"Are you alright?"
Tōshirō stood protectively in front of Orochimaru.
"Sorry to trouble you."
Orochimaru broke free from the shattered ice on his body and stood up with a wry smile.
Tōshirō could adjust the power of Ice Age by the amount of chakra he used. The attack just now wasn't aimed at freezing people.
"Don't worry about it. We're comrades."
Tōshirō glanced at Orochimaru behind him, comforting him softly.
In the original story, Orochimaru was already overwhelmed by Hanzo in his early twenties. At sixteen or seventeen, he was indeed pushing it a bit.
Tōshirō looked up at Hanzo.
After one exchange, Tōshirō had a rough idea of Hanzo's basic abilities.
They were all very simple skills.
It was hard to imagine that the famed Demigod of the ninja world would use such plain ninjutsu.
The Akatsuki members, for instance, used flashy and powerful techniques, making Hanzo's seem too simple in comparison.
He even used things like explosive tags, which common ninjas usually resorted to.
However, these seemingly ordinary skills actually held hidden depths.
Take his seemingly simple Water Body Flicker, for example; his ability to move even his salamander with him showed how terrifying it was.
Or, his Explosive Tag Fire Formation – it seemed like garbage, like, what kind of Fire Release needs explosive tags? But this was precisely Hanzo's cleverness.
Because all the damage came from the explosive tags, Hanzo's chakra consumption when using this technique was extremely low, perhaps even negligible.
Of course, it wasn't without drawbacks; it was quite expensive.
As Tōshirō observed Hanzo, Hanzo was also observing Tōshirō.
Among these four, the only one he truly feared was Tōshirō.
This wasn't just because Tōshirō was the strongest among the four, but also because Tōshirō's abilities largely countered his own.
His Fire Release was different from other Fire Release techniques. It was a ninjutsu based on explosive tags, offering low chakra consumption and immense power. However, it had one drawback: explosive tags required an ignition action. This wouldn't normally be a weakness, but under Tōshirō's Ice Release, it was amplified infinitely.
A single Ice Age would extinguish all his explosive tags.
Furthermore, his most proficient Water Release couldn't gain any significant advantage against Tōshirō.
Just then, Jiraiya, who had been healed, moved closer to Tōshirō: "Tōshirō, his summoned beast is very troublesome."
Tōshirō nodded.
The salamander could burrow underground, release poison gas, and was incredibly agile. When facing other summoned beasts, it could paralyze and poison them, essentially making it a counter to other summoned beasts.
But that depended on the situation.
For instance, Jiraiya's, Tsunade's, and Orochimaru's summoned beasts all had some resistance to poison.
Thinking of this, Tōshirō said to the three: "Use your summoned beasts."
The three followed Tōshirō's advice, bit their fingers, and in unison, summoned their respective beasts.
After three puffs of smoke, three enormous creatures appeared, no smaller than Hanzo's salamander.
These were a slug, a toad, and a snake.
The slug was Katsuyu, and the toad was Gamabunta. As for the snake, it wasn't Manda, but another snake. Orochimaru's personality wasn't as gloomy or disregardful of human life as in the original story, so naturally, he wouldn't choose such a cruel summoned beast.
"How rare, for you to appear together."
Gamabunta puffed on his large pipe, exhaling smoke.
Jiraiya pleaded, "Please, Boss Toad."
Gamabunta snorted, giving him some face. He leaped up, drawing his sword to slash.
Even as he launched his jump, the salamander had already anticipated his move and burrowed underground.
By the time Gamabunta slashed, the salamander had long since disappeared.
Damn it, where did it go...? Gamabunta was thinking when it suddenly burst out from behind him. Taking him by surprise, it tackled him directly, spewing toxic gas from its mouth.
Gamabunta inhaled an excessive amount, immediately collapsed, and lost his fighting capability.
In an instant, one summoned beast was down. Jiraiya clutched his head: "Gamabunta, what are you doing!?"
He had summoned Gamabunta for help, not to be taken out immediately.
"S-Sorry..."
Gamabunta weakly uttered, triggering the summoning jutsu's protection mechanism and returning directly to Mount Myōboku. It seemed he was going back for treatment.
Tōshirō: "..."
He now understood why, in the original story, the Sannin's summoned beasts disappeared by the end, while Hanzo's summoned beast was still alive and well.
Aside from Katsuyu, both Manda and Gamabunta were actually around the same age as their respective masters, young and inexperienced. It was no wonder they were instantly defeated by a seasoned veteran like Hanzo the Salamander.
Tōshirō felt embarrassed. It seemed he still had to rely on himself in the end.
