Hanzo stood on the head of the Salamander, Ibuse, and took out his scythe and chain from the Scroll.
The scythe was the weapon Hanzo was most skilled with; once attached to a chain, it became even more flexible, vastly increasing its attack range.
He had previously used a single Iaido Slash with the scythe and chain to defeat the famed Samurai prodigy Mishima from the Land of Iron.
However, Hanzo now did not intend to engage Mokgetsu in close combat and contest Kenjutsu, as he feared losing.
From the start of the battle until now, Hanzo had been bested by Mokgetsu in every aspect, and he had lost confidence in defeating Mokgetsu one-on-one.
Hanzo planned to use the length of his chain to maneuver around Mokgetsu.
His scythe was also coated with poison; even a scratch would quickly spread the toxin through the entire body.
Hanzo's current strategy was simple; he would engage Mokgetsu while a hundred elite Rain Ninja launched relentless attacks on the Ninja of the Ninja Sect, waiting for Mokgetsu to reveal a flaw.
This was the last method Hanzo could think of to kill Mokgetsu.
If Hanzo had another chance, he would choose to bring all the Ninja from the Rain Village.
As long as they were not as strong as the God of Ninjas, Senju Hashirama, they would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
One person's Water Release could not stop Mokgetsu's Fire Release, but hundreds of Ninja using Water Release together would surely defeat Mokgetsu.
Moreover, no matter how powerful a Ninjutsu is, Chakra and stamina are limited. The more powerful the Ninjutsu, the more Chakra it consumes. Hanzo believed that Mokgetsu would not be able to casually unleash Fire Dragon Dance.
"I underestimated your personal strength. If I had summoned a Summoning Beast at the beginning, perhaps the battle would have turned out differently. Next, you will have no more chances," Hanzo said in a deep voice.
Next, he would truly invest his entire being into the battle, fully engaging Mokgetsu and waiting for the moment when Mokgetsu reveals a flaw to strike him down.
"If you could call off your subordinates, your words might seem more imposing." Mokgetsu calmly took a gas mask from the Scroll and put it on.
Naturally, Mokgetsu would not come to fight Hanzo without any preparation; he had prepared several gas masks.
Hanzo's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. Mokgetsu had come to meet him carrying gas masks, even if Hanzo did not take action, Mokgetsu might attack at any opportunity.
"Release the poison!" Hanzo commanded the Salamander to release the toxic mist.
The Salamander immediately opened its large mouth, spewing out a poisonous purple mist towards Mokgetsu.
Whizz, whizz, whizz!!
Hanzo himself was not idle, instantly firing three Kunai with Explosive Tags attached towards Mokgetsu.
Without the Salamander's poison immunity, Mokgetsu would quickly be paralyzed if his gas mask were damaged.
But with Transparent World activated, Mokgetsu immediately noticed Hanzo's actions and quickly flung Shurikens to intercept them.
As for the toxic mist, Mokgetsu didn't have a better way to handle it, but wearing a gas mask, he didn't need to worry about it for now.
It could only be said that a good Summoning Beast could indeed effectively enhance a Ninja's strength.
Although Mokgetsu also had a Summoning Beast, using Black Feather as a mode of transportation was considered safer.
Next, Hanzo took stability to the extreme, using Water Instant Body Jutsu to evade whenever Mokgetsu showed signs of attack, and disrupting with poison gas and Ninja Tools whenever possible.
However, Mokgetsu could not entirely ignore Hanzo; otherwise, Hanzo might charge with his scythe straight into the Ninjas of the Ninja Sect and cause chaos.
Under Hanzo's deliberate maneuvering, the battle between Mokgetsu and Hanzo turned into a game of cat-and-mouse.
Although Mokgetsu still held a considerable advantage, the presence of the Salamander's toxic mist led to some constraint, causing the rhythm of the battle to slow down.
Hanzo had never been in such a pitiful battle in his life, but at this moment he had no choice because a frontal confrontation was truly not feasible.
Due to Hanzo's orders, the battle on Nagato's side became extremely fierce.
All the Rain Ninja exerted their utmost to launch attacks, with Ninja Tools and Ninjutsu continually assaulting Nagato and his group.
Eight against a hundred, on average, each of Nagato's side had to face about twelve opponents.
The key was that these Rain Ninja were not weak; they were elite members of the Rain Village.
Strictly speaking, apart from Kakuzu, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, the remaining Ninja of the Ninja Sect were not necessarily able to defeat these Rain Ninja one-on-one.
Kakuzu punched with a tentacle to kill a charging Rain Ninja, but was soon attacked by others, and due to the sheer numbers, even Kakuzu could not avoid getting injured.
However, Kakuzu, with Earth Grudge Fear, could rapidly take hearts to restore his strength. Though he couldn't directly return to peak form, he could recover most of it, holding off half the Ninjas on his own.
But the remaining Ninjas still placed great pressure on Nagato's side, and the weaker Kuroda Ikemasa soon sustained injuries.
"Water Release: Water Turbulence!"
Seeing Kuroda in trouble on the flank, Yahiko immediately used Ninjutsu to assist and charged forward to kick away a Rain Ninja attempting to ambush Kuroda.
Every Ninja from the Ninja Sect fought with all their might; Kakuzu and Yahiko bore the brunt of the pressure, while Nagato continuously formed seals with his hands, casting ninjutsu from his hands and mouth, acting as the main output force of the team.
Konan used her Paper Secret Technique to relieve pressure on Yahiko and the others, while the remaining people assisted Nagato and remained vigilant for surprise attacks from the Rain Ninja.
Inspired by the life-and-death crisis, the group's tacit understanding soared, with everyone performing their roles without causing interference to others.