I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 186 A wise person knows when to yield; fight when it's time to fight, run when it's time to run.

Although he was eager to test his skills against Hanzo, Tatsuma knew his own limitations. His taijutsu, which was enough to hold his own against most ninjas, or at least for a short period of time, was completely inadequate against Hanzo.

Even Mifune, who could use his speed and swordsmanship to keep ninjas from using their techniques, could not defeat Hanzo, which shows how strong Hanzo's skills were in taijutsu.

Ninjutsu is currently the only way Tatsuma might pose a threat to Mifune, but his current specialty is large-scale ninjutsu, which is extremely useful in battle.

However, it's not very useful against a single individual like Hanzo. If you try to get close, unless you have a good opportunity like the one we just had, you'll just be feeding the enemy.

Just as Tatsuma was thinking, he saw Jiraiya secretly winking at him. He went to Jiraiya's side, lowered his body slightly, and listened to what Jiraiya had to say.

Jiraiya straightened up slightly, leaned closer to Tatsuma, and said, "Don't be fooled. Hanzo is too far removed from you right now. He's just delaying the outcome of the battle."

Reminded by Jiraiya, Tatsuma quickly suppressed his initial excitement. His "stat allocation" method was actually heavily biased towards team battles, and it didn't offer much advantage in single-target combat.

If he ignored the battle here, he could help Konoha achieve victory even faster, and Hanzo couldn't possibly not see that, so he deliberately used his identity to lure Tatsuma.

The temptation to challenge or even defeat a strongman like Hanzo was too strong. Even Tatsuma unconsciously started to bite the bait. If Jiraiya hadn't reminded him, he probably would have bitten the hook.

"But on your side..."

Although Jiraiya's reminder had taught him what the right thing to do was, Tatsuma was still worried about whether Jiraiya could maintain the balance of the battle.

Jiraiya's complexion hadn't recovered, but he wiped the sweat from his brow, forced a smile, and said, "Don't worry, I'm injured, but didn't Hanzo also suffer at your hands?"

Tatsuma thought for a moment, then nodded quickly. Seeing that Tatsuma wasn't impulsive, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief, put his hand on Tatsuma's shoulder, and then slowly stood up.

After adjusting to the physical discomfort that made him less mobile, Jiraiya patted Tatsuma on the shoulder and said, "Go, and win victory for Konoha!"

"Jiraiya-sensei, let me help you wear down the enemy. I'll use the Shukaku Shadow Clone Technique, and you and Gamabunta will use the Toad Oil Flame Bullet."

Supporting Jiraiya, Tatsuma said in a low voice. Jiraiya nodded in response. In the complex rainforest terrain, the Shadow Clone Technique was not very useful, but it was still very useful for wearing down Hanzo and the Salamander.

Seeing that Jiraiya agreed, Tatsuma used Teleportation to bring Jiraiya to the top of Gamabunta's head. Sensing the stranger's presence, Gamabunta instinctively shook his head, and Jiraiya quickly said, "It's Tatsuma."

"Tatsuma?"

Bunta was somewhat unfamiliar with this name, yet it also felt vaguely familiar. Strictly speaking, this was only the second time he and Tatsuma had met. The first time was when they signed the summoning contract, when Minato summoned him.

But at Mount Myōboku, whether it was Jiraiya or Minato, they would always talk about Tatsuma. Gamabunta also remembered that he was the successor of Shikkotsu Forest, and at the same time, the chakra on his body gave him a complicated sense of fear, so he chose to remain silent.

Jiraiya quickly told Gamabunta about the combined ninjutsu, and Gamabunta did not refuse. The two of them and the frog began to prepare the ninjutsu, but they did not start forming hand seals. After all, the release of ninjutsu also requires the right timing.

Gamabunta wielded his massive short sword, constantly creating opportunities. Orochimaru seemed to realize this as well, and retreated slightly, only harassing the enemy with ninjutsu.

Finally, after Tsunade retreated and Hanzo escaped the salamander's pursuit, an opportunity finally arose. Tatsuma threw his shuriken and, almost simultaneously with Jiraiya, formed hand seals. Gamabunta also used all his strength to throw the salamander away.

"Ninja Art! Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"

The moment the hand seals were completed, the shuriken that was heading towards the salamander split into two, then into four, instantly covering the rainforest with countless blades, cleaving through the sky and sweeping towards the salamander.

Gamabunta also opened his mouth, and the oil, like oil gushing out when an oil pump breaks, surged towards the shuriken, completely enveloping it. Jiraiya's fire-style attack instantly ignited the oil.

Encased in oil, the sword shadow clone in hand was not directly scorched, thus maintaining its form and flying rapidly toward Ibuki.

"Ibushi!"

Seeing this, Hanzo's eyes twitched. Ibuki's poison sac had just been filled, and the poison mist hadn't even been truly used yet; now it had to be wasted.

He was not by Ibuki's side at the moment, and Ibuki, who had been thrown away by Bunta, did not seem to see the thousands of shuriken hidden in the flames.

Upon hearing Hanzo's shout, the Salamander, who had landed and turned around, opened its mouth without hesitation and spewed out a thick cloud of poisonous mist. The poisonous mist collided with the flames, and the sound of explosions echoed throughout the entire battlefield.

"Boom! Rumble!!!"

