Chapter 78: Rain Ninja Reinforcements – Katō Dan Becomes a Eunuch
The ground began to tremble. Using Observation Haki, Ling Yu sensed danger underground and immediately retreated. Katō Dan also hurriedly stepped back several paces.
BOOM!
The next instant, the ground where they had been standing collapsed. A massive salamander—Ibuse—burst out with its jaws wide open.
"Hmph! Let's see how you plan to capture me alive!"
Jumping onto the back of his summoned salamander, Hanzō crossed his arms and looked down arrogantly at the two of them.
"Lord Hanzō! I've brought reinforcements!"
Right after he spoke, a large group of Rain ninja—led by another Kage-level fighter—rushed out from the forest. This was the support unit that had hurried over from the camp.
"Hold him off. I'm going to capture that Konoha ninja who stole our intelligence."
After giving orders to the other Rain Kage-level ninja and his summon, Hanzō charged straight toward Katō Dan.
Having witnessed Katō Dan's Spirit Transformation Technique earlier, Hanzō knew the stolen intelligence was likely with him—he had to kill him.
"Yes, sir!"
Hearing Hanzō's command, the Rain Kage-level ninja drew his sword and rushed at Ling Yu, swinging it down toward his head.
"I don't have time to play with you anymore."
With the Rain reinforcements arriving, Ling Yu decided to stop holding back. Coating his fist in Armament Haki, he flashed behind the ninja and smashed his back.
At the same time, Ibuse also attacked. Appearing behind Ling Yu, it opened its mouth wide to swallow him whole.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Turning around, Ling Yu activated his Rinnegan. A powerful repulsive force slammed into Ibuse, sending it flying.
After repelling both enemies, Ling Yu immediately flashed away from the battlefield and reappeared behind Mikoto and Kushina.
All because of that idiot Katō Dan—who was told to retreat but refused, even thinking he could take down Hanzō. What a delusional dream.
Katō Dan was no match for Hanzō—the gap in strength was too vast. After only a few exchanges, he was already heavily injured and on the verge of being split in half.
In the critical moment, Ling Yu flashed behind Katō Dan and punched Hanzō's weapon, knocking it away.
"Hmph—useless! Die!"
Still refusing to give up, Hanzō grinned cruelly and thrust a kunai toward Katō Dan's heart with his left hand.
Hanzō's sudden second attack caught Ling Yu off guard. Even with his speed, he couldn't guarantee a complete block.
He could only try his best.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Though Ling Yu unleashed the repulsive force and sent Hanzō flying, in the very last moment, Hanzō still managed to stab Katō Dan.
"Ahhh!"
Under Ling Yu's stunned gaze, Katō Dan let out a blood-curdling scream.
The next instant, blood sprayed from below Katō Dan's waist. A short, stick-like object—along with two round orbs—flew out from between his legs.
Ding! Congratulations, host! Hidden mission triggered—Sever Katō Dan's lingering obsession with Tsunade. Mission completed. Reward: Exquisite Chest ×2, Exchange Points +200.
Holy crap… so the Curse Talisman of Misfortune was for this? And he even got two Exquisite Chests out of it.
Damn… that's ruthless. But well done. Now let's see if Katō Dan still dares to go after Tsunade.
Grabbing the gravely injured Katō Dan, Ling Yu activated Space Power and tossed him like trash toward the two lightly wounded Konoha ninja.
Then he turned away—he didn't want to look any longer. It was too disgusting.
"Now! Take him and retreat immediately."
Pointing at Katō Dan—who was still rolling on the ground in agony—Ling Yu ordered the two ninja.
"Mm… yes!"
Snapping out of their shock, the sharp-faced ninja quickly hoisted Katō Dan onto his back. The other ninja led the way as they fled toward the Konoha camp.
"Damn it! Don't let them escape! Ibuse—use Poison Mist!"
Scrambling back to his feet, Hanzō immediately shouted at his summon.
Puff—
At his command, Ibuse spewed a thick cloud of purple poisonous mist that rapidly spread across the battlefield.
"Poison gas?! How insidious! We need to get out of here—I don't have an antidote."
