Two days later—
"Lord Hanzo, we're about to reach the border of the Land of Earth," Rikuto reported. "Based on earlier intel, there were originally around seven thousand troops stationed here. After Sunagakure attacked, roughly half were redeployed. Even so, they still outnumber us a little."
Hanzo asked in a low voice, "Have we identified who's commanding them?"
"According to our intel, Ōnoki himself was originally in charge. After you killed him, Lord Hanzo, Iwagakure sent another commander… but he seems to have been reassigned again recently."
Hanzo clicked his tongue.
"Iwagakure really doesn't take us seriously, do they?
Well… it makes sense. They've always been the ones invading small nations—never the other way around. These troops left behind are probably just to guard against Konoha or Suna passing through."
"They've underestimated me."
Hanzo reached into his cloak, pulled out a single Explosive Tag, then hesitated and put it back.
"We're running low on Explosive Tags. Even though Sunagakure resupplied us a bit, supplies are tight, and I still have to distribute them to the rest of Amegakure's units."
"These ten thousand tags will stay in reserve."
He turned and looked at the vast Ame force stretching behind him.
"After this battle… how many of them will survive?"
He raised a hand. Kan immediately knelt behind him.
"Spread the order. We attack at the planned time."
"At that time, I'll use a secret jutsu to call the rain. The rain will interfere with chakra flow. Any ninjutsu performed while exposed to it will be greatly weakened—even the user's own chakra circulation will be affected."
"Make sure everyone wears their rain cloaks. Avoid using ninjutsu as much as possible."
"I understand, Lord Hanzo. I'll notify the troops immediately."
As Kan left, Hanzo collected himself.
Originally, he developed this technique specifically for fighting the Third Kazekage and Chiyo…
Now it had a brand-new purpose.
Against large-scale enemy formations, Hanzo's answer had always been poison—Ame ninja rushing in wearing gas masks.
But now he had something else.
And in the Land of Rain, where it poured year-round, Ame shinobi uniforms already came with rain cloaks. The battlefield conditions were perfect.
---
Midnight.
Most of the Iwa troops were asleep. Only a small number were keeping watch.
A shadow quietly rose from the ground.
"No sensory ninja even during night watch? All reassigned? They didn't even run proper patrols during the day. Their defenses are far too lax."
"Just how much are they underestimating Amegakure?"
"An Iwa camp getting infiltrated by Earth Style… ridiculous."
"Well, that makes my job easier."
Hidden in an empty corner, Hanzo pressed his palms together. Chakra surged upward into the sky.
"Secret Art: Rain Severance."
Within moments, a thin drizzle spread over the entire Iwa encampment. Even the guards were surprised.
A: "Rain? In the middle of the night?"
B: "Didn't the sky look clear this afternoon?"
A: "We're next to the Land of Rain. Their crazy weather—you know how it is."
B: "Ugh… I'm getting sleepy."
A: "We have it easy compared to the other fronts. No real emergencies, no fighting…"
B: "I'm taking a nap. Cover for me."
A: "Yeah, leave it to me."
—
Hanzo frowned.
"Genin and chūnin? Their quality really has dropped… and none of them even notice their chakra leaking?"
He split off two Shadow Clones, then cut his finger.
"Let's begin."
"Sage Art: Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu."
"Sage Art: Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu."
"Summoning Jutsu."
A roaring tidal wave crashed straight into the center of the Iwa camp, three enormous water dragons twisting through it. Before the Iwa shinobi could even wake up, half of the camp was already underwater—dozens dragged into the depths while still asleep.
A huge summoning array ignited, and Ibuse materialized—now even larger than before.
"Is this because of the Gelel Stone…?"
"Ibuse—Poison Mist!"
Purple death-fog spewed from Ibuse's maw, merging with the flood and becoming waves of toxic water.
Two kilometers out, Rikuto and Kan saw the towering dragons and the massive salamander rise in the distance. They exchanged glances.
"Lord Hanzo's signal."
"Charge! Kill every last Iwa shinobi!"
Shadows lying prone on the ground suddenly rose and sprinted toward the battlefield.
---
Inside the Iwa Camp
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"Get up! Get up!"
The drowned screams, the crashing waves, the shouting—everything blended into chaos.
One Iwa ninja stared at the titanic water dragon and trembled.
"I'm dreaming, right? That's a fucking god—tell me I'm dreaming! Tell me damn it!"
He didn't hear his comrade respond.
Only the shriek of approaching purple poison water.
"Use Earth Style to block the flood!" a squad leader shouted. "Move! Do you want to die!?"
A row of Iwa shinobi formed seals.
"Earth Style: Rampart of Flowing Soil!"
Chakra surged into the ground—but the earth barely rose half a meter before shuddering to a halt.
"What?!"
Rain hammered down on him, but he still didn't understand.
"My jutsu… didn't work."
"My chakra's leaking… it's draining out of me!"
They never got the chance to figure out why.
The next wave swallowed them whole.
Almost the entire camp was underwater now.
The once-dense poison had mostly thinned out after mixing with the torrents, but the Shadow Clones were still flooding the camp with more water.
Iwa shinobi dashed across makeshift platforms toward the giant salamander.
Hanzo stood atop its head.
"No commander, but plenty of officers left."
"But their formation is already ruined. The rest is easy."
He cracked his neck.
"'Rain Severance'—by mixing my chakra into the rainfall, I erode enemy ninjutsu via ratio-based chakra interference."
"Giant Vortex and Water Dragon Jutsu took some chakra… but they were manageable. Covering the entire encampment with Rain Severance—that cost me half my chakra."
In the distance, more Ame shinobi surged forward like a black tide.
"This technique will hold for another ten minutes at most. But the outcome is already decided."
A wave of Iwa shinobi rushed the salamander.
Ibuse's tail swept them all into the sky.
"Even flies are annoying in swarms."
Hanzo drew the scythe behind his back and leapt down into the battlefield.
His blade hadn't tasted blood yet tonight.
--------------------------///
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