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Akio flew at full speed toward the Land of Rain.
As the name implied, the Land of Rain was a country where it rained year-round. Its security was notoriously tight, making infiltration extremely difficult.
But for Akio, it was a breeze. After all, most Hidden Villages lacked aerial defenses, and the Hidden Rain Village was no exception.
The rain was heavy, but the water parted above Akio's head, flowing down both sides of his body without touching him.
He glanced down. All around were broken walls and collapsed buildings. It was clear that the conflict with Konoha had made this already impoverished nation even more devastated.
"Kagura Shingan!"
Akio formed the Tiger seal with his right hand, closed his eyes, and activated his sensory perception.
"Over there!"
Squinting slightly, he changed direction and flew eastward.
Along the way, many Konoha shinobi were scrambling across the ground below, fleeing in panic.
"The situation looks grim…"
Despite his words, Akio wasn't particularly anxious. He already knew how the battle between the Sannin and Hanzō would end.
He was here only to earn Witness Points—and to prepare for the unlikely event that Hanzō didn't hold back.
"It's unlikely, but if Hanzō really goes all out against Konoha, it's better to be cautious…"
He sighed and picked up speed slightly.
When he arrived near the battlefield, only Hanzō and the three Sannin remained. Confronted by Hanzō, the trio had chosen to stay behind and hold him off.
Akio didn't intervene. He simply observed as the three engaged Hanzō. In his mind, this was their battle.
"They've improved a lot over these past two years," he thought silently.
Although all three had grown stronger, Hanzō—the man who had once fought Hiruzen Sarutobi to a draw—was still out of their league.
"Fire Style: Explosive Flame Array!"
Hanzō's technique made Akio pause.
"Now this is interesting. He's infused fire-nature chakra into explosive tags—quite a clever combination."
He was intrigued. Akio lacked this kind of "trap" ninjutsu.
Explosive tags appeared on the ground around Tsunade, but Akio wasn't worried. As expected, Jiraiya rushed to her side.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizō!"
Jiraiya's hair transformed into sharp needles and wrapped around them both, shielding them from the explosion.
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade called out in concern.
He dispelled the technique and gave a goofy smile with a thumbs-up.
"No problem!"
Hanzō didn't pause after his jutsu. He swung his chained scythe and charged forward.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru had already mastered a range of snake-based techniques. The snakes emerging from his sleeve weren't hidden beforehand; they were summoned through a variation of the Summoning Technique.
The jutsu struck Hanzō directly—but Akio shook his head from afar.
The "Hanzō" that was hit turned into a puddle of water—a water clone. The real Hanzō appeared behind Orochimaru.
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"
Tsunade arrived just in time, her powerful kick forcing Hanzō to retreat.
The trio had just pulled off a seamless cycle of mutual rescue, prompting Akio to nod in approval.
"Their teamwork is solid. Without it, three S-rank shinobi might not even last ten minutes against an S+ opponent."
Akio remained on the sidelines. He had no intention of letting the trio get crushed by Hanzō, but he was waiting for the right moment.
That moment came soon enough. Hanzō had gotten serious. He created distance, removed his mask, bit his finger, and summoned the giant salamander Ibuse.
The three Sannin also bit their fingers and performed summoning jutsu. From afar, Akio channeled a vast amount of chakra, infusing it into Tsunade's summoning circle.
With three loud puffs, the Sannin's summoning beasts appeared simultaneously.
Jiraiya summoned a younger version of Gamabunta, Orochimaru summoned a young Manda, and Tsunade summoned...
"Orochimaru! Why'd you summon me to this wretched place again?!"
Manda hissed furiously.
But Orochimaru ignored him, his eyes flashing as he turned to Tsunade.
"Tsunade, your chakra reserves have improved."
Tsunade blinked, then looked down at the slug beneath her feet.
"Lady Katsuyu? Why are you—?"
The Katsuyu she had summoned was at least ten times larger than what she usually managed—comparable in size to Manda and Gamabunta.
From a distance, Akio frowned.
"Was the distance too far? Even combining 60% of my chakra with Tsunade's, we only summoned one-tenth of Katsuyu?"
Katsuyu didn't answer Tsunade's question, silently cursing Akio. She didn't want to fight but had been forced into it. Though she liked moist environments, she hated constant rain.
The Slug Sage gave no reply, and Tsunade didn't press further. Her expression quickly turned confident.
"With this, we can win!"
Clearly, she had felt hopeless earlier—facing an opponent who once forced Hiruzen into retreat.
"Nice to meet you, Lady Katsuyu," young Gamabunta greeted politely.
Meanwhile, the Jiraiya on his back was visibly disgusted by the enormous slug.
During this time, Hanzō hadn't made a move. He had sensed the massive influx of chakra when Tsunade summoned Katsuyu and was now on high alert.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
The Slug Sage aimed to end things quickly. Without waiting for Tsunade to command her, she spat a jet of acid toward Hanzō, who instantly used the Body Flicker to evade.
Tsunade was briefly stunned, but Orochimaru called out:
"Attack together!"
Manda, seeing the Slug Sage, didn't complain this time and followed Orochimaru's orders. They began their coordinated assault on Hanzō. Jiraiya finally snapped out of his disgust and joined the battle.
Akio remained at a distance, recovering chakra while observing.
"It's not the one-fifth I'd hoped for, but even one-tenth of the Slug Sage should be enough."
However, the battle didn't go as he expected. Hanzō, fighting alongside Ibuse, truly lived up to his reputation as a demigod.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A barrage of water-style jutsu, amplified by the Land of Rain's weather, nearly matched Tobirama's level. Meanwhile, Ibuse lurked underground, launching surprise attacks. The fight became evenly matched.
"With Ibuse, Hanzō barely qualifies as SS-. This fight might go either way."
Akio decided not to offer further support—any more help would require personal intervention.
Half an hour later, Tsunade could no longer sustain the massive Katsuyu and had to dispel the summoning. Fortunately, Hanzō had taken a toll as well.
"As expected of someone who can rival my sensei!" Tsunade said, panting.
Hanzō, also slightly winded, backed off and looked at the trio with a frown.
Tsunade's chakra was largely depleted from summoning Katsuyu, but Orochimaru and Jiraiya were still in decent condition. If the battle continued, it would likely end in mutual destruction. That massive burst of chakra earlier also weighed heavily on Hanzō's mind.
"There's no need to continue this fight," he said, slowly putting his mask back on and dispelling Ibuse.
"Young shinobi, to have fought me to such a standstill is truly commendable."
"From this day forth, I shall call you the Three Sannin of Konoha. There is no need for this war to continue any further!"
The three exchanged glances. After a brief moment of hesitation, they nodded to one another. Even with Tsunade's extraordinary performance, they had gained no real advantage. Ending the war with an accord was a major win for Konoha.
From afar, Akio let out a deep breath. Once again, kanji appeared before his eyes:
*"You have witnessed and significantly influenced a major event in the Naruto timeline — the naming of the Three Sannin. Witness Points gained: 20 (5)."
"That's six hundred now!"
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