Before the Sand Hidden ninja forces could fully assemble, Hanzo's unit had already charged forward, launching a fierce assault on the Sand Hidden ninjas.
Operating on home turf, the Rain Hidden ninjas were intimately familiar with the terrain and accustomed to the environment in such weather.
The Sand Hidden ninjas, being newcomers, had not yet adapted, and caught off guard, the Rain Hidden ninjas quickly infiltrated the gaps in the Sand Hidden forces, beginning to sever their connections.
The Sand Hidden ninja unit, which had not yet fully assembled, once again fragmented, but this time, they could still maintain some level of contact.
Although the Rain Hidden ninjas had divided the main force into numerous small teams, this was the most suitable organizational form for ninjas.
While the situation appeared highly unfavorable, the disparity in quality between the two sides became evident at this point.
No matter how much the Sand Hidden Village had declined, it was still one of the Five Great Ninja Villages and had not fallen to the point of being bullied by the Rain Hidden Village.
Even fighting individually, the performance of single Sand Hidden ninja teams was excellent compared to facing Konoha's assault squad.
They resisted enemy attacks while regrouping with nearby comrades.
At this time, the rain poured down, and the ground was muddy.
The newly arrived Sand Hidden ninjas were initially unaccustomed to it, but as the battle progressed, they gradually learned how to maintain their balance in such an environment, fighting as if on flat ground.
Consequently, the Rain Hidden ninjas' advantage gradually vanished, and the Sand Hidden ninjas quickly began to counterattack, eliminating the Rain Hidden ninjas in front of them one by one.
After the initial ninjutsu attacks, the distance between the two sides closed, and close-quarters combat soon began.
The Sand Hidden ninjas, skilled in using Wind Release, had a significant advantage here.
Simply by channeling wind-natured chakra onto the surface of their ninja tools, they could achieve a power that could cut through metal like mud, which ordinary Rain Hidden ninja tools simply couldn't withstand.
Amidst the sounds of their mutual slaughter, more Rain Hidden ninjas fell than Sand Hidden ninjas.
Their bodies crashed onto the muddy ground, and the blood on them was quickly washed away by the rain, making them look as if they were merely sleeping.
However, they would never open their eyes again.
Although the Konoha ninjas assisted from the side, demonstrating a quality comparable to the Sand Hidden ninjas, they couldn't fully block the Sand Hidden ninjas' counterattack.
The only silver lining was that the Sand Hidden ninjas' explosive tags were not very effective in this environment, at least preventing their self-detonating tactics.
After all, the essence of explosive tags was to seal Fire Release ninjutsu within them, and the resulting explosion was also a Fire Release ninjutsu.
But in the current torrential rain, the power of Fire Release was weakened to an extremely low level, making it impossible to take Konoha ninjas with them, though this did not significantly impact the overall situation.
This was an unavoidable reality; the gap in fundamental strength between ninja villages could not be bridged in a short time.
If it continued like this, the final outcome would likely be the retreat of the Rain Hidden ninjas, even with Konoha ninjas assisting, it might not be enough to reverse the tide.
However,
The Sand Hidden Village would never have imagined that in this ordinary small ninja village, a ninja who was a legend even among the Five Great Ninja Villages would appear—Hanzo.
This leader of the Rain Hidden Village would not stand by and watch his people be slaughtered by the enemy.
In the battlefield where Hanzo personally led his men, there was not a single Sand Hidden ninja left standing, and his squad suffered no casualties.
Among them were Konoha ninjas, who gazed in astonishment at the man standing in front; Hanzo had handled almost all of the recent fighting himself, leaving them no room to intervene.
"Next," Hanzo said concisely.
After speaking, he charged forward, forming a hand seal.
The rainwater on the surrounding path seemed to be drawn to him, gathering around Hanzo, then transforming into a wave that surged towards the distance.
The distant Sand Hidden ninjas, seeing the approaching wave, immediately used Wind Release to pierce through it.
However, Hanzo had already swiftly arrived with the surging wave.
Just as the Wind Release pierced the wave, amidst the bursting water, his figure darted out.
In a flash, blood gushed from the vital points of three nearby Sand Hidden ninjas.
They fell with bewildered expressions, seemingly unaware of what had happened.
"You bastard!" One Sand Hidden ninja reacted quickly, seeing Hanzo appear, and immediately swung his blade, its surface faintly glowing with wind-natured chakra.
Hanzo's expression behind his mask was calm.
He raised his scythe and swung it.
