse.
"Ha... ha..." His ragged breathing echoed inside the mask. He could feel the beast's ferocity, its deep, instinctive urge to protect him. This was his final stronghold.
He gathered his remaining chakra, focused every last shred of concentration, and heightened his senses to the limit.
He was waiting for Ryo to attack... or for the Leaf trio to press in. The lethal toxic blast he had prepared in his mouth would become the trigger for his final counterstrike.
At the edge of the swamp, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Gamabunta stood at four corners.
Tsunade stood on a corroded steel platform, brows tightly furrowed, rain running down her cheeks. Gamabunta's short blade, hung in the mud, the rain slowly washing away its residual toxins.
Jiraiya stood on top of Gamabunta's head, arms crossed, expression grim. Orochimaru lurked in the shadow of distant steel wreckage, golden eyes flickering as he licked his lips.
The air was tense and still, filled only with the sound of falling rain and bubbles bursting in the swamp.
"Useless turtle," Jiraiya muttered. "The poison fog's too thick, covers too wide. We can't force our way through. Chiyo might detect our chakra if we linger. We're running out of time."
Tsunade gave a silent nod, her gaze scanning the sea of toxin, landing on the vague silhouettes hidden deep within.
Hanzo was like a scorpion curled in its den. The poison swamp and his summoned beast were now his shell.
A direct assault would come at too high a cost.
Amid the standoff—
Zeng!
A sharp screech of metal pierced through the rain.
At the swamp's edge, the purple mist suddenly contracted inward.
The next instant, a blinding sword light cut through.
There was no roar, no warning. Only pure killing intent, sharpened to the edge.
A condensed, silver-white blade of light, ten meters long, sliced through space with a strange hum.
The edges of the sword light distorted the air itself. Light was severed. A vacuum slash tore through the sky and earth.
It wasn't a technique. It was divine judgment.
Shhh!
The thick purple poison mist split cleanly in two like paper under a scalpel. A clear path was carved out, its edges crackling with silver-white energy. The air hissed.
Rain poured through the corridor, forming a veil of water.
And through it stepped a figure.
Ryo's left hand hung at his side. His right gripped the ancient blade—Kusanagi. Rain hit the sword but slid off without a trace, repelled by the invisible edge.
The sword tip dipped into the toxic puddles, parting the poison silently.
Each of his steps raised ripples that pushed the toxin aside.
He raised his head, silver-ice eyes peering through the curtain of rain, locking precisely on Hanzo and Ibuse within the mist. His gaze was calm, clear, detached—like a hunter locking onto his prey.
Ryo had arrived.
The torn mist and falling water framed his approach.
The entire battlefield froze.
Tsunade's pupils contracted. Her breath hitched in her throat. That sword slash... the sheer force behind it was beyond anything she knew. "That power... it can't be measured by normal standards anymore. A monster..." Her heart pounded. Her muscles tensed instinctively.
"This... monster... he's even stronger than before." Jiraiya gaped. Rain ran into his mouth, unnoticed. Ryo's strength kept rewriting his understanding. "During the Iwa ambush I thought it was already absurd... but this? It's like he's evolved again. That poison fog even Gamabunta wouldn't touch, how the hell did he cut it?!"
Even Gamabunta's massive eyes were filled with heavy caution.
Orochimaru's golden pupils shrank into slits. For the first time, intense emotion surfaced on his face—a mix of shock and greed. He stared at the Kusanagi.
Ibuse let out a thunderous roar, its neck shrinking instinctively. Its massive body pulled back, sending ripples across the sludge. That sword light had triggered a primal fear. A threat to its life.
Farther back, the Ame shinobi were frozen in place.
Their minds went blank.
Their eyes widened as they stared at the cleaved path through the poison swamp, and the figure walking through it like a ghost.
"No... impossible..." someone muttered, as if witnessing the collapse of their beliefs. "Hanzo-sama's poison... even tailed beasts would fall to it... and it's been... cut apart?"
"That guy... is he even human?" one jōnin's kunai trembled in his grip, rain mixing with his sweat. "What... what the hell are we fighting?"
