"Where's the sake?!"
Hanzo the Salamander sat on the tatami mats of the room, smashing an empty sake bottle against the floor. He roared at the commotion outside, "Get me some sake, you noisy idiots!"
He shouted for a long time without getting a response. "Damn it, where are they?!" Hanzo demanded. "Are they all dead, pretending not to hear me?"
Enraged, he grabbed the chain scythe beside him, got up, and staggered outside. He was going to chop off a few of his men today to remind them of his terror!
But as soon as Hanzo opened the door, a pungent smell of blood assailed him. Then, he saw a pile of corpses on the floor.
Zabuza Momochi was strangling one of his men, and Menma stood nearby, wearing a Four-Star Mask!
"Damn it, who are you?!" Hanzo demanded. "What do you mean by killing my men in my Amegakure?!" He sobered up instantly, sensing the dangerous aura emanating from the two men ahead, and held his weapon horizontally in front of his chest, retreating while warily watching Menma and Zabuza.
That's right—he was already planning to run away before the fight even started!
"These are the ninjas who were called demigods in the Second World War?" Zabuza Momochi asked. "This kind of trash can defeat the Legendary Sannin of Konoha?" He snapped the Rain Ninja's neck with a crack, then brandished his Executioner's Blade, pointing it at Hanzo. "Boss, you don't need to lift a finger. Give me five minutes and I'll take care of him."
He instinctively cracked his knuckles, but remembering Menma's warning, smoothed his hair back instead. That's right—he'd learned that trick from Menma!
Menma: "..."
"Next time, no more stroking your hair." After forbidding Zabuza from imitating him again, Menma leisurely found a place to sit down. "If you don't want to die, stop your contempt," he said. "The Legendary Sannin of Konoha are renowned throughout the ninja world because they can survive against demigods."
Menma was speechless at Zabuza's tradition of first underestimating his opponents and then getting humiliated. If it weren't for Menma's Nine-Tails chakra protecting him, Zabuza would have died dozens of times over to survive this long!
On the other side, Hanzo quickly recognized the Executioner's Blade in Zabuza's hand. "That sword... you belong to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!" he exclaimed. "Weren't you supposed to be in seclusion? Now you're appearing in my Land of Rain. Are you trying to reignite the war?!"
"You talk too much nonsense!" Zabuza was too lazy to answer Hanzo's question. In a flash, he appeared directly in front of Hanzo, his blade slashing toward the man's neck.
"Water Clone Technique!"
Splash!
As he formed the hand seals, Hanzo—struck by the blade—instantly turned into a puddle of water.
"Such a fast Body Flicker Technique!" Zabuza's pupils contracted as he admitted he had indeed underestimated Hanzo. Then his ears twitched, listening to the sound of chains behind him. Zabuza immediately held his Executioner's Blade upright behind him, using it as a shield.
Clang!
Slash!
The chain scythe Hanzo threw struck the Executioner's Blade, then swiftly bypassed the blade as Zabuza manipulated the chains. Finally, the tip of the scythe grazed Zabuza's side, cutting his kidney!
"Not bad. You've got some skills." Zabuza frowned and stepped back, then formed the hand seals for the Hidden Mist Technique. "So, how are you going to deal with this if I can't see you?"
As he spoke, the mist rapidly expanded, becoming visible to the naked eye. Soon, the visibility in the entire room plummeted to the point of complete darkness! Because he possessed a powerful and vast amount of Nine-Tails chakra within him, Zabuza didn't hold back his chakra when using the Hidden Mist Technique, directly reducing visibility to its lowest point. Combined with the malice perception granted by the Nine-Tails chakra, he could clearly see the enemy's location without even needing to use sound to pinpoint their position!
Unfortunately, he didn't intend to use the Nine-Tails chakra right now. He wanted to use his slightly improved strength to defeat this demigod!
"Just a mere Hidden Mist Technique, kid? Who do you think you're behaving like?" Even a clay figure has some fire. Seeing Zabuza's obvious disdain, Hanzo finally snapped. "When I was making my name known throughout the ninja world, this brat was probably still nursing somewhere. I'll show you my true power!"
"Summoning Jutsu: Salamander, Ibuki!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
After a whirlwind, a gigantic salamander, its body a muddy brown and its back covered in bumpy welts, appeared at Hanzo's feet!
"Summoning a summoning beast as a shield?" Zabuza mused. "A wise choice!"
Just as Hanzo was summoning, the Executioner's Blade flashed out from the thick fog like lightning. In the blink of an eye, it slashed from the side of the salamander, across Hanzo standing on it!
Instantly, a deep gash appeared on both Hanzo and the salamander beneath his feet. Blood gushed out.
"Ibuki, spray poison mist!" Taking advantage of Zabuza's approach and attack, Hanzo seized the opportunity, manipulating the salamander beneath him to unleash a purple poison mist in the direction Zabuza swung his sword.
Whoosh!
The poison mist quickly enveloped Zabuza, making him quite conspicuous in the thick white fog!
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
"Deliberately feigning an opening, then attacking with poison and marking me?" Zabuza finally understood the power of poison that could put even the young Sannin in such a difficult position. With just a few breaths, his body felt as heavy as steel!
"Ibuki, crush him!" Based on Zabuza's coughs, Hanzo quickly pinpointed his location within the purple poison gas. The salamander beneath him leaped high into the air the instant it received the command.
Then...
Boom!
The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground echoed. The mist was quickly washed away by the poisonous gas, dissipating in an instant!
"Hmph, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are nothing special!" Hanzo declared. "At my peak, they were but a single blow!" Having easily defeated Zabuza, Hanzo regained his confidence and arrogantly pointed his chain scythe at the distant Menma. "You little brat, asking for trouble! You didn't even flinch at the spreading poisonous mist. Now it's your turn to be poisoned too!"
"Ha~" Menma yawned wearily at Hanzo's taunts. Then, looking at the ground pinned down by the salamander, he said calmly, "Zabuza, you have one minute left."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The moment Menma finished speaking, a burst of golden-red light erupted from beneath the salamander, propelling it into the sky. Immediately afterward, the salamander in the sky let out a piercing scream. It gushed blood from its lower body like a fountain!
"You actually made me use the boss's power? You've really angered me!"
"Not dead?! How is that possible?!" Hanzo's face was filled with shock. However, the next second, a golden-red light flashed like lightning. Then, Hanzo felt a bright light on his chest, followed by excruciating pain!
He looked down in disbelief. Before his eyes fell a snow-white blade, absorbing blood with an eerily eerie appearance!
"I said five minutes to finish, and I meant five minutes!"
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