Inside the Rain-Curtain Barrier—
Uchiha Yusuke and Hanzō the Salamander faced each other from a distance.
Susanoo blocked the falling rain and also thinned the surrounding mist.
With a thought, Yusuke upgraded Susanoo into the Crow-Tengu form.
He summoned a spirit weapon and swept it in a wide arc—wind pressure surged outward, instantly blowing away the fog within the rain barrier.
The Hidden Mist was dispelled, yet Hanzō showed no panic.
The battlefield was still heavy with dark clouds, rain still falling.
Even without the fog, he still held the terrain advantage.
Suigetsu of the Hōzuki clan could get instantly crushed by Killer B on land—yet once in water, he could wrestle with the fully transformed Eight-Tails and even tank a fully charged Tailed Beast Bomb head-on.
Terrain mattered—a lot.
And Hanzō wasn't just anyone. He was the peak monster who had once suppressed the young Sannin.
Yusuke might have a name in the shinobi world—
but to Hanzō, those "achievements" weren't worth mentioning.
Kisame's title as one of the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen" was impressive, wasn't it?
Yet when he met Jiraiya, he backed off before the fight even began.
Power plus a terrifying title made people instinctively fear you.
"Strongest Hokage." "Strongest Kazekage." "Demigod of the Shinobi World."
All perfect examples.
Even when infiltrating Amegakure, Jiraiya still couldn't believe anyone could defeat Hanzō.
With the fog gone, Hanzō finally revealed himself again.
Rain still interfered with the Sharingan somewhat—
but with eyes that could distinguish chakra by color, Yusuke locking onto Hanzō was no longer difficult.
"One-Sword Style: Twin Flash!"
After being pressured for so long, Yusuke finally counterattacked.
Two slashing waves screamed in—one after another.
Hanzō "greased his feet" and slipped away again.
"Body Flicker!"
While evading, Hanzō clapped his hands together and formed seals at speed.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A white water dragon shot upward and crashed straight into Yusuke's Susanoo.
Susanoo's defense was absurdly strong—this level of ninjutsu couldn't hurt it.
Hanzō frowned.
What now?
The so-called "Demigod"… and he couldn't even break Yusuke's defense?
If word got out, he'd be laughed into the ground.
This couldn't end like this.
I am Hanzō—the Demigod at the summit!
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
His hand seals blurred, and a low roar rolled from his throat.
"Come forth—Ibuse, the Salamander!"
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A column of white smoke rose.
Yusuke's gaze sharpened.
So the legendary summon from the Second War—the terrifying Salamander Ibuse—was finally entering the stage.
Within the rain, a black-brown behemoth tore through the forest like a natural disaster.
Hanzō stood atop Ibuse's head, looking down at Yusuke.
He cleared his throat and spoke evenly.
"Young man, you do have skill."
"But my salamander's poison isn't something you can shrug off."
Yusuke could ignore most ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu—
but poison really was a weak spot.
In the shinobi world, true poison masters were rare.
Only Tsunade of Konoha, Chiyo of Sunagakure, Sasori of the Red Sand, and a handful of others could reliably counter Ibuse's venom.
Yusuke's eyes flickered.
If he couldn't "immunize" poison—
then he'd have to defeat Hanzō quickly.
Once Hanzō fell, Ibuse would collapse as well.
In the next instant, a violent surge of chakra erupted from Yusuke.
"One-Sword Style: Flame Demon."
Flames wrapped the Crow-Tengu armor.
Susanoo became a blazing, towering fire giant.
Seeing it, Hanzō's expression tightened.
"Going for a quick finish?"
"Good. That's exactly what I want."
Hanzō shifted seals, and the salamander beneath him became restless.
He shouted with conviction.
"Ibuse!"
"Poison Mist Spray!"
At his command, Ibuse opened its massive maw—
and purple-brown poison fog poured out, swallowing the battlefield in moments.
Hanzō stared proudly at Yusuke.
"To die beneath my poison mist…"
"is an honor."
"Even the 'Legendary Sannin' suffered badly against this!"
Yusuke's face stayed calm, unimpressed.
Maybe the Sannin had suffered once.
But thinking poison alone could take him down—
Hanzō was being far too arrogant.
Yusuke had faced poison experts before—he'd fought Chiyo more than once.
And he'd even crossed paths with Mei Terumī, the future Fifth Mizukage—
her Boil Release was no less lethal than this salamander mist.
As the poison rolled toward him, Yusuke used Susanoo to seal off the air.
Long-term, that could cause oxygen deprivation—
but short-term, it completely nullified the poison's effect.
With time limited, Yusuke had no intention of dragging this out.
He poured chakra in—pushing the flames on Susanoo to their limit.
"One-Sword Style: Heat-Haze Impact!"
Hanzō felt a headache coming on.
He could Body Flicker away easily—
but then Ibuse would take the hit.
And the poison mist required Ibuse to maintain it.
The summon couldn't be allowed to fall.
So Hanzō formed seals again at high speed.
"Water Release: Water Barrier Wall!"
He was already extremely strong with Water Release, and with the rain-field advantage—
the spinning water wall actually blocked the flaming Susanoo strike.
Yusuke couldn't help but feel impressed.
So that's Hanzō.
This Water Barrier's sheer toughness was almost approaching Tobirama Senju.
