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Chapter 91: Black Zetsu's Confusion, One Year Later
After their previous encounter, both Hanzo of the Salamander and the salamander itself had already experienced firsthand just how troublesome Flying Thunder God Technique could be.
Having destroyed the border base, the salamander's attention wasn't focused on its summoner at all. Instead, it fixed entirely on the young man who'd destroyed its tail and nearly killed it several months ago.
Opening its massive maw once more, the salamander drew in countless tons of water. But rather than immediately spitting it out as a water column, it built up power.
The moment it saw Yoru vanish via teleportation, the creature immediately whipped its head toward Orochimaru's direction and unleashed another massive blast of water.
Glancing to the side, Orochimaru didn't use Water Body Flicker to accelerate his escape. Instead, he formed the hand seals for Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
"Roarrr!"
Yoru and Jiraiya's figures had just appeared beside Orochimaru when an earsplitting roar echoed through the water prison.
Then an enormous water dragon carrying all three of them burst out of the water prison, its body twisting to evade the massive water column that shot out behind them.
Unfortunately, the water dragon's size and speed fell far short of the salamander's attack. It was struck and exploded almost immediately.
Fortunately, Yoru and the others had already separated from the water dragon before impact, landing in the rain-soaked forest below.
Splash...
Seeing the border base already destroyed and Yoru's group escaped from the water prison, Hanzo stopped maintaining its form.
Countless tons of water scattered in all directions like ocean waves, roaring outward on all sides.
The surging waves rose much higher than the forest trees, submerging vast swaths of woodland.
Whether it was Yoru's group who'd just escaped the water prison, or the Rain ninja who'd used Body Flicker to reach the forest's outer perimeter to support Hanzo or block enemy reinforcements, all were engulfed by the massive waves.
But that was the extent of it.
Everyone present possessed either powerful chakra control or mastery of Water Release techniques. They easily used the submerged forest or manipulated the surrounding water flow to dissipate the wave's impact force, preventing their bodies from slamming into trees and getting injured.
When the waves finally dispersed, the steel-curtain-like downpour once again consumed the forest.
A world of white haze stripped everyone of their ability to see any distance.
The endless sound of pouring rain filled everyone's ears, drowning out all other noise.
Yoru's group and Hanzo didn't hide within the rainforest. Instead, they stood atop large trees, using sensory techniques to track each other's positions.
If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move. The standoff continued.
Until a tremendous crash shattered the atmosphere.
A giant beast burst forth like a fish leaping from water, its massive jaws open wide, swallowing the entire tree beneath Orochimaru's feet while trying to devour him as well.
Orochimaru had already prepared. The moment he felt the tree beneath him shake, he'd already gathered chakra and exploded into motion, becoming a blur as he leaped skyward. Simultaneously forming one-handed seals, he gripped a wind blade and slashed toward the salamander.
If this were several months ago, Orochimaru's level of Wind Release would have been shattered by a single tail swipe from the salamander, with the remaining force continuing to attack him.
But now, the salamander had lost its strongest weapon.
Perhaps this wind blade still couldn't break through its powerful defense, but it would certainly cause pain.
So the salamander transformed into white smoke, returning to the summoning realm.
Orochimaru continued forming seals mid-air. Before his figure even landed on another tree, he exhaled a blast of compressed air toward Hanzo's direction.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
The airflow expanded, transforming into a high-density compressed spiral storm. Like an unstoppable blade, it instantly severed tree after tree, blowing away the dense rain curtain and kicking up vast clouds of dust as it roared toward Hanzo.
Wind moved fast, but Hanzo moved faster.
He flickered across the forest treetops like teleportation, vanishing from the spiral storm's attack range in an eyeblink.
Whoosh!
Reappearing via Body Flicker on another tree, Hanzo's vision suddenly registered a curved black shape emerging from the rain curtain before him.
It was a chakra blade wreathed in black lightning.
Hanzo raised his chain-scythe and collided with the black blade.
The next second, the scythe was severed without even producing a snapping sound.
Seeing this, Hanzo didn't show the slightest shock. Instead, his lips curled slightly upward.
Yoru, who'd used the rain curtain's cover to close in, felt his pupils contract. Then he vanished via teleportation.
BOOM!
The moment he disappeared, a massive explosion thundered forth.
It was the familiar shadow clone self-destruction.
"That's seriously underhanded!"
