Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha is not motivated.

Inside the shelter,
Jiraiya, crouching in the corner, scratched his head anxiously, his eyes glancing every now and then at the dark ventilation vent.
"Why hasn't Orochimaru come back yet? Could something have happened to him?"

"Don't worry about it. Orochimaru is a million times more reliable than some half-baked guy."

Tsunade, who was squatting to the side with her knees drawn up, pouted, looking sullen.

She couldn't resist playing a few rounds of cards with her friends, and unsurprisingly, she lost everything, even her breakfast money for tomorrow.

"Uh"

Jiraiya's expression froze upon hearing this. He suspected Tsunade was talking about him in front of him, but he had no proof.

"you"

"Swish"

Just as Jiraiya was preparing to defend his reputation, a barely perceptible rustling sound came from the ventilation duct, causing him to jolt awake.
"Stinky snake?"

"Tsunade, please don't compare me to this idiot next time."

As expected, Orochimaru's soft, feminine voice came from inside the ventilation duct.
It was obvious that he had overheard the conversation between his two teammates.
Orochimaru felt that comparing him to Jiraiya was truly insulting; no one would be pleased if someone said they were smarter than the village idiot.
"Huh? You stinking snake, dare you say that again?!"

Jiraiya's eyebrows shot up in anger, and he rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight Orochimaru, who had escaped through the ventilation duct.

“Come on, son.”

Orochimaru, too lazy to bother with this idiot, simply tossed the two children he was carrying over.
"Phew, thank you."

After hurriedly taking them, and seeing the soundly sleeping Yahiko and Nagato in his arms, Jiraiya's heart finally settled. He let out a long sigh of relief and nodded gratefully to Orochimaru.
"Wait, what's the last one?"

However, Tsunade, who was beside him, noticed the blind spot: there were clearly three when they left, so why did only two return?

"She's with the second-generation master."

Orochimaru didn't hide anything and recounted everything he had encountered after leaving.

Upon hearing that Iwa ninja had already invaded the village, Jiraiya and Tsunade both frowned.
"What Iwagakure did was really too much."

Jiraiya, who had always disliked war, clenched his fists, his expression heavy with sorrow.

"If Hanzo intervenes, he should be able to resolve this crisis."

Tsunade briefly analyzed the strength of both sides. With the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, absent, Hanzo's strength was sufficient to handle any unforeseen circumstances.

"That's not necessarily true. The people that Iwagakure sent this time are no ordinary people."

The information obtained from the Iwa ninja indicates that the leaders of their invasion operation are Murasaki and Han.

Outsiders may be unfamiliar with these two names, but for the Root members who possess confidential intelligence on various villages, their names are legendary.
Purple, the successor personally groomed by the Third Tsuchikage, and the second Four-Tails Knight.
Han, a descendant of the Second Tsuchikage, was a renowned steam ninja from Iwagakure and also the Second Five-Tails Rider.
Either of them could raze a city to the ground in a short time.
"It's just a Tailed Beast Rider, it's not like we haven't beaten them before."

After carefully settling his adopted son in, Jiraiya couldn't help but remark on the undisguised seriousness on Orochimaru's face.

They had fought against an entire army of clones in the Rain Forbidden Land; what kind of knights hadn't they seen?
"It's different. The power of a genuine Tailed Beast Rider is far more terrifying than you can imagine."

This is why Orochimaru dislikes being compared to Jiraiya; their thought processes are simply not on the same level.

"What could be different?"

"It's definitely different. When facing a fake knight, I can at least muster the will to fight, but when facing my aunt, I don't even have the courage to fight."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully and immediately gave a very reliable example, using her own personal experience to prove Orochimaru's statement.

Is it really that exaggerated?

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise.

"Boom!"

Just then, a tremendous earthquake shook the ground, a deafening roar erupted overhead, and debris mixed with sand rained down, plunging the entire shelter into chaos.

What's happening outside?

"I want to get out!"

"Has the enemy invaded?"

"."

"Everyone, calm down! Everything will be alright!"

The rain ninja guarding the shelter watched the noisy crowd, sweating profusely as she tried to calm them down, but with little success.
"Yahiko! Yahiko! Where has that brat run off to again?"

In the crowd, the proprietress, realizing her son was missing, was frantic with tears streaming down her face. After her husband's death, her son was everything to her; if anything happened to Yahiko, she didn't want to live anymore.
"Boss lady, I'm here!"

Jiraiya, carrying two children on his back, squeezed through the crowd and showed the sleeping Yahiko to him.

"He fell asleep after playing with his friends until he was tired."

