Amegakure is a relatively unique ninja village. Although it cannot rival the Five Great Ninja Villages, its strength should not be underestimated.
Hanzo of the Rain Village is the leader of Amegakure. That alone indicates that even if his power does not quite reach the level of the Five Kage, it's still close enough—plus, in the future, he will definitely rank among the world's top ten ninja, at least when compared to other ninja of his time.
Therefore, everyone had a general idea of the estimated strength of Amegakure's leader.
Given this estimation of his abilities, the fact that Sakumo Hatake dared to take up the responsibility of facing off against Hanzo speaks volumes about his determination... He was only a chunin who'd recently been promoted to jonin-level skill, while his enemy was on par with a Kage; looking at the comparison like this, naturally Sakumo had no absolute confidence in victory.
Even if he claimed confidence, it would only be self-deception.
Yet Sakumo Hatake still decided to draw his sword and advance forward—it certainly wasn't for showboating. In fact, his decision now was somewhat similar to what Haseo had done years ago, when he encountered Nagare, an Amegakure ninja in the Land of Rain.
When confronted by powerful enemies, one could choose to retreat or advance—both are valid choices. However, some ninja believe advancing is the right choice, while others believe retreating is correct. This is where ninja differ from one another.
"In that case, I'll leave this battle to you, Hatake."
Haseo understood exactly what Sakumo was thinking, so there was no reason to stop him… After all, isn't it simply because he enjoys seeking thrills? It's like chuuni syndrome—most people go through a phase like that during their teens.
First giving Hatake a slight nod, Haseo then continued, "Then I'll go prepare some survival gear for everyone. Some things are absolutely necessary when fighting a ninja like Hanzo.
The two Hyuga will be responsible for flanking support for Hatake next, and watch carefully for more enemies emerging from around us."
Although he said that, normally speaking, no more enemies would come rushing out afterward.
Because in the upcoming battle, both sides were facing a "strong versus weak" situation. Compared to Sanshouo Hanzo, obviously Sakumo Hatake was the "weaker" side—but this weakness was truly only relative. To be honest, using such a description for Sakumo seems rather unfair.
But how about compared to Haseo himself, what about those subordinates of Hanzo still hiding among the shadows? They were the real weak ones... Don't expect that every subordinate accompanying Hanzo would be on the same level as Sakumo Hatake. Naturally speaking, their personal qualities couldn't possibly match any of the Hyuga ninja.
This is precisely the difference between great villages and smaller ones—the disparity in depth and scale. Even if Amegakure occasionally produces a ninja like Hanzo, can they provide him with a group of subordinates whose strength, roles, specialties, and coordination are all top-notch?
Impossible. Otherwise, Amegakure wouldn't be Amegakure anymore—it would be Konoha.
Afterward, Haseo performed a Summoning Jutsu, and a small Katsuyu appeared on his shoulder.
He took a deep breath, puffing out his cheeks like a hamster packed with food. As Haseo's body began emitting a faint glow of lightning, he dove straight into the forest and poison mist.
Hanzo of the Rain Village naturally understood Haseo's intentions and moved to intercept him immediately. However, for one thing, Haseo himself was a ninja specializing in speed; for another, before Hanzo could complete his interception, Sakumo Hatake had already moved to intercept him first—the battle began at this moment.
Haseo rushing into the poison mist wasn't because he wanted to take a couple puffs—he didn't have that kind of craving.
Considering the danger of the poison mist, Haseo naturally held his breath while moving at high speeds. Fortunately, he was confident in his lung capacity, and besides, he wouldn't need to hold his breath for long.
Only a brief instant would be enough.
Although the thick fog in the forest severely obstructed Haseo's vision, the exact positions of every enemy hiding within were already clearly known to him in advance—his own crappy sensing ability, only usable for short-range instantaneous reactions, aside, two sets of Byakugan would certainly indicate the positions of all the enemies.
Even if the enemies intended to relocate immediately, there was no time left to do so.
"This one'll do. The face shape looks good enough."
Thinking this, Haseo suddenly appeared behind where one enemy was hiding. Without giving the opponent even the slightest chance to react, he instantly snapped the enemy's neck.
The poison mist lingering in the forest through which Haseo passed in his high-speed movement seemed only half a beat later to react to the enemy's death, then swirled and stirred along the path he had taken.
"What happened?" A muffled voice asked from one direction in the forest.
Haseo crouched down and removed the gas mask covering the face of the enemy he'd just killed. After pulling it over his own face, he finally replied, "Nothing happened. Everything is normal."
This reply seemed to satisfy the questioner. If nothing happened, that was fine. But it was only then that he noticed something off about the voice.
Even though speaking through a mask can muffle the voice a bit, the completely unfamiliar tone, one that made no effort at disguise, was easy enough to identify.
"It's an enemy! An enemy has infiltrated our formation! Just now, Lord Hanzo failed to stop him!"
Another ninja let out a loud announcement. He must've been the squad's scout ninja, doing his job now… except his warning came about ten seconds too late.
"Have these guys been chain-breathing poison mist all day? How come everyone's moving like molasses?"
While the gas masks ensured that the ninja could move unimpeded within the mist, they couldn't entirely block the toxic effects on their bodies. Spending a short time in the poison mist shouldn't be an issue. But those who had spent prolonged periods exposed to the mist might very well have suffered some adverse effects.
Now that everyone in the Poison Mist had normal vision, its blinding effect was universal. In a situation like this, fewer fighters meant a bigger advantage—Haseo was alone, so he could just attack whoever he encountered. There were no allies to worry about accidentally harming.
"Fifteen, seventeen, eighteen, thirteen, thirty, twenty-two. Fate's lucky draw—how about you three?"
But Haseo didn't have time to eliminate every enemy one by one anymore. Now that his position was exposed, he couldn't hope for clean, efficient assassinations like before. He chose the three nearest enemies and took them down one by one.
Clashing sounds of blades echoed through the forest. [Fire Release] and [Water Release] occasionally flared through the mist. But soon enough, silence returned to the forest.
After several small victories, Haseo now carried three additional gas masks—necessary tools for confronting Hanzo.
Regular ninja wouldn't carry poison masks—they weren't common gear. Fortunately, though, Hanzo's companions definitely would have brought them.
The only downside was that the masks Haseo now carried were all stained with blood—nowhere near as fresh and clean as the one he wore.
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