While Tsunade was unconscious…
Inside the tower in the Land of Rain.
Hanzō of the Salamander sat on a wooden chair, listening to his subordinate's report, his mind automatically reconstructing the scene of Iwagakure's attack on Amegakure.
"Of the three pharmaceutical workshops, two processing sites were looted by the Iwa-nin. Only the secret workshop closest to the tower—where no one is allowed to enter except you, Hanzō-sama—suffered damage to its outer sensory barrier."
At this point, the Rain ninja kneeling on one knee spoke with deep regret:
"I never expected that besides Iwagakure, Konoha ninja would also seize the chance to infiltrate. I was careless and failed to strengthen the secret workshop's guard. Please punish me, Hanzō-sama."
"No need to blame yourself, Sagawa. You did well. Protecting the village is what matters most."
Hanzō toyed with a storage scroll, as though his gaze were piercing through it—staring at the Flying Thunder God kunai and stones sealed inside. He said in a low voice:
"Without prior intelligence, anyone facing a Flying Thunder God user for the first time will be nine parts dead."
"In front of that technique, the more people you throw at it, the more openings you give them. Seven men or seventy—either way, it's just feeding them to death."
Clenching the scroll, Hanzō snorted.
"It's good that the three workshops were divided between Iwagakure and Konoha. I separated the formula and the medicines—each workshop handles a portion, and the final step is done by me."
"Unless someone loots all three workshops at once, no one will obtain the complete formula. This time, I won't give them time to research it the way I did Sunagakure."
Sagawa looked up, eyes full of admiration. "As expected of Hanzō-sama… so you already foresaw this day."
In truth, Hanzō was simply habitually cautious—he didn't put all eggs in one basket.
If producing antidote didn't require so many herbs and steps, if he didn't have to run the village, and if using shadow clones wouldn't pile on fatigue, Hanzō wouldn't even want to entrust the formula and production to subordinates. He would have preferred to do everything personally.
"Slug… Princess Tsunade… Flying Thunder God… and the Sword of the Thunder God…" Hanzō murmured. "There's no doubt those two are Konoha ninja. That summon, that jutsu, that blade—none of it can truly be hidden or disguised."
"White hair… Could that kid be a descendant of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama? Even if not, he's likely still connected to the forest Senju."
"Konoha quietly cultivated a new-era 'Senju Tobirama.' If that spreads, the great nations won't be able to sit still."
Hanzō suddenly formed a one-handed seal and cast a genjutsu on Sagawa.
Sagawa's eyes went blank for more than ten seconds.
When he snapped back, Hanzō was issuing orders:
"Have someone draw the boy's face. Mass-produce portraits. And spread the message outside: Iwagakure attacked us and stole the complete antidote formula."
"Yes!"
Sagawa lowered his head, then raised it again, puzzled.
"Hanzō-sama… we won't spread the identity of that Flying Thunder God user, or that Konoha also looted a workshop?"
"There's no point saying it now," Hanzō said coldly. "Those two great nations will only half-believe it. If Konoha wasn't here for the antidote formula, they likely wouldn't have played that card. By the time they confirm the truth, who knows how long it will take."
He rose with a sneer. "Once I return from the Land of Fire's border, they'll believe whether they want to or not."
"Since they chose to step onto the stage, none of them get to leave. I'll use this chance to weaken all three great nations at once."
Under Sagawa's worshipful gaze, Hanzō turned into an afterimage and vanished.
He didn't secretly leave Amegakure using the salamander's burrowing ability—there was no point.
The Hyuga's Byakugan, the Aburame's insects, the Inuzuka's ninja dogs—those three clans alone covered far, mid, and close-range sensing, plus sight-through and scent tracking.
Not to mention other clans with sensory specialists, or blood contracts with various summons.
And since Konoha had been allied with Uzushio, they undoubtedly possessed the shinobi world's best sensory barriers—likely set up far from the border base.
To infiltrate the Land of Fire's border base without being noticed—forget a burrowing salamander, even a flying Ōnoki couldn't do it.
So Hanzō didn't hide his intent at all. He wanted to openly tell the three surrounding great nations: he was heading to the Land of Fire's border base—not going to "avenge" himself on the Land of Earth that had recently attacked Amegakure.
That message quickly reached the command centers of the three great nations.
Neither the Land of Wind nor the Land of Earth gloated. Both raised their guard.
…
At the Wind Country border command post, Chiyo frowned as she listened to her brother Ebizō, who handled spy intelligence.
"Demigod just finished fighting us, and Amegakure was raided by Iwa right after. Instead of retaliating against the Land of Earth, he's heading straight for the Land of Fire border… Is it a feint? Is his true target us, or the Land of Earth?"
"Feint or not, we can't relax," Ebizō analyzed. "Even though you developed an antidote formula, every tube of antidote and every set of protective gear is extra military expense—plus huge manpower and material cost."
"And the salamander's poison refills in only five minutes."
"Unless we're confident we can kill that pinnacle-level monster, we should keep our original strategy: disperse our units. Avoid when possible."
Ebizō's gaze deepened. "Now that the Land of Earth has entered the game, I don't believe they attacked Amegakure just to loot the 'strongest military base' of a small country."
"Most likely, Ōnoki's goal is to seize antidote—or the antidote formula—while we keep Hanzō and the salamander pinned down."
"He struck this decisively because Iwagakure's scouts and Anbu already had highly reliable intelligence and strong confidence."
"Whether or not the Land of Earth succeeded, their move is effectively a declaration of war on the Land of Rain."
"Now Rain is facing a one-versus-two situation. Hanzō didn't go retaliate against the Land of Earth—which doesn't even have an antidote production line yet—and instead rushed to the Land of Fire border… either it's a smokescreen like you said, or he's trying to force the Land of Fire to enter the war."
