Chapter VII

Hidden Rain Arc III

"Hanzo!" Yahiko recognized as he took a step back, sweat trickling down from his forehead. The Amegakure's Village Chief's blonde hair was swaying in the afternoon wind as he looked down upon them. 'I've gotten strong. Nagato and Konan too. But we're nowhere close to the strength needed to take on Hanzo. Even together!'

Nagato immediately took positions and the purple-haired Konoha squad captain activated her Sharingan looking at Hanzo. She stepped forward and spread her arms in a calming manner. "Lord Hanzo. Me and my group are an emissary sent to you by Lord Hokage. This is, I am afraid, a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding is it?" Hanzo's voice had a mocking undertone to it. "I have misunderstood nothing Uchiha. My salamanders heard everything. Do not try to delay for time using such petty tactics."

The purple-haired Uchiha cursed as she leaned back. Before Yahiko could bite back another response, he was prematurely interrupted by the redheaded Uzumaki who claimed to be Nagato's cousin. He turned to Naori and said, "Ms. Naori, take the rest of the squad with you and retreat back to Takatori. Take the Akatsuki with you."

"How can we trust you?" Came Yahiko's wary question whilst Naori looked at him with disbelieving eyes. She spoke up against the idea. "Naruto, that is Hanzo of the Salamander. No matter how strong you are, you cannot take him on."

"I must if we are to get out of this alive." Naruto was uncharacteristically calm, all of his mischievousness and joviality having long disappeared. "I will delay him and the rest of the Ame ninjas. Take the squad and the Akatsuki. Keep my cousin safe."

"This is madness," Nagato muttered next to them. "We cannot take on Hanzo. No one can. That's why we the Akatsuki tried to reach an accord with him."

"Please." Naruto's voice was calm and measured, but with a pleading undertone to it as he looked Naori directly in the eye. Naori tried to look away and assess the situation rationally, but the severity of the situation crashed down upon her. Naruto's unflinching eyes met her obsidian eyes and Naori observed how thick Naruto's normally short and small whiskers were becoming. His face set upon a serious face that looked entirely out of place on his normally jovial and mischievous face. Naori swallowed the lump growing in her throat and nodded. Before Yahiko could respond, her Sharingan flashed, as she looked at the orange-haired leader of the Akatsuki directly in the eye, making the man slump forward in a genjutsu. Before Nagato could respond, Ichigo jumped up behind him and struck him in the back of the neck, picking him up gently. Ichigo turned to Naruto with a grim look but with a glint of respect in his eyes.

Naruto nodded back as Naori and Ichigo lifted up Yahiko and Nagato and left. On the far sides of the Takatori Pass, the rest of the Akatsuki and Konoha squad left as well, in the direction of the nearby town. A few Ame ninjas behind Hanzo left to pursue them, but they wouldn't be enough to defeat the collective strength of Team 20 and the Akatsuki. Watching them go, Naruto turned around to face Hanzo in the eye, who had till then observed the proceedings with an amused air about him.

"While I am partially acquainted with young Mr. Yahiko over there, I am afraid I don't know who you are, Konoha ninja," Hanzo flexed his hands in anticipation of the fight he was clearly looking for. "I recognize the Uchiha, the Sarutobi, the Hyuga, and the Aburame. And while you do look remarkably like Yahiko's sidekick, you aren't him. Perhaps a relative living in the Land of Fire?"

Naruto didn't answer immediately. He looked upwards at the cliff, observing Hanzo with something akin to curiosity. Tilting his head forward, allowing his deep red hair to fall to the side slightly, Naruto squinted at Hanzo. 'Hmm. It's like he has an arrogant air to him. The older Hanzo, the one I reanimated, didn't have it. Perhaps defeat to Nagato and Mifune did wonders for him? I wonder. And he isn't under the influence of the Kotoamatsukami. No. His assumption was wrong or born out of desperation it seems. Danzo's manipulations and his arrogance led to his original fall from grace it seems.'

Deep inside his mindscape, Naruto felt the Yin imprint of Kurama stirring, sending a questioning feeling toward him. Naruto placed a hand on his chest, calming him and Ashura, who was also buzzing on his chest down. 'No full power. Both of you. Like I said before. We fight relatively. Besides. Let us see if Hanzo of the Salamander actually lives up to the hype, believe it!'