"That's wonderful, Jiraiya! I don't know how to thank you enough!"

The proprietress stepped forward excitedly, her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude. A hint of allure unintentionally flickered in her gaze, making Jiraiya blush. Although he was usually a smooth talker, his actual experience was zero.

"You're welcome, you're welcome!"

After entrusting both children to the landlady's care, Jiraiya approached Orochimaru and his companion with a very serious expression.
"You heard what happened just now, didn't you?"

"Shall we go out and take a look?"

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. The three of them had a mission to complete; if such a significant event had occurred in Amegakure, it would be rather unreasonable for them not to record it.

"Ah."

The three hit it off immediately and, taking advantage of the chaos, slipped into the ventilation shaft.
After climbing out of the long pipe, what they saw made their hearts tighten.
The pitch-black night sky was illuminated by a rain of fire. In the heart of Amegakure, amidst towering buildings, a giant mechanical ape climbed atop the village's tallest building—the headquarters of the Amegakure ninja.
"Roar!"

With a roar, its dark red mechanical body emitted bursts of thunder, and orange-red magma flowed down from the cracks in its outer shell, igniting large areas of houses on the ground.
"What is this?!"

Jiraiya, stunned by the scene, stared wide-eyed. The oppressive aura emanating from the steel behemoth in the distance far surpassed that of any clone he had ever encountered before.

"Gudong~"

Is this the power of the genuine Tailed Beasts?

"Orochimaru, isn't this the one the teacher mentioned before?"

Looking at the rampaging mechanical gorilla, Tsunade frowned deeply.
"It's pretty much a definite yes, it should be the combined form of the Tailed Beast Rider's Beast Fist."

Orochimaru, having memorized all the key points from class, nodded solemnly. Hiruzen Sarutobi had mentioned to them that this form was capable of rivaling Susanoo.
As he spoke, his gaze swept back and forth across the mechanical four-tailed fox, his eyes filled with a tangible desire to study it. "Rain Village is finished."

Tsunade pursed her lips. Although she didn't want to admit it, the steel behemoth before her was simply beyond human capability to contend with.

Even if Hanzo were incredibly strong, he would likely be powerless against such an enemy.
"The world is about to change."

Orochimaru gently shook his head. The Four-Tails' outburst in Amegakure was tantamount to the Land of Earth formally declaring war on the Land of Rain.

A single move can have far-reaching consequences; the Wind Kingdom, which has always supported the Rain Kingdom, will inevitably be drawn into the conflict as well.

If the two great powers go to war, regardless of victory or defeat, the people of the Rain Kingdom will be the first to suffer. Their lives, which have just begun to improve, will likely be wiped out in an instant, or even worse.

"Jiraiya, what do you want to do?"

Just as Orochimaru was shaking his head and sighing, he noticed that Jiraiya, who had been silent for a long time, had actually begun to quietly organize his equipment.
“I can’t just stand by and watch it ruin the landlady’s house.”

After spending several years with the landlady, Jiraiya had come to consider himself a son-in-law of Amegakure, and this place was like his second home.

"Don't forget who you are."

Orochimaru frowned upon hearing this. They were ninjas, Konoha ninjas, and Konoha ninjas with their own missions.
Seeing Jiraiya's struggling expression, Tsunade gently patted his shoulder and earnestly advised him.

"Jiraiya, you can help once, but not forever. Ultimately, it is up to the person who protects their homeland."

"But if this continues, Amegakure will be..."

If left unchecked, this crazed gorilla will eventually raze the entire Amegakure to the ground.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, blinding sparks erupted from the mechanical gorilla's body. Tsunade pointed to several dark figures roaming around the giant beast; they were a group of Rain Ninja, diligently using all their skills to protect their homeland.
"See? They haven't given up yet."

The spirit of the Rain Ninja is indeed commendable, but unfortunately, their feeble attacks are nothing more than polishing a mechanical tailed beast.
"Roar!"

It turned its head and roared, spewing dark red magma from its mouth. The Rain Ninja troops, unable to dodge in time, watched the scalding lava about to pour down on them, their eyes filled with despair.

"Ugh"

Witnessing this scene, Jiraiya closed his eyes in despair, unable to bear the sight of the tragic scene that followed.
"Eek! Eek! Eek!"

Just then, a strange cry, like that of a baby, rang out. Immediately afterwards, the three of them caught a faint, peculiar scent at the tip of their noses.
"This is?"

Orochimaru frowned as he sensed a strange energy attempting to invade his body.
"Hold your breath, it's poison."

Since ancient times, medicine and poison have been inseparable. Tsunade only wrinkled her nose to determine the composition of the odor.

