Chapter 83: Hanzo Attacks Konoha Camp, Orochimaru's Team Summons, and the Clash of Summoned Beasts
"Lord! Konoha's forces have retreated to our country's border and have not returned to the Land of Fire. They are also completely silent on the matter of reparations," Kamidatsu reported to Hanzo the Salamander.
Hanzo asked: "Is there rain today where Konoha is staying?"
Kamidatsu: "Yes, Lord—there is rain!"
Because the Land of Rain experiences constant rainfall year-round, Amegakure ninjas, like those from Kirigakure, mostly specialize in Water Release ninjutsu.
The large amounts of rainwater turn the ground into mud, greatly hindering Konoha ninjas' mobility.
But for Amegakure ninjas who live in this environment constantly, the current weather provides them with the most favorable time and terrain advantage.
Hanzo the Salamander said to Kamidatsu: "It seems we need to send Konoha completely out of the Land of Rain! As for what happens in the war afterward, let Konoha fend for itself! Assemble the army!"
A large force of Amegakure ninjas advanced toward the Konoha camp. Any Konoha scouts they encountered on the way were killed outright.
Orochimaru and the others naturally learned of Amegakure's invasion. He could only order the troops to prepare for battle. At this distance, retreating blindly would just offer their backs to the enemy. As for the current weather and the debuff from the salamander poison, there was simply no way to solve them.
Orochimaru knew the situation was urgent. After thinking for only a moment, he said to Akimichi Torifu: "Lord Torifu, you will lead the troops in battle later. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and I will hold off Hanzo the Salamander to minimize losses to our forces."
It could be said the battle in the Land of Rain had come too suddenly—Konoha had barely made any preparations.
Akimichi Torifu also knew the urgency and quickly agreed, then went to his position.
Soon Amegakure's forces invaded the Konoha camp. Large numbers of Amegakure ninjas kept pouring in, along with that "demigod" of the ninja world—Hanzo the Salamander.
By this point Hanzo had already summoned his beloved pet, the salamander Ibuse.
As soon as Hanzo appeared and saw the Konoha ninjas trapped in Amegakure's encirclement, he immediately ordered the gigantic, sluggish-looking summoned salamander beneath him to spew a thick cloud of poison mist.
The purple poison fog erupted from the salamander's mouth and instantly spread outward in all directions.
The Konoha ninjas in the central area were naturally the primary targets—they bore the brunt of the dense toxic gas assault.
The powerful toxin instantly caused ordinary ninjas at the center of the poison circle to drop dead. Even though Konoha ninjas had antidotes for salamander poison distributed by Tsunade, they couldn't hold out—Hanzo the Salamander had clearly updated the poison again.
Looking at the massive salamander before them, Orochimaru and the others knew they had to quickly deal with Ibuse or completely pin Hanzo down to prevent him from spreading poison elsewhere.
"Summoning Technique!" "Summoning Technique!" "Summoning Technique!"
On the battlefield appeared a gigantic purple horned serpent—Manda, a red-skinned toad wearing clothes, smoking a pipe, and carrying a short sword at his waist—Fukasaku, and finally a white-bodied, blue-backed slug—Katsuyu.
As soon as Manda appeared and saw the salamander, he shouted demanding 100 people as sacrifice. Fukasaku, seeing Manda beside him, let out a cold snort. Katsuyu obediently said: "Lady Tsunade, I will assist you well!"
Behind them, the three standing atop the three massive summoned beasts each assumed their stances. Orochimaru drew the vassal weapon Tōichimonji forged by Naraku.
Tsunade shouted inwardly: "Hundred Beast King Transformation [Lion King]!"
Then Tsunade sprouted feline ears and a tail, with her hands also partially transformed into cat-like features.
Although Naraku had given the option to freely choose whether the palms transformed—mainly to avoid affecting hand seals—Tsunade coincidentally rarely used hand seals in combat, and she very much liked the strength and toughness enhancement the palm transformation brought.
Jiraiya glanced left and right at his teammates, all of whom had drawn powerful weapons, while his own hands were empty. He couldn't help feeling speechless.
He thought inwardly: You secretly powered up without me? Are we even still a team? When I get back I'm asking Naraku to forge me an unparalleled divine weapon!
Perhaps due to confidence in his own strength, or perhaps because he wanted to stay in place and release more poison mist, Hanzo the Salamander did not stop the three from transforming or summoning.
Hanzo the Salamander calmly said to the three: "You three must be the disciples of Konoha's Third Hokage. Today let me test your strength! Let's see what confidence Sarutobi Hiruzen has that you can stop me!"
Meanwhile Jiraiya, seeing the salamander still continuously releasing poison gas into the air, shouted: "Fukasaku!"
Toad Fukasaku resolutely drew the short sword at his waist, then leaped with astonishing speed. Using the toad clan's powerful jumping ability, he launched a fierce attack toward the salamander.
He soared high, gripping the short sword tightly with both hands, preparing to cleave the salamander in half from top to bottom.
But the salamander displayed agility that belied its massive body. It swiftly adjusted its posture and position, flexibly swinging its tail.
Just as Fukasaku was about to strike the salamander, the salamander suddenly whipped its tail, sending him flying far away.
Fukasaku tumbled through the air, nearly crashing into Manda, causing Manda to roar in fury: "You damned ugly toad! Watch how I fight!"
Although Fukasaku was in great pain, he knew he couldn't affect Jiraiya's battle, so he gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and stayed silent.
Manda moved toward the salamander with extreme arrogance. As Manda got closer and closer to the salamander, he opened his bloody maw wide.
The salamander responded with a tail strike. It had to be said—Manda's luck was pretty good; the salamander's charged tail didn't hit him.
As Manda bit into the salamander—though not deeply—he still viciously injected the precious essence from his body into the salamander.
But to Manda's surprise, the salamander showed no obvious reaction to Manda's essence. In fact, as Manda came into negative-distance contact with the salamander, Manda felt himself getting a little poisoned—he felt dizzy.
Manda really was too arrogant. Even Hanzo, who possessed antibodies to the salamander's poison, would be poisoned by the toxin sac—showing just how strong the salamander's poison truly was.
Under such potent toxicity, Ibuse the salamander possessed terrifying poison resistance.
Of course Manda's actions didn't stop. Manda's body continued to press closer to the salamander's flesh, attempting to coil around it and ultimately strangle the salamander to death!
The salamander also noticed Manda's movements. It opened its huge mouth and viciously bit down on Manda's body.
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