Looking up, Naruto simply smirked at Hanzo, letting his serious demeanor fall apart slightly. "I am Naruto Uzumaki."

Hanzo raised a visible eyebrow. "Ho? An Uzumaki? I thought all of you were scattered to the winds, even if some of you were still alive. Where have you been hiding? The only other Uzumaki known is that Habanero brat in your village isn't it?"

"Enough talk," Naruto mumbled, looking at Hanzo with a curious gaze. "I am not here to give you a lesson on my clan's history, though that would admittedly be awesome. I am here to fight you. So let's."

"Young man, I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation here," Hanzo replied as he jumped down from the cliff onto the Pass, landing nimbly as he twirled slightly to face Naruto face to face. "I am not the antagonist here. You are. Your nation has violated my nation's neutrality. I am simply meeting force with force. A just response, don't you think? And anyone who knows of my reputation knows that no one barring the Kages can stand up to me. I am giving you an out, child. Take it. Leave the Wetlands. Return to the Land of Fire. Never look back. It will be a mercy for both you and me. You will live and I shall have stayed my blade from the flesh of a duty-bound soldier."

"That's an offer that I would normally take. I don't want to tussle with someone like you." Naruto shrugged as he dusted his flak jacket off calmly. "You are after all doing what any national leader would. Protect your own neutrality and the prosperity of your own village. But unfortunately, we are on opposite sides. So let's just get down to it, you know?"

"Let the Kami know that I tried," Hanzo murmured softly into the air. For a second neither of them moved. Above them, in the cliffs encompassing the Pass, the Ame ninjas tensed up in anticipation. The rocky floor gleamed in the afternoon sun before clouds started to gather. As small droplets of rain began to fall from the skies, both ninjas sprang into action. Hanzo dashed forward and within a split second, he was in front of Naruto, slashing his kusarigama at Naruto. All within a second of the beginning of the fight. To the Ame ninjas who were observing it was as if Hanzo had moved instantaneously and had teleported towards Naruto. Naruto grunted as he body flickered immediately, moving backward to dodge the attack. The phantom slash generated a small air wave that hit the rocky wall behind Naruto, cracking it. Naruto kept a steady gaze on the kusarigama. 'It's poisoned. Don't want that hitting me. And he's fast. Well well well, looks like this will be good.'

Naruto sprang into action as well. Taking a kunai out of his holster, he probed the kusarigama by attacking at it with a downward slash. Hanzo blocked it, not moving from his position as he narrowed his eyes at Naruto, a little put out at the sheer strength that Naruto had pushed into the slash. Hanzo pushed back, forcing Naruto to let go of the clash of the weapons and take a step back. Hanzo's eyes gleamed as his kusarigama flashed and came down on Naruto's unprotected chest. Naruto frowned and quickly pushed himself to the side, letting the kusarigama strike the ground, forming a small fissure at the sheer strength of Hanzo's attack. Naruto whistled, looking at the fissure. 'Man. That looks like Grandma Tsunade tapped an angry toe on it. He's good. And he's not even taking me seriously. Well, nor am I, but that's beside the point. I shouldn't take him so lightly, however….I don't want to be poisoned to death. That would be highly inconvenient.'

"I am sorry child," Hanzo murmured as he flashed through several hand seals quickly as he pulled his kusarigama out of the ground. "You've walked into my trap. Fire Release: Exploding Flame Formation Jutsu."

Exploding tags coated in fire-release chakra appeared on the dusty path below Naruto before they streamed towards him. Naruto leaped up to dodge the attack but the tags just followed him into the air catching him by surprise. Naruto's slightly flushed look captured the look of his surprise at the situation. The tags wrapped themselves around Naruto's left leg before starting to explode simultaneously as flames started to explode out of them onto Naruto's body, promising a painful death. Naruto frowned grimly before pushing his chakra and conducting the substitution jutsu instantaneously with a small log nearby. The tags blew the poor log apart, as it fell into the ground burned and charred whilst Naruto whistled looking at the poor condition of the log. "That is one strong Jutsu. That's an instant kill if it sticks."

