Hanzo of the Salamander had no idea that Diarmuid and Orochimaru were preparing to "lend him a hand."
Having submerged the valley into a lake with his Great Explosive Water Colliding Wave, Hanzo, standing atop the water's surface, did not cease his movements. This technique, which altered the very terrain and environment, was merely a setup!
Two pillars of water rose beside Hanzo, rapidly morphing into Water Clones that were identical to him. All three figures began weaving hand signs simultaneously; though the signs differed, they finished in perfect unison.
"Earth Release: Dark Swamp!"
"Earth Release: Mud Fall!"
"Fire Release: Molten Fire Burn!"
The three figures unleashed three distinct jutsus: two Earth Release and one Fire Release. A massive hole seemed to tear open in the gloomy sky as a colossal volume of clay rained down, aiming to bury the Gedo Statue.
At this moment, the Gedo Statue was already submerged up to its waist in the "lake" filling the valley. Leveraging the natural basin of the terrain, the Great Explosive Water Colliding Wave had halved the statue's height.
Though Nagato hadn't yet figured out Hanzo's endgame, he commanded the Gedo Statue to dodge the falling clay. However, as the statue shifted, its body sank even deeper into the water, its feet becoming nearly impossible to lift!
This abrupt change caught Nagato's attention. He looked down to find the surrounding lake water rapidly turning turbid and unnaturally viscous. Had his vision been able to penetrate the murky depths, he would have seen that the ground beneath the statue had transformed into a vast, sucking morass.
The Gedo Statue's feet were trapped in a swamp! Furthermore, the swamp was expanding relentlessly, corrupting the surrounding lake water. In mere moments, the lake turned into a thick slurry of mud. The entire valley had become an abyssal bog, binding the Gedo Statue in a death grip.
Then, the Mud Fall slammed down onto the statue. If Nagato hadn't managed to force the statue half a step aside, the entire entity would have been entombed.
In the blink of an eye, the once-domineering Nagato and his Gedo Statue were reduced to a state of pathetic struggle.
Diarmuid's eyes flashed with surprise. He couldn't help but mutter, "He truly lives up to the title of 'Demigod.' To use the synergy between Water Release and the Dark Swamp to expand the bog's range so rapidly..."
Orochimaru, also slightly stunned, nodded. "I wasn't aware of this interaction either, but the proof is before us."
This was a masterclass in ninjutsu synergy. The same amount of chakra and the same jutsu, when paired differently, could produce extraordinary results, the mark of true technical genius.
Hanzo was indeed a man worthy of the name. Diarmuid admitted he had underestimated him; the title "Demigod" often felt like a joke when compared to the likes of Madara or Hashirama, making Hanzo seem like a "clown" in the grand scheme of things. But now, Diarmuid had to acknowledge the old saying: Titles are rarely unearned. In this state, Hanzo was still formidable. At his peak, he must have been truly transcendent.
With clay from the sky and a swamp from below, the Great Explosive Water Colliding Wave was fully converted into thick mud. It was then that Hanzo's Fire Release went to work.
How strong was this fire? It seemed designed specifically for the concept of "baking." Its temperature was so extreme that it instantly vaporized the surrounding moisture into a wall of white steam. Within seconds, visibility was zero. The valley was shrouded in a thick mist, resembling a hidden realm. It was more oppressive than the Hidden Mist Jutsu, but this wasn't chakra-infused mist, it was the natural result of extreme temperature change.
Despite the damp mist, Diarmuid and Orochimaru felt a searing heat, as if they were trapped inside a giant steamer.
"It's a composite ninjutsu. Hanzo is likely trying to bake the entire valley into 'ceramic,'" Diarmuid whispered.
Orochimaru's expression didn't change, but he reaffirmed one thing in his heart: in a head-on, one-on-one fight, he was still no match for Hanzo, just like in the old days.
With two soft pops, Hanzo's water clones dissolved. Hanzo himself began to pant heavily. This sequence was incredibly powerful, but the cost was immense. This move alone had depleted two-thirds of his chakra!
However, he was confident. He hadn't used this combo in years—decades ago, he had used this composite technique to annihilate an entire organized army of shinobi.
One against a thousand!
It might not sound as impressive as the Third Raikage's one-against-ten-thousand, but the issue was that Hanzo only had a thousand enemies at the time. Given the coverage of this jutsu, had there been thirty thousand, he would have wiped them out just the same. This was the battle that had truly made his name in his youth!
"That should be enough," Hanzo muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.
The sudden shift between extreme heat and cold affected the air pressure, naturally forming a whirlwind that cleared the heat and steam from the valley. Visibility returned.
