When Hoshiyomi Gekkō heard Orochimaru speak of Hanzō with such seriousness, he was genuinely curious.
Orochimaru was not the type to easily express admiration for anyone.
Was that man—who had appeared only briefly in the anime—really that powerful?
"Hanzō is really that strong? Have you guys actually fought him before?"
Jiraiya drained the tea in his cup. He wasn't the wild, carefree man of later years—not yet. Since they were on the battlefield, he strictly adhered to his no alcohol during wartime rule.
Setting down his cup, Jiraiya muttered bitterly:
"It's not a question of whether he's strong or not. He's… special. You can't even fight him normally, you know?"
Orochimaru picked up the thread:
"Hanzō's personal strength isn't weak, that's for sure. His Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu) has reached an exceptionally refined level. In terms of pure speed, Hoshiyomi, you might not be able to match him."
"On top of that, his Water Release techniques and taijutsu are undeniably at Kage-level. And he's extremely cautious. He never lets his guard down. Someone like that? He's practically born to be a shinobi."
Jiraiya shoved a large piece of meat into his mouth, chewing aggressively, his frustration obvious.
"If that was all, the three of us could still take him on together. Even if we couldn't kill him, we'd make sure he didn't walk away unscathed."
"But that bastard—when he was a kid, someone transplanted a poison sac from a Black Salamander into his body. Not only did he survive it, he gained the ability to control poison mist."
"All he has to do is breathe, and he can release massive amounts of poisonous gas. That's the real problem. Even Tsunade can't fully neutralize his poison. Every time he shows up on the battlefield, it leads to heavy casualties."
At that moment, Tsunade—who had been silently listening—suddenly exploded:
"That's bullshit! If I hadn't used Delicate Illness Extraction to pull the poison out of you last time, do you think you'd even be alive to say that right now?"
Her sudden outburst startled Jiraiya. He weakly tried to save face:
"I mean, sure, you can treat it after the fact. But you still can't counter it during a battle, can you…?"
Seeing Tsunade clench her fist again, Jiraiya quickly ducked his head and focused on eating, not daring to say another word.
Hoshiyomi reached over to calm Tsunade, gently coaxing her until she relaxed her grip. She leaned her head softly on his shoulder and muttered:
"Jiraiya isn't wrong, actually. If I could develop an antidote that worked in the middle of a fight, the casualties wouldn't be this bad."
"And besides, there are too few high-level medical-nin at the frontlines who can use Delicate Illness Extraction Technique. I'm just one person—I can't save everyone. I can only stand there and watch them…"
By the end, her eyes had reddened slightly. It's true what they say—a healer's heart is merciful. Watching patient after patient die in front of her because she couldn't save them in time, the pressure she faced was far greater than what Jiraiya or Orochimaru had to bear.
Hoshiyomi hugged her gently, patting her back to comfort her.
"It's alright. We all believe in you. You'll definitely figure out a way to counter his poison mist."
Orochimaru also offered a rare word of consolation. Jiraiya scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Ah—my bad. I said too much. If it helps, you can punch me to let off some steam."
Tsunade kept her head buried in Hoshiyomi's shoulder, mumbling:
"We're on the battlefield right now. I'll remember this for later—don't worry, I will deal with you when the time comes."
Jiraiya pulled a comically pitiful face, making everyone laugh and breaking some of the heavy mood in the tent.
Hoshiyomi shifted the topic:
"If creating an antidote will take time, have you thought about just isolating his poison? Using Wind Release techniques, for example?"
Orochimaru shook his head:
"It's not like we haven't tried. But don't forget—his Body Flicker is terrifying."
"Every time our Wind Release users try to disperse the poison mist, Hanzō just uses his speed to instantly close the distance and strike before they can react. It's incredibly difficult to deal with."
"If we really want to counter Hanzō with Wind Release, we'd need an exceptional wind-style shinobi. Maybe Danzo-sama would be a good choice."
Hoshiyomi thought about Danzo's Wind Release skills. It's true—Danzo could probably handle the poison mist. But then he snorted:
"That guy values his own life too much. He'd never engage Hanzō head-on."
Everyone else nodded. Given what they knew about Danzo's personality—and his rocky relationship with Hoshiyomi—they quickly dropped the idea.
Hoshiyomi also considered the possibility of using gas masks, but after thinking it over, he shook his head. They could be developed slowly, but it would take far too long to distribute them across the entire offensive front. It wouldn't solve the problem in the short term.
Which meant… he'd probably have to handle it himself.
If there was no antidote and no reliable Wind Release shinobi, then he'd have to find a way to deal with Hanzō's poison gas personally.
Hoshiyomi had actually been thinking about how to counter Hanzō's poison for a while. When it came to wind techniques, aside from Tatsumaki-chan from One Punch Man, two other "cool guys" immediately came to mind.
One was Goenitz, the flamboyant priest known as the "Wildly-Blowing Wind" from The King of Fighters.
The other, of course, was Yasuo—the embodiment of "happiness," Yasuo, whose "E" key never returned.
And the thing those two had in common? They both manipulated tornadoes.
To be honest, Hoshiyomi thought Goenitz, as the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings, was pretty stylish. But in the end, his heart leaned toward the "fun guy."
Wait—no, no—it wasn't about "fun." It was just that their abilities were compatible. After all, both of them used swords. That's all. Really.
So yeah, Hasaki, and it's settled!
Thinking of this, Hoshiyomi looked up and asked:
"When's the next time Hanzō is scheduled to attack?"
Orochimaru pondered for a moment before answering:
"Hanzō is incredibly cautious. During battle, he always uses a lot of deceptive tactics. But strangely enough, when it comes to actual engagements, he's surprisingly honorable."
"Every time he attacks, he sends a formal challenge letter in advance. He's never once launched a sneak attack."
"That's one of the reasons people call him a demi-god—because even when we have advance notice and prepare as best we can, we still can't do anything about him."
"His last attack was two days ago. According to the reports from the previous frontline commander, since he's fighting on three fronts, he usually only engages Konoha about once every half month."
"So, we should have around two weeks before he shows up again."
Hoshiyomi thought back to Mifune's evaluation of Hanzō in the original story. Before Hanzō fell from grace, he really had been a man of integrity.
The fact that he spared the Legendary Sannin and Mifune himself was proof enough. From the looks of it, the Hanzō of now was still someone worthy of respect. He wasn't likely to pull any underhanded tricks.
That meant, for the next half month or so, they probably wouldn't run into him.
And half a month should be enough time for Hoshiyomi to develop his own Wind Release sword technique.