"That is usually enough to take care of run-of-the-mill above average Jonin ninjas," Hanzo observed as he shifted to his full height, slinging his kusarigama over his shoulder. "That is impressive. An instantaneous substitution in the middle of an enemy jutsu being executed. You are definitely a strong one, Uzumaki. Feel proud. Very few have been acknowledged as such."

The redheaded Uzumaki simply shrugged as he snapped out another kunai onto his free hand and crouched low. "It's definitely an honor, Lord Hanzo of the Salamander."

Hanzo grinned, somewhat impressed and somewhat fired up by the nonchalant attitude shown by his opponent. 'His crouch, it's perfectly balanced. Crouching low enough for a lower attack, and a crouch high enough for a leaping attack. Perfectly balanced on his forward right foot, ready to leap sideways too at a fraction of a second. He's good. But that stance, the last time I saw that was with Jiraiya of the Sannin. I wasn't aware that Jiraiya had taken another apprentice.'

Naruto jumped forward, his kunai flashing blue as he coated his kunai with chakra. Hanzo did the same thing with his kusarigama and held his weapon horizontally in front of him to intercept the attack from the Uzumaki. Pushing back by pushing his chakra into his kusarigama, Naruto stumbled a bit and Hanzo took advantage of the opening, delivering a powerful kick in Naruto's gut. Naruto was sent tumbling back for a second as he regained his balance and stood up, a little distance away from Naruto. Hanzo spread his kusarigama wide of his gut and sent it flying towards Naruto, not letting up from his attack. As the poisoned kusarigama slashed down at Naruto's form, Naruto caught the handle portion of the Kusarigama with perfect precision and pulled, pulling Hanzo towards him against his will.

Hanzo stood his ground, coating his feet with chakra, and placing him firmly onto the ground. Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly and let go of the kusarigama, feeling the poison starting to drip, not willing to let the poison drip on him. 'I don't have Kurama anymore. I can't afford to get such fatal poison attacks on me anymore. Still, he's trickier than I thought. And both of us aren't even close to fighting at full strength.'

As Hanzo jumped a few meters into the air after catching his kusarigama, he flashed through several hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fire Whirlwind Jutsu."

Hanzo landed in front of Naruto and punched his fist into the ground. The ground erupted into flames as two massive whirlwinds of fire formed and sped toward Naruto, destroying everything in front of them. Their deep orange hue gleamed, seemingly emboldened by the afternoon sun as they continuously increased their speed. Hanzo, not one for doing things half-assed, took a deep breath and exhaled a huge gust of wind behind the whirlwinds, doing a silent and seal-less wind release attack that not only increased the speed of the whirlwinds but made the flames wilder and more dangerous as they burnt everything to ashes. Naruto leaped backward a few times to create space as he observed the two whirlwinds speeding at him. He grinned. 'That's an amazing technique. He truly is Kage level, it seems. Well, time to fight fire with fire.'

Closing his eyes, Naruto pulled himself into his mindscape. Grasping at his fire-release chakra, he opened his eyes again, as he raised his right hand. "Lava Release: Rasenshuriken!"

A lava nucleus formed in his right hand as shuriken blades made out of pure wind formed alongside the aforementioned lava nucleus. Naruto heaved and threw the attack into the incoming two whirlwinds and activated the dragon seal. Just before the attack hit the two fire whirlwinds, his lava rasenshuriken expanded, meeting the attack head-on. Naruto had barely a second to leap up into one of the cliff-sides as the resulting explosion blew apart the pass. At the far side of the Pass, Hanzo jumped up onto another cliff side as well, observing the clash of the two attacks with a curious gaze. Raising his head, he leaned back on the cliff. "I didn't know the Uzumaki were inheritors of the Lava Release bloodline limit. There's more to you than I realize. That was a powerful attack. I applaud you."

Watching the entire Pass burnt to ashes and char down below, Hanzo truly meant the praise. The entire pass was either ashes, chars, or small embers, burning the age-old signs near the small dusty road into crisp. Some of the trees next to the road were uprooted and sent flying into the air and the ground was still seeing red, evidently still hot from the clash of the two powerful techniques. Hanzo jumped forward and slammed his hands onto the ground, ready to activate the second part of his earlier technique. "But it seems our fight will end here young Uzumaki. Behold, the most beautiful technique you will ever see. Fire Release: Eruption Jutsu!"

