Facing Hanzo's assault, Shinji advanced instead of retreating.
His Sharingan sharpened instantly, his pupils immediately seeing through the trajectories of the chains and sickle.
Lightning Release Chakra surged wildly into his short sword, pale blue electric light crackling and dancing along the blade.
Clang!
With a flick of his wrist, Shinji precisely deflected the entangling chain, his lightning-charged blade simultaneously slashing horizontally to clash fiercely with the sickle whistling down upon him.
The clear ring of metal colliding echoed, and a violent shockwave erupted from the two of them, spreading outward.
Shinji's brow furrowed slightly, feeling a numbing tremor in his grip.
Hanzo, already over sixty years old at this age, still possessed such immense strength.
Hanzo's offensive continued unabated. The chains danced wildly like venomous snakes, relentlessly entangling Shinji, while the sickle, leveraging his spinning momentum, continuously carved out deadly arcs.
Shinji's figure suddenly blurred, transforming into an afterimage as he darted away. Over a dozen Illusionary Clones erupted simultaneously, attacking from all directions, effortlessly defusing the various killing moves.
"Superior numbers are useless against me."
Hanzo sneered coldly, raising his sickle and lightly tapping the gas mask with its handle.
A pale purple Poison Mist spread with his breath, instantly engulfing all the clones.
The illusions dissipated one by one, leaving only Shinji's true body standing in place.
He knew full well the terror of Hanzo's poison mist. Inhaling even a wisp would gradually cause paralysis, loss of sensation, and ultimately, a silent death.
Hanzo had a salamander's Poison Sac forcibly implanted into his body, the sole survivor of a Modification Experiment.
The potent poison eroded his body but did not take his life; instead, it became his most terrifying weapon.
Unwilling to confront it head-on, Shinji retreated several steps, instantly moving out of the poison mist's range.
He temporarily stabbed his short sword into the ground, his hands rapidly forming Hand Seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive orange-red fireball, carrying a wave of scorching air, hurtled toward Hanzo.
Hanzo snorted coldly, his own hand seals just as fast, leaving afterimages.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
A torrent of water gushed violently from his mouth, the water column surging forward like sharp arrows.
The fireball and the raging wave collided violently. High-temperature steam shot skyward, and the turbulent airflow completely scattered the lingering poison mist.
"Well done, Konohagakure brat."
Hanzo gave a slight nod, his tone carrying a hint of approval.
His poison feared the high temperature of Fire Release and the dispersing power of Wind Release.
This young man before him could fight him to this extent without losing ground, and calmly break the situation—he was indeed a rare talent.
Shinji pulled his short sword from the ground, quietly observing the battlefield.
He and Hanzo had already fought their way to an area distant from the others. Looking up, he saw Fugaku and Danzo locked in a stalemate, seemingly not truly engaging yet.
Meanwhile, Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan were already locked in a bitter struggle, tightly surrounded by a continuous stream of Amegakure shinobi.
Shinji's brow furrowed tightly.
Because of his intervention, Yahiko had not died before Nagato's eyes.
Nagato, having not experienced that extreme pain, had not transformed that resolve into power, and thus had not fully mastered the Rinnegan's abilities.
He probably couldn't even stably use Almighty Push or Universal Pull right now, let alone summon the Gedo Statue.
Shinji inwardly clicked his tongue.
After going through so much trouble to save Yahiko, if he died here now, wouldn't his earlier "One Hundred Percent Barehanded Blade Catch" have been in vain?
The battlefield gave him no extra time for thought.
Hanzo suddenly retreated half a step, slamming a palm heavily onto the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
The earth churned violently as a massive, dark red salamander, as large as a small hill, burst forth from the ground.
Its dark purple, hard scales gleamed coldly. The poison sac on its head pulsed incessantly, and a pungent, rank and poisonous stench continuously leaked from its gill slits.
This was Hanzo's Summoning Beast, Salamander Ibuse.
Because Hanzo hosted a poison sac within his body, he had gained this salamander's recognition and formed a contract with it.
During the Second Great Ninja War, countless powerful individuals had fallen to the poison mist of this duo—Hanzo and Ibuse.
Hanzo leaped up, landing steadily atop the salamander's head. Looking down from his high position, he coldly addressed Shinji.
"It ends here!"
He lightly patted the salamander's head.
Ibuse seemed to receive some command.
Salamander Ibuse violently opened its maw full of sharp teeth, spewing forth a vast cloud of dark purple poison mist. Wherever it passed, vegetation instantly withered, and the surfaces of rocks sizzled and smoked as they corroded.
The intensity and range of this poison far surpassed Hanzo's own breath. The toxic cloud completely locked down all of Shinji's avenues of evasion.
Yet, Shinji instead curved his lips into a slight smile.
Similarly placing a hand on the ground, his Chakra erupted violently.
"Summoning Technique!"
Poof—!
Thick white smoke exploded, and a massive slug body unfurled, almost filling half the road. Its soft form happened to block the oncoming poison mist, forcibly separating it from Shinji.
Shinji leaped onto the slug's head, speaking solemnly, "Lady Katsuyu, I need your help."
Katsuyu was a Division of the Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest, inherently one of the top-tier support Summoning Beasts, born with natural detoxifying abilities. Facing the salamander's potent poison, she would not feel the slightest fear.
Katsuyu slowly shifted her body, looking at the opposing salamander. She instantly understood Shinji's intent, her voice gentle yet firm. "I understand, Shinji. Leave it to me."
Seeing Katsuyu appear, Hanzo's pupils contracted slightly before his expression turned cold again.
Considering Shinji's relationship with Tsunade, it wasn't too surprising.
Seeing its poison mist ineffective, Salamander Ibuse flew into a rage. Its massive body charged forward violently, the ground trembling intensely beneath its feet.
Katsuyu neither dodged nor avoided. Her body swelled slightly as she expelled a vast amount of viscous acid.
The salamander abruptly halted its charge, then its huge body leaped into the air, attempting to crush down with its weight.
"Shinji!"
"I know!"
At Katsuyu's soft call, her body instantly split into countless tiny slugs, nimbly evading the heavy blow. The next moment, they coalesced again on the other side. Her massive tail, carrying terrifying force, whipped fiercely against the salamander's flank as it descended.
"Boom!!"
Salamander Ibuse was sent flying sideways, crashing heavily into the cliff wall. Rubble cascaded down continuously, and the earth rumbled with the impact.
The fierce battle between the two massive Summoning Beasts instantly drew the attention of everyone on the battlefield.
The Amegakure shinobi retreated in panic, fearing being caught in the aftermath.
On the nearby battlefield.
"It's actually the slug from Shikkotsu Forest," Danzo's face was so dark it seemed about to drip water. "To think Tsunade would let an Uchiha sign a contract with a Summoning Beast from one of the Three Great Sage Regions!"
"Damn it!"
Seeing this, Fugaku was momentarily stunned, then slowly nodded, a trace of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
How prestigious were the Three Great Sage Regions? Even within the Uchiha Clan, very few gained such recognition.
On Katsuyu's head.
Shinji's eyes turned crimson, his Sharingan spinning wildly, three swirling patterns blooming layer by layer.
The aura around him surged once more. He had no intention of dragging this out with Hanzo any longer.
Not far away, a massive half-bodied stone statue pushed up from the earth. It swung a giant palm, sweeping fiercely across the ground, instantly sending numerous shinobi flying.
The scene descended into chaos once more. The Gedo Statue had been summoned.
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