Appearing on a tree branch where he'd previously placed a Flying Thunder God seal, Yoru couldn't help but complain.
All this time, Yoru had been the one ambushing others. Even during their battle several months ago, he'd successfully ambushed Hanzo and the salamander, nearly finishing them both off.
But now, Hanzo was clearly guarding against him. Not only was he not fighting alongside the salamander, he was even defending against Yoru's chakra concealment by never exposing his real body. He used shadow clones as bait instead.
Shadow clones were incredibly difficult to distinguish from the original. Even Yoru couldn't tell them apart.
Moreover, sensory techniques remained one of Yoru's current weaknesses.
If he possessed Mind's Eye of Kagura level sensing, even if Hanzo created shadow clones, both his real body and the clones' chakra positions would be exposed in Yoru's perception.
But right now, Yoru could sense Hanzo's chakra. He just couldn't determine whether it was the real body or a shadow clone.
If it was the latter, that meant Hanzo was using an advanced hiding technique and concealing himself somewhere unknown.
Regardless of whether the visible Hanzo was a shadow clone or real body, Yoru's group couldn't ignore him.
Shadow clone assassination techniques were equally lethal.
With just one move, Yoru realized how difficult Hanzo had become.
Ambushing Hanzo like last time was probably impossible now.
Still, Yoru didn't immediately give up. He decided to try a few more times before retreating if unsuccessful.
What Yoru didn't know was that a pair of invisible sensory eyes were watching him from the distance.
"What kind of chakra nature transformation does that kid possess? Black lightning, or is he in the process of merging a bloodline limit?"
Space-Time chakra came with inherent high-dimensional screening. In the entire shinobi world, the number of people who could detect it... or more accurately, intelligent beings capable of detecting it, probably didn't exceed five.
Even a beyond-Kage level powerhouse like Mito Uzumaki could only barely perceive, through her mastery of Mind's Eye of Kagura, that Yoru's body contained some special nature transformation energy similar to a bloodline limit.
As for what specific nature transformation it was, she didn't know.
Only Katsuyu the Slug Sage had immediately detected Yoru's Space-Time chakra upon manifesting, and seemed to understand what kind of nature transformation this chakra contained, directly calling it a "shinobi world miracle."
This person and beast's sensory abilities stood above everyone else in the shinobi world's current generation.
Yoru didn't know that Mito Uzumaki had also discovered his secret. Currently, he only knew Katsuyu could detect his Space-Time chakra and attributed it to Sage Mode, only being wary of the Three Great Sage Regions.
But he didn't know there was one more person capable of detecting the black chakra within his body.
That person was Black Zetsu, who possessed high-dimensional perception and could even detect the Asura and Indra chakra that had reincarnated for a thousand years.
In Black Zetsu's perception, Yoru possessed two types of chakra within his body.
One was ordinary. The other was black.
Unlike Katsuyu, who frequently interacted with natural energy and space-time, Black Zetsu's reaction matched Mito Uzumaki's. He had absolutely no idea what kind of nature transformation that black chakra contained.
Seeing black lightning wrapped around both Yoru's body and weapon, he assumed this chakra was similar to the Third Raikage's Secret Technique: Black Lightning, or that Yoru was in the process of merging a bloodline limit.
From beginning to end, he never considered Space-Time chakra.
Precisely because he was the son of the Chakra Ancestor, Black Zetsu understood just how powerful the Space-Time attribute was.
Even Kekkei Mora level Space-Time abilities were mostly fixed techniques with singular applications.
How could Space-Time chakra possibly exist in this world?
As for Flying Thunder God consuming Space-Time chakra, that hadn't raised Black Zetsu's suspicions either. He simply believed both types of chakra could power Flying Thunder God Technique.
After all, chakra was internal energy. How could it possibly exist independently?
Whether it was Yoru and Orochimaru's group, Hanzo, or the Rain ninja forces hiding in the distance to observe, none discovered Black Zetsu's presence.
Rumble...
Using shadow clones as bait had successfully drawn out Yoru.
Though the self-destruction hadn't injured Yoru, the information fed back from the shadow clone allowed Hanzo to gather new intelligence.
Yoru had mastered black lightning like the Third Raikage's. Moreover, he could coat his chakra blade with it, turning the blade pitch black with astonishing power.
His Body Flicker also incorporated black lightning nature transformation, equally impressive.
