Death was something every shinobi had to face sooner or later. When a war reached its peak, even the Kage could fall, so ordinary shinobi had no reason to believe they would survive.
That was why the Second Hokage had chosen to stay behind and cover the retreat. It was why the young Sannin once stood against Hanzō, and why the Third Hokage had eventually used the Reaper Death Seal. The Will of Fire was not just empty words when the situation became desperate.
A violent explosion suddenly erupted in the forest. Flames shot high into the sky, followed by a thunderous roar that shook the surrounding trees.
Hanzō, who had been resting briefly before leaving, immediately stopped. Without hesitation, he turned and rushed toward the source of the explosion.
His first thought was simple. Leaf shinobi and Rain shinobi were probably fighting. As the leader of Amegakure, there was no way he could ignore something like that.
To him, it would only cost a few more minutes. If no one strong enough appeared, the battle would end in a one-sided massacre anyway.
Cruel, perhaps, but that was the reality of war.
Hanzō moved extremely fast, weaving through the forest while observing his surroundings. He paid close attention to every broken branch and disturbed patch of earth, trying to judge the strength of the enemy before even reaching the battlefield.
But just before he arrived at the explosion site, he suddenly stopped.
The sudden halt caused the thick tree trunk beneath his feet to tremble violently.
A kunai shot toward him.
Hanzō tilted his head slightly and avoided it with ease, but the explosive tag tied to the ring at the end of the kunai suddenly ignited.
His eyes narrowed. He was about to use the Body Flicker Technique to move away, but the moment he pushed off the tree trunk, his foot sank slightly.
Insects.
The entire surface of the trunk was covered with them. They clung tightly to his legs, slowing his movement just enough to interfere with the Body Flicker Technique.
Hanzō reacted instantly. He swung the kusarigama in his hand, smashing the kunai away together with the explosive tag. But right after that, a sharp whistling sound filled the air.
Trap.
In a hidden corner nearby, Inuzuka Gaku pulled a thin wire.
Dozens of kunai shot toward Hanzō at the same time, each one carrying an explosive tag. In the blink of an eye, a net of explosive tags formed around him.
The first kunai had only been a distraction. The insects were meant to restrict his movement, and the explosive tags were meant to finish the job.
Hanzō immediately understood the entire plan.
The coordination was impressive. Against most shinobi, this trap would have worked perfectly.
But the next moment, a deep, beast-like roar echoed through the forest. The ground trembled heavily, as if a drum were being struck beneath the earth.
A giant salamander suddenly burst out from underground. Its tongue shot forward like lightning, wrapped around Hanzō, and pulled him straight into its mouth. Before the rain of kunai could reach him, the salamander had already dived back underground.
"So that is the salamander," Shibi muttered from a tall tree, pushing his glasses slightly upward.
A powerful summoning beast could greatly increase a shinobi's strength, and Hanzō's salamander was one of the most dangerous. It might not matter much against someone far stronger than him, but against ordinary shinobi, it was an overwhelming advantage.
The explosive tags detonated one after another, but by the time the explosions finished, Hanzō had already reappeared in a safe area through the salamander.
The giant creature quickly disappeared underground again.
Hanzō glanced down at his legs. The insects that had clung to him had already died and fallen off like dust.
"They cannot withstand the poison," he said calmly.
"Attack!"
Before Hanzō could say anything else, Shibi had already moved.
Hyūga Hizashi followed closely behind him.
Hanzō gave a faint smile. With a simple movement, he unfastened the buckle on his mask and let it fall to the ground.
The moment the distance between them shrank to only a few meters, he thrust the kusarigama into the ground and leapt forward.
Shibi was fast, but Hanzō was even faster.
His right foot struck the back of Shibi's neck with terrifying force. Shibi's body slammed into the ground instantly, only to turn into a swarm of insects that scattered in every direction.
"Insect Clone," Hanzō muttered quietly.
Hidden in the shadows, Shibi quickly formed hand seals.
"Parasitic Destruction Insect Technique, Swarm."
Countless insects poured toward Hanzō like a black tide, surrounding him completely.
At the same time, Hizashi rushed forward. A Bagua pattern appeared beneath his feet as chakra gathered in his palms.
Gentle Fist, Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms.
His palms struck forward one after another, aiming directly at Hanzō's chakra points.
The Byakugan could see the meridian system clearly. As long as the Gentle Fist struck accurately, it could shut down the opponent's chakra completely.
But Hanzō simply raised both arms and blocked the attack.
With every movement he made, the insects that had surrounded him fell off his body one after another.
Without the mask, every breath he released carried deadly poison. Shibi's insects could not endure it at all.
The moment he came out of the salamander's mouth, Hanzō had already understood the situation.
Shibi let out a quiet breath. He had not expected his weakness to be discovered so quickly.
His strength relied almost entirely on his insects. If they could not approach the enemy, the rest of his abilities meant very little.
At the same time, Hizashi tried to press forward again. His palm moved toward Hanzō's chest, attempting to send chakra directly into his meridians through the strike.
But Hanzō remained completely calm.
He stepped forward and swept his leg out, instantly disrupting the chakra gathered in Hizashi's hand. His fingers closed like claws and grabbed Hizashi's wrist tightly.
"The Hyūga clan is nothing more than this," Hanzō said coldly.
He pulled the chain of the kusarigama. The weapon flew out of the ground and slammed hard into Hizashi's chest with the back of the blade.
Hizashi's face turned pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood immediately.
Hanzō did not hesitate at all. He turned and struck again, sending Hizashi flying through the air like a leaf caught in a storm.
Everything happened in less than a second.
Just as Hanzō prepared to deliver the finishing blow, a black figure rushed toward him from deep inside the forest.
Inuzuka Gaku and Kuromaru merged together, forming a two-headed wolf. Their spinning movement created a powerful tornado that crashed straight toward Hanzō.
Hanzō flicked his fingers again. The chain of the kusarigama tightened, and the blade swung in a wide arc directly into Gaku's path.
Gaku twisted his body mid-air, narrowly avoiding the blade. He spun again, pushed off the ground with his toes, and leapt high before smashing down toward Hanzō with all his strength.
Hanzō did not even bother trying to kill Hizashi anymore. With a Body Flicker, he disappeared instantly.
But while still in the air, Gaku used a tree to change direction and charged toward Hanzō again.
Hanzō's expression turned cold. After only a few moves, he was already tired of dealing with the Inuzuka clan's attacks.
He slammed his hands onto the ground.
Fire Release, Exploding Flame Formation.
A large number of explosive tags suddenly appeared across the ground around him. The salamander swallowed him once again and disappeared underground.
The next moment, the explosive tags covering more than a hundred meters detonated at the same time, and the entire forest was swallowed by flames, including Shibi and the others.
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