"Captain, where have you been all this time? We thought something had happened to you!"
Shukudō was overjoyed to see Hayano Yoru finally reappear. Since his shadow clones had dispersed, Yoru had been absent for a long time, leaving the Mobile Support Unit without its core leader. Their combat effectiveness had plummeted, forcing them into a passive defense against the Rain ninjas' assaults.
"Lord Yoru, bad news! On the northern front, Hanzo's summon, the Salamander Ibuse, has released a large-scale poison attack. Many of our Konoha shinobi have collapsed—only Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru are still holding on!"
Hyūga Tobiume delivered the grim report.
Yet, Yoru remained calm. So, the battle that will make the Sannin famous is about to begin.
Hanzo had clearly realized that the Land of Rain was doomed to lose this war. His goal now was to secure a partial victory to offset the overall defeat.
Jiraiya and the others weren't in any real danger. If Hanzo actually killed them—especially Tsunade, the Fire Daimyō's granddaughter—Konoha would never let it slide. They would hunt Hanzo down to the ends of the earth, ensuring the Land of Rain's complete destruction.
"Orders!" Yoru commanded. "Launch a full counterattack—now!"
With that, he kicked their forces into high gear.
First into action was Hayano Hari's Sealing Squad, which used the Exploding Blade's chakra-conductive plates to mass-produce temporary explosive tags. Though these tags only lasted half an hour, that was more than enough time for the Tool Battalion to use them in waves. In emergencies, they could fall back on expensive, hand-drawn tags.
With Hanzo and Ibuse absent, the Rain ninjas' defensive line quickly revealed its weaknesses. The Hayano Unit blitzed through, crushing their opposition with overwhelming force.
The Lightning War Tactic
Shadow Clones disrupted the Rain ninjas' coordinated jutsu with infrasonic shockwaves. Yoru led the Tool Battalion, clearing the path with explosive-tagged kunai. Uchiha Shun followed up with five ninjutsu squads, unleashing large-scale attacks. Shirakumo Yama and the taijutsu squads mopped up survivors, while the nine puppet armors handled stragglers.
Meanwhile, the Puppet, Genjutsu, and Sky Cavalry Squads protected the Medical and Logistics Units, ensuring they kept pace with the assault.
The strategy was devastatingly effective. Without supply constraints, the Hayano Unit shattered the Rain ninjas' defenses in one push.
Hanzo's battle with the Sannin had already pushed the Rain forces to the brink of collapse. Now, Yoru's assault triggered a full rout.
As the Rain ninjas fled in panic, Yoru left behind a few shadow clones to maintain command while his real body rushed toward Hanzo's battlefield.
"Hanzo wants a symbolic victory to soften his defeat? Not on my watch."
Though he sympathized with the Land of Rain's plight, war was about interests. If Hanzo wanted peace, it would be on Konoha's terms—unconditional surrender.
The Sannin's Struggle
When Yoru arrived, the battlefield was shrouded in Ibuse's toxic mist.
"Yoru?! What are you doing here? Take this antidote—now!"
Orochimaru's Snake Hands lashed out, intercepting one of Hanzo's strikes while a second snake spat out a syringe of Tsunade's antidote.
But Yoru didn't inject himself. To his surprise, Ibuse's neurotoxin had no effect on him.
"So the White Zetsu assimilation didn't just give me the Spore Technique—it also granted poison immunity."
He pretended to use the antidote, then considered joining the fight—until he saw Hanzo's terrifying Water Body Flicker.
Even with Wind Breathing at full power, Yoru's speed was less than half of Hanzo's. The Sannin were only holding on thanks to their flawless teamwork and powerful summons. If he recklessly charged in, he'd be dead in one move.
"Better play support. Just being able to participate in a Kage-level battle is an achievement."
He sent four puppet armors into the fray while his real body lurked in the shadows, using the Spore Technique to assist.
"Dark Mist Jutsu!"
A genjutsu plunged Hanzo into total blindness.
Seizing the opening, Tsunade smashed forward with monstrous strength, Orochimaru unleashed serpent-binding techniques, and Jiraiya's Wild Lion's Mane ensnared Hanzo in steel-like hair.
Hanzo cut himself free and dispelled the genjutsu—only to eat a full-power punch from Tsunade.
BOOM!
Even blocking with his sickle's hilt, Hanzo was sent flying.
The summons—Katsuyu, Gamabunta, and Manda—immediately split the battlefield, isolating Hanzo from Ibuse.
The Liquid Nitrogen Trap
With Hanzo distracted, Yoru finally executed his plan.
A shadow clone emerged from the Spore Technique and hurled a seal scroll at Ibuse.
POOF!
A cloud of white smoke erupted as the scroll released a flood of liquid nitrogen. Two more clones combined Wind and Water Release, and—
"Frozen Wasteland!"
In an instant, Ibuse was encased in a colossal block of ice.
Yoru hadn't yet mastered Ice Release, but with liquid nitrogen, his elemental fusion was even deadlier than the real thing.
"Ice Release?!" Manda hissed, his movements sluggish from the cold. Even Gamabunta felt the chill, though Katsuyu (busy supporting the Sannin) remained unaffected.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
No longer hiding, Yoru fired a compressed air cannon straight into Ibuse's mouth.
The blast shattered the salamander's skull, its eyes glazing over as three-meter-long poison sacs collapsed limply to the ground.
Brain matter and venom oozed from fractured bone, corroding the earth in a ten-meter radius.
"IBUSE!!"
Hanzo's roar was so furious it vibrated through his mask, veins bulging in his neck.