Combined with his chakra concealment ability, his threat level in this rain curtain was even more formidable than several months ago.
Hanzo also began considering retreat. After all, his objective had been the border base.
But with such a heaven-sent opportunity in the weather, simply retreating left Hanzo unwilling.
So, unable to find a method to eliminate Yoru, Hanzo set his sights on Orochimaru and Jiraiya instead.
Kunai with explosive tags attached to their handles shot through the rain curtain and its concealing noise toward Orochimaru, who was using sensory techniques.
That fleeting chakra fluctuation alerted Orochimaru, who evaded via Body Flicker.
A series of explosions failed to engulf Orochimaru.
However, the flames produced by the explosions didn't extinguish in the rain. Instead, they merged to form an enormous fire dragon that roared toward Orochimaru.
Watching the seemingly self-aware fire dragon, Orochimaru used Hidden Shadow Snake Hands to grab a branch and spin down to the ground, simultaneously forming seals to create an enormous earth dragon that surged skyward.
Whoosh!
The moment the two elemental dragons collided, a cold gleam struck from behind.
The sharp scythe, pulled by its chain, severed Orochimaru's head in one stroke.
Unfortunately, no blood sprayed forth. Both Orochimaru's head and body transformed into muddy liquid.
Having used Earth Substitution and Earth Body Flicker to burrow underground, Orochimaru had just located Hanzo's chakra trail when he discovered that mass of chakra dispersing and vanishing.
From an outside perspective, Hanzo had transformed into flowing water.
In this heavy rain environment, Hanzo's Water Body Flicker stood supreme in the shinobi world. He could escape tremendous distances in an instant.
Throughout the entire shinobi world, only a handful could compete with Hanzo in Body Flicker.
Yoru counted as one. Sakumo Hatake counted as one. The Third Raikage counted as one.
Beyond being a Water Release master, Hanzo was also a Fire Release master.
Even in heavy rain, he could use the flames from explosive tags to form massive fire dragons.
A four-person game of hide-and-seek unfolded in the rainforest.
Fully aware that Yoru could burrow underground and conceal his chakra, Hanzo never let both feet touch the ground, never lingered on one tree for long, and never engaged Jiraiya or Orochimaru in close combat.
Every time, shadow clones served as bait. If they didn't draw out Yoru, Hanzo would attack Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
His attacks alternated between Water Release and Fire Release, deliberately exposing openings to lure Yoru's assassination attempts.
Through several exchanges, Hanzo discovered one of Yoru's weaknesses: his sensory techniques didn't match his Body Flicker abilities.
So young, yet his Body Flicker already stood supreme in the shinobi world. Not only had he developed an advanced silent movement technique, he'd also merged it with chakra concealment and black lightning cellular stimulation. In environments with restricted vision, even Hanzo fell far short of Yoru.
But Yoru's sensory technique was merely ordinary perception.
Unfortunately, his Body Flicker was too strong, and he had Flying Thunder God Technique. Hanzo couldn't find an opportunity to eliminate him.
Neither assassination nor using his companions as leverage succeeded.
"Let's go. We're done fighting him. We'll wait until the rain stops."
After yet another explosive tag attack destroyed his specially-made mask, Orochimaru finally stopped hesitating and spoke to Yoru, who'd teleported over to bail him out.
"Alright."
Yoru nodded in agreement. Today he'd received another lesson from this master schemer.
Using "black lightning" to disguise his Space-Time chakra, Yoru had even unleashed Dimensional Slash during this battle, successfully instant-killing Hanzo multiple times.
Except every single one had been a shadow clone. Completely underhanded.
Yoru had to admit that Hanzo's caution exceeded his own.
To eliminate this Demigod of the Shinobi World, he'd either need to develop advanced sensory techniques to break through Hanzo's hiding abilities, or develop new techniques to maintain his intelligence advantage.
So Yoru teleported away with Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
Hanzo didn't pursue.
In the rain-soaked forest, both he and Yoru held advantages while Orochimaru and Jiraiya faced disadvantages.
If not for creating opportunities for Yoru, Orochimaru and Jiraiya wouldn't have stayed.
In the rain-free forest areas, the advantage shifted to Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Eliminating them there would become significantly more difficult.
If they managed to pin him down, Yoru might actually find an opportunity to assassinate him.