"Ha! Look!"

Jiraiya, however, opened his eyes the instant the sound appeared. His eyes were wide open and his mouth agape, as if he had seen something he had never seen before.
"That's... a salamander?"

Orochimaru followed his gaze, and his golden pupils instantly contracted.
In the distance, a brown salamander, its size comparable to a mechanical tailed beast, stood before the pillar of lava, its wide-open mouth spewing forth a pungent purple energy that pushed the orange-red magma back.
The Rain Ninja, who had closed their eyes and awaited death, slowly opened them and discovered the giant salamander blocking their way. Their faces were filled with the joy of surviving a disaster and deep confusion.

"Lord Hanhanzang?"

However, upon seeing the proud figure standing atop the salamander's head, the doubt in their eyes instantly turned into fervent worship.

"Am I late?"

Enveloped in jelly-like purple energy, Hanzo turned around and nodded to the Rain Ninja who were fighting desperately to protect their homeland.

The calm voice acted as a reassurance, instantly giving the panicked Rain Ninja a sense of security.

"Roar!"

"Ganta!"

Hearing the mechanical gorilla's disgruntled roar, Hanzo stomped his foot, and the giant salamander beneath him nimbly twisted its body, its thick tail slamming heavily into the gorilla's chest, sending it staggering backward.

"Roar!"

The mechanical four-tailed creature, having fallen to the ground, roared, its crimson beastly eyes fixed on the enemy that had suddenly appeared before it.
"Leave the rest of the battle to me!"

Hanzo gave the order to retreat to the Rain Ninja behind him, while he himself controlled the Salamander to meet the enraged Mechanical Four-Tails. The two enormous beasts thus confronted each other in the center of the village.
"Roar!"

"Eek! Eek! Eek!"

Seeing the two enormous monsters exchanging breaths, Jiraiya's shock subsided slightly, replaced by confusion.
"A summoned beast?"

That salamander was the same size as a tailed beast, which is extremely rare even among summoned beasts.
"No, it doesn't show any signs of life."

Orochimaru closed his eyes and carefully sensed the surroundings, discovering that the salamander that had been howling wildly at Hanzo's feet showed no signs of life and was clearly not a summoning beast.
"If it has no life, then what is it?"

"I don't know either, but the only thing I'm sure of is that it has a vast amount of chakra within it."

In short, this salamander is more like a creation of chakra than a living creature.

While they were speculating, the two behemoths began their first battle. The mechanical four-tailed beast, which had just been ambushed by the salamander, swung its thick arm and smashed it straight down on the other's head.

"boom!"

Unexpectedly, the salamander's seemingly plump body was incredibly agile. With a nimble twist of its slippery limbs, it easily dodged the mechanical four-tailed attack and then sprayed a mouthful of viscous venom towards its chest.

"Sizzle~"

A cloud of pungent smoke rose, revealing a large hole corroded in the chest of the mechanical Four-Tails by the venom, exposing its hidden mechanical core. Countless hydraulic rods in operation were clearly visible, demonstrating that the corrosive properties of poison indeed had a detrimental effect on mechanical tailed beasts.
"Maruta, now's the time!"

Seeing that the four tails had revealed an opening, Hanzo's face lit up with joy. He immediately manipulated the salamander beneath his feet to press his advantage, unleashing a torrent of sticky venomous projectiles as if they were free.

"Boom!"

A violent explosion followed by a plume of smoke rose into the sky, and Hanzo, standing atop the salamander's head, suddenly turned red and then white on his face.

The emptiness in his body, coupled with the stinging pain from the poison sac in his waist, almost made him faint on the spot.
"Hiss~ Is it still too much of a stretch, Maruta?"

Looking at his old friend who had fought alongside him at his feet with a complex expression, Hanzo's eyes were filled with complicated emotions.
The giant beast currently battling the mechanical tailed beast is named Maruta, the owner of the poison sac on his waist, and also his close friend who has accompanied him since childhood.
By forcibly injecting the five tailed beast potions, Hanzo, with the immense energy he gained in a short time, activated the remaining chakra of Maruta from his poison sac. Finally, he materialized Maruta through the power of his abdomen, allowing his old friend, who had been gone for many years, to reappear in the world.
"Roar!"

A blazing pillar of lava tore through the smoke, and Hanzo quickly controlled Maruta to leap and dodge. Looking at the mechanical gorilla pulsating with dark red energy, he bent down and gently patted the salamander's head.
"Maruta, let it witness the power of the salamander!"

"Eek! Eek! Eek!"

"Bond Combo Skill: The Three-Person Family Technique!" (End of Chapter)