The scythe he used was made of ordinary material, not a divine weapon.
For a master of high-level Wind Release, perhaps only the legendary Kusanagi sword could withstand it, and this Sand Hidden ninja in front of him was very strong; his Wind Release level might not be top-tier, but it was still beyond what Hanzo's scythe could endure.
However, the opponent's blade was parried by Hanzo.
The reason was simple: Hanzo did not directly meet the blade but blocked its side, deflecting it.
Just as the opponent showed a surprised expression, Hanzo flicked the chain connected to his scythe.
The chain, like a living thing, wrapped around the opponent's leg.
With a pull from Hanzo, the opponent immediately lost balance.
At the same time, Hanzo threw his scythe, striking the opponent's chest.
The Sand Hidden ninja's heart was immediately pierced, his pupils instantly dilated, and blood gushed from his mouth.
Before he could react, Hanzo pulled back his scythe.
As the scythe was withdrawn, the Sand Hidden ninja's body twitched slightly, and his gradually unfocused eyes captured only Hanzo's retreating figure.
The battle had lasted only three seconds.
A formidable Sand Hidden ninja had died at Hanzo's hands.
For a powerful individual like Hanzo, once close-quarters combat began, if there was a difference of even one level in strength between the two sides, the battle would end very quickly.
There was no need for fancy moves; simple attacks were enough to take the opponent's life.
At this moment, Hanzo darted in front of another Sand Hidden ninja.
As soon as he stopped, he threw his chain.
The chain, like a spear, pierced through the opponent's body.
The opponent had no chance to react, only staring in surprise at the chain embedded in his chest, followed by a wave of pain.
Hanzo flicked his wrist lightly, and the chain simply wrapped around this Sand Hidden ninja.
With a forceful swing, the man's body was flung into the air, serving as a shield for Hanzo, blocking the Wind Release used by a nearby Sand Hidden ninja.
The human body rarely withstands the power of ninjutsu, especially the sharpest Wind Release.
The unfortunate Sand Hidden ninja's body was instantly torn apart.
And in that instant, Hanzo's figure vanished from their sight.
When the Sand Hidden ninjas noticed, Hanzo had already formed hand seals in mid-air.
A wave of water surged from the ground, enveloping these Sand Hidden ninjas, and Hanzo charged into it.
The water wave formed a twisted arc and slammed heavily to one side, accompanied by a violent impact.
A crater was blown open in the ground, and a large amount of blood flowed away with the water, leaving only the corpses of the Sand Hidden ninjas in the pit.
Hanzo stood there silently, rain pouring over him, flowing down his body.
He felt cold, but his heart was burning; he was undoubtedly exhilarated right now.
The Land of Rain was different from how it used to be; behind it stood the Leaf Hidden Village, the head of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Unlike other mercenary ninja villages, although there were also factors of self-interest, Konoha had genuinely helped the Land of Rain move towards a better life.
But now, the Sand Hidden Village wanted to destroy all of this, these damnable invaders, attempting to revert the Land of Rain to its former state.
As Hanzo, who had personally witnessed the Land of Rain's improvement, he would never allow such a thing.
The Sand Hidden ninjas should return from whence they came, and if they refused to return, then there was only—
Death!
Hanzo's eyes sharpened, and his figure flickered again, charging towards where other Sand Hidden ninjas were located.
He quickly arrived at a densely packed area of Sand Hidden ninja squads.
Everyone else also noticed this exceptionally powerful man, and immediately a large number of Wind Release ninjutsu attacks were directed at him.
Hanzo immediately used Water Release for defense.
A water wall emerging from the ground blocked the Wind Release attacks, but the sheer number of opponents overwhelmed it.
The water wall was pierced and torn apart, and Hanzo immediately dodged.
Wind Release exploded into mud and water on the ground, splashing onto Hanzo, making him look quite disheveled.
Hanzo used this opportunity to dart next to a Sand Hidden ninja squad, unhesitatingly closing the distance and exploiting his advantage in close-quarters combat.
At this range, the opponents couldn't easily use ninjutsu, and others couldn't possibly use ninjutsu in the direction of their teammates, as that would be striking their own allies.
However, Hanzo showed no mercy.
In a short time, that Sand Hidden ninja squad was completely wiped out.
To avoid a repeat, someone among the Sand Hidden ninjas shouted, "Don't let him get close! Use Wind Release together!"
This time, the scale of the Wind Release was even larger.
Even Hanzo couldn't completely evade it unscathed.