The massive silhouette of the Gedo Statue reappeared. Just as Diarmuid predicted, the intense heat had baked the mud into a solid ceramic shell. The statue was pinned deep underground, its movements stiff, its body covered in scorched black marks.
Seeing the statue's sorry state, Hanzo breathed a sigh of relief, his lips twitching into a smirk. But before the expression could form, he saw the top of the statue's head. There stood the emaciated Nagato, black metal rods piercing his back, standing perfectly firm. He wasn't even ruffled, as if the previous onslaught had meant nothing to him.
"Damn it!" Hanzo's heart sank. His hard-won confidence took another hit.
Nagato remained expressionless, ignoring the damage to the statue. He raised a palm toward Hanzo.
"Universal Pull..." Nagato whispered.
The next second, a powerful suction force erupted, dragging Hanzo's body toward Nagato. Last time, Hanzo had used the momentum to counter-attack with his sickle. This time, Nagato wouldn't be so easily intimidated. Panic flared in Hanzo's heart, though his hands instinctively moved to form signs.
At that moment, Diarmuid's lips curled into a grin. "Move!"
He donned a pure white mask and roared, "Hanzo-sama! We have come to assist by order of Danzo-sama!"
Hanzo instinctively glanced toward the voice and saw two masked figures rushing toward the fray. He was certain they weren't Root members. While the Root wore masks, their uniforms were standardized; these two were far too distinct. He didn't recognize Diarmuid, but he recognized Orochimaru's silhouette despite the mask. He knew Orochimaru had defected from the Leaf, but he also knew Orochimaru was in league with Danzo. Perhaps the defection was merely part of some plot?
Regardless, powerful reinforcements had arrived. Anyone capable of partnering with Orochimaru couldn't be weak.
Nagato also looked over, his expression surprised. Who is Danzo?
Before he could react, the figure in the ornate haori and white mask rapidly wove hand signs... except the signs were utter nonsense. Some were signs Nagato didn't even recognize, seemingly made up on the fly.
"Universal Pull!!!" the man shouted.
Nagato: ??? You have the Rinnegan too?
Hanzo: ??? What the...
Before anyone could make sense of it, a massive gravitational suction erupted from behind Hanzo, clashing directly with Nagato's Universal Pull. Caught between the two forces, Hanzo's body was stretched and yanked. The agony forced a spray of blood from his mouth.
Nagato had thought the newcomer was bluffing, but the force was real! He was stunned. And in the next moment, he realized this intruder was even more ferocious than himself!
"Planetary Devastation!!!" Diarmuid roared, weaving another set of random signs.
He didn't even need to gather materials; Hanzo had provided them. The ceramic mud covering the valley shattered into fragments. Guided by immense gravity, the debris swirled upward, converging on Nagato and the Gedo Statue.
Nagato was bewildered. He had never seen this before. Instinctively, he reacted, his Rinnegan pulsing with power.
"Almighty Push!!!" Nagato bellowed.
The massive repulsive force slammed into Diarmuid's tyrannical gravity. Giant boulders were crushed into dust mid-air by the pressure, yet they remained suspended, locked in a stalemate.
The very atmosphere changed as the two forces ground against each other. The valley began to collapse rapidly under the strain. The clouds above were blown away, allowing a rare beam of sunlight to touch the Land of Rain.
Visibly, Nagato's body withered further as he squeezed every drop of chakra from his frame. Under his mask, Diarmuid's smile widened.
"Dark Annihilation..." Diarmuid whispered.
The gravity didn't waver, but the Gedo Statue beneath Nagato began to leak a dense, dark elemental energy. In that split second, the Almighty Push seemed to flicker. The gravitational pressure let out a thunderous boom as it crushed the air.
Nagato stumbled. Already injured and unstable, he lost his footing and fell from the head of the Gedo Statue.
"Go!" Diarmuid barked.
Orochimaru moved with lightning speed, his body elongating and distorting into a serpentine form. He surged onto the Gedo Statue, snatched the unconscious Konan and Yahiko's body, and retreated instantly.
"Abyssal Prison!" Diarmuid finally wove a serious seal.
He raised a hand toward the massive Gedo Statue and clenched his fist in the air. A miniature black hole appeared at the center of the statue. It erupted, dragging the entire Gedo Statue inward. The statue roared and struggled, but it was futile. Its massive form was twisted and compressed until it was sealed into a black, coffin-like cube, roughly five meters in size, floating eerily in the air.
The twin gravitational forces pulling on Hanzo vanished. He hit the ground and spat out more blood, staring at the scene in disbelief. He seemed to realize something was wrong; without a word of thanks to his "saviors," he used a series of Body Flickers and fled the scene.
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