Everyone knew the Second Hokage had mastered Water Release to a godlike level specifically to counter Uchiha Madara.
In Tobirama's presence, even the Seven Swordsmen and the Mizukage of past generations looked underwhelming.
"You might be good at 'playing with water'…"
"but I'm the man who signed a contract with the sea."
From the moment Hanzō entered the fight, Root's two squads had already withdrawn to distant high ground to watch.
With two Kage-level monsters clashing, staying close was suicidal.
Kage-level techniques often meant huge, indiscriminate area coverage—too near, and you'd get swept up.
Just look at Yusuke's sea of flame and Hanzō's poison mist—
if Root hadn't backed off, how could they still be standing?
A single stray move would leave them dead—or crippled.
Still, they cared deeply who won.
Because Hanzō killing Yusuke was the key to mission success.
One Root operative hesitated and asked:
"Captain… can Lord Hanzō really kill Uchiha Yusuke?"
The leader thought for a moment.
"Yusuke is strong, but Lord Hanzō should be stronger."
"After all, in the Second War he suppressed the Legendary Sannin alone."
Suppress the Sannin alone…?
That "Demigod" strength was truly terrifying.
To Konoha shinobi, the Sannin were living legends.
Yusuke had defeated the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki—
but compared to Hanzō's legend, it still felt "less."
By fame alone, most would assume Hanzō had the edge.
Root's men relaxed slightly.
This ambush had cost them dearly.
Three members with secret techniques were left crippled.
The genjutsu user had it worst—Yusuke's mental backlash had shattered him into a mindless husk.
Add the dead and wounded among the rank-and-file…
Root had paid an enormous price.
And those chosen by Danzo were the best of the best.
Danzo's "foundation" was already thinner than the Third Hokage's—
now it was worse.
But Danzo had already decided:
As long as he reclaimed the title of Hokage Advisor, he could use "expanding ANBU" as a banner to draft talented youths from the clans into Root.
He'd done it before. He knew the routine.
And with how much Hiruzen tolerated him, the Third would likely look away again, as always.
Konoha's clans weren't as threatening as Uchiha—
but they were still targets for suppression by the upper brass.
Danzo taking the blame while weakening the clans…
why wouldn't Hiruzen welcome that?
Back inside the Rain-Curtain Barrier—
the battle continued.
Susanoo could block the poison mist for a short time—
but if this dragged on, the situation clearly tilted against Yusuke.
A cold light flashed in his eyes.
I can't keep grinding like this.
I have to end it—fast.
And so Yusuke decided to stop hiding.
He slowly opened his right eye, revealing that eerie, dark-red pupil.
With a thought, he triggered his right-eye time-based ocular technique.
"Mangekyō Sharingan—Epitaph!"
His pupil spun rapidly.
His eye sank into the river of time—
and he saw several seconds of the future in an instant.
Yusuke vanished—
reappearing behind Hanzō.
He drew his sword—
and pierced straight through Hanzō's heart.
Thud.
When Hanzō regained awareness, he was already kneeling on his summon's back, body convulsing.
His lips trembled as he forced out words.
"Y-you… how… did you do that…?"
No one in the shinobi world had ever seen a time technique like this.
No wonder Hanzō was shocked.
Yusuke smiled, answering sincerely.
"Just a bit of space-time technique."
"Nothing worth making a fuss over."
Hanzō's pupils shrank violently.
"Space-time…?"
"Like the Fourth Hokage?"
"So that's it…!"
Minato's Flying Thunder God was already ghostlike.
But Yusuke's "Epitaph," which saw the future, was even more eerie and impossible to predict.
Yusuke withdrew his blade.
He believed the fight had ended—
but the "Hanzō" before him suddenly collapsed into a puddle of water.
Yusuke's eyes narrowed.
A Water Clone…?
To pull off a substitution like that under the Sharingan—
Hanzō truly wasn't simple.
In the split second Yusuke's focus shifted—
Hanzō appeared behind him.
"Your space-time technique surprised me."
"But this ends now."
"Sword Art: Iaijutsu Slash."
Using the opening, Hanzō circled behind and launched his fastest killing move—
a strike that, by all logic, Yusuke shouldn't have been able to evade.
But—
with the Mangekyō active, Uchiha could trigger ocular techniques passively.
The moment danger approached, "Epitaph" would automatically flare and show the next instant.
Even as the famed "Demigod," Hanzō realized—
he had no way to kill this man.
If it couldn't be done—
then the best strategy was clear:
retreat.
Danzo's offer was tempting…
but only if you lived long enough to enjoy it.
If he continued, he might lose his life here.
Even if Danzo promised him all of Konoha—
it would be meaningless.
And so Hanzō made the call on the spot.
"That's enough for today."
Yusuke's lips curled in mild mockery.
"Only now you want to stop?"
"Don't you think you're a little late?"
He swung repeatedly, launching several flying slashes.
Hanzō couldn't dodge them all—blood bloomed across his body.
Yet he abandoned all pride, dragged his wounded frame into a Body Flicker—
and fled.
Yusuke considered pursuit—
but the fatigue rising in his body made him stop.
He still had important things to do.
And besides—
Hanzō would die to Pain's Six Paths sooner or later.
No need to chase.
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