Time flew by, and three months passed in a flash.
During these three months, the atmosphere in the Ninja World became exceptionally tense.
The war between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain affected the vast majority of countries, except for the distant Land of Lightning and Land of Water.
After all, even the Land of Fire had moved a large number of troops to the border. How could small countries like the Land of Grass, Land of Waterfalls, Land of Birds, and Land of Bears, which were also at the junctions of major powers, feel at ease?
Moreover, according to reports from spies, the Land of Earth had also gathered a large number of troops on its southern border. Who knew if the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth would join the war?
Three major powers occupied most of the Ninja Continent. Their war and confrontation not only caused various small countries to be on high alert but also affected nobles, commoners, and merchant caravans, who dared not travel or conduct cross-border business freely.
The sharp drop in the number of mission requests made the already economically imbalanced Sunagakure and Iwagakure suffer even more.
In the meetings, the militant factions had gained the absolute upper hand.
Not every Kage possessed absolute strength and power like the First and Second Hokage.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was the best example.
If not for the remaining prestige of the Senju of the Forest and the checks and balances of the Hyuga Clan, the Uchiha Clan wouldn't even take this ninja clan, which they didn't even put in their eyes during the Warring States period, seriously.
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't suppress the Uchiha like Senju Tobirama did. He could only yield part of the Anbu's power, allowing Shimura Danzo to establish the Root organization.
Similarly, he couldn't order the patriarchs of those ninja clans to personally lead teams to the border.
If the Sannin hadn't been so capable, the only people Sarutobi Hiruzen could use were Hatake Sakumo and Shimura Danzo.
When a leader couldn't control everything and their power was weak, the will of factions could easily sway their decisions.
Hanzo the Salamander was very strong, recognized by all ninjas as the pinnacle of the Ninja World. His deterrence was even higher than the Five Kage. Even Onoki, who mastered the Kekkei Tota Dust Release, and the Third Raikage, who had the strongest individual ability, were extremely wary of him.
Because of his existence, the Land of Rain was the country least exploited by major powers. If not for its population and military strength being far inferior to the Five Great Nations, it would practically be an invisible sixth great ninja village.
But in fact, Hanzo the Salamander's personal strength wasn't so strong that even the pinnacle of the Five Kage would be extremely wary.
Onoki, who could fly and decompose everything into an atomic state, could suppress Hanzo the Salamander completely in a one-on-one fight.
The Third Raikage, possessing the strongest spear and strongest shield, could stand still and let Hanzo the Salamander slash him, and the latter's Nintaijutsu wouldn't break his defense.
What truly made everyone wary was the Salamander, known as the deadliest poison in the Ninja World, killing upon contact.
With the number one toxicity and an astonishing poison range, the Salamander possessed strategic deterrence not inferior to Tailed Beasts.
Plus, when attacked, it could dispel the Summoning Technique and instantly return to the summoning world. Protected by Hanzo, who excelled at Body Flicker and had powerful strength, to some extent, the Salamander was even harder to deal with than Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts.
This was Hanzo the Salamander's greatest confidence in fighting a country alone.
In these three months, Hanzo the Salamander was like a god descending to earth, beating Sunagakure into retreat.
Any Sunagakure squad encountering Hanzo the Salamander would scatter and flee if they didn't have gas masks, not daring to fight him at all.
Using human wave tactics against Hanzo the Salamander was meaningless, simply sending people to their deaths.
However, as a certain unfilial son in later generations said, there is no technique without weaknesses in this world.
Every technique has a weakness.
The Salamander was no exception.
The Salamander's poison wasn't truly incurable.
Hanzo the Salamander carried the antidote for the Salamander's poison on him.
When he went to the Land of Iron, he fought Mifune of the Land of Iron and easily defeated this outstanding samurai.
Appreciating the opponent, Hanzo the Salamander actively helped detoxify Mifune and gave up the idea of attacking the Land of Iron.
To prevent subordinates from being poisoned to death, Amegakure ninjas not only wore gas masks all the time but also carried the antidote for the Salamander's poison.
With the joint efforts of Anbu and reconnaissance teams, Sunagakure easily obtained the antidote for the Salamander's poison.
After three months of research and multiple brief encounters with Hanzo the Salamander, Chiyo, who was in her prime and equally skilled in poison and Medical Ninjutsu, finally developed the formula to neutralize the Salamander's poison. She also analyzed that after the Salamander released a large-scale poison gas attack, it needed five minutes to refill the poison gas.
As long as they survived the first poison attack, the Salamander would have no combat power for five minutes. This was when Hanzo was weakest and their best opportunity.
Thus, Sunagakure, which had been suppressed by Hanzo the Salamander for three months, finally stopped scattering and fleeing. They quickly formed a powerful combat unit equipped with gas masks and carrying antidotes to engage him.
Although the Salamander's poison would still affect them in a protracted battle, they wouldn't be taken down upon meeting.
With his partner's strongest poison temporarily countered, Hanzo's deterrence instantly dropped from "Demigod" back to human.
Although his strength was still Kage-level, he was no longer an invincible existence.
Moreover, the Sunagakure ninjas, timing everything precisely, wouldn't linger in battle. Once the antidote was used up and the gas mask's efficacy declined, they would retreat immediately.
This gave Hanzo the Salamander a huge headache. He gave Chiyo, who developed the antidote formula and analyzed the Salamander's poison refill time, the nickname "Puppet Hag."
Chiyo, who had multiple brief encounters with him, retorted unwillingly, calling him "Old Man with a Snorkel."
Although both were in their prime in terms of strength, in this Ninja World, they were indeed at the age of being grandparents.
With Chiyo developing the antidote formula and having a method to counter the Salamander, both sides fell into a complete stalemate.
If there were no third party interfering, Amegakure and Sunagakure might have chosen to negotiate due to the stalemate, or tacitly stopped and shifted targets.
Unfortunately, there were no ifs.
Iwagakure and Konoha were closely watching the war between Amegakure and Sunagakure.
In these three months, Hanzo the Salamander was the most terrifying existence in the Ninja World in the eyes of those reconnaissance teams and Anbu responsible for gathering intelligence.
Wherever he passed, everyone trembled with fear.
They were all afraid of being discovered by Hanzo the Salamander and dying from the Salamander's poison and his Nintaijutsu, not daring to get too close.
Even so, many people still died unexpectedly from inhaling the residual poison gas of the Salamander.
Fortunately, their efforts during this time were not in vain; they gathered crucial intelligence.
Thus, Iwagakure, which had been dormant for three months, finally bared its fangs, unveiling the prelude to the melee!
<><><><><
Read Advaned Chapters on : patreon.com/Kaizo247
~ Every 150 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]