Small to medium wounds appeared on his cheeks, upper body, and thighs, which didn't affect his movements, but for the Sand Hidden ninjas, this greatly boosted their morale, making them feel there was hope for victory.
"Heh, facing so many people, I really can't charge in without a strategy." Hanzo chuckled softly, touching his finger to the flowing blood, and formed the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu.
His gaze instantly turned cold. "Now I'm getting serious.
If you don't want to die, then run quickly, Sand Hidden ninjas!"
Accompanied by a massive cloud of smoke, a dark shadow crashed heavily onto the ground.
Mud and sludge immediately exploded in all directions, covering the Sand Hidden ninjas.
Before they could complain, a tail whipped out, sending nearby Sand Hidden ninjas flying, their screams echoing in the air.
The surrounding Sand Hidden ninjas gasped at the sudden appearance of this behemoth.
It was a salamander, but its size was terrifyingly large, its brown body covered in repulsive bumps.
Hanzo stood atop the salamander's head, looking down at the nearby Sand Hidden ninjas and said, "Are you ready to die?"
"How arrogant!" someone shouted.
A large number of Wind Release ninjutsu attacks surged towards the salamander and Hanzo.
Hanzo remained motionless, as the salamander used its body to block the attack.
The sharp Wind Release left numerous wounds on its body, blood gushed out, and at the same time, a purple smoke spewed from its wounds.
The smoke spread very quickly, even the torrential rain and strong winds couldn't stop it.
It quickly enveloped the Sand Hidden ninjas.
The Sand Hidden ninjas felt something was wrong and quickly held their breath, but some were too late and inhaled the purple smoke.
Before long, those who inhaled the purple smoke turned pale, their bodies stiffening as they fell to the ground.
"No… impossible, this is… poison, but why… we…" One Sand Hidden ninja's tongue seemed to have stiffened, unable to speak clearly, his words filled with surprise.
The Land of Wind was rich in poisonous creatures.
Puppet masters would coat their mechanisms with poison to increase their lethality, so Sand Hidden ninjas had a special study of poisons.
Not only puppet masters, but even ordinary Sand Hidden ninjas understood some knowledge of poisons, and their bodies had anti-toxin abilities.
Some Sand Hidden ninjas would even practice with puppet masters, and these individuals had even stronger resistance to poisons.
However, facing the poisonous gas spewing from the salamander, these Sand Hidden ninjas couldn't even last half a minute before succumbing to the poison and collapsing.
Realizing the danger, the Sand Hidden ninjas quickly used persistent Wind Release to isolate the poisonous gas, but the situation couldn't last long.
Looking at the terrified eyes of the Sand Hidden ninjas, Hanzo shook his head slightly.
The people of the Sand Hidden Village didn't know that the salamanders produced in special areas of the Land of Rain possessed naturally potent toxins, unmatched even by anything in the Sand Hidden Village.
Even Hanzo, who had the salamander's gallbladder transplanted since childhood, would stiffen all over if he inhaled the poisonous gas from the gallbladder; at most, he would remain alive, let alone others.
"So, if you don't want to die, run quickly, but now there's no chance for you." Hanzo said, forming hand seals.
The falling rainwater was immediately controlled, transforming into numerous water spears that launched towards these Sand Hidden ninjas.
Even if they managed to block it with Wind Release, they would be enveloped by the poisonous gas due to a moment of inattention.
Only a few lucky ones managed to survive, dodging the dual attack of Water Release and poison gas.
Hanzo immediately intended to repeat the attack, wondering how many would still be alive this time.
Just then, Hanzo suddenly felt a powerful airflow fluctuation.
The salamander immediately protected its master, using its body to block a sudden Wind Release.
This Wind Release, like a cannon, completely overturned the salamander's massive form.
Hanzo immediately leaped up, landed on the ground, and looked in the direction from which the Wind Release came.
He saw a Sand Hidden ninja there, whose aura felt different from the other Sand Hidden ninjas.
This person was Chiki, the commander of the Sand Hidden ninja forces.
Upon learning that there was a master present, he immediately rushed over.
Although the battlefield was no longer a place where one person could dominate, allowing a master to act unchecked would play a crucial role on the battlefield.
At this point, another master was needed to stop him.
Currently, the strongest person in the Sand Hidden ninja forces was Chiki, so Chiki came before Hanzo to prevent him from continuing to deal with his comrades.
As long as he could stop Hanzo, the strength and quality of the Sand Hidden ninjas would be sufficient to defeat Hanzo's forces.