Hiding in the sand, splitting into many places, starting with Arkham

If preparations weren't made beforehand, Hanzō alone would possess the ability to poison an entire army.

Fortunately, there are two people in this world who can barely restrain Hanzō's poison.

One is Tsunade. The Three-Way Deadlock battle was only sustained thanks to Tsunade's detoxification skills and healing abilities.

The other is Chiyo.

Chiyo's medical skills are not weak, and she is also skilled in dealing with poison, making detoxification her specialty. Moreover, puppets are not afraid of poison.

"Remember, Hanzō's Salamander Ibuse needs five minutes after each emission of poison mist to secrete enough poison again. Prioritize providing gas masks to the Jōnin to ensure their combat effectiveness. Ninjas below Jōnin should not approach the center of the battlefield where I am fighting Hanzō."

"Suyama, lead the puppet squad to block the Rain Village's reinforcements to the central battlefield."

"Sata, you are responsible for organizing the battle lines."

"Chirari, lead the reserve squad to guard the rear and prevent the warehouse from being attacked."

Chiyo took out a summoning scroll, and while summoning the Ten Puppets of Monzaemon, she gave instructions in an orderly manner.

She and Hanzō had fought multiple times in this Shinobi World War and were very familiar with each other, even giving each other nicknames.

"Puppet hag! Come out and die!"

Soon, a large group of running ninjas emerged from the distant horizon. At their forefront was Hanzō, standing atop the massive Salamander Ibuse.

"Hmph, old man with a breathing tube! All you can do is talk tough."

Chiyo put on a disdainful expression, but her hands had already ejected chakra threads, connecting to the Ten Puppets of Monzaemon.

In the distance, Hanzō, standing on top of Salamander Ibuse, and the running ninjas under his command had already begun forming hand seals.

"Earth Release Squad, prepare!"

The Jōnin named Sata immediately gave the command.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

A torrent of water spewed from Hanzō's mouth, accompanied by the Water Release techniques of the Rain ninjas, turning into a flood with immense impact, rushing towards the Sand Village's camp.

If there were no obstruction, a large portion of the defensive structures that the Sand ninjas had previously set up in this direction would be washed away by the water.

At the logistics depot, Shimizu was still hurrying to distribute antidotes to the ninjas who hadn't received them, when he caught a glimpse of this scene.

The last time he came to the Land of Rain, he participated in some minor skirmishes, but he wasn't qualified to participate in large-scale ninja battles involving thousands of people.

He was witnessing such a destructive scene for the first time.

He also realized that large-scale army operations were completely different from the battles he had seen before.

Compared to this, the B-rank and C-rank missions he had performed in the past were just minor skirmishes.

Only Kage-level powerhouses, who could change the course of the battlefield with their own strength, who could destroy a small country alone, had the ability to do so!

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!" × N

Sand ninjas skilled in Earth Release stepped forward under Sata's command, raising walls of earth that were pieced together outside the Sand Village's defensive structures, turning into a rampart to block the flood.

The first exchange between the two sides, apart from spending some chakra, did not achieve any results and could be said to be a draw.

Two puppets clad in white robes rushed towards Salamander Ibuse from the left and right, with steel wires imbued with sharp Wind Release chakra connecting the puppets.

Hanzō tapped his feet lightly, his figure instantly appearing in front, holding a scythe, ready to cut the steel wires.

"Clang ~!"

The grating sound of metal clashing rang out. A long-haired puppet wielding dual swords blocked Hanzō's slash. At the same time, a cat-faced puppet and a slender-bodied puppet were also quickly approaching Hanzō from two other directions.

Hanzō simply held the chain below the scythe's handle with his right hand and flicked the scythe to knock away the poison needles fired by Chiyo. He formed hand seals with his left hand and disappeared again, leaving only a puddle of water in place.

In terms of proficiency in Water Body Flicker Technique, no one could surpass Hanzō except for the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, who was already dead.

"You're as troublesome as ever, old man with a breathing tube."

Chiyo spread out her hands, manipulating ten puppets to surround Hanzō from all angles.

Hanzō coldly swung his scythe and charged towards Chiyo.

Against Chiyo, his poison skills, one of his trump cards, were rendered useless.

But Hanzō's abilities also countered puppet masters.

There are very few Kage-level ninjas in the current shinobi world who have maxed out both speed and close combat abilities like Hanzō of the Salamander.

Sakumo Hatake counts as one, the Third Hokage might also count as one, the Third Raikage counts as half, although his speed is not slow, it is not in the top tier, and more points are put on physical defense.

Chiyo moved her fingers, manipulating several puppets to block and entangle, while she herself also activated the Wind Speed Technique, retreating like a gust of wind.

At this moment, the Rain ninjas also began to attack the Sand Village's defense line.

Ninjutsu, ninja tools, and battle cries intertwined.

Although Rain Village is just a small country's ninja village, with Hanzō's leadership and governance, its quantity and quality can be ranked at the forefront of all small countries. Now, after years of battlefield training, even the five major ninja villages dare not underestimate it.

However, the Sand ninjas still firmly held the upper hand by relying on defensive structures and numerical superiority.

"Eee-!"

Ibuse, whose figure was like a small mountain, roared.

This sound was not as heavy as other beasts, but like other salamanders, it was like a baby's cry.

Sharp, but with a fierce hostility that was more than a baby's cry.

In an instant, endless purple poisonous mist spewed out from Ibuse's large mouth, covering the sky and earth, as if to envelop the entire Sand Village camp.

"Use Wind Release to blow away the poisonous mist!"

Kazakami Chirari stood on the open space outside the warehouse, leading all the reserve team ninjas to release ninjutsu.

Shimizu, Maki, Yōkai, and some other Wind Release ninjas in the reserve team stood in a row behind Kazakami Chirari, forming hand seals.

"Wind Release: Typhoon Passage!" × N

These Wind Release ninjas all chose the same ninjutsu.

Typhoon Passage is a relatively basic Wind Release ninjutsu, with little power and relatively low difficulty, only a D-rank ninjutsu.

Basically, any Wind Release ninja who can become a Chūnin knows it. It can control the power of the wind to be fierce enough but not too disruptive to people.

The gale howled, blowing away the purple poisonous mist.

Even with antidotes, if too much Salamander Ibuse toxin is inhaled, the ingredients in the antidote will not be enough to neutralize all the toxins, and poisoning will still occur.