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Chapter 177 Escape
Chapter 179 Escape
Outside the valley, Orochimaru discovered that several Rain Ninja Jonin had actually summoned the "Great Salamander King"!
Wanshe also began to feel the effects of the poison appearing—
Orochimaru had, of course, studied the poison of the "salamander" before and found that its mechanism was completely different from that of ordinary toxins. It did not directly corrode the human body or react with it, but rather it combined with nerve synapses to block the nerve signals that were normally being transmitted, thus creating a paralyzing effect.
Typical "toxin resistance" is less effective in this regard.
However, because snakes' neural synapses are not sensitive to these toxins, the snakes exhibit extremely strong resistance!
Toads and humans have similar neural synaptic structures and are equally sensitive to these toxins, which is why they show little resistance.
However, now that the "King of Salamanders" has appeared, the binding force of the toxin has become stronger, or rather, more adaptable. The nerve synapses of Manda, which were not bound before, have also begun to passively bind to the toxin!
While it may not appear to be more toxic or deadly, it is more universally applicable.
Of course, what's more important is not the toxicity of this "King of Salamanders," but the poisonous mist itself, which can hold out for a while. The only difference is that the Ten Thousand Snakes have also been breached.
However, Orochimaru was worried about—
The "King of Salamanders" is here, and Hanzo might appear at any moment!
Therefore, Orochimaru immediately ordered a retreat.
Meanwhile, Hanzo, who had already swept through the swordsmen and great swordsmen of the Land of Iron, looked at the goatee-bearded samurai who had just arrived—
Having already lost an arm, Sanmu angrily shouted upon seeing Mifune, "Mifune? Who sent you! Didn't I order you to defend the castle? You—you—is this what a samurai does?"
"I'm sorry, Great Swordsman with Three Eyes, as a true samurai, I cannot retreat without even seeing the enemy's face and watching my comrades sacrifice themselves," Mifune said matter-of-factly.
Meanwhile, Mifune kept his hand on the hilt of "Kurosawa" and stared at Hanzo, who was shirtless, wearing a gas mask, and carrying a kusarigama.
"You actually came all this way just to die? Interesting—too bad, I don't have time to play with you anymore—Iaijutsu, huh?"
"Then so be it, let's settle this in the next move!" Hanzo said, looking at Mifune's stance.
The "Iaijutsu" style is inherently a burst style that kills with a single blow. Hanzo's agreement with him to fight one move was a way of fulfilling Mifune's wish!
The two sides stood facing each other from a distance, locking onto each other's vital energy.
Taking advantage of this moment, the other surviving swordsmen and great swordsmen who were still able to move quickly fled.
-
Sanmu glanced at Mifune, then at Hanzo, before gritting his teeth and turning to leave. He had previously entrusted Mifune with the task of preserving the spark of the Iron Country, but his long-held beliefs prevented him from accepting chakra swordsmanship, which was why he couldn't speak properly to Mifune.
However, now that Mifune is determined to come back and die, there's nothing he can do.
*Swish*
Hanzo, wielding a scythe, passed by Mifune, who was in an "iaido" stance.
With a thud, the three boats collapsed to the ground.
Even if it were just a contest of weapons, specifically Mifune's signature Iaijutsu, he would still be no match for Hanzo!
At the same time, the poison on the kusarigama blade quickly paralyzed Mifune's entire body.
"It seems—I—am a dull knife—unable to even protect my comrades—" Mifune's consciousness gradually faded.
Hanzo's poison is stronger than the contemporary "King of Salamanders," and when applied directly to weapons, its effects are even more rapid!
"The end of a person is not death, but the loss of faith. Even if you die here, you will not be a dull knife—those cowards who flee at the mere mention of my name are the real scrap metal. I will declare to the world that you are a hero who fought to protect your comrades. As compensation for killing you, tell me your name!" Hanzo said passionately and heroically.
"I—I'll give my life for your promise—to spare my comrades! The war—is over!" Mifune looked at Hanzo with a determined gaze, without revealing his own name.
The surrounding area was now littered with corpses.
Hanzo's appearance did indeed disrupt the Land of Iron's plans.
But----
The Rain Ninja reinforcements did not appear as expected, which was also unexpected by Hanzo.
In this situation, it is true that if Hanzo continues to pursue the samurai of the Land of Iron, he is destined not to expand his gains, and the Land of Lightning will simply reap the benefits.
Hanzo was silent for a moment, then said, "Upholding one's beliefs is incredibly difficult, but I also have a belief—to bring true peace to this chaotic ninja world!"
"I'll give you the antidote. Try your best to live—if you do, you'll be the witness in the future to see whether I will die for my beliefs or betray them to survive."
Although it still sounded rousing and heroic, and even involved pulling out a vial of unidentified liquid and pouring it into Mifune's mouth, but—
It's clear that Hanzo's resolve has wavered!
