"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Shimura Danzō rapidly formed hand seals. He exhaled a massive surge of chakra-infused air, which transformed into numerous sickle-like wind blades that swept across the area where Hanzo of the Salamander stood.
There was no other choice.
Hanzo's Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu) was simply too fast—Danzō could not keep up with his speed at all.
The only option Danzō had was to unleash wide-area attacks in an attempt to slow Hanzo down.
However, this was exactly the moment Hanzo had been waiting for.
In an instant, Hanzo used the Body Flicker Technique to shift to the side of the incoming Vacuum Serial Waves. He pulled down the mask covering his mouth and quickly formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
Although Hanzo was famous for his mastery of Water Release, that did not mean it was the only element he could use.
Among the Five Basic Nature Transformations, aside from Water Release, the technique he used most frequently was Fire Release.
And within the elemental system—
Fire counters Wind.
Fire grows stronger with the wind, and wind fuels the flames.
If two shinobi of equal skill were to clash using Fire Release and Wind Release respectively, the one using Wind Release would often discover—much to their horror—that their technique not only failed to block the flames, but actually amplified the opponent's attack.
And that was exactly what was happening now.
Hanzo's Great Flame Bullet slammed directly into Danzō's Vacuum Serial Waves, instantly spreading and expanding into a raging sea of flames that surged forward.
But the target of that inferno was not Danzō.
It was Baku—the Dream-Eating Tapir.
To Hanzo, Baku posed a far greater threat than the remaining Root shinobi.
Baku's powerful suction was suppressing Ibuse's Poison Mist, effectively neutralizing Hanzo's greatest advantage on the battlefield.
If Baku were eliminated, Ibuse would soon be able to unleash another Poison Mist attack.
And when that happened, the Root shinobi trapped within the toxic cloud would become nothing more than lambs awaiting slaughter.
"ROOOOAAARR!!!"
Baku's suction only accelerated the spread of the flames.
Within moments, the raging firestorm engulfed the creature, scorching it as it cried out in pain.
Unable to continue absorbing the poison mist, Baku soon disappeared from the battlefield.
"Damn it! Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!"
Danzō instantly realized he had fallen into Hanzo's trap.
He spat out a powerful gust of wind that wrapped around the blade of his katana. Then he slashed toward Hanzo.
As the sword cut through the air, the hurricane surrounding the blade expanded outward, forming a massive wind blade that shot across more than ten meters toward Hanzo.
Hanzo slightly tilted his body.
The enormous wind blade passed by him with only a hair's breadth of clearance, slicing across the ground and leaving behind a perfectly smooth fissure.
Danzō's first strike missed, but he immediately pressed forward, swinging his katana again as he charged Hanzo.
Hanzo casually tore off his twisted mask and tossed it aside before rushing forward to meet him.
At this stage of the battle, there was no longer any need to worry about poison leaking out through breathing.
Their figures crossed in a blur.
Although Danzō managed to block Hanzo's scythe with his sword, the heavy iron weight attached to the chain behind the scythe swung forward with tremendous force and slammed directly into Danzō's chest.
Danzō groaned and staggered backward several steps.
That strike had broken at least two of his ribs.
When it came to swordsmanship and taijutsu, Danzō was far from being Hanzo's equal.
Hanzo was just about to press his advantage—
when several figures suddenly rushed in from the surrounding area, restraining his movements.
They were the Root shinobi who had temporarily suppressed the poison inside their bodies with antidotes.
Although Ibuse's poison was extremely potent, it was a naturally produced toxin from the creature's body and relatively simple in composition.
Because of this, many forces across the shinobi world had already developed corresponding antidotes.
Konohagakure was one of them.
"Jōnin-level shinobi stay and fight Hanzo with me! The rest of you—go kill that beast!"
After steadying himself, Danzō quickly issued orders to the surrounding Root operatives.
Even though they possessed antidotes against Ibuse's poison, the antidote was not万能.
Once enough toxin accumulated inside their bodies, even the antidote would become useless.
The principle was simple.
One portion of alkali cannot neutralize five portions of acid.
This was the classic case of quantitative change leading to qualitative change.
According to their intelligence, Ibuse required roughly five minutes after each Poison Mist attack before it could release another one.
They had to kill Ibuse before that time passed.
They absolutely could not allow it to unleash another Poison Mist.
Following Danzō's command, the number of Root shinobi surrounding Hanzo instantly dropped to just three.
The sight nearly made Danzō's heart ache.
These were jōnin.
In any village, jōnin were considered the core combat strength.
Over the years, Root had invested enormous resources and managed to cultivate fewer than thirty jōnin in total.
And excluding those guarding the Root headquarters or assigned to other missions, the nearly twenty jōnin he had brought for this operation had been reduced to only three survivors.
How could Danzō not feel the pain?
"Watch out for his poison! Don't get cut by that scythe!"
Danzō warned them as he rejoined the battle.
The toxin coating Hanzo's scythe was far deadlier than Ibuse's poison.
The poison on Hanzo's weapon was a compound toxin personally refined by mixing multiple deadly substances.
Ordinary antidotes were useless against it.
Danzō knew this all too well.
After all—
he had already been forced to use Izanagi once because of it.
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
With three jōnin assisting Danzō in restraining him, even Hanzo could no longer fight as freely as before.
Before long, several wounds appeared on his body.
They were only superficial injuries and did not affect his combat ability—but they clearly showed the pressure he was now under.
Hanzo had no choice but to create breathing room.
A several-meter-high tidal surge of water roared forward toward Danzō, forcing him to retreat and widen the distance.
Hanzo seized the opportunity.
With a flash of the Body Flicker Technique, he appeared beside a Root jōnin who had failed to react in time—
and cut him cleanly in half.
But Hanzo did not stop there.
With a sharp tug on the chain, the iron weight swung violently through the air and smashed into another Root jōnin who was rushing in to assist.
The man's head exploded instantly, blown apart by the impact.
In just a single moment—
Hanzo had killed two Root jōnin.
But the price he paid was steep.
The final Root jōnin managed to stab a lightning-charged kunai straight through Hanzo's shoulder.
"AAAAAAGH!!!"
A heart-wrenching scream echoed across the battlefield.
The last Root jōnin had been drenched in Hanzo's splattering blood.
But Hanzo was known as a "Poison Man."
The toxins within his body were so deadly that even Hanzo himself had to handle them with extreme caution.
The blood that soaked the Root shinobi began corroding his body.
Large holes rapidly formed in his flesh as the poison ate through him.
Hanzo kicked the now lifeless corpse away.
At the same moment, he raised his scythe to block the katana that Danzō brought crashing down toward him.
The battle between the two had reached its most intense and brutal stage.
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