Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya snapped to heightened alert, their stances coiling like drawn bows in the relentless downpour.
The skirmish's raw exchange had hammered home Hanzo's menace; even outnumbered three-to-one, a single lapse could spell grievous wounds or worse, his strikes carrying the weight of legends.
Kyuushin edged back a few paces, feigning nonchalance amid the crackling tension, his voice light but edged with intent. "You three handle the heavy lifting—I'm off to tangle with more Rain shinobi. Got a couple of wide-area techniques itching for a field test; perfect storm for it."
Hanzo's scoff cut sharp, a guttural rumble from his perch. Bluff or not, the kid's pair of barrages had already carved deep scars—dozens of Amegakure lives snuffed in heartbeats.
Tally in the brutal melee, and the toll climbed past a hundred, a dent in Rain's roughly two-thousand-strong force that stung like salt in a fresh cut.
Konoha's ranks skewed elite this push: chunin and above dominating, genin and rear-guard shipped home for safety. Rain, by contrast, scraped every fighter into the pot—green genin bloating numbers but diluting punch.
Their horde looked imposing on paper, yet over half qualified as cannon fodder with scant battle chops. High-end muscle? Neck-and-neck with Konoha's honed core.
Kyuushin's solo spree had tilted that slice decisively, Konoha edging ahead in the grind.
Hanzo alone could swing the pendulum—except the Sannin trio pinned him like a vice, his lethal edge blunted, unable to bleed the leaf village's lines.
In that instant, Shikaku's cryptic nudge clicked fully for Kyuushin. Unleash S-rank firepower or beyond on this canvas, and victory's balance tipped hard toward Konoha, a single spark igniting the rout.
Shikaku's silence made sense now: even potent jutsu guzzled chakra like a desert storm. Drained dry on the field? A sitting duck, ripe for slaughter.
How could he voice it outright—urge Kyuushin to burn out for the village's win, a sacrificial blaze?
Shikaku couldn't have foreseen the redhead's depths, though. Kyuushin's pools dwarfed expectations; A-rank blasts or fiercer barely tapped him, leaving reserves humming.
Spared total burnout, Uzumaki vitality fused with Second Gate Gene Lock mended the gap in minutes—swift as a shadow's shift.
Sensing his chakra crest near full, Kyuushin opted out of the Sannin deadlock, pivoting to rejoin the wider fray.
"Hmph! Kid, think I'm letting you stroll?" Hanzo's roar shattered the air as Kyuushin took his opening stride, fury lacing every syllable. The implications hit Hanzo like a kunai's kiss; no way he'd loose such a wildcard unchecked.
Body Flicker ignited in a haze, Hanzo materializing at Kyuushin's flank, scythe arcing in a vicious overhead chop meant to end it swift.
Kyuushin, senses razor-tuned, anticipated the blur—twisting clear before steel kissed flesh. The Sannin trio exploded into motion behind, strikes converging on Hanzo in a punishing wave.
But the earth shuddered anew, the Giant Salamander erupting in a spray of mud and fangs, slamming barriers between the pursuers. Hanzo vaulted atop its crown, a triumphant silhouette against the storm.
The sage realm summons barreled in then, Katsuyu's form splitting to flank Tsunade. "My regret, Lady Tsunade—it slips underground like smoke; I lost the trail in the dive."
Manda's coils thrashed nearby, his voice a venomous hiss toward Orochimaru. "This pest's a thorn like no other. Double the tribute when the dust settles."
Orochimaru's reply came smooth, unyielding. "Sealed. Feast on battlefield stragglers to your fill—pickings aplenty."
Kyuushin locked eyes with Hanzo's elevated glare, a smirk tugging his lips as he goaded. "If Senior Hanzo insists on keeping me company, guess you'll sample my arsenal firsthand."
Seals flashed, palms clapping with resonant finality. Moisture surged from the air, rain and pools funneling into his grasp. In a surge, a colossal water dragon coalesced mid-field, roaring to vivid life.
Though mere liquid, its gaze burned with imposed fury, coiling sinuously under Kyuushin's will like a beast unchained. It lunged skyward, jaws gaping toward Hanzo's perch.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Orochimaru's gaze sharpened on the effortless weave, a flicker of intrigue breaking his stoic mask at the youth's command.
Hanzo eyed the beast's charge with curled lip, derision dripping. "Amateur hour!"
"Blade Style: Chained Scythe Dual Assault!"
"Clang-clang!"
The chain uncoiled like a serpent's strike, links whipping to ensnare the dragon's thrashing form mid-leap. Locked, momentum stalled—a scythe plummeted from the clouds, cleaving the construct in a explosive spray.
Kyuushin had banked on the counter; as the dragon sundered, latent lightning chakra detonated from its depths—a crackling web arcing along the metal conduit straight to Hanzo.
Paralysis gripped in an instant, Hanzo's frame locking rigid, muscles seizing under the electric tide.
"Not plain Water Dragon Bullet—a fused strike, Lightning-Infused Water Dragon? Seamless till the split!" Jiraiya's outburst echoed nearby, astonishment widening his eyes at the layered trap.
But the opener merely primed the kill. Kyuushin ignited Second Gate Gene Lock, chakra roaring through veins like a dam burst.
The influx strained visibly; he huffed a steadying breath, unseen wisps of pale vapor trailing the exhale—a subtle herald.
Tsunade's brow furrowed next as the scattered droplets hung suspended, shifting from clear to opaque frost in the damp air.
The haze obeyed a silent call, swarming Hanzo in thickening shrouds. Still numb from the bolt, he hung immobile, a statue in the gathering chill.
Frost bloomed across his form, creeping from limbs to torso until he gleamed as an icy effigy, locked in crystalline prison.
"What in the—?" Orochimaru breathed, piecing the anomaly with dawning realization, though doubt lingered in his stare. Kyuushin clarified in the beat that followed.
With Hanzo encased, Kyuushin unveiled the coup de grâce, seals unwavering.
"Ice Release: Ice Dragon Technique!"
The invocation birthed its twin in a flash—an ice dragon, etched with meticulous detail from shimmering scales to flowing tendrils, far surpassing the watery predecessor in lethal artistry.
No pause, no mercy; under Kyuushin's iron will, the frozen behemoth rocketed forth, set to pulverize the helpless form.
"Boom!"