A series of explosions rang out, but Hanzo's expression remained unchanged. He used all his strength and burst forth with speed as he rushed towards the Salamander's well, but it was too late.

One by one, shuriken, concealed by flames and oil, pierced through the poisonous mist spewed by the well and headed towards its mouth.

"Knock knock knock~"

"Ding ding ding~"

"Bang bang bang~"

A series of sounds came from Ibuki's mouth, and it painfully stopped spewing poisonous mist, while Jiraiya and Bunta's combined attack on the toad oil fire bullets was not yet over.

"boom!"

"Sizzle~"

Flames scorched the skin of the salamander, while the kerosene continued to spread the burns on the salamander's body.

"Wow~ Wow~"

Ibuki let out a strange and pitiful scream, fell to the ground, and rolled around incessantly. The wet ground with puddles did extinguish the flames on Ibuki's body, but it revealed black and red wounds.

Hanzo, radiating hostility, arrived at Ibuki's side. He gently stroked Ibuki and said, "Let's go back."

Upon hearing this, Ibuki struggled slightly, but Hanzo held him down and continued, "I can handle everything here."

Upon hearing Hanzo's words, Ibuki chose to disappear into smoke a few seconds later.

Ibuse ended the summoning. Hanzo looked at the blood of the salamanders scattered on the ground, his killing intent growing stronger. He held the chain sickle in his left hand and slashed across his chest with his right.

"Rip~"

The last bit of cloth was ripped off by Hanzo, revealing his muscular but wounded upper body. He looked up at Tatsuma above Bunta's head, his eyes filled with undisguised killing intent.

"Go! Go quickly!"

Jiraiya shouted loudly, and Tatsuma nodded, quickly teleporting towards the area with the most Rain Ninja. Hanzo's eyes followed Tatsuma the whole time, and just as he was about to move, a huge short sword slashed into the ground in front of him.

Manda, like an ouroboros, spread its long body into a circle, its head positioned horizontally on the straight line between Hanzo and Tatsuma, its emerald green eyes fixed on Hanzo, its tongue flicking in and out.

The giant snake standing atop the snake's head had an extremely solemn expression. He deduced why the village had sent the three of them to deal with Hanzo: Hanzo wouldn't kill them, and they had to consider Hiruzen Sarutobi's feelings.

However, Hanzo doesn't need to worry too much about others, including Tatsuma, who is Hiruzen Sarutobi's grand-disciple. Even if someone from Konoha seeks revenge, it should be Tsunade, their teacher, who takes action.

Tsunade, however, is not qualified yet!

In that case, if Hanzo is determined to kill Tatsuma and actually does kill Hanzo, then Tatsuma's death will have been in vain.

Therefore, from this moment on, the task of the three of them is not only to hold back Hanzo, but also to protect Tatsuma, who has completely angered Hanzo. The best way is to make Hanzo lose interest in looking for Tatsuma.

Once the outcome of the battle is clear, even Hanzo will come to his senses.

Tsunade reappeared on the slug's head. Unlike before, she had some black magic symbols on her face, but most of them were covered by her headband, with only a little bit showing.

However, his overall demeanor was completely different. The minor injuries and decline in stamina that he had suffered from fighting Hanzo earlier had now been fully recovered.

"Ahem!"

Jiraiya coughed heavily twice, spitting out two mouthfuls of blood, but his complexion returned to its rosy hue. He didn't care about the potential side effects; he had to be in top condition for the battle.

Hanzo glanced at the three men and understood. If he didn't defeat them, they wouldn't let him go and cause trouble for that brat Tatsuma. In that case, let's see if Konoha wins the war first, or if he, Hanzo, wins the battle first!

"Swoosh~"

Using the Body Flicker Technique, Hanzo rushed towards Tsunade. In group battles, or when dealing with a group of ninjas, it is common sense to first deal with medical ninjas who have medical abilities and can heal themselves and others.

But Tsunade is the one who can break this common sense. She is a medical ninja, but she is also a medical ninja who can stand on the front line of war and battle.

"Painful Heavenly Kick!"

"Swordsmanship! Iaijutsu!"

As Tsunade's split kick landed, Hanzo's scythe also slashed upwards, its blade cutting into Tsunade's calf, instantly slicing through her skin, cutting through her flesh, severing her Achilles tendon, and embedding itself into the bone.

An ordinary person would have been crippled by such an attack, but Tsunade gritted her teeth and unleashed her power once more, forcefully pressing down the scythe and then throwing a punch at Hanzo.

Having never encountered this fighting style before, Hanzo was also caught off guard and sent flying backward by Tsunade's punch. The scythe he was holding was also pulled back, and Hanzo, in mid-air, clearly saw that Tsunade's calf was completely severed by the scythe he had pulled back.

But as soon as he landed, he saw Tsunade rushing towards him. Her right leg, which he had severed, was not only unbroken, but also completely unharmed. She delivered another kick with boundless monstrous strength, and Hanzo quickly raised his scythe to block.

"Click!"

The sound of bones cracking rang out from Tsunade's right leg, but she ignored it and continued to unleash her power.

"boom!"

Hanzo, who had just landed, was knocked away again and crashed into a large tree with a diameter of four or five meters, embedding himself deeply inside.

"I will never let my students die before I, as their teacher, pass away. This is a belief I inherited from my great-uncle!"

"Hmph. Beliefs? You brats, you dare talk to me about beliefs?!"

(End of this chapter)