Ebizō looked at Chiyo and suddenly asked:
"If the two other great nations around us have antidote and only we don't—and that shinobi world's deadliest poison keeps gassing us—what do we do?"
Chiyo's eyes flashed. "Steal."
"Exactly. We can only steal—and we must steal," Ebizō said. "Whether it's stealing from Amegakure like Iwa did, or stealing from us or the Land of Earth, the Land of Fire will enter."
"Then Hanzō only needs to control the antidote supply—or even stop producing it altogether—and grind Konoha down. In the end, Konoha will only have the option of robbing us or Iwa."
"And if Konoha doesn't choose that, but instead gathers an army to attack Amegakure—forcing Hanzō to fight head-on and preventing him from spreading poison widely—we still can't sit and watch. Otherwise we'd be handing that three-nation junction over to the Land of Fire."
"If Rain becomes Fire's territory, we—already separated by the buffer of the Land of Rivers—become even more passive. The Land of Earth too," Ebizō said coldly. "It's an open, naked scheme."
Chiyo couldn't help sighing sincerely. "Impressive. Even in a situation like this, he isn't blinded by hatred, and he found a plan so quickly. No wonder they call him 'Demigod.' Luckily he wasn't born in Sunagakure—and thankfully he wasn't born in a Five Great Village."
"Actually," Ebizō said quietly, "there's a third possibility."
"That is: Konoha didn't sit still. The moment they saw Iwa move, they moved too—stealing something as well—giving Hanzō a reason to go after them."
"If Konoha also got the formula, that's the worst-case scenario for us."
Chiyo's face immediately darkened—she understood.
If all three great nations had the antidote formula, who would they target next?
As much as she hated to admit it, the Land of Wind truly was the weakest of the Five Great Nations.
The old balance existed because Rain—and Hanzō—sat in the middle as a check.
Now everyone had confidence against the salamander's poison, but Hanzō still kept pounding Wind.
If they kept grinding with Rain, Wind's already imbalanced economy would only worsen.
Then, between great nations and small, between Fire and Earth—who would they choose to strike?
Chiyo's voice turned heavy. "No. I must report to the Kazekage immediately. We have to prepare for the worst."
…
On the Earth side, the message didn't trickle to the border command and then up—it went straight to Ōnoki in Iwagakure.
"As expected, anyone who stands at the pinnacle of the shinobi world is no simple thing," Ōnoki said, giving the same high evaluation as Chiyo, his tone tinged with regret. "A man like that born in a small country… what a waste. If he were from Iwagakure, how wonderful that would be."
"No matter how strong he is, he's still just a chess piece in your hand, Dad," said Kitsuchi—fifteen years old, still a youth—eyes full of admiration, smiling as he flattered. "Just like you said, our terrain, plus your Light-Weight/Heavy-Weight and Dust Release, are natural defense and deterrence. Hanzō chose to drag the Land of Fire into the war instead of retaliating against us."
"As long as Hanzō opens the door, we add one more spark, and Sunagakure—already in the game—won't miss the chance to kick Fire while it's down. The situation shifts instantly from Rain vs. Wind to Fire being focused by three nations."
"With Wind and Rain consuming Fire's strength, the Land of Earth can definitely bite off a chunk of Fire!"
Watching his son's swagger—like he didn't even fear Hanzō or Wind—Ōnoki lectured sternly:
"Brat, never underestimate anyone at the pinnacle—especially someone with strategic deterrence who can fight a nation alone. That's the most terrifying kind of person."
"Do you know why Hanzō is called the shinobi demigod?"
"Because if that man goes mad, he can turn the entire shinobi world into a living hell."
"And neither I nor the Third Raikage has that kind of ability—or deterrence."
"The last man the shinobi world feared like that was Uchiha Madara, the Shinobi Asura who could rival the God of Shinobi."
Ōnoki continued heavily:
"Even if their combat power isn't on the same level, if Hanzō wanted, he could still turn the Land of Earth into a country with only Iwagakure left."
"Then what position do you think we'd be in?"
Kitsuchi imagined it, shuddered, and spoke with lingering fear.
"Dad… is that why you strictly forbade mass slaughter—why you ordered we must not harm Amegakure's children and youths?"
"Correct," Ōnoki said. "If you destroy Amegakure's future, he can destroy yours."
"Unless we can kill that salamander and confirm that the summoning realm has only one salamander, this is an unwritten rule even the Five Great Villages must obey."
"If you want to be Tsuchikage one day, remember that. Understand?"
"I understand, Dad," Kitsuchi nodded obediently.
"Pass my order: disperse the combat units. Keep the sensory and barrier teams at the border base only," Ōnoki said, eyes deep. "If Hanzō's trip to Fire's border is a smokescreen and his true target is us, have the combat units abandon the border base and fall back to protect the nearest towns. If he dares to push deeper, I'll act personally."
Then Ōnoki emphasized, "Remember: until we develop an antidote for the salamander poison, any squad that encounters Hanzō—whether it's him, a shadow clone, or someone using Transformation—if you can't confirm the truth, disperse and retreat immediately. Squads skilled in earth-movement should prioritize anti-poison gear and cover the withdrawal, but do not fight. Survival is the top priority!"
"Yes!"
Kitsuchi nodded and Body Flickered away from the Tsuchikage's office.
Ōnoki's small body floated up as he flew from the window to the rooftop of the Tsuchikage tower. Looking out over the Iwagakure he had always protected, he stood silent, as if lost in memory.
After a long time, his eyes sharpened with resolve. Facing toward the Land of Fire, he whispered:
"The Second Great Ninja War… has begun."
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!