Hanzo stood on the salamander, facing the four, and sneered, "Is that all you've got?"
Jiraiya looked annoyed but helpless. What could he do when his summoned beast was immediately defeated upon summoning?
The bigger he showed off, the more embarrassed he became.
Just then, Tōshirō suggested, "Orochimaru, Jiraiya, you two stand next to me. I'll put my Ice Crystal Holy Cloth on you."
Hanzo's Fire Release: Explosive Tag was troublesome. Seizing the opportunity, Tōshirō planned to give them a layer of defense.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya, understanding Tōshirō's ninjutsu structure, stood in front of him without wasting words.
Tōshirō performed a few hand seals, then placed his hands on Jiraiya's and Orochimaru's shoulders, dressing them in golden holy armor—oh, no, Ice Crystal Holy Cloth.
Taurus and Ophiuchus.
This was armor created using Ice Release, with extremely high defense.
After these actions, Tōshirō quickly created a set for himself and Tsunade as well.
Aquarius and Virgo Ice Crystal Holy Cloth.
"This is..."
Danzo, looking at the four figures clad in shimmering ice crystal armor, furrowed his brows.
Tōshirō wasn't the first Ice Release ninja he had encountered, but to develop Ice Release to this extent showed incredibly high talent.
Although he was an opposing ninja, Hanzo couldn't help but feel a sense of pity for his talent. A look of admiration appeared on his face, and the blood within him began to stir with excitement:
"Interesting. Then I, Hanzo the Salamander, shall also fight with my full power."
He exhaled a torrent of water from his mouth, like a tsunami, rushing outwards and engulfing everyone.
An enormous, elliptical water sphere, covering several kilometers, formed in the blink of an eye on the flat ground, trapping everyone.
"Impossible!"
Inside the water sphere, the four individuals, including Tōshirō, showed expressions of disbelief. To be able to use a ninjutsu of this scale, his chakra must be comparable to that of a Tailed Beast.
Seeing this, Tōshirō truly realized that the title of Demigod was by no means an empty boast.
When Hanzo was young, a salamander's poison sac was implanted within him. This not only granted him extraordinary resistance to poison but also bestowed immense chakra and an affinity for water-style chakra.
His mastery of Water Release ninjutsu was so high, not only because of his exceptional natural talent but also partly due to this poison sac.
There wasn't much time to think. The urgent task for the four was to escape.
The name "salamander" clearly implies that this creature is well-suited for combat in water.
Hanzo obviously wouldn't let them have their way and commanded the salamander to rush towards them.
Fighting in water was extremely disadvantageous for them; the four could only manage to clumsily parry.
No, if this continues, we'll lose…
Jiraiya's eyes conveyed a message, seemingly suggesting they split up.
He realized that this ninjutsu moved with the caster, and with his speed, he simply couldn't outswim the salamander.
And the most crucial part was that the salamander would also spew poison to contaminate the water during this process. If it continued, they would all be wiped out soon.
Tōshirō shook his head, rejecting the idea. Splitting up also carried risks, the risk of being picked off one by one.
Tōshirō quickly thought. In fact, the current situation presented a good opportunity.
With this thought, Tōshirō summoned a giant orca in the water.
Hanzo, who was preparing his next attack, was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected a Konoha ninja to contract with such a summoned beast.
Normally, ninjas fought on land, and considering combat needs, they usually contracted with land creatures.
Even if there was a need for marine operations, they would contract with amphibious creatures like his.
Someone like Tōshirō was too rare. If he were from the Land of Water, it might make more sense, but how could Tōshirō, from the Land of Fire, have such a summoned beast?
For a moment, Hanzo was utterly perplexed.
On this side, Tōshirō summoned the orca, had it swallow them all, and then swam upwards.
The salamander's swimming speed was decent, but it was nothing compared to the orca. The orca quickly outdistanced it, breaking through the waves. While the salamander was still in the water, Tōshirō and the others leaped out of the orca's mouth and stood on the water's surface.
"Cancel your Summoning Jutsu," Tōshirō said, performing the hand seals to cancel his own.
Everyone paused, then obediently complied.
"Tsunade…"
Tōshirō called out, "Give me your chakra."
To freeze such a large expanse of water, Tōshirō wouldn't have the confidence without Tsunade as his "power bank."
Tsunade fully trusted Tōshirō. She released her Strength of a Hundred Seal and placed her palms on his back, channeling chakra into his body.
Tōshirō entered Sage Mode (Level 2). After forming a hand seal, he slammed his hands onto the water's surface:
"ICE AGE…"
In an instant, the elliptical water sphere, several kilometers wide, completely froze.
(End of Chapter)
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