Before Naruto could process the statement, the moment Hanzo's hands slammed onto the ground, the ground exploded into a general eruption of powerful and extremely hot flames rushing into the sky, turning the afternoon rain deep red for a while. The deep reddish-orange color of the flames generated enough heat to melt even a tsunami. It was one of Hanzo's greatest ninjutsu, the technique with which he had burned the enemy forces of the tripartite invasion back during the Second Great Shinobi War. Naruto leaped upwards, observing the eruption with a gaping mouth. The deep color of the flames was reflected in his azure eyes, as even the torrential rains of the Land of Wetlands failed to dissolve the great eruption of fire from beneath Hanzo's fingers.

Naruto took a deep breath and raised his left hand, absorbing the chakra within the flames, and coated his skin with his own chakra, letting the chakra-less flames lick over his frame without success. Still mid-air, Naruto then took out a scroll from his pocket and unsealed it before throwing it above him. The scroll glowed brightly before exploding into a shower of water and falling onto the flames down below. As Naruto landed softly onto the burnt ground, he stood up straight and clapped earnestly. "You were right. That was the most beautiful Jutsu I have ever seen. The sheer colors in those flames…it is simply unbeatable."

Hanzo let out a slight noise of friendly grumbling as he observed Naruto survive the attack. He spread his hands and replied. "I thank you for the praise. In turn, I must praise you as well. Such a powerful sealing scroll, well I shouldn't have thought of anything less from an Uzumaki. Let me be the first among us to deliver praise to your clan's abilities."

"It should be courtesy on my part to reply in kind Hanzo!" Naruto declared as he clasped his hands. "I shall show you my most beautiful jutsu as well. Believe it!"

Naruto unclasped his hands as a large barrier with a large spiraling sphere of chakra formed inside the barrier. The sphere forming inside split into five smaller versions. The sheer golden color of the sphere reminded Hanzo of the greatest riches that any merchant or businessman in this world could aspire for. It glinted proudly even in the rain and indeed, seemed to glow. Swirling rapidly between Naruto's hands, Hanzo had no illusion of the fact that if the attack hit him, then it would be a pain to get through. That was if it didn't kill him. Naruto then threw the swirling barrier from his hand, hurtling it in Hanzo's direction. "Amenomihashira!"

The barrier sphere hurtled towards Hanzo, who immediately pulled his kusarigama, coating it with his potent chakra. He slashed down at the attack, cleaving through it. To Hanzo's surprise, the barrier exploded in a fury, throwing Hanzo backward and forcing Hanzo to regain his balance a few feet away. Meanwhile, the spheres inside the bigger barrier sphere broke loose and launched themselves in multiple directions. Where his Ame ninjas were watching the fight. The spheres landed themselves into the panicking Ame ninjas, sending many of them packing. Turning his head back to Naruto, Hanzo narrowed his eyes a bit. 'The attack was strong. It's as if I am fighting another Kage again. The sheer scale of the chakra we're throwing around is definitely kage level. Well in that case…' "Indeed, the attack was beautiful Naruto. Other than my eruption technique, I declare that your Amenomihishara is the most beautiful technique out there! Let it be known far and wide."

Naruto landed in front of Hanzo. 'He cleaved right through the attack. Not even Indra Otsutsuki could do that! He's far more powerful than I actually gave him credit for!'

Hanzo started to advance forward, his kusarigama slung over his shoulder nonchalantly. "Your strength is admirable Naruto. It has been many seasons since I was pushed back like this. Why, the last time I felt this exhilarated was when I fought Chiyo of the Sand. Her puppets can bring an entire nation down to its knees. But I hate the niceties we are observing here little Uzumaki. Why don't we fight at full power?"

"Well, I doubt that it would be good for the surrounding area. Especially your ninjas who are looking at us like we're ghosts that were arisen in the deep of the night." Naruto chuckled as he pointed at the white-faced Ame ninjas who were observing their high-intensity fight with trembling breaths. After all, it wasn't always one would observe a kage-level fight. 'Besides, if I went full power, I would absolutely smack you into the ground, believe it! Unless it is absolutely necessary, I'm fighting you with the same amount of power you possess Hanzo.'

