Chapter 8 — Fierce Battle with Hanzō of the Salamander
A flash of light passed, and Hanzō of the Salamander was startled to see that the brat before him had donned a suit of white armor, a cloak billowing fiercely behind him.
Ryusuke held a long spear with a crimson blade. At the center of the spearhead was embedded a red gemstone, within which a sharp gleam flowed like a blood-red eye.
He had entered [Demon's Manifestation · First Stage].
To outsiders, Ryusuke appeared instantly imposing and majestic. But beneath the armor, he was enduring an enormous burden.
His nerves were far more sensitive than those of ordinary people.
The sensation of his organs being compressed, the trembling wails of bone and muscle under strain—it was torture.
Because Tsunade was lying in his arms, she was the first to feel Ryusuke's trembling body.
But she had no way to help. Tsunade herself was in grave danger. All she could do was use medical ninjutsu to stimulate her own cells and resist the invasion of the poison.
"In this state, my limit is five minutes."
Ryusuke made his decision. He dared not waste time. Setting Tsunade against the wall, he turned and charged toward Hanzō.
"Is that a divine artifact?"
The moment Ryusuke transformed, Hanzō had already grown wary.
Yet he still underestimated him. With the enhancement of Demon's Manifestation, Ryusuke's speed surged dramatically.
In a flash of white light, he was already in front of Hanzō.
Hanzō's pupils contracted. Ryusuke's pure physical speed had already reached Kage-level standards. With additional ninjutsu enhancements, even an ordinary Kage might struggle to react.
Faced with Ryusuke's sudden burst of speed, he was clearly caught off guard and hastily raised his sickle to block.
Ryusuke swung his spear—Red-Backed Shrike—in a powerful downward slash.
With a sharp clang of metal striking metal, Red-Backed Shrike collided with Hanzō's sickle, scattering sparks that shone brilliantly even in the rainy night.
Hanzō, who had been standing on the rooftop, was smashed straight through into the building below.
"Hanzō-sama, are you alright?!" A ninja behind him shouted anxiously, glaring viciously at Ryusuke. He ordered, "Go—seize that woman first!"
But a flash of cold light passed. The ninja suddenly felt the world spin, his headless body collapsing behind him.
"Everyone, stand down!"
Hanzō shouted as he leapt out of the building.
It wasn't that he was some righteous man insisting on a fair duel.
He was worried that if anyone dared to threaten that woman, this brat might very well charge into the crowd and slaughter every ninja around him.
These Hidden Rain shinobi were the strength he needed for the coming war. He couldn't afford heavy losses here.
From the fact that Ryusuke had prepared contingencies inside the Hidden Rain headquarters, it was clear he was cautious and valued his own life.
And someone who valued his life wouldn't die for others so easily. He had dared to return this time because he had a bargaining chip to trade.
At this moment, Tsunade was more like a tether holding Ryusuke in place.
Attacking Tsunade would be like opening the cage of a ferocious beast.
Hanzō's thoughts raced, and he reached a conclusion:
"This mode can't last long. Otherwise, he would have used it earlier instead of waiting until now."
All he needed to do was stall him to death.
Hanzō shook his slightly numb arm and said calmly, "Not bad strength."
His interest in Ryusuke's armor deepened. "Brat, hand over your divine artifact and I'll let you both go. How about it?"
"You like it? Then come and take it yourself!" Ryusuke charged again.
With the experience of being rushed down earlier, Hanzō adapted quickly.
He mostly evaded, only blocking with his weapon when he absolutely had to.
Ryusuke noticed his intention immediately. He was clearly trying to outlast him.
He cursed inwardly. "What a crafty old fox."
Three minutes had already passed. The pressure from the armor made Ryusuke feel as if he were bleeding internally. A metallic taste spread through his mouth.
"I can't drag this out any longer." Ryusuke made up his mind.
He closed the distance once more, thrusting his spear straight at his opponent.
"Hey, brat, I've already seen through your weakness. This state of yours can't last much longer, can it?"
Though Hanzō didn't know exactly how much time Ryusuke had left, that didn't stop him from continuing psychological pressure in hopes of forcing a mistake.
He had already grown accustomed to Ryusuke's speed. If the boy had no other tricks, Hanzō could easily stall him to death.
But this thrust concealed something unexpected.
"Illusion Technique: Haze Clone Technique!"
The crimson spearhead flickered rapidly before Hanzō's eyes—one became two, two became four, four became eight. In moments, his vision was filled with overlapping spear images.
"This is… a genjutsu?!"
"Damn it—when did he—?!"
Hanzō hurriedly retreated, disrupting his own chakra flow.
The countless spear shadows vanished, leaving a single spear that had already pierced forward, aimed directly at his heart.
With no other choice, Hanzō abandoned offense for survival. Twisting his body midair, he narrowly avoided the fatal blow.
The two figures crossed paths. A spray of blood burst into the air.
Hanzō of the Salamander clutched his wounded shoulder and retreated again.
That strike had nearly taken off half his arm. The pain made his eyes flicker with killing intent.
"Hanzō, do you still have the confidence to defeat me and then head to the front lines to bring back Hidden Rain's forces?"
Ryusuke's hoarse voice rang out. The tables had turned—now he was the one provoking Hanzō.
Hanzō's expression darkened further as he calculated inwardly:
"The brat spoke. That means his time is almost up."
"I'm confident I can still stall him to death. But who knows what other trump cards he might have? What if I get injured again?"
"If I'm injured again, then this trip to ambush the Land of Iron's ninja forces will truly become a one-way journey."
He let out a cold snort and made his decision.
"Brat, this time, you win."
He took out an antidote from his pocket and tossed it to Ryusuke, then strode away.
Ryusuke let out a breath of relief. Catching the antidote, he used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Tsunade, picked her up, and left without hesitation.
Hanzō returned to the Hidden Rain headquarters. Under the treatment of medical-nin, his wound gradually stopped bleeding.
Turning to his trusted aide, Shindatsu of the Salamander, he ordered, "Dispatch ninja hounds and three squads to track those two."
"They're both at the end of their strength. But don't get too close—prevent them from making a desperate counterattack. Just tail them from a distance and wear them down."
"The Hidden Rain needs you here to hold the fort. I'm going to the Land of Iron to bring our forces back."
Shindatsu quickly said, "Hanzō-sama, I can go instead. You're severely injured—please remain in the village to recover."
Hanzō replied somewhat helplessly, "We may encounter Konoha forces on the way. If you go, you won't be able to bring them back safely."
That was Hidden Rain's weakness. Though they had produced the so-called Demigod Hanzō of the Salamander, they lacked any other truly formidable shinobi.
"Yes."
Shindatsu lowered his head in shame and accepted the order.
Meanwhile, Ryusuke carried Tsunade swiftly through the forest.
He had already fed her the antidote. The purplish-black hue on her arm was slowly fading.
But the damage inflicted by the poison wouldn't heal so quickly. Her face was still pale.
Strangely, this lent a touch of softness to Tsunade's originally bold and heroic bearing.
There was no melodramatic exchange of "You shouldn't have come," and "But I still came," nor any sappy, overused romance.
At this moment, Ryusuke's armor had already receded. Maintaining [Demon's Manifestation · First Stage] for over four and a half minutes had brought him close to the five-minute limit.
Overloading Demon's Manifestation had caused severe internal injuries.