Currently, the battle at Ryūmon Town was raging fiercely. Hanzō of the Salamander felt that he could no longer afford to waste time here, so this time, he also intended to go all out, aiming to eliminate these three troublesome juniors as quickly as possible.
"Summoning Technique!"
After forming hand signs, Hanzō of the Salamander slammed his palms onto the ground.
In the next moment, a grayish-brown salamander, only a few meters tall, was summoned by him.
The appearance of this small salamander clearly stunned the trio for a moment, because in their understanding, summoning beasts were usually stronger the larger they were. Why had Hanzō suddenly summoned such a sub-adult summoning beast?
Moreover, this salamander summoning beast looked strange. Its mouth appeared wider than that of an ordinary salamander, but its body was much thinner and smaller.
"Ibuse... go!"
As Hanzō issued the command, the salamander named Ibuse immediately spewed out a thick cloud of poisonous mist.
Its poison-spitting speed was extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, the toxic smoke had already enveloped the nearby area.
Seeing this, the three quickly put their gas masks back on.
"We have gas masks. What is Hanzō trying to do?" Jiraiya couldn't help but ask.
"He's blocking our vision!" Uchiha Ryun said with a grave expression.
"Not just that... this poison smoke also harms the eyes!" Orochimaru quickly noticed the abnormality of the poisonous mist.
"Orochimaru, hurry up and use a Wind Release technique to blow the poison smoke away!" Jiraiya's eyes were soon irritated to the point of tearing up, so he urged Orochimaru to use a Wind Release technique.
"Idiot, I'm wearing a mask right now. How am I supposed to blow it away..." Orochimaru couldn't help but curse.
Single-target Wind Release techniques were useless against the poison mist, and performing a large-scale Wind Release technique required inhaling first. (Except for Temari's iron fan Wind Release techniques.)
If he inhaled even a mouthful of the poison mist into his lungs, Orochimaru felt he might as well give up the fight right then.
"He's coming for us!"
While the two were still bickering in the midst of a life-or-death crisis, Uchiha Ryun loudly reminded them.
In the next moment, a figure as fast as lightning flickered right in front of Uchiha Ryun, and Hanzō of the Salamander swung his sickle down at him with full force.
Uchiha Ryun had been on high alert the entire time. When Hanzō of the Salamander attacked, he had already caught a glimpse of his movement. Faced with the lightning-fast strike, Uchiha Ryun only had time to raise his sword to block.
Whoosh!!!
Speed was equivalent to power, and now that Hanzō was going all out, Uchiha Ryun was instantly sent flying by the fierce slash.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Blast Bite!"
Relying on his perception of movement, Orochimaru accurately pinpointed Hanzō of the Salamander's figure within the poison mist. He quickly formed hand signs and pressed them onto the water's surface.
In an instant, the river beneath Hanzō of the Salamander's feet suddenly caved in, and a massive water dragon's head rapidly took shape, clamping its jaws shut in an attempt to bite Hanzō.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
Orochimaru's technique was fast, but Hanzō's Body Flicker Technique was even faster.
In the blink of an eye, he had already appeared behind Jiraiya, his sickle gleaming with deadly cold light as he slashed straight at the back of Jiraiya's neck.
Jiraiya was currently injured, making him Hanzō of the Salamander's primary target for elimination.
"Iaido Slash!"
Sensing the intense killing intent from behind, Jiraiya's long hair suddenly grew wildly, spreading out like the spines of a porcupine.
A terrifying flash of cold light streaked past, and a large portion of Jiraiya's hair was instantly severed by the deadly sickle. Since Hanzō of the Salamander had no intention of trading an arm pierced by countless hairs for a kill, Jiraiya narrowly escaped being decapitated.
However, even though Jiraiya had reacted swiftly, the sickle's unique structure meant that the tip of the blade still grazed the back of his neck, leaving a small cut.
Feeling the sting on the back of his neck, Jiraiya immediately realized that things had taken a turn for the worse.
Hanzō's deadly sickle was coated with the salamander's paralyzing poison, and it was an extremely potent variant.
Before the poison could fully take effect, he quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to put distance between himself and Hanzō of the Salamander.
Before the battle, they had all taken antidotes. Unfortunately, the antidotes couldn't completely neutralize the poison. After taking this hit, Jiraiya was effectively half-incapacitated.
To avoid dragging the others down, Jiraiya had no choice but to retreat behind Orochimaru as quickly as possible.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Uchiha Ryun leaped high into the air, temporarily escaping the poison mist. Spotting the poison-spewing salamander, he immediately unleashed a powerful Lightning Release technique.
A bolt of fierce lightning shot straight toward the target.
Sensing the life-threatening danger, the salamander Ibuse immediately released the chakra from its feet, closed its mouth, and swiftly sank into the river. Its movements were so fast that the False Darkness lightning couldn't even touch it.
However, animals were still animals. When panicked, they were prone to making mistakes. Diving into the water wasn't actually a good choice because... water conducted electricity!
Though the False Darkness lightning didn't strike Ibuse directly, it blasted into the river with tremendous force, creating a massive bubble. The salamander was instantly electrocuted by the new energy, convulsing violently before soon floating belly-up.
After dealing with the poison-spewing beast, Uchiha Ryun quickly tried to move toward Orochimaru to support him. But before he could get close, a terrifying flood of water forced him back.
Orochimaru and Hanzō of the Salamander had both unleashed powerful Water Release techniques. At this point, merely maintaining balance in the river was difficult, let alone continuing to fight!
Orochimaru knew he was no match for Hanzō in close combat, so he had no choice but to take a risky move and use a large-scale technique.
He hoped to create an opportunity for Uchiha Ryun to attack amidst the chaos.
Sure enough, after a few breaths, just as the river's surface began to stabilize, a series of chirping bird-like sounds rang out in everyone's ears.
Orochimaru recognized this as the sound of the A-rank technique, "Chidori."
As the poison mist thinned momentarily, Uchiha Ryun's Three Tomoe Sharingan immediately locked onto Hanzō's figure. In the next instant, he charged straight at him.
"So fast!!!"
Hanzō of the Salamander widened his eyes in surprise as Uchiha Ryun closed the distance in the blink of an eye, his Chidori thrusting straight at him.
At the critical moment, Hanzō of the Salamander once again used his nearly unstoppable Body Flicker Technique.
"Ninja Art: Hair Needle Senbon!"
Jiraiya, barely holding on, seized the moment Hanzō landed to unleash another technique.
Hanzō swung his deadly sickle, deflecting the incoming hair needles.
"Ninja Art: Multiple Snake Wrap!"
Orochimaru took advantage of the opening to attack from another angle!
Countless slender snakes lunged at Hanzō, who slashed wildly while retreating. However, the overwhelming number of snakes soon found his "weak spot," eventually coiling tightly around his body.
"Ryun!!!" Orochimaru shouted.
There was no need for him to say anything—Uchiha Ryun had already closed the distance to Hanzō of the Salamander in an instant.
Unfortunately, Hanzō's Water Body Flicker Technique was simply too fast.
Hanzō's body dissolved into a puddle of water, allowing him to slip free from the snake bindings and escape.
Not only did he escape successfully, but he also lured Uchiha Ryun into a death trap.
The snakes that had been coiled around Hanzō's body had unknowingly been tagged with several explosive tags!
The moment he left, with a single hand sign, the spot where he had just been standing erupted in a violent explosion.
Uchiha Ryun, standing right in front of the snakes, appeared to have been completely engulfed by the blast.