Hatani, of course, did not know the Flying Raijin Jutsu—even if he could use the Blink Dagger to fake it.
To evade Hanzo's lethal strike, he didn't even need the Flying Raijin. He could have used the Dagger, but it wasn't necessary.
His silhouette vanished for a single second, lasting just until the lightning-induced numbness from Sakumo's White Fang tantō dissipated from Hanzo's arm. Before Hanzo could even finish scanning for his target, Hatani's figure reappeared. This time, however, there were three of him.
Doppelganger.
This was the second ability of the Phantom Lancer. After mastering the template's talents and researching them for so long, Hatani had finally managed to manifest the skill in reality.
Is that... the Shadow Clone Jutsu?!
When the hell did he weave the signs?!
Hanzo was reeling. The way this boy used the Shadow Clone Jutsu defied everything he knew, but he didn't have the luxury of standing still. He immediately attempted a Body Flicker to disengage.
The White Fang had arrived, and Hiruzen Sarutobi had been rescued; there was no profit in staying to trade blood with Sakumo.
But while Hanzo wanted to leave, Hatani had already developed a taste for blood. Having revealed the Phantom Lancer's abilities to an outsider for the first time, he wasn't about to let Hanzo walk away without paying a steep price.
He activated his Phase Boots, and the Phantom Lancer's passive Phantom Rush kicked in simultaneously. Hatani's speed surged through two distinct levels in an instant. Before Hanzo could even finish his jutsu, Hatani had unslung the short blade from his back and thrust it toward Hanzo's abdomen.
Whether with a sword or a knife, the thrust is always the fastest strike.
Not willing to gamble on whether he could complete the Body Flicker before being skewered, Hanzo aborted the jutsu. He shifted his grip on the kusarigama, using the broad, heavy blade of the sickle to parry the strikes from Hatani and his two illusions.
But before he could counterattack, the Hatani in the center blurred once more. Suddenly, another clone split off.
Hanzo, who had already been suspicious about the lack of hand seals during the initial move, finally saw it clearly: this brat could use the Shadow Clone Jutsu without a single seal!
The desire to retreat was instantly consumed by a wave of cold, murderous intent.
If a child this young could simplify a common, single-seal jutsu to the point of being seal-less, he would become something far more terrifying than the Namikaze who had mastered the Flying Raijin if given time to grow.
In the past, Hanzo had spared Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade—even granting them the title of "Sannin"—mostly out of a lingering wariness toward Konoha. He had wanted a graceful exit from the war and a path for his own survival. But now, he had completely burned his bridges with the Leaf. He no longer had any reason to hold back.
On the contrary, to cast Konoha into an abyss from which it could never crawl out, he had to snap every "hope" the village had before it could ever reach fruition.
With his resolve hardened, Hanzo watched Sakumo Hatake close the distance. He could already see the shock on the White Fang's face. Hanzo swung his chain-sickle in a wide, horizontal arc, intending to force Hatani back.
To his absolute astonishment, Hatani's three clones didn't even flinch. They ignored the incoming blade, pressing their assault toward Hanzo's vitals with suicidal determination.
Damn it! I refuse to believe you have enough chakra to burn through clones like this!
Hanzo growled internally, putting another thirty percent of his strength into the swing.
He didn't realize that for Hatani, the appearance of these clones was never a matter of chakra consumption—it was a matter of probability.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Three dull thuds echoed as the clones vanished into clouds of smoke. But Hatani, already fully immersed in the Phantom Lancer's combat rhythm, never stopped.
The moment the three clones vanished, Hatani's body blurred again. Two more illusions manifested instantly, making Hanzo's eyes twitch violently.
Including the three he had just destroyed, that made five clones. How could a brat who looked like a fresh Chunin possibly possess this much chakra?
But what happened next shattered Hanzo's worldview entirely, defying every law of ninjutsu he had learned in his decades as a shinobi.
The two newly formed clones, upon having their attacks blocked, blurred in a familiar fashion. Each of them split into two more clones.
"This is impossible!" Hanzo roared, his voice bordering on hysterical.
Even Sakumo Hatake, who had been charging in for the rescue, ground to a halt. He stood frozen for a second, literally rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
Sakumo's momentary hesitation was, ironically, what saved him.
Staring at the multiplying Hatanis, Hanzo finally discarded his pride. He needed to use his most guarded secret to destroy this existence that defied logic, even if it meant wounding his own ego.
He intentionally allowed several Hatanis to trap his blade, but he let the one aiming for his throat slide past his guard, catching it with his forearm just enough to guide the tip toward his face.
Crack!
Even though it was a clone, the blade successfully shattered the respirator covering Hanzo's nose and mouth.
"I don't care how you're doing this!" Hanzo screamed, his eyes bloodshot like a gambler who had lost everything. "Now, die! Die in agony!"
Hanzo's long hair whipped around his head, his face contorted in a crazed, manic grin. Having had a salamander's venom sac implanted in him as a child, his very breath was lethal. Even a single whiff of his exhalation would paralyze a man instantly.
He had worn the respirator since childhood to filter the toxin and protect those around him. One could say that the moment he removed the mask, he became the weapon.
He had always been too proud to rely on it. He believed his pride lay in his ability to win through ninjutsu, taijutsu, and his own charisma. But Hatani's logic-defying cloning technique had stripped that pride away. He would use this sealed power to wipe Hatani from the face of the earth and restore his sense of reality.
The shinobi world could not allow such a technique—or such a ninja—to exist!
"Idiot."
Hatani's only response to Hanzo's madness was a look of unmitigated disdain and an even more aggressive assault.
His counter? He simply reactivated Windrun.
His illusions didn't care about the toxin; even if they were paralyzed, they were just shadows for Hanzo to clear away, only to be replaced by new ones. As for Hatani himself, the barrier of air created by Windrun ensured that not a single molecule of the toxic gas could reach his lungs.
"Hatani!"
Sakumo, however, didn't know about the unique properties of Windrun. Seeing Hanzo's mask shatter, he panicked. Knowing the lethality of the Salamander's breath, he held his breath and prepared to charge into the toxic cloud to force Hanzo back and drag Hatani to safety.