As Hanzo drew his weapon, a dozen Rain Ninja around him also took out kunai or unsheathed swords.
Nagato, seeing the situation, silently gathered Chakra, ready to unleash a Ninjutsu.
Mokgetsu had reminded him that besides Shimura Danzo, he might have to fight Hanzo as well.
The atmosphere at the scene became tense and dramatic.
However, this did not affect Mokgetsu, nor did he make any move.
Mokgetsu looked at Nagato and shook his head slightly, indicating that it would be better if he handled the situation.
Out of trust for Mokgetsu, Nagato followed Mokgetsu's instruction and retreated vigilantly.
"Everyone fall back," Hanzo ordered in a calm voice.
"But..." The Jonin Squad Leader wanted to say something but was immediately interrupted by Hanzo.
"Kurokawa, I said, fall back!" Hanzo shouted the name of the Rain Ninja's executive, repeating his previous command.
Kurokawa opened his mouth, looking at Hanzo's resolute face, and eventually nodded, saying, "Yes, Lord Hanzo."
Then, along with the other Rain Ninja, he dispersed to the surroundings.
"Shimura Danzo is dead," Mokgetsu said.
Hanzo frowned slightly; was this the reason why Sosuke didn't pursue? Did he use an impressive Ninjutsu during the battle that Hanzo failed to notice?
Before Hanzo could think too much, Mokgetsu continued to explain, "He's gravely injured, unless a medical ninja like Tsunade treats him immediately, he's definitely doomed."
Everything that had happened so far was within Mokgetsu's plan.
To ensure Shimura Danzo's death was as useful as possible, Mokgetsu never intended to kill Shimura Danzo directly. From the moment Shimura Danzo took out the kunai to stab Mokgetsu, his fate was sealed.
Of course, Hanzo couldn't have guessed this, Mokgetsu explained mainly to stress the fact that Shimura Danzo was definitely going to die.
"So the injuries were quite severe," Hanzo didn't suspect Sosuke's words.
After all, from the battle process, it was impressive that Shimura Danzo managed to survive and be rescued, which was beyond Hanzo's understanding.
"Then, your answer?" Mokgetsu asked again.
Though Shimura Danzo wasn't really connected to the Land of Rain, given he died on the Land of Rain's soil and battled with the Land of Rain's ninja, his life or death could influence the Land of Rain significantly.
"If I don't get serious now, I might really die!" Hanzo didn't answer Sosuke's question but raised his scythe to declare battle once again.
Sosuke's intention was clear to him; otherwise, he wouldn't have considered rescuing Shimura Danzo before. But if he couldn't resolve it today, he might not have the belief and courage to carry out similar actions in the future.
"Understood," Mokgetsu nodded, ceased speaking, stopped refining Chakra, and took a kunai from his ninja pouch.
Their eyes locked for ten seconds before they simultaneously moved.
Swoosh!
Hanzo gripped his poison-coated sharp scythe tightly and burst forth with Chakra, swinging it swiftly towards Sosuke.
Besides Water Release, Hanzo was quite proud of his Kenjutsu skills.
He had once defeated several renowned samurai from the Land of Iron using only Kenjutsu, swinging his blade so swiftly that some ninja couldn't even form hand seals in time.
Clang!
Mokgetsu, with the Transparent World activated, precisely grasped Hanzo's movements, raising his kunai to block the scythe's slash.
Hanzo's expression remained unchanged in the face of Sosuke. He wouldn't be too surprised by any unexpected occurrences.
After all, it was Sosuke.
Whoosh!
Hanzo swung an iron chain with his left hand at Sosuke's head.
His weapon was not an ordinary scythe but a scythe with a chain attached, providing more flexibility and difficulty in usage compared to a regular scythe.
But such an attack was like an open card game to Mokgetsu, who had both Byakugan and the Transparent World activated. Mokgetsu easily dodged, seizing a chance to kick Hanzo.
Bang!
A dull crashing sound echoed as Hanzo's figure retreated violently.
"Summoning Technique!"
Hanzo quickly performed hand seals and struck the ground.
Poison was also a critical part of Hanzo's strength, facing Sosuke, his strongest opponent, he undoubtedly needed to utilize his summoning beast.
A puff of white smoke appeared, and a giant Salamander emerged at Hanzo's feet.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Mokgetsu didn't pursue but instead formed hand seals, creating a shadow clone.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bomb Jutsu!"
Hanzo didn't immediately have the Salamander spew poison fog because he knew Sosuke had strong Wind Release, which could easily disperse the poisonous fog.
The Salamander could only spew poison once every five minutes, and Hanzo wasn't confident he could last until the Salamander's second poison fog attack, making the timing critical for its usage.
Massive streams of water revolved around Hanzo, quickly forming a gigantic water dragon with the support of a large amount of Chakra.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Dance!"
Mokgetsu formed the Tiger Seal unleashing high-temperature flames rapidly conjuring a deep-colored fiery sea.
Boom!!
Then, Hanzo's Salamander tunneled underground while Hanzo continued to pump Chakra, running.
Soon the water dragon and fire sea clashed, a red and blue collision.
Sizzle!!
The huge water dragon emitted steam continuously, its body shrinking as the flames in the fire sea gradually diminished.
Just as Mokgetsu's Byakugan penetrated the ground, seeing the Salamander moving from beneath him, Mokgetsu held his breath and leaped up, ready to evaporate the water dragon in one go, creating a sea of flames.
Mokgetsu's shadow clone remained still, and then rapidly condensed Chakra to prepare to use Wind Release.
Rumble!
Heavy movements, the enormous Salamander burst out from underground, positioned beneath Mokgetsu's main body, directly in front of his shadow clone.