Chapter 443: Mei Terumi vs. Hanzo the Salamander
The wind howled across the battlefield, snapping the banners overhead. Chiyo's reanimated eyes narrowed as she stared at the forehead protectors worn by the shinobi standing opposite her. The familiar hourglass emblem of the Hidden Sand was there, but it was etched right alongside the leaf insignia of Konoha.
"Why is it carved together with the symbol of Konoha?" The old woman's voice rasped, dripping with venom. "Where is the Kazekage? Where is that useless trash, Rasa?"
A heavy silence fell over the ranks. From within the formation of Sunagakure troops, a tall Jonin stepped out. Mu Cang. He wore the standard flak jacket, but his posture held a rigid, unyielding pride. As the current Captain of Konoha's Sunagakure Division, he looked down at the old woman who had once held absolute authority in their village. His eyes carried no reverence. Only cold, detached indifference.
"Rasa is already dead," Mu Cang stated, his voice flat. "He died at the hands of Hokage-sama."
The words struck Granny Chiyo like a physical blow. Her reanimated paper-like skin seemed to pull tighter over her bones. "Then you all..."
"We surrendered." Mu Cang cut her off, his tone entirely matter-of-fact. "To preserve the last of Sunagakure's bloodline, we chose to submit to Konoha. The Hidden Sand Village of the past no longer exists. There is only the Konohagakure, Sunagakure Division."
"You bastard!" Chiyo's withered frame trembled. Her chakra flared, a violent, jagged spike of energy that instantly summoned several wooden puppets to her side. Their articulated jaws clattered in the tense air. "You spineless cowards! To think you would side with the enemy who murdered the Kazekage! Today, I shall clean house and purge the traitors!"
"Clean house?" Mu Cang scoffed. He reached over his shoulder, drawing his ninjato in one fluid motion. The steel hissed against the scabbard as he leveled the tip directly at Chiyo's face. "Old woman, times have changed. Under your rule, the Hidden Sand Village couldn't even get enough water to drink. But now, under the governance of Lord Akira, we not only have enough to eat, but we can also learn even stronger ninjutsu."
He took a deliberate step forward. His chakra erupted, swirling around his blade. "The so-called Kazekage, the so-called dignity—can those things put food on the table? Old relics like you, who can only cling to the glory of a bygone era, should rot in the Pure Land forever! Stop coming out to make a fool of yourself!"
Chiyo's jaw locked. Her fingers twitched, chakra threads snapping taut.
A low, chilling laugh echoed from the side.
Scorch Release Pakura stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her reanimated eyes fixed on Chiyo with undisguised mockery. "How ironic, Elder Chiyo. Back then, for the sake of the village's so-called interests, you sold me out to the Hidden Mist. You orchestrated my tragic death. And the result?"
Pakura tilted her head, a cruel smile twisting her lips. "The village you fought so hard to protect has now become Konoha's dog."
The air around Pakura warped and shimmered. Several orange-red fireballs manifested, orbiting her body like miniature suns. The intense heat instantly baked the moisture from the ground beneath her feet. "It seems the Hidden Sand Village has indeed declined. In that case, I will personally bury it."
Beside her, Gari of the Explosion Release cracked his neck. The bones popped loudly in the stifling heat. "I'm not interested in politics," the Iwagakure shinobi grunted, rolling his broad shoulders. "I just want to know if there's an opponent here worth blowing up."
The atmosphere snapped tight. Weapons were drawn across the Allied Forces' front line, steel gleaming under the harsh light.
"Enough."
Hanzo the Salamander swung his massive kusarigama. The heavy chain rattled, a sharp, impatient sound that cut through the rising tension. "I have no interest in listening to your reminiscing. Since we've been summoned, there is only battle."
Beneath his respirator mask, Hanzo's oppressive gaze locked onto the Allied Forces' vanguard. "You brats in front. If you don't want to die, get lost. Otherwise, I will make this land stained with poisonous blood once again."
"What big words."
A charming, distinctly lazy voice drifted from the back of the Allied ranks. The crowd parted. Mei Terumi stepped forward, her elegant gait unhurried. Her long auburn hair fell over her right eye, framing a smile that didn't quite reach her gaze.
"The Demi-god?" Mei stopped at the forefront, resting a hand on her hip. "Just an outdated old man. Since you're already dead, stay obediently in your coffin. This isn't a place for your retirement."
Hanzo's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "A little girl from the Hidden Mist? It seems the young people nowadays lack manners. In that case..."
His arm blurred. The kusarigama lashed out with explosive force. "Let me teach you what reverence for the strong means!"
The scythe blade tore through the air, carrying a lethal, cold glint as it aimed directly for Mei's throat.
The battle erupted.
Mei did not retreat a single inch. Her hands flew through a rapid sequence of hand seals.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
She opened her mouth and exhaled a massive, tidal wave of highly corrosive, viscous acid. The glowing, yellow-green sludge surged forward, crashing directly into the incoming chain and blade of the kusarigama.