"They know how to handle me going full out. There are protocols in place." Hanzo also chuckled in reply. His blonde hair swayed in the rainy wind as he continued to advance at a sedate pace. "So, are you ready young Uzumaki?"

"It's now or never old man."

"Old man," Hanzo repeated slowly before letting out a snort of amusement. "I must admit; it has also been long since anyone had the sheer guts to say such a thing to my face. Very well. Naruto Uzumaki brace yourself. You are the first person since Hiruzen Sarutobi who will witness me at my full power. Summoning Jutsu: Ibuse, King of the Salamanders!"

Hanzo slammed his hand onto the ground as a sealing grid spread throughout the ground below Hanzo. In a large cloud of dust, a giant brown salamander with a light color underside was summoned. Towering over the pass, the salamander named Ibuse glared down at the now puny form of Naruto Uzumaki, who was simply sporting a grin as he bared his kunai. Hanzo looked at Naruto impassively for a second as he patted the head of Ibuse before standing up straight, ready to attack. "Summoning Technique: Ibuse Poisoning Jutsu."

Ibuse took a deep breath and exhaled a massive cloud of purple-colored poison, sending the massive poison wave toward Naruto. Naruto watched the poison cloud racing towards him impassively before crouching down and sitting on the floor with his hands on the boar symbol. As the cloud enveloped Naruto, Hanzo peered towards him with something akin to a mix of glee and concern. With golden-colored markings forming underneath his eyes and a concentric circular dot formed on his forehead, Naruto stood up, breathing in the poisonous air around him with no problem other than a few rough coughs into his fists. 'Nature chakra filters the air. As long as it is concentrated in the mouth and nose. Thank Kami for sage mode. Still…. the poison isn't going to be fatal or even harmful to me, but it will definitely make me sluggish. Hopefully, sage mode covers me here.'

Hanzo watched curiously from atop Ibuse. 'Those markings…so he is a sage. I haven't faced one in my entire life. Very well then.' "Ibuse! Fire Release: Salamander's Spit Jutsu!"

Hanzo let out a massive stream of flames from his mouth as he exhaled pure fire chakra. Ibuse shuffled before spitting into the flames that Hanzo generated making the flames glow imperiously as they traveled towards Naruto, hitting him at point-blank range at full power. Naruto tumbled backward, his flak jacket on fire. 'Those flames! They appeared almost instantaneously! So, the poisonous cloud not only well, poisons, but acts as a conduit to enhance any other attacks he makes. Ingenious bastard.'

Thinking quickly, Naruto unveiled a scroll and slammed the fire chakra into it, sealing the flames surrounding him into the scroll. Then he rebalanced himself, stopping himself from tumbling further and standing up. Wobbling slightly as he stood up, Naruto decided to take Hanzo up on his offer of fighting seriously. He flicked his eyes towards the burnt ground, trying to feel for the chakra that he was continuously letting go into the ground. Feeling the perfect thrum of Yin chakra, Naruto grinned slightly. He clasped his hands. "Uzumaki Secret Fuinjutsu: Sage Mode: Dead Demon Prison Seal!"

Chains and chakra erupted from the already charred ground as calligraphy extended from below Naruto's clasped hands. The seals continuously expanded, even reaching the northern parts of the cliffs of the Pass that Hanzo and Naruto were fighting in. But before Naruto could continue with the technique to its full fruition, Hanzo struck. Hanzo jumped off Ibuse's head and swung his kusarigama coated in fire release chakra at Naruto's head, forcing Naruto to break his concentration and let go of the Dead Demon Prison Seal. Naruto leaped away as the fire-coated kusarigama exploded upon contact with the ground, destroying the nearby boulders into teeny tiny pieces.

'Shit!' Naruto cursed mentally as he had to let go of the seal. Maintaining it for too long without activating it was a dangerous proposition even for him. The chains that erupted from the ground sank back into the ground as Naruto recovered quickly and sprang forward his kunai coming down in a flash towards Hanzo. Ibuse interrupted Naruto's attack by leaping out of the ground in the middle of Naruto's path, forcing Naruto back once more. Ibuse flexed his lighter underside as Hanzo jumped back onto his head and then sent another wave of the Salamander's deadly and fiery spit at Naruto. Now, having expected the attack, Naruto body flickered away immediately, allowing the spit to dig a deep hole into the rocky cavern behind him as Naruto appeared above Hanzo and Ibuse. He widened his arms and formed another Amenomihashira and launched it at Hanzo at point-blank range.

