Raindrops fell softly, tapping against the ground and the tops of everything below.
Inside the Konoha camp, the eleven abandoned Konoha chunin had all been killed by the Rain ninja. In the future, they would be remembered as heroes of the village, their names engraved upon the Konoha Memorial Stone.
Within a small warehouse used to store supplies, Rain ninja began searching through the camp's stock, curious to see what kind of good food the Konoha ninja had been eating.
"Ninpō: Earth Release – Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru's voice echoed faintly through the forest, and the surge of chakra shot straight toward the heart of the camp.
Hanzō noticed immediately. Standing on the perimeter, he roared toward the interior of the camp:
"All ninja, withdraw immediately!!"
There were sixteen Rain chunin and two special jōnin searching the Konoha camp—a full six squads.
Unlike Konoha, the Hidden Rain could not easily cultivate large numbers of chunin-level ninja.
If these eighteen died—especially with two of them being jōnin-level—the village would suffer badly.
Hanzō's shout drew the attention of the Rain ninja inside the camp. Meanwhile, one chunin inside the warehouse spotted crates containing fruit cans—nutritional supplements for Konoha ninja. Excited, he pulled one out and wiped it clean, intending to sneak a bite.
Then his vision flashed—
A brown python lunged out and bit into his neck. The two Rain chunin beside him failed to escape as well.
"H-help—!!"
Three screams rang out in succession, instantly drawing the attention of every nearby squad. All movement froze in that instant.
A Rain special jōnin raised his hand, eyes scanning the faint sounds coming from all directions.
"This is bad!"
"Everyone retreat—now!!"
But it was already too late.
Orochimaru's technique had fully taken effect. Thick pythons, each as wide as a fist, burst from beneath the ground one after another.
The moment they saw living targets, they lunged forward, biting and constricting.
The Rain ninja tried to fight back, but the sheer number of snakes was overwhelming. They poured endlessly from the earth, leaving no time even to form hand seals. During his retreat, Orochimaru had even replenished the number of snakes buried beneath the ground.
Because these were ordinary cultivated pythons—lacking Orochimaru's direct chakra control—he had temporarily suppressed their hostility, triggering it only upon the activation of the technique.
Thus, Hanzō—intoxicated by victory—had not detected them immediately.
In just a few short minutes of exchange between two top-tier combatants, more than twenty chunin-level corpses lay inside the camp.
Hanzō's heart ached at the loss, but fortunately, the two special jōnin he valued most had survived.
"Always hiding in the shadows…"
"Then let this old man overturn Konoha's camp entirely!"
With an enraged shout, Hanzō's hands moved like afterimages, completing a B-rank Water Release technique in an instant.
The damp rainforest, the pattering rain, and the puddles covering the ground all responded to Hanzō's call, rippling violently.
As the water surged, the land and forest began to tremble.
"Hanzō… he's getting serious now," Orochimaru muttered.
He had just used an A-rank forbidden technique and expended a significant amount of chakra. The massive chakra reaction radiating from Hanzō—one that could reshape the battlefield—made it clear that what followed far surpassed the scope of ordinary A- or B-rank techniques.
At minimum, it carried S-rank destructive power.
If Orochimaru were alone, he would have had no choice but to abandon the others and focus solely on escaping alive.
"Uchiha Fire Release unit—everyone, use Fire Release!"
"Yes!" ×N
Alongside jōnin Uchiha Keishin and special jōnin Uchiha Mikoto, six Uchiha chunin—including Uchiha Kaede—formed hand seals simultaneously.
Before them, waves of water surged and gathered, forming a towering mass. Orochimaru and the remaining combat-capable ninja looked up in shock.
If this wave came crashing down, it would become a devastating mudslide, burying not only them but also the wounded forces retreating behind them.
"Die, Konoha ninja!!"
Amid his roar, Hanzō called out the name of his technique:
"Water Release: Water Surge Technique!"
This was a lower-tier technique beneath the A-rank Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique.
Where the Great Waterfall compressed massive chakra into a crushing torrent, Water Surge relied on continuous chakra output—rapidly increasing water volume and guiding it forward to drown the enemy.
In a mountain valley like this, aided by mud, rocks, trees, and rain, it could quickly form a disaster akin to a raging landslide.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!!" ×8
After exhaling his flames, Uchiha Keishin shouted the name of the combined technique:
"Combination Technique: Uchiha Fire Barrage!!"
As the roaring mudslide surged forward, eight massive fireballs slammed into it head-on, continuously pouring Fire Release chakra and evaporating the water into scalding steam.
Hearing Keishin's shout, Hanzō's heart jolted.
Uchiha ninja?!
So Konoha's reinforcements had arrived.
Rain should withdraw while ahead.
Boom—hiss—!
Water, rain, rocks, and shattered vegetation collided violently with blazing flames.
Yet the mudslide still held the advantage, partially suppressing the fire.
Seeing this, Uchiha Keishin made his decision.
He activated the Mangekyō Sharingan he had awakened during recent missions.
"Scorching Prison: Crimson Lotus!"
The temperature of the flames exhaled by the Uchiha skyrocketed. The advancing mudslide stalled, frozen in place.
Orochimaru stared in disbelief at Keishin's eyes.
The power of the dōjutsu did not stop there.
A massive, lotus-shaped inferno bloomed at the front of the mudslide. As the water evaporated and solidified under intense heat, Keishin manipulated the blazing lotus, pushing it forward.
After nearly three minutes of sustained ocular power and elemental suppression, the mudslide was finally brought to a complete halt.
Perched on a tree branch, Uchiha Keishin gasped for breath, sweat pouring down his face.
"Finally…"
"We stopped it."
Mikoto, however, remained calm.
During a previous mission, Keishin had nearly abandoned Kaede and the others. Mikoto—recalling Baixing's past and believing that comrades mattered more than missions—had fiercely rebuked him.
That moment of emotional awakening had led Keishin to unlock the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan.
Without it, this reinforcement would never have happened.
Orochimaru surveyed the devastated battlefield, then glanced at the clearly exhausted Keishin, admiration in his voice.
"If not for Jōnin Keishin…"
"My unit would likely have been completely wiped out."
"In poison, in sheer elemental mastery, and in combat experience—"
"Rain's leader, Hanzō of the Salamander, rivals any of the Five Great Village Kage."
As he looked upon the ruined Konoha camp, Orochimaru felt a twinge of sorrow.
"Hanzō of the Salamander…"
"What a terrifying enemy."
He glanced again at Keishin.
The Uchiha have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan…
Once this reached the village's upper echelons and clan leaders, it would surely send shockwaves through Konoha.
Meanwhile, Keishin, still catching his breath, marveled inwardly at Hanzō's godlike power.
A mere B-rank Water Release had produced devastation rivaling S-rank forbidden techniques—clear proof of overwhelming experience and mastery.
Still…
Compared to Lord First Hokage…
Compared to Madara-sama…
He was not quite there yet.
—And thus, the title of "Demigod" for Hanzō… was no more.
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