The earlier incident did not disrupt the progression of the war.
On the third day, the three armies marched toward the front line.
One force, led by Danzo, charged straight toward the right wing of the Land of Earth. Another, commanded by Rasa, attacked the left wing of the Land of Earth.
The last force, led by Seiki, stationed itself between the Land of Earth and Rain Country, cutting off the reinforcement route from Rain Country.
...
Rain Country.
Hanzo stood calmly, hands behind his back, gazing out the window. "Report what intelligence you currently have," he ordered.
An upper-level ninja behind him hurried to brief him. "According to the information we've gathered, the leader of Akatsuki seems to have gone to Konoha seeking peace. However, our intelligence is limited to only scattered pieces of news. As for what exactly they discussed in the meeting room, we remain in the dark."
"Peace?" Hanzo's eyes revealed mockery. "If that were truly the case, could they even return? What they're doing is simply putting on a show for the people of Rain Country. Once we are defeated, they'll take the role of saviors, convince Konoha to withdraw its troops, and smoothly take over Rain Country while everyone cheers them on!"
"Heh, Konoha sure knows how to play its hand well!"
Upon hearing Hanzo's analysis, the Jonin in the room felt both anger and shock.
"Damn it! These Konoha ninjas are so despicable!"
"If it weren't for Lord Hanzo's wisdom and steady judgment, we might've been fooled too!"
"Lord Hanzo, what should we do now?"
"The allied forces of Konoha and Sunagakure are already at our doorstep!"
Hanzo remained silent for a moment before finally speaking slowly. "I originally considered pretending, keeping up appearances and holding a stalemate with them, dragging their forces here as a favor to Iwagakure."
"But apparently, they won't give me that chance! Alright then, let me go meet this young commander of Konoha in person!"
...
At the border between Rain Country and the Land of Earth.
Drizzle fell continuously.
"It doesn't look like the people from Rain Country dare to come out."
"Of course they wouldn't! How could such a small country have the courage to resist the combined armies of two great hidden villages?"
"What a shame! I was actually eager to test my new jutsu on them!"
Hearing his subordinates banter among themselves, Seiki turned slightly and said, "It looks like Rain Country won't be making a move anytime soon. Elder Chiyo, would you like to set up a tent and take shelter from the rain first?"
Chiyo kept her eyelids lowered lazily. "No need. If the Supreme Commander himself stands in the rain, how can a mere old woman like me retreat indoors?"
Due to Sasori's assassination of the previous Kazekage, she was more committed than ever to fulfilling village missions as a way of atonement.
Yet, toward the one who had the nerve to play matchmaker for her, she still harbored deep resentment.
Seiki didn't mind her tone one bit. A sharp tongue with a gentle heart was still better than honeyed words and a dagger in your back.
"Then please bear with it a bit longer, Elder Chiyo..." Seiki was mid-sentence when his expression suddenly grew serious, eyes locking forward.
On the opposite side of the plain, the masked Hanzo emerged, accompanied by a large group of Amegakure ninja.
Seiki smirked. "So they've decided to face us head-on?"
I thought Master Hanzo would at least let someone ambush us to make a memorable entrance!
Hanzo spoke calmly, "That was indeed my plan. However, I'm naturally cautious. During my third round of confirmation, I noticed something odd. So, you can call off your hidden men now."
Seiki chuckled. "No wonder you're such a legendary figure in the shinobi world. My little trick couldn't fool you, huh? Still, there's no need for them to come out. Somehow, I feel like you've only discovered part of their positions and are just trying to provoke me into revealing more, aren't you?"
Chiyo gave Seiki a strange look. When had this kid managed to set up his ambush without even her noticing?
If he had been targeting anyone less vigilant than Hanzo, Seiki might actually have succeeded with his plan.
"Hmph! You really think that's all I've got?" Hanzo bit his thumb, formed a hand seal, and slammed his palm onto the ground.
In a burst of smoke, the giant Sanshouo appeared on the battlefield.
As soon as he summoned [Summoning: Ibuse Poisoning], the Amegakure ninja around him instinctively scattered to both sides.
[Purple Mist Emission!]
Thick purple mist spewed from the Sanshouo's mouth. Even from afar, it caused people dizziness and blurred vision.
"Wind Release unit, move out!"
At the command, the previously gathered Wind Release ninja unleashed their techniques simultaneously.
[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.]
What started as small whirlwinds merged together, evolving into a massive tornado roaring toward the poison mist.
"Not bad reflexes!" Hanzo thought slightly surprised. The enemies he'd faced before certainly hadn't been able to gather so many Wind Release ninja like this.
After all, considering the Sanshouo's enormous size, to effectively counter it with combined Wind Release techniques required at least several hundred mid-level ninja skilled enough to use C-rank Ninjutsu.
"But then," he continued, "don't think this is enough though! Ibuse Poisoning, counterattack!"
"Yes!"
The summoned Sanshouo responded clumsily, gathering a massive vortex within its mouth and firing back an extremely large-scale Wind Release technique.
The two tornadoes violently collided and scraped against each other, howling winds raging until finally exploding into countless swirling blades flying in all directions, completely stirring up the poison mist and nearly covering half the battlefield.
"Hehehe, still too young..." As Hanzo laughed loudly, his smile suddenly froze when he saw what happened after the poison mist dispersed.
All those Konoha and Sunagakure ninja were calmly standing within the remaining poisonous fog wearing anti-poison masks, while many of his own men had died from delayed escape.
He just couldn't provide antidotes for every last one of his men.
"Damn brat equipped everyone with gas masks! How could he possibly be so rich?" Hanzo inwardly roared about his poverty.
Anti-poison masks weren't cheap. Equipping a few people was manageable, but outfitting an entire army—this was something he hadn't even dared to imagine.
Once the anger faded, he quickly regained his composure. "They might be able to fight through masks, but what about you?"
Most elemental techniques come out through the mouth.
Putting on the faceguard meant most elemental techniques became unusable. Tying one's own hands like this in a fight with him? Practically suicide.
Plus, his Sanshouo could launch another attack in just five minutes. Waiting for the poison mist to fully dissipate was simply impossible.
"Seiki said, 'Don't worry, I don't need such a thing as a mask.'"
As Seiki spoke, the shadow clone hiding underground instantly dispersed, and the refined sage chakra returned to him.
Normally, splitting half of one's chakra to refine natural energy would naturally be a very dangerous move.
But this time was different—they had the upper hand, so preparation in advance was possible.
Moments later, the sage mode markings appeared on Seiki's face.
"Now, let me experience the strength of a demigod within [shinobi no sekai]!"
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