Someone dropped to their knees with a splash. Their eyes went blank, staring helplessly at the scene before them.
Hanzo leaned against Ibuse's scales, chest heaving like bellows. Sweat soaked him under the mask.
His hand clenched the chain weapon. His fingers trembled.
Was poison... no longer a defense?
Cold despair chewed through Hanzo's final shreds of confidence.
Ryo stopped twenty meters from the broken mist.
He glanced toward Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru.
The tip of the Kusanagi lifted slightly, pointing toward the center of the mist.
"That one," his tone flat, like stating a trivial fact, "and that slug. I'll take care of them."
"You three hold the front."
He nodded toward them. "Let me handle the rest."
Then his eyes returned to Hanzo and Ibuse. Cold and resolute.
Tsunade's brows furrowed in frustration, about to snap at the arrogant tone.
But when she met Ryo's silver eyes, and saw the chilling glow clinging to the blade's edge, her protest died in her throat.
She flicked her damp blonde braid over her shoulder. "Bastard... you better be careful. That fog is still highly corrosive. Don't die in a place like this." Her voice carried a begrudging recognition of his power.
Jiraiya let out a long breath, taking a half step back.
Orochimaru peeled back his lips in a cold smile, snake-like and intrigued. He stepped deeper into the shadows. "Hold the line? Fine. I'll leave the stage to you, Ryo-kun." His golden eyes flickered with unreadable light.
Holding the line had already become a certainty.
"How dare you!" Hanzo roared, voice cracking. Anger finally pushed aside the dread.
Being hunted down by a mere boy. And now to be dismissed so casually. His so-called "Demigod" prestige had been trampled into the swamp.
"Ibuse!!!" Hanzo screamed. "Attack!!!"
"ROAR!!!" The summoned beast unleashed a deafening roar, shaking the Land of Rain itself. Its massive body surged upward. A tidal wave of sludge rose like a volcano, blasting toward Ryo.
At the same time, its thick neck reared back. A blinding purple light flashed deep in its throat. A mass of ultra-compressed toxic liquid spun violently. The terrifying energy made the air itself groan.
On the outskirts, the surviving Ame shinobi held their breath. They saw Hanzo's counterattack. They saw their final hope.
"Hanzo-sama!" "Kill him!" Cries of desperation rose like sparks, clinging to a final strand of faith.
Tsunade's expression changed. Jiraiya's pupils shrank. Orochimaru's snake eyes sharpened with eerie focus.
In that moment of imminent death, Ryo moved.
He lifted his head. His silver eyes met the approaching wave of destruction.
An immense spiritual pressure exploded from his body, as if heaven and earth were collapsing.
The air froze. Space groaned.
Haōshoku Haki—Release!
Targeted solely at Hanzo.
The toxic wave, about to crash into Ryo, halted several meters away as if hitting an invisible barrier. The sludge lost all momentum, suspended mid-air. The poison churned but couldn't pass through.
Hanzo's Body Flicker staggered. It was like chains had snapped around him. His steps faltered as if sinking into a swamp of gravity. His instincts blanked under the crushing spiritual dominance.
Ibuse, hit hardest, trembled. The deep-purple mass in its throat destabilized. Its eyes reflected pain and panic. Its massive body convulsed. A tortured gurgle escaped its throat as it almost lost control of the toxic sphere.
The attack broke apart mid-activation.
"Hanzo-sama?!" Cries of panic erupted as Rain shinobi watched Hanzo freeze mid-attack, their lord and summon caught in visible agony. A creeping terror clawed at their spines. Many instinctively ducked.
A flicker gleamed in Ryo's silver eyes.
And then—
He moved.
The ground under his feet exploded, leaving a deep crater. Mud and stone flung behind as his body vanished from sight.
A dark-red blur flashed across the swamp, ignoring space, time, and motion, bypassing the failed toxic strike and closing in on the steel plate behind which Hanzo crouched.
Target—Hanzo.
"One-Sword Style—"
Ryo's voice rang out five meters from the slab. The Kusanagi, wrapped in flowing black Armament Haki, slashed out like lightning through silence.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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