Seeing the mist spreading quickly toward them, Ling Yu didn't dare take it head-on. He immediately used Space Power to teleport behind the two girls, lifting both of them into the air and out of the poison's range.
Meanwhile, the Rain ninja—experienced as they were—had already put on their masks the moment the mist appeared, avoiding inhalation.
But poor Katō Dan and the two Konoha ninja had no such protection. They inhaled the poison and quickly collapsed, paralyzed and unconscious.
"Damn it! Useless trash! They're just dragging me down."
Seeing Katō Dan and the others' state, Ling Yu cursed inwardly.
"Wind Style: Tornado!"
Seeing the three about to be captured, Ling Yu quickly summoned a small tornado that swept away the surrounding poison mist.
"I'll take you two out first—then come back to save them."
Opening a teleportation gate, Ling Yu sent the girls back, then flashed away from the spot and headed toward the ground.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Arriving in front of the unconscious Katō Dan and the two ninja, Ling Yu summoned a water dragon that blasted back the surrounding Rain ninja. Then he prepared to grab the three and escape.
"Attack! Don't let them get away!"
"By the way, Hanzō—thanks for helping me out big time. Here's a little gift for you!"
As if suddenly remembering something, Ling Yu opened another teleportation gate, tossed Katō Dan and the others back to the Konoha camp, then turned toward Hanzō and shouted.
"Susanoo!"
In the next moment, a half-bodied golden giant clad in tengu armor appeared on the battlefield. Raising the Totsuka Blade, it swung down toward the Rain ninja.
BOOM!
The ground split open with a massive fissure. Half of the Rain ninja who couldn't dodge in time were cleaved in half—their mutilated corpses tumbling into the chasm.
After the attack ended, Ling Yu's figure also vanished from the spot—leaving behind the powerless, furious Hanzō and the remaining half of the terrified Rain ninja.
"Damn it! Ling Yu—I swear we'll be enemies until death!"
…
Back at the Konoha Camp
Ling Yu returned with Mikoto and Kushina, dragging the three poisoned and unconscious Konoha ninja into the meeting room.
The sight of the three blood-soaked figures stunned every high-ranking officer present.
"Ling Yu—what happened?! What's going on?"
Tsunade was the first to rush over. She carefully checked Ling Yu, terrified he might be injured.
"What happened to Katō Dan and the others? Weren't they just gathering intelligence? How did they end up like this?"
Jiraiya walked over slowly. Glancing at Katō Dan—whose lower body was covered in blood—he asked in confusion.
"They were discovered by Hanzō. We fought, then their reinforcements arrived. Hanzō cut off his… thing, then poisoned them unconscious. We couldn't win, so we retreated."
"The intelligence is with Katō Dan. If you want to know what the Rain ninja are planning, you'll have to wake him up first."
Ling Yu gave a brief summary of the mission to the assembled jōnin.
"Poisoned by Hanzō? Then we need to detoxify them immediately. Tsunade—how's your antidote research going? Can they still be saved?"
Hearing that valuable intelligence had been obtained, Koharu Utatane immediately asked Tsunade.
"The antidote is almost finished. It won't take long to use. Their lives can be saved."
After confirming Ling Yu was unharmed, Tsunade stood up and answered.
"But the part that was cut off from him… I can't do anything about that. It's already gone for good."
She pointed at Katō Dan's mutilated lower half and shook her head helplessly.
Hearing this, every male ninja in the room instinctively clenched their legs, looking at Katō Dan with deep sympathy.
Too tragic… he doesn't even have it anymore!
"Eww… so gross."
At that moment, Kushina's voice rang out. Covering her eyes with one hand, she hid behind Ling Yu with a look of disgust.
Because of her comment, the room fell into a long silence.
"Ahem… it's fine. Do your best. Katō Dan risked his life to obtain intelligence from the Rain ninja—he deserves our respect."
In the end, it was Koharu Utatane who stepped forward and spoke respectfully to everyone:
"Alright—disperse. Take them to the medical room and have the medical ninja treat them."
With that, he dismissed the onlookers and ordered subordinates to carry Katō Dan and the others away.