'Smart boy.' Hanzo thought grudgingly as he saw the technique hurtling towards him at extreme speed. 'If I dodge, Ibuse will bear the brunt of it and probably de-summon automatically. If not, I am hit. I shall have to contend with this myself.'

Bringing his kusarigama towards his head, Hanzo gritted his teeth as Naruto's technique made contact with his blade. The sheer force of the attack forced him to grip his chakra onto Ibuse, who howled and flinched at the pain caused by it. Hanzo mentally apologized to his summon and barely had enough time to deflect the rotating sphere. But the moment he did that, the sphere exploded into a myriad of explosions launching Hanzo right off Ibuse. Hanzo fell down to the ground in a cascade of pain as blood burst from his left side. 'The sneaky shit! He set a timer on his own chakra. His chakra control is picture perfect!'

Hanzo wobbled to his feet before summoning his kusarigama back to him. Underneath the howl that had ripped out of him due to the sheer pain of the Amenomihashira's explosion, Hanzo saw an opening. Having let the scream rip out and settle down, Hanzo surged back onto Ibuse's head, unwilling to give Naruto the advantage in the fight. He placed his fingers into a familiar t-pose as Naruto's eyes widened. The air crackled with tension as Hanzo let go of his chakra liberally and merged it with Ibuse's own. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Two more Hanzo's atop two more Ibuse's emerged to the right and left of Hanzo. Eyes gleaming, Hanzo went through a set of familiar hand seals again as all three of the Ibuse's spat out salamander spit once again. "Fire Release: Combination Salamander's Spit Jutsu!"

The sound reverberated throughout the canyon for a second. Naruto felt the imminent danger and predicted it as well, but could not prevent himself from dodging. The three salamander's spits combined with the three Hanzo's fiery waves to create a majestic tsunami of flames that covered the entire pass. Fiery waves of flame launched themselves at Naruto with no respite. And despite their obvious power, with three Hanzos providing thrice the control, the flames spread thrice as fast. In the face of the imminent danger, Naruto didn't have time to do anything but put both of his hands in front of him in a defensive pose. The flames washed over him like hellfire being released by the Shinigami himself. Naruto didn't scream aloud, but a silent grunt of utter agony escaped him as the entire forest behind him was set ablaze by the fierce fire tsunami that Hanzo had conjured. Satisfied with himself, Hanzo allowed the clones to dissipate into two clouds of smoke. The wave passed by Naruto after a few hellish seconds, having burnt everything but Naruto's chakra-resistant fishnet shirt and standard-issue pants. As Naruto slumped to the ground, his burning flak jacket fell beside him.

'The sheer scale of this jutsu!' Naruto wondered as he ate dirt, slumping to the ground. 'No wonder Pervy Sage thought that Hanzo was undefeatable. Even with Sage Mode, I couldn't deflect it at all! I could have, in Six Paths Sage Mode, but still, this is a huge feat! The forest that was behind me is practically gone! Evaporated!'

"You are a powerful child," Hanzo muttered as he clutched his bleeding side. His head felt slightly light as he crouched on Ibuse's head. "I can count on one hand those who have pushed me this far. The sheer amount of chakra exhaustion and physical exhaustion I feel is second to none. But it is time for you to die. You fought bravely and have granted your comrades half an hour already. Goodbye Naruto Uzumaki, Crimson Sentinel of Konoha."

Without prompt, Ibuse raised his right hand and pushed down on Naruto's frame with a sickening crunch. Hanzo felt a sense of accomplishment. The Takatori Pass was silent. After the massive fight that had prevailed for the last half an hour, it felt like a mistake for the symphony of battle to fall silent. But it only lasted for a second as the tension in the atmosphere dissipated for a few moments. Hanzo was about to hop off when Ibuse grunted in pain. Hanzo narrowed his gaze just before Ibuse was thrown back along with Hanzo. Hanzo and Ibuse managed to jump back with their balance intact, but it was clear that something was afoot. Hanzo could make out a blurry figure as Naruto stood up, bleeding from the sides. Naruto wobbled to his feet and grinned at Hanzo. His face was pinched and twisted by the pain he was feeling, but his eyes blazing with mischievousness. "Is that a new epithet? Like the Sannin? That's a cool name you know? I'll treasure it for the rest of my life, believe it!"

