After ten fierce clashes between Erza's blade and Hanzo's deadly kusarigama, the air around them crackled with tension. Sparks flew each time steel met steel, but Erza was clearly at a disadvantage. Against Hanzo, who far surpassed her in raw strength, blistering speed, and sheer mastery of weaponry—even though his primary weapon was the sickle—she was being steadily overwhelmed.
Then, in the heat of the exchange, Hanzo spotted a slight opening in Erza's stance. Without hesitation, he seized the chance. His weapon cut through the air in a swift arc, and before Erza could fully recover, the blade tore across her abdomen, leaving a deep and brutal wound.
A cry escaped her lips as she staggered back, clutching her stomach. Blood poured from the gash in a steady stream, staining the ground beneath her. With no choice but to withdraw, Erza retreated, her vision wavering as she tried to put distance between herself and her merciless opponent.
Hanzo, however, was not about to let her escape. From the battles he had already fought, he understood one thing with absolute certainty—Erza was the strongest among all these Uzumaki Clan members who stood against him. If he could strike her down now, victory would be all but guaranteed. Determined to finish her, he lunged forward to give chase.
But just as he was about to close the distance, the ground betrayed him. Out of nowhere, thick thorny vines burst forth, twisting rapidly around his legs and arms. In seconds, his movements were completely arrested, his body bound tight and immobilized.
Hanzo snarled, thrashing against the restraints, but the vines only constricted tighter. Standing a short distance away, Yoko revealed himself—his eyes cold and resolute. In his hand, he held a long thorny vine whip, its barbed length coiled and ready.
Benimaru, who had been patiently waiting for an opening, finally saw his chance. In an instant, he shifted into a precise sword-drawing stance. His body flickered, appearing directly in Hanzo's striking range. With a sharp motion, he unsheathed his blade, moving at a speed so fast it blurred before the eye. To propel himself even faster, flames erupted beneath his feet, igniting the ground as he launched forward like a blazing rocket.
In one fluid motion, Benimaru slashed at Hanzo's neck and appeared behind him, blade extended in perfect follow-through. For a heartbeat, it seemed as though the strike had landed. But Benimaru's expression darkened—he knew all too well the truth. His blade had cut nothing but air.
The figure before him wavered and dissolved—it had been nothing more than an afterimage. Hanzo had slipped free from Yoko's thorny restraints using the Body Flicker Technique, vanishing at the last second. Rather than retreating far, he reappeared right beside Benimaru, his kusarigama already swinging in a deadly arc aimed at Benimaru's unguarded side.
Sensing the danger, Benimaru twisted sharply to his left. His sword rose just in time, steel clashing against steel as the sickle came crashing down. The collision was thunderous, the shockwave rippling through the air. The sheer force of Hanzo's strike overwhelmed him—Benimaru was hurled backwards, blood spilling from his mouth as he skidded across the ground. The crimson spray was a clear testament to the raw, crushing strength behind Hanzo's blows.
With Benimaru momentarily incapacitated, Hanzo wasted no time. His gaze snapped toward Yoko, and his body blurred again, closing the distance in an instant.
Yoko's eyes narrowed as he saw the deadly figure racing toward him. Without hesitation, the earth responded to his will—thorny vines burst forth in countless numbers, twisting and lunging at Hanzo like serpents determined to bind him. Yet the effort was futile. Wherever the vines attempted to ensnare him, Hanzo's kusarigama flashed, slicing through them with effortless precision. He advanced unhindered, a predator cutting straight through his prey's defenses.
Realizing the futility of mere entanglement, Yoko gritted his teeth and shifted tactics. With a powerful swing of his thorny vine whip, he unleashed a devastating energy slash, the air itself splitting under the force. The glowing arc of power surged forward, tearing a path straight toward Hanzo.
Hanzo's eyes narrowed. Even for him, such an attack could not simply be ignored. Forced to slow his charge, he swung his kusarigama in wide, deliberate motions, deflecting each energy arc as they split apart in bursts of light and force.
Once Hanzo had finished deflecting the energy arcs unleashed by Yoko's thorny whip, his eyes narrowed. He shifted his tactics immediately. Instead of pressing forward head-on, his body blurred again—the Body Flicker Technique carrying him out of sight. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind Yoko.
Yoko's instincts screamed danger. He twisted, trying desperately to evade, but Hanzo was simply faster. A crushing fist drove into Yoko's back, the impact resounding like a thunderclap. His body was launched forward violently, skidding across the battlefield. Pain tore through him—several ribs had cracked under the blow, jagged fragments stabbing inward. His lungs burned, the unmistakable agony of puncture wounds stealing his breath.
Before Hanzo could finish him, a furious shout ripped across the field.
"You bastard!"
A blazing figure emerged, wreathed entirely in roaring flames—Mereoleona. Her presence was overwhelming, her very aura radiating heat like a living inferno. From behind her, chains of fire erupted into existence, serpentine and relentless. These were no ordinary flames; she had fused her fire mastery with the adamantine chains, forging burning constructs that writhed and lashed like serpents hunting prey.
The fiery chains lashed out from every angle, striking at Hanzo with ruthless precision. The strategy was clear—Mereoleona wasn't simply attacking. She was driving Hanzo, forcing him into a position where she could unleash a decisive blow.
And when he was directly before her, she made her move. Her fist clenched, her eyes blazing with fury, and she began hammering the air with a relentless barrage of punches. With every strike, a blazing beam of fire erupted, searing across the battlefield. Two beams slammed into Hanzo squarely, catching him off guard and engulfing him in searing flames.
For a fleeting moment, it seemed she had landed a decisive strike. But Hanzo's speed saved him once again. His body blurred and vanished, darting away before the full force of her onslaught could reach him.
Then the ground betrayed her. Out of nowhere, glowing explosive tags materialized all around Mereoleona, forming a deadly ring. Her eyes widened as the seals flared with chakra.
A heartbeat later—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The battlefield erupted with a series of deafening explosions, each blast powerful enough to shake the earth itself. It was one of Hanzo's notorious signature moves—an ambush technique designed to engulf his enemies in a storm of detonations.
----
Want to get daily updates and read chapters on a daily basis? Then join my Patreon!
Patreon Link: https://[email protected]/Hkj822
Join Discord Link: https://discord.gg/Ab9HdNbK