The chase continued.
The colossal Titan Python, formed from Gekko Chizan's chakra, was relentlessly pursuing Hanzō. No matter how Hanzō drove his giant salamander, Ibuse, he couldn't shake off his pursuer.
"Persistent little brat."
"Ibuse, dive underground."
Annoyance flickered in Hanzō's eyes as he gave the order. His hands then blurred through several hand seals, a cold gleam flashing within his gaze.
Ibuse obeyed his master's command completely and immediately burrowed into the ground.
Seeing this, Gekko Chizan sneered, "Hey, old man! Don't run!"
"I heard that salamander of yours is highly poisonous—let's see if I can eat it without getting a stomachache!"
The Titan Python didn't slow down in the slightest. In fact, it opened its massive jaws and lunged straight at the salamander.
"Hmph!"
Hanzō snorted coldly, his eyes snapping open in that instant—making Gekko Chizan's instincts scream that something was wrong.
"Chizan, the entire area is covered in explosive tags!"
Tagorihime's warning made Gekko Chizan freeze for a split second. Explosive tags?
Explosive tags were unlike ninja—they were just strips of paper until activated by chakra. They emitted no aura, not even natural energy could detect them.
Only thanks to Tagorihime's sharp eyes had they noticed something amiss.
The Titan Python was moving too fast. It was far too late to stop, and it couldn't coil its body in time.
"Good perception. Unfortunately… too late!"
"Fire Release: Explosive Flame Array!"
Countless explosive tags erupted from beneath the ground. These had been expertly placed by Hanzō during the chase, with such precision that he'd even made Ibuse circle around earlier.
"Tch, got tricked, huh. As expected of you, old man—you've got some moves!"
Gekko Chizan cursed under his breath as the tags clung to the Titan Python's massive body.
He recognized this jutsu. If Tsunade and Jiraiya were here, they'd recognize it too.
After all, during the Second Great Ninja War—the battle that made the Sannin famous—Hanzō had nearly crippled Tsunade with this exact Explosive Tag technique. If not for Jiraiya using Needle Jizō to save her, Tsunade might have been gravely injured… or worse.
Even Jiraiya, shielded by Needle Jizō, had been hurt by that blast.
These tags weren't ordinary—Hanzō infused each one with chakra, massively increasing their explosive power.
In the original timeline, even Nagato's crippling injuries were thanks to this very technique.
"It's just a little snake formed from chakra—blow it up!"
"BOOM!"
A deafening explosion roared across the battlefield. With no way to escape the trap, Gekko Chizan could only release a surge of chakra to withstand the blast head-on.
"This old man's not half bad. Don't worry, Chizan—I'm here. Get ready to counterattack."
"Sage Art: Shedding of the Serpent!"
The explosion came too suddenly. Aside from passive defense, there was no time to react—but Ichikishimahime abruptly manifested in human form before Chizan, her hands pressed together, snake-like pupils glinting.
Immediately, the chakra around Gekko Chizan began to flow. Amid the blast's shockwave, natural energy enveloped him, pulling his body underground—while his serpent form remained above, still visible.
It was a perfect external avatar technique.
"The one in the snake body is just my Genjutsu illusion. Since your serpent form is a convergence of natural energy, it's easy to project illusions onto it instantly."
"Also, my Shedding of the Serpent technique doesn't sever your link to the serpent—you can still control it."
Ichikishimahime's hands remained in prayer; clearly, she hadn't stopped channeling her jutsu.
"Well done, Ichikishimahime. You hold the line—I'll go take care of that old bastard!"
Having narrowly evaded the explosion, Gekko Chizan's blood was pumping. Wildly excited, he immediately began searching for Hanzō's position.
At the same time, he asked Tagitsuhime to locate the venomous salamander.
"Found it, Chizan—it's directly below you, about fifty meters underground."
Hearing this, Gekko Chizan grinned.
"Good. Tagitsuhime, Tagorihime—let's give that oversized salamander a lesson it won't forget. Let's see if it can still run!"
His body, wrapped in chakra, dove freely through the earth, moving closer and closer to his target.
Tagitsuhime and Tagorihime acted in unison—two long serpents suddenly shot out from beside Gekko Chizan, tunneling straight toward the underground depths. Their pure chakra forms sliced through the earth with ease.
In an instant, they reached the giant salamander's lair. Both snakes bared their fangs and struck, wrapping around the resting creature from both sides.
Though the salamander's body was massive and poisonous, those fangs were no joke.
The explosions above ground were still raging, while below, the salamander thrashed in agony.
"BOOM!"
Writhing wildly, the salamander barreled toward the surface, relying on its sheer physical toughness to force its way up.
"Hmph! Trying to run again?"
"Get back down!"
Tagitsuhime wouldn't allow it to escape. As the snakes bit into it, she clapped her hands together.
Natural energy surged, transforming into countless serpents that coiled around the salamander's body, burying it beneath a writhing tide of snakes.
"ROAR!"
A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the salamander's maw.
Its venom was potent—but Tagitsuhime's sage techniques weren't about poison.
Her unique Sage Art specialized in restraint. Anything bitten by her snakes would become paralyzed and fall into illusion.
Now the salamander was utterly disoriented—its mind clouded, its body on the verge of collapse.
"Don't even think about escaping!"
"You're Hanzō's greatest weapon. Once you're dead, he'll lose his sharpest fangs."
Gekko Chizan thrust out his left hand—Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!—and a mass of serpents shot toward the struggling salamander and Hanzō below.
At the same time, he drew a scroll from his waist. With a loud puff, a gleaming sword appeared in his grasp.
The Kusanagi Blade.
"Time to finish this!"
"One-Sword Style—Lion Trembles!"
He swung with one hand, chakra surging violently into the Kusanagi Blade.
"ROAR!"
A lion's roar echoed—but instead of fierce and majestic, it sounded like a baby cub's soft mewl.
It was ridiculous. More like a kitten's growl than a lion's. The same way that cat's "dragon roar" had been tiny and cute—except this wasn't cute, it was humiliating.
Damn system! It tricked him again!
Still, with chakra coursing through it, the Kusanagi Blade flared with cold light, extending sharply as it sliced through the underground space in a blinding arc.
Above ground, the Titan Python—no longer supported by Chizan's chakra—had taken severe damage from the explosive tags.
Then, the ground suddenly began to tremble.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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