Hanzo laughed disbelievingly, letting out a snort. The destroyed surroundings rippled with the sound of laughter. The rain grew heavier and the gloominess of the day began to increase. "Not even the Second Kazekage stood up from that attack when I sent him running with his tail between his legs. For that, I must applaud you."

Naruto stood up to the full length of his height. He slicked his hair backward and he grinned. The evening rain parted slowly as the sunshine came back into the destroyed Pass. As the surroundings glittered and danced in the embrace of the sun once more, Naruto's red hair seemed to gleam in the sky. His hair was like a beacon that could be seen far and wide. His glinting azure eyes seemed otherworldly as if they could peer into a world that Hanzo couldn't even fathom to begin understanding.

"Hanzo. The Strongest Ninja in the center of the Elemental Nations. Called the Strongest of the Strong." Naruto murmured loudly enough for both Ibuse and Hanzo to hear. Grinning, Naruto let the sunlight shine on the back of his hair as he pointed resolutely at Hanzo. "Let me make something clear. There can only be one Strongest of the Strong here. And that man is I!"

The sheer strength of the declaration sent vibration running throughout the humid air, making Hanzo's blonde hair freeze up slightly. Hanzo chuckled smoothening the back of his hair, coating it with blood that was still dripping from his side. "Very well, Naruto Uzumaki. Show me how you can dance!"

Naruto put his hand in the snake seal and flared his chakra, forming a pillar of light blue chakra that pierced even the very sky. For a second, the sheer amount and density of chakra that Naruto flared even managed to blot out the sun, returning the land into darkness for a second more before the chakra phased through. Tension crackled in the air as Naruto grunted and molded his chakra, making his very constitution unstable as his hands trembled to maintain the snake hand seal. Naruto flared his chakra again as Hanzo brought his kusarigama up to make sure that the amount of dust and soot that Naruto was throwing up into the air inadvertently didn't hit him in the face. Finding the right ratio for his attack Naruto looked directly at Hanzo and smirked. "Uzumaki Secret Fuinjutsu: The Deep Adamantine Chains Emergence!"

Behind him, where the forest once stood before being torched by Hanzo, the signature chakra chains of the Uzumaki clan emerged. But they were small in number as was usual. Instead, a veritable forest of chakra chains erupted from the ground. From every inch of the ground, golden chakra chains that had made the Uzumaki clan feared throughout the nations rose up. Jostling past the burnt ashes of the trees and leaves, these chains grew in height reaching as tall as 40 feet as they towered over the destroyed pass, its golden links twinkling in the evening sun. As the sunlight was reflected on its links, the entire Pass, even the parts that were hidden from view due to the darkness of the cliff's shadows were brought into the light. The chains then poised themselves towards Hanzo and Ibuse, both of whom were watching the spectacle in front of them with an impressed glint in their eyes. Just before they could dive into the two, the chains stopped as Naruto raised his hand. Smiling, Naruto spoke up. "So, are you ready old man?"

"Let's level the playing field!" Hanzo declared as he dredged up the last remnants of his chakra and jumped onto the ground in front of Ibuse. An entire summoning grid was summoned beneath Hanzo's hands. "Summoning Jutsu: Norase: Queen of the Salamanders! Ituse: Prince of the Salamanders!"

Two large plumes of smoke enveloped the field as two large salamanders, comparable to size to Ibuse appeared on the field. The female salamander – obviously Norase, the Queen of the Salamanders – looked quite unlike her husband and son, both of whom were dark greyish in color with a lighter underbelly. She was deep red in color and had a light red/deep pinkish underbelly. Both Norase and Ituse glanced at Ibuse before Hanzo clasped his hands into another seal. "Salamander's Secret Technique: Triple Flaming Salamander Roll!"

