Time flew, and in a blink, three months had passed.
Over those three months, the atmosphere across the shinobi world became unusually tense.
The war between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain affected almost every nation—except the distant Lands of Lightning and Water.
After all, even the Land of Fire mobilized a large force to the border. So how could small countries also wedged between great powers—like the Lands of Grass, Waterfall, Birds, and Bears—possibly feel at ease?
And according to reports from informants, huge troop concentrations were also gathering on the southern border of the Land of Earth. Who knew whether the Lands of Fire and Earth would end up joining the war?
Those three great nations occupied most of the shinobi continent. Their war and standoff didn't just put every small nation on high alert—it also affected nobles and commoners alike, and even merchant caravans, who no longer dared to travel or conduct cross-border trade casually.
With commissions dropping sharply, Sunagakure and Iwagakure—already suffering from severe economic imbalance—found things even more agonizing.
Inside their councils, the hawks now held absolute dominance.
Not every Kage was like the First and Second Hokage—people with absolute strength and authority.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was the best example.
If not for the lingering prestige of the forest Senju and the balancing presence of the Hyuga, the Uchiha wouldn't even take this war-era clan seriously.
Hiruzen also couldn't suppress the Uchiha the way Senju Tobirama once did. He could only yield part of Anbu's authority and allow Shimura Danzō to form Root.
Likewise, he couldn't order the clan heads to personally lead forces to the border.
If the Sannin weren't so capable, the people Hiruzen could truly rely on would have been only Hatake Sakumo and Shimura Danzō.
When a leader can't cover the sky with one hand—when authority is "soft"—factions can easily steer decisions through their collective will.
Hanzō of the Salamander was strong—recognized by all shinobi as a pinnacle of the world. His deterrence was even higher than the Five Kage's. Even Ōnoki, who wielded Dust Release, and the Third Raikage, regarded as the strongest individual combatant, were deeply wary of him.
Because of Hanzō's existence, the Land of Rain was the nation least exploited by the great powers. If not for its population and troop numbers being far below the five great nations, it would practically be an invisible "sixth great village."
But in truth, Hanzō's personal combat power wasn't so overwhelming that even peak Kage would fear him like that.
Ōnoki—able to fly, and able to break anything into atoms—could suppress Hanzō in a one-on-one until he had no temper left.
The Third Raikage, with the strongest spear and shield, could stand still and let Hanzō slash him, and Hanzō's nintaijutsu still couldn't break his defense.
What everyone truly feared was the salamander itself—touch it and you die—known as the shinobi world's deadliest poison.
With poison ranked number one and a terrifyingly wide release range, the salamander carried deterrence comparable to a tailed beast.
And because it could dismiss its summoning and instantly return to the summoning realm when struck—plus being protected by Hanzō's immense strength and high-speed movement—on some level, the salamander was even harder to deal with than a jinchūriki and tailed beast.
That was the true foundation of Hanzō's "one man vs. a nation" confidence.
For these three months, Hanzō fought like a god descending, beating Sunagakure back step by step.
Any Suna squad that ran into him without anti-poison masks would scatter and flee—no one dared fight him head-on.
Trying to use human-wave tactics against Hanzō was meaningless—pure suicide.
But as a certain "filial son" in the future once said: there is no technique in this world without weaknesses.
Every technique has a flaw.
The salamander was no exception.
Its poison was not truly incurable.
Hanzō carried the antidote on his person.
When he traveled to the Land of Iron, he fought Mifune and easily defeated the skilled samurai.
And because he respected Mifune, Hanzō personally detoxified him and abandoned the idea of attacking the Land of Iron.
To prevent their own troops from being poisoned, Amegakure's shinobi wore anti-poison masks at all times and carried antidotes as well.
Working with Anbu and reconnaissance squads, Sunagakure obtained the salamander poison antidote surprisingly easily.
After three months of research—and multiple brief clashes with Hanzō—Chiyo, who was at her peak and also excelled in poisons and medical ninjutsu, finally developed a formula to counter the salamander's toxin.
She also determined something crucial: after releasing a large-area poison attack, the salamander needed five minutes to refill its poison.
As long as you survived the first poison wave, the salamander would be effectively combat-ineffective for five minutes—Hanzō's weakest window, and their best opportunity.
So after being beaten down for three months, Sunagakure finally stopped scattering. They rapidly formed an elite combat squad—strong, equipped with anti-poison masks, and carrying antidotes—to meet him head-on.
Even though in a prolonged fight the poison would still take effect, at least they wouldn't be dropped the moment they met.
With his strongest partner—the deadliest poison—temporarily countered, Hanzō's aura dropped from "demigod" back to "man."
He was still Kage-level, but no longer an unbeatable existence.
And Sunagakure's forces—timing everything to the second—never lingered. The moment their antidote ran low or their masks began losing effectiveness, they retreated immediately.
That made Hanzō furious and frustrated, and he gave Chiyo—who created the antidote formula and discovered the poison refill timing—the nickname "the puppet old hag."
Chiyo, who had fought him in multiple brief clashes, was no less sharp. She fired back by calling him "the old man with a breathing tube."
Both were in their prime, yet in this world they were indeed at "grandpa and grandma" age.
With Chiyo's antidote formula and a method to counter the salamander, the two sides fell into a full stalemate.
If no third party interfered, Amegakure and Sunagakure might have negotiated due to the deadlock—or tacitly pulled back and shifted targets.
But there was no "if."
Throughout the war, Iwagakure and Konoha watched closely.
Over these three months, to every reconnaissance team and Anbu collecting intelligence, Hanzō was the most terrifying existence in the shinobi world.
Wherever he went, fear followed.
They were terrified he'd discover them and they'd die to the salamander's poison or Hanzō's nintaijutsu, so they didn't dare get too close.
Even so, plenty still died—simply from inhaling lingering poison residue.
But their efforts weren't wasted. They gathered intelligence that was absolutely crucial.
And so, after lying in wait for three months, Iwagakure finally bared its fangs and raised the curtain on a wider melee.
~~~
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