That technique that instant-killed fifty-five Sand ninja remained Hanzo's primary reason for never engaging in close combat with his real body until confirming whether it was Flying Thunder God Slash or not.
Having completed his objective, Hanzo didn't linger. He led the Rain ninja forces back to the Land of Rain.
This was his first war against a great nation, and also his first time encountering enemies where everyone carried multiple antidote vials. Hanzo didn't realize that destroying an enemy nation's border base not only created greater invasion opportunities for his own side, but simultaneously removed the enemy's shackles.
Returning to Amegakure, Hanzo began assembling combat forces, preparing to formulate an invasion plan for the Land of Fire.
Before the plan was even finalized, the torrential downpour that had lasted several days gradually diminished to light rain.
Then a terrifying scene unfolded at the border between the Land of Rain and Land of Fire.
Figure after figure wearing either vests or armor became blurs shooting out from the forest, rapidly crossing the barren rocky terrain to enter the Land of Rain's mountainous region.
This intelligence quickly reached Hanzo's hands through the reconnaissance squad.
Hanzo felt a vague sense of foreboding.
However, standing at the pinnacle of the shinobi world, he initially didn't take it seriously. He even considered this situation favorable.
Konoha ninja actively entering the Land of Rain was good news for him. With his Body Flicker technique, he absolutely wouldn't give them opportunities to escape back to the forested areas.
Once large-scale warfare erupted, even if they all had poison-resistant masks and goggles, they couldn't withstand multiple doses of the salamander's deadly toxin.
Inhaling even the slightest bit of poison smoke without antidote meant certain death.
Entering the Land of Rain's mountainous region, timely resupply would prove difficult for them.
Unless they returned to the forested areas, otherwise the moment support forces appeared, the reconnaissance squad would discover them. The combat forces could eliminate those support members without Hanzo even lifting a finger.
The advantage was his!
So Hanzo prepared to lead the combat forces into full-scale war with the Land of Fire.
Then... then he was stunned!
The Konoha ninja infiltrating the Land of Rain didn't choose any single location as a base camp. Instead, they split into four-person squads, dispersing throughout the eastern territories of the Land of Rain and advancing toward Amegakure.
Wherever they passed, any discovered reconnaissance squads were eliminated by ninja forces.
Without needing enemy reinforcements to arrive, once the rain curtain intensified, they decisively retreated.
When supplies ran low, they either returned to the forested areas to resupply from support forces, or hunted game, or raided encountered villages and towns.
Though war's outbreak had caused many to flee the Land of Rain or relocate to remote areas far from the three-nation border, quite a few people remained, believing the war wouldn't reach them.
Encountering enemy nation ninja, if the opponents were kind, they might escape with their lives, losing only food and possessions.
If unlucky, entire families were destroyed.
Nagato's parents were the perfect example.
Hanzo quickly realized the gap between small and great ninja villages.
Even with just one battle line that had been weakened, Konoha's combat forces outnumbered Amegakure's by several times.
When they scattered and advanced toward Amegakure, the Rain village combat forces simply couldn't block them all.
When multiple allied ninja squads gathered, the enemy would swiftly retreat.
Pursuing them risked falling into enemy ambushes and traps.
Since the harassing enemies numbered so few, Hanzo couldn't personally intervene. Otherwise, he might fall into a trap that allowed Amegakure's walls to be breached.
Though Hanzo quickly devised countermeasures by launching active counterattacks during heavy rain and rainy nights, the enemy proved too cunning. They either retreated to the forested areas, hid to set traps, or had the three great sensory clans rotate shifts. With warnings from reconnaissance squads and ANBU, the moment enemy trails were discovered, they'd rapidly withdraw, playing hide-and-seek with Rain assassination squads in the mountainous terrain.
Fearing enemy reinforcements, Rain ninja didn't dare pursue deeply. They could only strike when opportunities arose, otherwise never engaging.
The only advantage was that unlike the previous probing period where resupply required returning to the Land of Rain, now Rain ninja resupply was extremely convenient.
However, supplies were finite. When production speed couldn't keep pace with consumption, eventually resources would run dry.
During wartime, no merchant caravans would conduct trade either.
Once Amegakure lacked supplies, they could only purchase from other regions, even from other nations.
The Land of Rain sat at the intersection of three great nations and was their enemy. Purchasing supplies abroad meant traveling to other small nations, making resupply even more difficult.