After discovering that the three major powers were targeting him, Hanzo chose to take a risky gamble, intending to use a strategy to capture Duan Yue City and then advance directly to San Lang Mountain—but he still failed.
Just now, Hanzo sensed the call of the "Great Salamander King" and immediately realized that something had happened to the ambush troops as well.
This also means that the Rain Village is destined to return empty-handed from this war in the Land of Iron, and has suffered such great losses, which has made Hanzo disheartened.
After giving Mifune an antidote of unknown effectiveness, Hanzo formed a hand seal—
Thud—
On the battlefield of the ambush valley, the "Great Salamander King" used reverse summoning to directly summon Hanzo to this place!
Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Jiraiya had already retreated quite a distance separately.
Orochimaru's judgment was correct. The summoning of the "Great Salamander King" means that Hanzo is not far away!
If Orochimaru and Jiraiya hadn't shared a few sentimental words with Mifune, they might not have had time to escape.
"Leader! It's Konoha ninja—Orochimaru and Jiraiya! They summoned giant snakes and toads, blocking the valley's exit. Especially—especially that giant snake, it's completely unaffected by the salamander's poison!"
-
Rain is coming soon, so please report to the leader.
"Orochimaru? — Isn't he afraid of the poison of the salamander?" Hanzo said, looking northeast. Orochimaru and two other small figures were already disappearing from sight.
"I understand. You go and rendezvous with the remaining troops, then retreat back to the Land of Rain." Hanzo understood that with the remaining men, the Land of Iron was definitely no longer a match for them.
With that, Hanzo chased after it alone in the northeast direction—
A ninja beast that is not afraid of the "Salamander"?
We must go and see Hanzo; it would be best if we could eliminate this threat completely!
Orochimaru, along with Akaishi and Yakushi Nono, fled northeast, deliberately separating from Jiraiya who was heading southeast.
In this way, even if one side is caught up by Hanzo, the remaining team can still send the intelligence back!
It could be said that the two of them had already prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Facing Hanzo, who now exudes the aura of "the strongest ninja in the world," Orochimaru and Jiraiya dared not be careless in the slightest.
-
"Captain Orochimaru, have we... gone the wrong way?" Akaishi asked in confusion—aren't we getting further and further away from the border of the Land of Fire?
"Akaishi-kun, do you think we have a choice now?" Orochimaru asked in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, Akaishi finally understood—Hanzo had indeed caught up with them!
Akaishi didn't notice at all, but Orochimaru, who had a stronger sense of perception and was especially sensitive to danger, had already noticed.
Suddenly Orochimaru said, "Keep going forward, don't change direction." With that, Orochimaru turned around and stopped.
Akaishi and Yakushi Nono understood that Orochimaru was probably planning some kind of trap, so they didn't linger and overtook Orochimaru to continue on their way.
A moment later, Orochimaru caught up.
A moment later—
boom-
An explosion could be heard from afar behind us.
Orochimaru's face remained stern, showing no sign of joy; instead, his eye twitched slightly. Seeing this, Akaishi understood—
It seems that the explosion was not the sound of the trap working, but the sound of the trap being violently broken!
Fortunately, Orochimaru was well-versed in "sealing techniques," stopping multiple times along the way to leave behind trap-like cursed seals, constantly delaying Hanzo's pursuit.
Meanwhile, Akaishi and Yakushi Nonou, disregarding any side effects, relied on "soldier ration pills" to stave off hunger and stimulate chakra synthesis—
The battle began in the early morning of August 24th, and the retreat started in the morning. They then traveled day and night, rushing through the darkness, until early on the 25th. Orochimaru, who had been setting traps for a long time, finally told the two that they could rest.
"Huff... huff... finally they've stopped chasing us." Akaishi was also panting heavily.
Along the way, Akaishi often appeared visibly distressed, which was because he used the "three-piece set" to relieve fatigue.
As for Yakushi Nonou, she seemed to have used some forbidden technique, and her face was ashen.
"As expected of a man called a demigod, he's truly terrifying." Orochimaru had the most thorough understanding of Hanzo's strength throughout their journey.
Orochimaru's amazement wasn't that his opponent could keep chasing him, but rather—
Along the way, Orochimaru stopped more than ten times to set up "sealing techniques," but even with him "posing challenges" and Hanzo trying to break them, Hanzo still made unstoppable progress!
In other words, in a direct confrontation, Orochimaru would have no way to deal with Hanzo, and—Hanzo's own poison is even more potent than the current "Great Salamander King"!
While Orochimaru was exhausted, he was also somewhat relieved. If it had been Hanzo who appeared instead of the Great Salamander King, he and Jiraiya would probably have had to be left behind.
"Huh? Are we... almost at the beach?" Akashi suddenly felt that the air around him was very humid, completely different from the cold and dry western part of the Land of Iron.
"That's right, the land bridge leading to the Land of Lightning is just ahead," Orochimaru said.
"That----"
Just as Akashi was about to say something, Orochimaru stopped him, narrowing his eyes in the process.
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