A violent hiss filled the air. The sound of metal being eaten away shrieked across the battlefield. The moment Hanzo's legendary weapon touched the acid, thick white smoke billowed upward. The steel surface rapidly pitted, bubbling and warping under the extreme corrosion.
Hanzo yanked the chain back, a flash of genuine surprise in his dark eyes as he inspected the damaged blade. "A decent Kekkei Genkai. But before me, it's not enough!"
He bit his thumb and slammed his palm against the earth.
"Summoning Technique: Salamander!"
A colossal cloud of white smoke detonated across the field. The ground quaked as a massive, venomous salamander materialized out of thin air, its heavy belly crushing the rock beneath it.
"Ibuse! Spray the poison!"
The beast opened its cavernous maw. A thick, purple mist erupted outward, rolling across the battlefield like a suffocating blanket. Wherever the toxic cloud touched, grass instantly withered to ash, and solid rocks blackened and cracked.
"Everyone, fall back!" Mei shouted, her expression hardening as she waved her arm, signaling the vanguard to retreat. Hanzo's poison was legendary—a lethal toxin that even the legendary Sannin had feared.
"Trying to run?" Hanzo's voice echoed from the mist. "Too late!"
Standing atop Ibuse's massive head, Hanzo formed a single seal. Body Flicker Technique.
His entire form dissolved into a blurred afterimage. In a fraction of a second, the Demi-god materialized directly behind Mei, the heavy scythe of his kusarigama sweeping horizontally toward her spine.
Mei spun on her heel, drawing a kunai in a desperate parry. Sparks showered as the scythe slammed into her meager blade. The sheer kinetic force of the blow shattered the ground beneath her boots, sending her skidding backward several paces.
Using the momentum of the retreat, Mei brought her hands together.
"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!"
She exhaled a dense, superheated cloud of acidic vapor, forcing Hanzo to leap back to avoid being melted to the bone. The two Kage-level combatants instantly locked into a high-speed, lethal dance of steel and corrosive mist.
Meanwhile, on the opposite flank.
"Mu Cang! Die!" Granny Chiyo shrieked. Her ten fingers danced in perfect, terrifying unison, chakra threads glowing a faint blue in the dusty air.
"Secret White Move: Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets!"
Ten figures draped in white robes burst from the sealing scrolls. They hit the ground running, wooden joints clacking in a macabre rhythm. Each puppet wielded a different lethal weapon, their painted faces twisted into eerie, permanent grins as they charged toward Mu Cang with overwhelming murderous intent.
"Come at me!" Mu Cang roared, gripping his ninjato with both hands.
"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
He channeled his chakra into the steel. The blade elongated, wrapped in a howling vortex of razor-sharp wind. With a brutal, sweeping cleave, he severed the head and right arm of the leading puppet, sending splintered wood flying into the air.
He raised his sword high, turning to the troops behind him. "Brothers of the Sunagakure Division! Show these old relics! We are fighting for our survival!"
"Kill!"
The battle cry tore from the throats of the Sunagakure shinobi. Drawing their blades and readying their jutsu, the newly minted Konoha loyalists surged forward, crashing head-on into Chiyo's legendary puppet army.
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
Pakura sneered. Her lithe figure blurred, darting into the thickest cluster of shinobi like a vengeful phantom. The miniature suns orbiting her body flared. One of the orange-red fireballs merely brushed past the shoulder of a charging ninja.
There was no fire. No burning clothes.
The shinobi simply froze. In an instant, his skin shriveled tightly against his skull. His eyes sank into their sockets as every single drop of moisture inside his body evaporated into thin air. He collapsed to the dirt, nothing more than a desiccated, mummified husk.
"Aaaaah!"
Terrified screams ripped through the formation.
"Watch out for those fireballs! Don't let them touch you!"
Before they could regroup, the ground beneath them heaved.
"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"
Gari slammed his bare fist directly into the bedrock. A deafening boom shattered the battlefield. The earth ruptured outward in a massive shockwave, sending jagged boulders and a dozen Konoha shinobi flying through the air like broken dolls.
The sudden addition of four Kage-level powerhouses immediately plunged the previously advantaged Allied Forces into a desperate, bitter struggle. The sheer destructive output of Hanzo and Pakura alone was catastrophic, tearing massive holes in the defensive lines.
"Damn it..."
Mei landed heavily on a shattered boulder, her chest heaving violently. Sweat beaded on her forehead, stinging her eyes. Hanzo truly lived up to his moniker as the Demi-god. His physical strength, speed, and tactical ruthlessness were frighteningly overwhelming.
But the most despair-inducing factor was the Edo Tensei. The reanimated body possessed limitless chakra and absolute immortality. Every time her corrosive mist managed to melt away a chunk of his flesh or armor, the paper-like debris simply fluttered back into place, restoring him to perfect condition in seconds. No matter how ferociously she attacked, the opponent simply regenerated.
"What's wrong?"
Hanzo stood perfectly still within the swirling purple poisonous mist, entirely unscathed. His cold, dead eyes locked onto her.
"Out of strength already?" He slowly raised the heavy kusarigama, the chain clinking ominously in the toxic haze. "It seems Konoha is nothing more than this."
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