"Summoning Technique: Salamander Ibuse!"
"Boom!"
A massive plume of white smoke exploded at the tail end of the retreating Amegakure troops, not too far from the Hidden Sand defense line.
That mountain-like, purple-black giant beast emitted a sickeningly sweet and foul stench.
Salamander Ibuse descended upon the Desert.
The moment it appeared, the surrounding air seemed to grow somewhat viscous.
"Not good! It's Hanzou's Summoning Beast! Scatter! Defend!" Granny Chiyo was the first to react, shouting sharply.
However, it was half a beat too late.
The moment Ibuse appeared, without needing specific commands from Hanzou, it followed its most instinctive combat awareness and understanding of its master's intent, abruptly raising its massive head covered in poison glands, its abdominal poison sac heaving violently, and then——
"Puff——!!!"
A dense, tangible mist of poison, colored deep purple-black, gushed out from its mouth like a volcanic eruption.
This poisonous mist not only had an extremely wide range, covering a large area ahead, but it was also sprayed at a blinding speed like a breached torrent of venom, completely enveloping the Hidden Sand Ninja who hadn't had time to fully disperse or were attempting to form seals for defense.
"Poisonous mist! Hold your breath quickly!"
"Wind Style! Blow it away with Wind Style!"
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
The Hidden Sand defense line instantly fell into chaos.
Those who reacted quickly immediately held their breath, retreated, or executed defensive Ninjutsu, while those who reacted a bit slower were instantly swallowed by the poisonous mist, and screams immediately rang out.
Even the Ninja who cast Wind Style found that this poisonous mist was unusually sticky and heavy, making it difficult for ordinary Wind Style to blow away quickly; instead, it might stir the mist even more evenly.
This wave of poisonous mist attack was too sudden and fierce. Although due to the distance and Hidden Sand's timely reaction, the instantaneous fatal casualties might not be as high as close-quarters combat, the number of poisoned people was definitely not small.
Moreover, this kind of lethal poison was extremely troublesome to deal with, and subsequent medical pressure and attrition were certain.
Hanzou was very pleased. In this case, the Sunagakure would suffer heavy losses, and he could come back after some time.
Out of a top-tier Ninja's instinctive control over the battlefield, before completely pulling away, he still paid attention with his perception, gazing from afar at the area enveloped by his poisonous mist.
What he expected to see should be the panicked chaos of the Hidden Sand Ninja, the tragic state of a large number of personnel being poisoned and falling, and the larger-scale commotion and medical resource crunch that would inevitably occur afterwards to treat the wounded.
This could not only cause substantial casualties, but also heavily strike Hidden Sand's morale, making them fearful for a long time to come whenever they thought of Hanzou and Amegakure's poison.
However, the scene fed back through his perception made his pupils suddenly constrict.
The poisonous mist did indeed cover a large area, and there were indeed Hidden Sand Ninja who, caught off guard, inhaled or stained the mist, showing typical poisoning symptoms of painful suffocation and skin ulceration.
But what happened next completely exceeded his expectations.
He saw that the companions beside those poisoned, and even some of the poisoned themselves, after the initial panic, did not helplessly wait for a Medical Ninja or try to use ordinary antidotes as usual. Instead, they quickly pulled out an inconspicuous small bag sewn from some kind of tough animal skin or special fabric from the ninja tool pouch behind their waist or a close-fitting pocket.
With practiced movements, they pulled open the drawstrings of the bag, aimed the opening at the mouths and noses of the poisoned, or pressed it against the poisoned skin wounds.
Immediately after, a soft and pure white mist curled upward from those small bags.
This white mist was completely different from Hanzou's thick, purple-black, death-filled poisonous mist; it appeared light, clear, and even carried a trace of faint, herbal-like fresh aura.
Even more shockingly, when this white mist came into contact with the poisoned, or was inhaled by them, those originally painfully distorted faces eased at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The purple-black poisoning marks began to recede rapidly, the rapid breathing became steady, the ulcerated skin stopped worsening, and even tiny signs of healing appeared.
In just a dozen breaths of time, those poisoned Hidden Sand Ninja who originally looked to be in mortal danger unexpectedly stood up one after another. Although still somewhat weak, they had clearly broken away from life-threatening danger, and the toxicity was suppressed to a great extent and even preliminarily neutralized.
They could even immediately pick up their weapons again, or assist companions in defense and the work of dispersing the remaining poisonous mist.
???
Hanzou was stunned.
He got countered?
Hanzou understood instantly.
His mind, which had always been as calm as an ancient well, couldn't help but churn with monstrous waves at this moment: It was Chiyo of the Sunagakure!
That Hidden Sand Elder famous throughout the world for Puppet Technique and the use of poison.
She actually... during the clashes on the battlefield of the Land of Rain, or rather, after case studies of the poisoning of The Legendary Sannin of Konoha and others, successfully cracked the unique mixed lethal poison of Salamander Hanzou.
Not only did she crack it, but she also developed such a portable, highly efficient special antidote that could be used by ordinary Ninja, in the form of a bag that released purifying white mist.
What did this mean?
It meant that Hanzou's poisonous deterrent power, upon which he built his fame and which made the entire Shinobi World tremble with fear, had been greatly discounted in front of the Sunagakure.
One of his most powerful weapons had been found a countermeasure by the opponent.
A chill, mixed with an unprecedented sense of frustration, rushed into Hanzou's heart.
It was not because this border conflict failed to achieve greater results, but because he realized that one of his greatest reliances had already been seen through by the enemy and a countermeasure had been found.
At the level of top combat power, Hidden Sand had the Third Kazekage and Chiyo joining forces, which was enough to block him.
On the conventional battlefield, Hidden Sand could take advantage by relying on geographical convenience and determination. Now, even his most lethal poison had been cracked by the opponent...
"... Let's go."
Hanzou's voice was low and hoarse. Uttering just one word, he didn't look back anymore, thoroughly merging into the torrent of Amegakure's retreating troops and disappearing at the end of the horizon.
In this war, their Land of Rain and Hidden Rain Village had completely and thoroughly lost, with no chance of a comeback.
Outside the Sunagakure, Granny Chiyo looked at the rapidly controlled poisonous mist and the large number of subordinates who had been rescued. There was not much joy on her aged face, only deep exhaustion and a hint of relief.
To develop this antidote, she had expended countless efforts, even secretly analyzing poisonous specimens brought back from the Land of Rain battlefield.
Now, it finally came in handy at a critical moment, preventing Hanzou's poison from causing a tragedy like the one in the Konoha camp once again.
The Third Kazekage walked to her side, looked into the distance, and said in a deep voice,
"He should have seen it. Your antidote shattered his last illusion."
Chiyo sighed.
"After this war, this old woman is also old. From now on, I won't interfere in the village's affairs anymore."
She was indeed old; her son and daughter-in-law died in this war, and she had no interest in managing the Sunagakure anymore. Her wish now was to raise her grandson.
The Third Kazekage was stunned, followed by wild joy.
Chiyo's meaning was that she would no longer manage the village's affairs in the future. Without Chiyo, a veteran of three reigns, exercising control, wouldn't the Sunagakure become his sole domain?
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808