The clone surrounded by poison mist let out a cold chuckle, driving Hanzō into a rage. His heart was filled with murderous intent.
He didn't care if the poison mist affected the village anymore—all he wanted was to kill the brat in front of him.
But all of it had been in vain.
"Yes, Hanzō, you really are a Demi-God. After all this time, are you having fun?"
A mocking voice suddenly rang out from above. Hanzō's furious expression instantly twisted into something darker.
To Kazuyama, that sudden shift in expression was just laughable.
As a puff of white smoke flared inside the poison mist, Hanzō's face turned completely grim.
Now he understood—he had been fighting a shadow clone this entire time.
The real one...
Hanzō looked up. Kazuyama hovered high in the sky, surrounded by three long snakes, his vertical pupils brimming with mockery.
That look pushed Hanzō over the edge.
"No way! This can't be!"
"You damn brat—it was a clone?!"
The thought of pouring all his effort, even using his poison mist, just to destroy a clone—Hanzō clenched his teeth.
"Even so, brat, you think that means you can defeat me?"
Kazuyama smiled lightly.
"Hanzō, you're old. Your time is over."
With that, he formed a hand seal. A powerful surge of natural energy rose around him like a tidal wave.
The three Snake Princesses, their vertical pupils flashing, transformed into humanoid forms and floated at his side, ready to strike.
Hanzō snorted coldly, raising his sickle. The massive salamander appeared beside him.
"Hmph! Just like your sensei—slithering around like a damn snake. Disgusting."
"Oh? So now that you can't win, you're mocking my identity?"
"I'm the heir of Ryūchi Cave, one of the Three Great Sage Lands. What's wrong with snakes? You think your salamander looks better?"
Kazuyama's cool demeanor cracked.
It wasn't that he lacked composure—Hanzō was just that infuriating!
What's wrong with snakes, huh? Compared to those gross, warty toads and slimy slugs, snakes were clearly superior!
Toads are bumpy, slugs are gooey—either way, using them is just gross.
Jiraiya: ???
Tsunade: ???
With no desire to keep arguing, Kazuyama pressed his hands together.
The three Snake Princesses attacked in his place.
Three chakra-formed serpents shot toward Hanzō.
"Hmph!"
Chains whipped the sickle forward as Hanzō leapt into the air, launching a fierce strike.
But against attacks powered by Senjutsu energy, he struggled to keep up.
Seeing this, he called his salamander back beneath him. It suddenly braced its legs and leapt high into the air.
"Whoa, it can jump? Just like a toad."
Kazuyama wasn't exaggerating. Aside from an extra tail, it really did move like one.
"Hmph! Brat! Die!"
"Give it a rest. You're dreaming."
Even if Hanzō could jump, so what?
Kazuyama didn't even hesitate—he released more Senjutsu energy and soared even higher.
Hanzō was livid. His whole airborne strategy was based on jumping—and now Kazuyama was out of reach.
"You little brat! Come down here if you've got guts!"
"I'm good. You come up here if you've got the guts!"
The old man and the younger ninja glared at each other, neither willing to back off.
Meanwhile, down in the village, Kazuyama's clones had nearly finished looting and were starting their retreat.
This was exactly why Kazuyama had revealed himself—he never intended to fight Hanzō head-on.
By staying out of reach, he forced Hanzō into a standstill, while the three Snake Princesses pelted him with hit-and-run attacks from afar.
Each long serpent formed by natural energy intercepted Hanzō's attacks with precision, cutting him off at every turn.
"Almost there. More than half of the clones have already escaped Amegakure."
"Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, Tagitsuhime."
"Let's hit him with something big—then we're out."
Kazuyama spread his hands apart, then quickly formed a string of hand seals. As he finished, the air around him began to shimmer with heat.
The three Snake Princesses were momentarily stunned—they could feel the surge of natural energy and chakra rapidly rising within him.
"Sage Art: Great Fire Destruction!"
In truth, the principle behind Sage Arts wasn't all that complicated—at least in Kazuyama's understanding. Just like regular ninjutsu, but swapping chakra with natural energy. The transition felt instinctive to him.
But in the eyes of the Snake Princesses, it was terrifying.
While the logic might be simple, natural energy was notoriously difficult to control. Mastery required long, intensive training.
Especially Ryūchi Cave's senjutsu energy—known for its violent nature and tendency to stir up inner darkness. They never expected Kazuyama to wield it so skillfully.
The original Great Fire Destruction involved compressing chakra in the throat and unleashing a massive, meteor-like fireball that spread into a sea of flames on impact.
But now, infused with natural energy, those flames carried the raw fury of Ryūchi Cave.
A meteor-sized fireball crashed downward, its intense heat causing even Hanzō's giant salamander to stir restlessly.
"With that kind of power... brat, I admit it. You've surpassed those three."
"The Twin Stars of Konoha... heh, looks like you really do live up to the name."
"But don't think you can look down on me, Hanzō of the Salamander. I'm still the Demi-God of the ninja world!"
"Water Release! Water Formation Pillar!"
Hanzō swung his arms, leaving afterimages behind him. In the blink of an eye, his hand seals were complete.
He unleashed a massive, meteor-like water blast from his mouth.
Kazuyama sensed the technique through natural perception, and for a second, he paused.
Anyone who'd seen the anime would recognize it—these two jutsu were famously used to counter each other.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Mizukage Terumi used this same Water Release technique to snuff out Madara Uchiha's fire.
He didn't expect to see it reenacted here, in Amegakure.
Water and fire collided. Neither side gave an inch.
"Tsk tsk tsk... Hanzō of the Salamander, you really are something."
"But you'd better be careful. As a ghost, I could appear anywhere around you... and stab you when you least expect it."
"Hahahaha!"
Laughter and threats echoed back-to-back. Kazuyama abruptly cut off his technique and vanished midair with the Flying Thunder God.
As the flames were extinguished, Hanzō's face didn't relax—not even a little. In fact, it grew even darker.
Just as Kazuyama had said—his most dangerous trait wasn't his raw power, but his ability to strike from anywhere, at any time.