The pale purple lethal poison mist rolled and spread like a living thing, turning the core area of the battlefield into a death zone where vision was blurred and perception was hindered.
Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade stood back-to-back. Despite holding their breath and using Chakra to isolate themselves, their skin still felt the subtle yet pervasive corrosive sting of the poison mist, and their nerve endings constantly sent out danger alarms.
"Visibility is too poor!"
Tsunade growled in a low voice. She tried to sense with Chakra, but the poison mist seemed to slightly interfere with the flow of Chakra. Hanzou's powerful and cold Chakra flickered within the mist, making it difficult to pinpoint his exact location.
"He's moving... fast."
Orochimaru's snake-like intuition and golden vertical pupils gained a slight advantage in the poison mist, catching a blurry trail.
Before he could finish his sentence, the sound of something piercing the air shrieked.
A giant sickle, like the kiss of the Shinigami, swung out without warning from the depths of the poison mist on the left, aimed directly at Jiraiya, who was slightly ahead of the three.
The Chakra attached to the blade was incredibly sharp, briefly slicing through the poison mist it passed through.
"Jiraiya!"
Tsunade cried out.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."
Jiraiya reacted extremely quickly, completing the hand signs almost the instant he sensed the killing intent, and a thick wall of earth rose with a boom. However—
"Clang— Crack!"
The sickle slammed into the earth wall, slicing through most of the hard rock like tofu, its momentum barely diminished.
Jiraiya rolled backward awkwardly, narrowly avoiding it, though a lock of his white hair was sliced off.
"The strength is too much! And this poison mist is his home turf," Jiraiya said with lingering fear.
"We can't just take hits passively."
A cold light flashed in Orochimaru's eyes as his hands formed signs.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" A violent hurricane erupted from his mouth, attempting to blow away the poison mist.
However, Hanzou's poison mist seemed to contain special Chakra properties. The Wind Release only intensified its rolling and slightly expanded its range, failing to disperse it completely; instead, it made the distribution of the mist even more unpredictable.
Just as the Wind Release subsided for a moment, Hanzou's figure flickered like a ghost from another direction, this time targeting Tsunade.
He didn't use the sickle but formed hand signs with one hand.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!" A giant water sphere appeared out of thin air, about to envelop Tsunade.
"Don't even think about it."
Tsunade gave a sharp cry, her monstrous strength exploding as she smashed her fist into the water sphere.
The violent force directly shattered the water sphere, sending water splashing everywhere, but the Chakra shock contained within also made her figure sway.
Hanzou didn't seem surprised by this. The real killing move followed immediately as he swung his empty left hand, and several poisoned Senbon shot like a rainstorm toward Tsunade, who was briefly stiff from shattering the water sphere.
"Tsunade."
Orochimaru whipped out several long snakes, trying to intercept the Senbon, but he was half a beat too slow.
"Summoning Jutsu: Food Cart Destroyer Technique!"
Jiraiya bit his thumb hard and slammed it onto the ground.
An extremely large red toad, biting a giant pipe, wrapped in bandages, with the kanji for'Shrimp' tattooed on its chest.
Toad Bunta descended with a massive boom amidst a cloud of white smoke.
"Jiraiya, what kind of trouble have you gotten into again, kid?"
Gamabunta grumbled in a muffled voice, but his massive body happened to block the way in front of Tsunade.
The poisoned Senbon thudded into his thick skin; most were bounced off, and the few that pierced weren't deep. Gamabunta simply shook his body impatiently.
"Boss Gamabunta! The opponent is Hanzou! Watch out for the poison!"
Jiraiya jumped onto Gamabunta's head and quickly explained the situation.
"Hanzou? A troublesome fellow..."
Gamabunta's gaze turned solemn as he drew the short sword from his back.
Hanzou didn't seem very surprised to see Gamabunta appear.
"A Summoned Beast? Perfect."
He pressed his palms together, and the summoning formula unfolded.
"Summoning Jutsu: Salamander Ibuse!"
Even denser white smoke exploded, accompanied by a heart-pounding roar. A giant beast, as large as a small mountain with purple-black skin and emitting a highly toxic aura.
Salamander Ibuse appeared on the battlefield.
As soon as it appeared, the surrounding poison mist seemed to find its source, becoming even more viscous and active.
"Manda."
Orochimaru also didn't hesitate to bite his finger and slam it on the ground.
A giant python appeared in the white smoke, hissing and flicking its tongue, its vertical pupils locking onto Salamander Ibuse.
"Katsuyu."
Tsunade also summoned her Summoned Beast. The giant slug split into several smaller individuals, quickly crawling to the Konoha Ninjas who were injured or poisoned on the ground, attempting preliminary detoxification and stabilizing their injuries. However, against Hanzou's specially made poison, the effect was limited.
The addition of the Summoned Beasts instantly escalated the scale of the battle.
"Gamabunta, let's go."
Jiraiya stood on top of Gamabunta's head, and coordinating with the toad oil Gamabunta spat out, a scorching firestorm swept toward Hanzou and Salamander Ibuse.
Salamander Ibuse roared, its massive body moving sideways with surprising agility. Simultaneously, it spat out a pillar of purple poison mist several times denser than before, clashing with the firestorm and making a "hissing" corrosive sound; the poison mist actually faintly suppressed the flames.
"Manda, entangle and interfere."
Orochimaru commanded calmly as the giant snake launched an attack from the flank.
It spat out highly corrosive acid and then tried to use its flexible body to entangle Ibuse and restrict its movement.
Poison glands on Ibuse's body pulsed, and the poison mist formed a barrier to block the acid. At the same time, its thick tail swept across like a steel whip, colliding with Manda with a dull thud; in terms of strength, Ibuse actually had a slight advantage.
Katsuyu's clones worked hard to treat the wounded at the edge of the battlefield, but Hanzou's poison was too fierce. Ninjas were constantly dying from the poison. Tsunade saw this and was anxious, but she couldn't pull herself away.
Hanzou himself, relying on his absolute control over the poison mist and his extraordinary Taijutsu and Water Release Ninjutsu, maneuvered and fought between the three Summoned Beasts and the Sannin.
His sickle appeared and disappeared unpredictably; Ninjutsu like Water Dragon Whip and Water Encampment Wall were performed with ease. He occasionally used the poison mist to hide his figure and launch sneak attacks, and at other times used powerful Ninjutsu to clash head-on with Gamabunta's slashes or Orochimaru's tricky snake attacks.
His combat experience was extremely rich, always able to seize the smallest gaps in the cooperation of the three to deliver sharp counterattacks.
Jiraiya tried several times to pull away and enter Sage Mode, but Hanzou didn't give him the chance at all. The attacks followed him like a shadow, forcing him to constantly react, and his Chakra was being consumed rapidly.
Tsunade's monstrous strength punches were incredibly powerful, but Hanzou either dissipated the force with exquisite Water Release or forced her back with poison mist, making it difficult for her to get close enough to deal a decisive blow.
Orochimaru's deceptive Ninjutsu and the kusanagi sword were the most troublesome, but Hanzou's use of the poison mist was masterful, causing Orochimaru's fatal strikes to miss multiple times.
The strength of a Demi-God was truly terrifying.
Although the three of them were not yet in their prime at this moment, they were definitely beyond what the term 'Jonin' could describe. Their cooperation was seamless, and their combined strength was formidable, yet they were powerless to fight back against Hanzou.
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808