When other regions were also raided or couldn't maintain supply, that would mark Amegakure's defeat.
This was precisely Konoha's objective.
A war of attrition until Amegakure could no longer sustain it.
This was undoubtedly a prolonged war, destined to claim many ninja lives in this grinding conflict.
Hanzo also attempted breaking the deadlock by having the salamander carry him underground to assault Konoha ninja, or using Reverse Summoning Technique to drop in.
Each sortie, if lucky, could eliminate one or two ninja squads. But most times, he could only kill one or two individuals.
Because Konoha's side now had multiple antidote vials per person. When encountering Hanzo, they'd scatter and flee. He couldn't use poison smoke to wipe them out completely.
No matter how fast Hanzo's Body Flicker, he couldn't kill everyone who scattered in different directions.
Every time he acted, Hyuga clan members several kilometers away would inevitably discover him, or Inuzuka and Aburame clan ninja hounds and insects would capture his scent. Then Yoru's group or other high-level combatants would besiege other ninja squads.
Having lost their border base to Hanzo's Reverse Summoning Technique, Konoha ninja possessing this intelligence wouldn't give other ninja opportunities to perform the technique.
To use Reverse Summoning to call the salamander, Rain ninja had to perform it from a distance, equally unable to escape Hyuga eyes.
When the salamander appeared, ninja squads would continue scattering to flee.
After suffering several losses to barriers blocking perception, Konoha lost multiple ninja squads.
But the disparity in forces and attrition tactics still left Hanzo exhausted.
He'd also clashed with Yoru's group multiple times, creating many opportunities that nearly eliminated Orochimaru and Jiraiya or poisoned them.
But every time success seemed imminent, Yoru would use Flying Thunder God to bail them out, or they'd flee when antidotes ran out.
While they fought, that's when Konoha ninja struck hardest elsewhere.
After several rounds, Hanzo no longer wanted to engage them. Instead, he defended Amegakure, blocking Konoha assaults during daytime and light rain.
At night and during heavy rain, he'd launch active offensives, creating opportunities for large-scale warfare.
Just like that...
Konoha ninja and Rain combat forces ground against each other for an entire year.
Konoha Year 36, August 15th.
Before anyone realized, Yoru had turned twelve years old. In just a few more days, his birthday would arrive again.
During this year, among the three battle lines, the fiercest fighting naturally occurred between the border frontline and Amegakure.
Both White Fang's line and Danzo's line remained defensive.
After all, invading the Land of Wind or Land of Earth required not only crossing the Land of Rain, but also breaking through enemy border bases before attacking enemy military installations. The difficulty was too great.
Only the border frontline, having lost its border base, could only shift from defense to offense. Otherwise, letting Amegakure's combat forces invade Land of Fire territory would spell trouble.
Fortunately, Amegakure's forces were too limited. If the Land of Rain were a great nation, this defensive-to-offensive attrition war would have been completely unsustainable for Konoha.
Even so, they still couldn't do anything about the Demigod standing at the shinobi world's pinnacle.
Under his protection and leadership, Amegakure became an enhanced version of the border base. Even without Konoha's advanced sensory barriers, it still held for an entire year without being breached. Many times, it even forced Konoha ninja into desperate retreat.
During heavy rain and nighttime, the tables turned completely.
Facing Rain ninja who excelled at assassination techniques with home field advantage, Konoha ninja could only flee. They didn't even dare gather together, terrified of drawing Hanzo.
After a year of warfare, Yoru's transformation proved astonishing.
First, his height had reached 175 centimeters, nearly matching Orochimaru's height.
Second came changes in his gaze and bearing.
Having commanded authority, Yoru had directed multiple ninja squads in combat this year and eliminated quite a few Rain ninja. When serious, both his gaze and presence radiated sharpness and natural authority. He'd become a qualified all-around jonin.
Finally came reputation. Having shaken the shinobi world twice, he'd established a promotion record difficult to surpass.
This year's leadership and command, plus multiple encounters with the Demigod of the Shinobi World, earned Yoru recognition from both allies and enemies.
Though only twelve years old, Yoru was already acknowledged as a major figure throughout the shinobi world. He was recorded in the Bingo Book as a Konoha jonin. More than that, encountering him alone meant missions could be abandoned and retreat authorized without punishment.
Black Flash. Gojo Yoru. The Shinobi World's First Divine Speed.
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