But she was still alive. She staggered forward and stopped in front of the Sunagakure Ninja, raising her hand to gather Chakra and place it on her abdomen.
"Chiyo!" people cried out, calling about her injuries. She raised her hand sharply to stop Maki and the others, and spoke calmly despite the pain.
"It is nothing. That big thing only looks scary," she said. Hearing this, the others stopped, and their shaking hearts settled a little.
Thunder rolled as the clouds grew heavier and darker, as if pressing down on the camp. Where the people of Sunagakure could not see, Chiyo stared at the massive shadow with deep concern.
Something was wrong, both with Hanzo's strength and with the size of the salamander Ibuse. Not only had the old man grown stronger, even Ibuse itself had become larger.
Her gaze shifted to the huge Black Rods near Ibuse's tail. She did not remember that thing being there before.
Could it be because of that object. What had Hanzo done to grow stronger with age, and who was supposed to be protecting whom now?
Chiyo clenched her fist slightly in the rain and let out a deep breath, pushing away stray thoughts. Things had reached a point where there was no room to retreat.
She was not foolish enough to seek peace after being attacked directly. Too many Sunagakure Ninja had died, and showing weakness to Hanzo would only shatter morale.
"So it seems one of us must die here today," she thought, already knowing the result she faced. Fighting among Ninja was truly exhausting.
Fear, dread, and unease came together. She looked at Hanzo in the distance and felt his overwhelming presence.
"You understand this feeling too," she thought. "How lucky you are, Hanzo."
"No matter what price you paid, to regain the strength of youth is something to envy and resent." A Ninja's life was nothing but fighting.
Even people like them, old and left behind by the times, had spent their whole lives in battle. Death and aging pressed in on her, as they did on all who once shone brightly.
Still, dying by the hands of this old foe was better than wasting away unnoticed in some corner. Chiyo's gaze became calm and clear as she spoke aloud.
"Everyone," she said. Her voice pierced the rain and reached the ears of the Sunagakure Ninja behind her.
Each of them fought for what they believed was the right choice. Why they fought and how to live were questions without clear answers.
They stood here for their own reasons, watching Chiyo's slightly bent but steadfast back at the front. At last, she spoke a single word.
"Kill."
The order fell like a spark on dry grass. The instinct to survive and return home, the toughness forged over long years in harsh conditions, all turned into pure action.
Kill.
"Wind Release·Great Breakthrough!"
"Wind Release·Pressure Harm!"
"Wind Release·Airflow Wild Dance!"
"Wind Release..."
Dozens, then hundreds of voices roared from every corner of the camp, each shout filled with the resolve of a final stand. Bursts of forceful, sharp, or drawn-out airflow erupted from the bodies of the Sunagakure Ninja. In an instant, countless pale, half-transparent wind masses surged out, chaotic at first, then gathering into high-speed tornadoes.
Chiyo flicked her wrist again and threw out a Scroll, forming seals as Chakra poured into it. With a heavy boom, the remaining four Puppet flew out together. All of the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets gathered around Chiyo, each wearing a white robe but holding different weapons.
Facing the surging tide formed by countless Wind Release Ninjutsu, three Puppet stepped forward and formed a triangular formation. Mechanical components labeled "Buddha," "Dharma," and "Monk" opened in unison. Chiyo moved her fingers slightly and shouted, "Three Treasures Devour and Shatter!"
The three Puppet in formation brought their hands together as their mechanisms turned with a dull clicking sound. A terrifying suction force burst forth in the next moment. Dust, stone fragments, blood, and even the cold rain pouring down were violently dragged toward the formation.
This technique was usually used to pull enemies or their Ninjutsu into the center and crush them apart. Now, Chiyo used it to draw in all the scattered Wind Release Ninjutsu. Like rivers forced back into the sea, the winds were compressed bit by bit and fired out from behind the triangular formation.
A sharp hiss rang out. Wind filled the air, endless wind. Scattered wind blades spun, gathered, and fused together.
The piercing noise, the heavy pressure, and the shrill tearing sound stopped being chaotic. They became a violently rotating, gray-white horizontal tornado. Formed from the combined Wind Release Ninjutsu of countless Sunagakure Ninja, it howled as it surged toward Hanzo.
Where the tornado passed, the air was torn away and deep grooves were carved into the ground. Hanzo stood atop the head of Salamander Ibuse, his white-gold hair blown straight back by the gale. Cold rain struck his hardened face as his body trembled under the pressure.
This time, the trembling was not from fear. It was from pure joy so intense it felt like it would burst from his chest and set him ablaze. He threw his head back and laughed loudly.
The laughter cut through the shriek of the storm and echoed across the land. There was no gloom in it, no fear of death. There was only wild satisfaction and battle hunger, like a man finally drinking after endless drought.
How long had it been. Ten years, or twenty. He could no longer remember the last time he truly enjoyed battle.
At this moment, the past weakness, the stain of despair, and the rumors of the present all turned into fuel. Facing a storm that could tear him apart, everything else fell away. The feeling was too perfect.
It was as if he had returned to decades ago, before the title of hero weighed on him. Back when Hanzo fought with nothing but hot blood and reckless abandon. Back when he craved challenge, craved surpassing limits, and craved dancing on the edge of life and death.
He had never been so grateful to "Shadow." Without Shadow's appearance, the real Hanzo would have rotted in the mud long ago. He would have died on that rainy night ten years past.
Now, that Hanzo had returned. Courage was humanity's greatest praise. To act even when it should be impossible was what made a hero.
"Ha!"
His laughter stopped abruptly as he tore off the mask from his face. Spreading his arms wide as if to embrace the storm, he grinned at Chiyo. "Come on, old woman. Let me give you the most spectacular ending."
With a thunderous boom, black patterns spread across the left half of his body. The long-silent Chakra within him erupted like an awakening volcano. His Chakra drove his poison sacs into overdrive, forcing out deadly venom as purple toxic mist surged from his body.
Ibuse roared in response, sensing its master's boiling intent. The massive body lowered slightly, inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. Thick poison mist spread until even the faint moonlight vanished, condensing into droplets that fell and ate holes into the ground.
In the next moment, Hanzo formed seals. Under his precise Chakra control, the sticky purple mist was kneaded, stretched, and shaped. A massive purple serpent, rivaling the salamander in size and formed entirely of highly concentrated poison, took shape before him.
Its body churned like boiling magma, bubbles rising from the viscous venom. A huge mouth filled most of its head, packed with interlocking teeth like a grinder. Hanzo shouted, "Secret Technique: Yujia Meishen!"