Hanzo the Salamander stood atop his Summoning Beast, looking down condescendingly at the four people opposite him.
Killing intent and rationality spun back and forth in his mind.
On one hand, he considered killing the four in front of him to prevent their future growth.
On the other hand, he worried that actually killing them would completely enrage Konoha, leading to an endless, fatal conflict.
After all, Hanzo the Salamander's goal was never to fight Konoha to the death, but merely to secure a better living environment for his subordinates.
Making an absolute enemy of Konoha was not a good thing.
"Youngsters, state your names. Your strength is worthy of my knowledge!"
Hanzo the Salamander lowered his gaze, looking at the three people supporting each other and the one who had already fainted.
"Jiraiya!"
"Orochimaru!"
"Tsunade!"
"His name is Sakumo Hatake!"
Looking at Sakumo Hatake, who lay unconscious on the ground, Tsunade, while treating him, still reported his name, even though she didn't know exactly what Hanzo was planning.
"Very well! I, Hanzo, shall name the three of you the Legendary Sannin of Konoha!"
"As for the one who has fallen, I shall call him Konoha's sharpest blade—the White Fang of Konoha!"
The Sannin: "..."
This was Hanzo's strategy. He had already learned the identities of the four from intelligence reports, so he deliberately planned to give Sarutobi Hiruzen's three disciples a somewhat ordinary title while elevating Sakumo Hatake's title.
If, among the younger generation, someone completely unrelated to Hiruzen Sarutobi ended up with greater prestige than his three students, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Third Hokage, would surely be delighted, wouldn't he?
"In that case... take my benevolence and these titles, and live!"
After speaking, he intended to head to the battlefield to manage the situation.
Because even as things concluded here, he had already sensed that something was wrong on the main battlefield; Amegakure's forces were being thoroughly beaten by Konoha.
Having finished here, he was planning to go to the front lines, rally his troops, prepare to end this unwinnable war, and negotiate with Konoha.
Capitalizing on the previous advantage in the war and the prisoners taken... Wait, prisoners!
Weren't the real prisoners right in front of him?
Realizing this, Hanzo the Salamander seemed to snap back to reality and patted his head.
He prepared to go back and tie them up... wait, no, invite them back to Amegakure as guests.
But before Hanzo the Salamander could issue a command to his Summoning Beast,
the heightened awareness of a powerful warrior sensed the approach of death. Without time for further thought, he instantly used the Body Flicker Technique to leave his spot.
Immediately afterward, a chakra sphere with a diameter of ten meters slammed into the spot where Hanzo had just been standing.
Hanzo's Summoning Beast was critically injured and dispersed in a puff of white smoke, ending the summoning.
It was then that a voice echoed from the distance.
"Five Elements Release: Great Elemental Bombs!"
"Sensei!" *3
"Third Hokage!"
Under the astonished gazes of the Sannin (Sakumo Hatake was unconscious) and Hanzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi, clad in battle armor, rushed over from the distance, followed by four Shadow Clones.
"Four Violet Flames Formation!"
Upon seeing Hanzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen's Shadow Clones immediately spread out, trapping Hanzo and Hiruzen himself inside the formation.
This sudden turn of events caught Hanzo the Salamander completely off guard.
"Third Hokage, this old man..."
"Silence, Hanzo the Salamander! You unilaterally started this war and caused enormous casualties to Konoha. Today, I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage of Konoha, shall strike you down here to honor the heroes of our village!" Before Hanzo the Salamander could finish speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted him.
"Come forth, Enma!"
Enma, transformed into a staff, was gripped by Hiruzen Sarutobi and immediately swung towards Hanzo the Salamander.
Unlike the current state of Sakumo Hatake,
Hiruzen Sarutobi was currently in his prime, with both his Ninjutsu and Taijutsu firmly at Kage level.
Hiruzen Sarutobi simultaneously swung the staff in his right hand towards Hanzo the Salamander's head, while his left hand formed a seal for Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld.
This restrained Hanzo the Salamander from both above and below.
Hanzo the Salamander was forced to dodge repeatedly, completely falling into Hiruzen Sarutobi's rhythm.
One moment they were struggling against each other, the next a series of spikes erupted from the ground, forcing Hanzo to retreat.
But as soon as he retreated, a rain of shuriken assailed him.
Having barely managed to avoid the shuriken attack, a barrage of dense Water Dragons rushed towards him.
Ninja tools and Ninjutsu were unleashed as if they cost nothing, with a terrifying density.
Coupled with his previous battle, although he hadn't sustained serious injuries, the depletion of his chakra and stamina was inevitable.
Gradually,
Hanzo the Salamander's stamina began to fail.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, leave a thread of possibility for future encounters." Hanzo, whose stamina was failing, said, putting on a brave face while inwardly fearful.
"There will be no opportunity for a future encounter. The moment you launched war against Konoha, your death was sealed!"
"Wait, Hiruzen Sarutobi, do you want a mutual destruction?"
"The fish will surely die, but the net absolutely will not break!"
"Five Elements Release: Great Elemental Bombs!"
"No!!!!"
Finally, under the relentless, all-out assault of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hanzo the Salamander, the Demigod and currently the apparent ceiling of combat power, ended his illustrious life.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's feat of single-handedly slaying the Demigod of the Ninja World established a strong basis for his future reputation as the Strongest Hokage.
With the corpse of Hanzo the Salamander displayed, a large number of Amegakure ninja lost the courage to fight.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi, in his state as the Shinobi Professor, had no intention of letting these people go. Under the command of Danzo Shimura, any ninja wearing an Amegakure forehead protector was ruthlessly cut down by Konoha's forces.
Before Iwagakure could react, they pushed straight through and killed their way into Amegakure Village.
The next day, an announcement spread throughout the Ninja World.
The general meaning was that Hanzo the Salamander was cruel and unjust, having unilaterally started the war, but Konoha, seeing his weakness, had only sent some of its new generation—first, to make Hanzo see reality and recognize the difference in strength between them; and second, because Konoha intended to cultivate its new generation.
Unexpectedly, Hanzo the Salamander, seeing that Konoha was slow to defeat him, thought he was invincible. Finally, the current Hokage couldn't stand it anymore, personally went to the front lines, and killed Hanzo the Salamander that very day.
Of course, the actual content wasn't quite so subtle, but the meaning was exactly that.
With the release of the announcement, all previous unfavorable rumors about Hiruzen Sarutobi completely vanished.
After all, Hanzo the Salamander had died by Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand.
Nobody cared whether the victory was achieved fairly.
Could a ninja's actions really be called a sneak attack?
That was strategy!
---
The Land of Rain.
Inside the factory constructed by Sunagakure.
Upon receiving the news, Suna Enma rushed here without delay.
Sitting in the factory manager's chair, Suna Enma looked at the announcement issued by Konoha, skipping over the absurd claims—like Hanzo the Salamander eating two children every day—and diligently sifting out the favorable intelligence within.