Hanzo touched Ibuse with a chakra palm, creating a powerful and thick chakra string connecting himself and Ibuse as Ibuse, Ituse, and Norase took up positions together by clutching each other's hands and hindquarters before they started to leak chakra into the air. Charged as it was, the chakra immediately burst into flames, lighting the three conjoined salamanders in a heavenly blue blaze that threatened to burn down even the heavens themselves. Handling the three salamanders connected to him like a yoyo with the help of the chakra thread that he was using, Hanzo lifted them up into the air. With his free hand, he pointed at Naruto. "This is the strongest technique in my arsenal. I'm ready. Are you ready?"

"I am!"

"Then let's go!"

The forest of chains launched themselves at Hanzo as he released the blazing salamander trio at Naruto. As the chains came into contact with the blazing salamanders, it was as if the Gods themselves had smote the earth. A large pillar of golden chakra erupted from the clash of the two powerful techniques, burning and destroying the cliffs next to the pass. Both Naruto and Hanzo held firm as mini whirlwinds formed as a result of their final clash.

'I won't lose! Not to him! For the future and for all those who I lost!' Naruto growled mentally as he pushed his chains further adding more chakra into his seals.

'I won't lose! Not to him! For the Land and Nation!' Hanzo growled mentally as he pushed his flaming salamanders, adding more chakra via his chakra thread.

Silence.

And everything exploded. Everywhere. All at once.

And then silence once more.

It sent a wave of pain just to open his eyelids. His blonde eyebrows crunched in pain made his entire nervous system crunch up as Hanzo opened his eyes. The scene before him was apocalyptic. Many holes and attacks had been punched into the mountains beside the Pass and the forest next to it had been utterly torched during the early part of the fight. But in front of him, Hanzo saw nothing but a grey field. In the far distance, where some evening lights could be seen even from a distance, Hanzo belatedly realized that he was seeing Takatori. Which shouldn't be possible at all, considering that Takatori was behind a mountain. Grunting, Hanzo turned his head around, ignoring the flashes of pain that threatened to paralyze him. Turning around in the puddle of his own blood, Hanzo observed the forest and wetlands behind him completely vaporized and empty. Chuckling slightly, he looked heavenwards, where a shadow had been cast over him.

"You won," Hanzo rasped, finding it painful to even open his mouth. "Are my summons okay? Ibuse, Norase, Ituse?"

"Your salamanders de-summoned the moment their injuries got serious," Naruto replied back seriously as he clutched his own 2nd and 3rd degree burns that marred his chest with pained winces. "They're fine."

Hanzo chuckled roughly, spitting out blobs of blood to add to the puddle next to him. "To think that I, Hanzo of the Salamander was broken in battle. Like I said earlier, you're strong kid. Never squander that strength."

"I won't." Naruto agreed before he sat down and knelt to look at Hanzo clearly. "But what about you? You've clearly squandered your own strength."

Before Hanzo could bite back a retort, Naruto raised a hand asking for silence. Hanzo remained silent, not wanting to anger the victor of the fight that destroyed a mountain and the wetlands surrounding them.

"You know I am not talking about your prowess in battle Hanzo." Naruto peered at Hanzo, looking at him in the eye. "The whispers from the roots of the village. You have fallen prey to them. To think that you would even attack a group of your own shinobi simply asking to facilitate peace. Where has the Hanzo, who once defeated the tripartite invasion and ruled Amegakure justly gone? Where is that man?"

Defeated and not really understanding what Naruto was getting at due to the sheer amount of pain lancing through his body and nervous system, Hanzo simply asked dejectedly, "What do you want?"

"I want to save the world. But I'm willing to start small. I'll start by saving you."

Author's Note: And that's the big fight with Hanzo! I would love some feedback! I didn't touch upon other PoVs in this chapter because I wanted to keep it purely Naruto and Hanzo only other than the small part in the beginning. And like Naruto goes to mention a lot of times, if he fought at full force, Hanzo would have been punted like 7 ways into sunday. Naruto wants to fight fairly, if only to experience Hanzo at his prime. Like I said, would love some feedback.

I'm also going for a vacation tomorrow that last's a week, so don't expect a new chapter then. Zakopane, here I come! But still, in that case I invite speculation and more feedback! Would love them! Until the next chapter, bye!