A sharp blade suddenly pierced through Tsunade's chest. Behind her, Orochimaru gripped the Kusanagi Sword and spoke.
"You were a bit careless, Tsunade!"
Tsunade's eyes widened as she felt her heart being pierced. In front of her, Orochimaru's body collapsed into a pile of mud, revealing that it had only been an earth clone.
On the ground lay Orochimaru's tattered corpse. A flash of realization crossed her mind.
So he used the time he shed his skin to create a distraction with an earth clone?
She swung her elbow backward with force, but the moment she moved, Orochimaru had already predicted her attack. Before her strike could land, he instantly flickered to a distance.
"You really don't hold back, do you?"
Tsunade pinched the blade still lodged in her chest with her fingers. Under the gazes of Orochimaru, Kagetsu, and the others, she slowly pushed it out of her body, inch by inch.
The process inevitably caused her even more damage and intense pain, but Tsunade only let out a muffled grunt.
"Your body… it's become even more monstrous. Not even a fatal wound like that can affect your movements?"
Orochimaru met Tsunade's unyielding gaze and did not immediately attack again. He had only wanted to test the limits of her Hogyoku Mode, not actually kill her.
Though, his actions certainly seemed like he was trying to.
For any other ninja, a wound would have been fatal. Forget about pulling the sword out while counterattacking like Tsunade—most would barely be able to struggle before succumbing to death without immediate medical intervention.
"This is what I should be saying to you!"
Gripping the Kusanagi Sword that had been pulled from her body, she paid no heed to its razor-sharp blade. While speaking, she treated it like a javelin and hurled it in Orochimaru's direction.
The sword tore through the air with a deafening sonic boom, sending circular shockwaves rippling outward.
A deep trench was carved into the ground as the sword flew, as if a giant had plowed through the earth, leaving behind a massive wound.
Everything in the sword's path was utterly destroyed. Finally, the blade embedded itself in a massive boulder along the way, shattering it into pieces before piercing into the ground.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! That kind of power..."
Anko instinctively stepped back again, along with the others. None of them wanted to get caught up in a stray attack just from watching the battle.
Especially with that level of destruction—it looked like it could take out a person with ease.
Back when Shisui could still use his Mangekyō Sharingan, he could block attacks with Susanoo. But now, they would probably have to worry about pulling him back while retreating.
Even though Shisui had trained his hearing and perception during his time blinded, against an attack of this magnitude, he still found it difficult to react in time.
Despite moving further away, Anko showed no trace of fear on her face. Instead, there was only excitement and fanaticism, like a die-hard fan seeing their idol—an idol performing far beyond their expectations.
That overwhelming enthusiasm was so intense that even Shisui could sense it clearly.
Tsunade's battle felt like a giant summoning beast was rampaging through the battlefield. Every punch gouged out layers of earth, and with every step she took from midair to the ground, the terrain around her was devastated, with her body as the epicenter.
Ninjutsu barely posed a threat to Tsunade in her Hogyoku Mode. A single punch, with the force of her fist alone, could shatter a massive, burning Great Fireball Jutsu in an instant.
Even so, her hands inevitably suffered severe burns—but in the blink of an eye, her injuries would heal completely, as if they had never existed.
Wind Release, Fire Release, Lightning Release, Earth Release, Water Release.
One by one, Orochimaru unleashed the five elemental ninjutsu, but no matter how powerful the attacks were, Tsunade's body healed almost instantly.
Eventually, Tsunade didn't even bother dodging Orochimaru's jutsu anymore.
The atmosphere on the battlefield became somewhat strange. Tsunade was relentlessly chasing Orochimaru around, while Orochimaru was doing everything he could to avoid close combat with her.
On the surface, the fight looked extremely intense—so much so that the terrain and surroundings, which had barely begun to recover, were once again destroyed. But in reality, the two were locked in a strange stalemate.
"Tsunade-sama is so strong!" Anko's eyes were practically sparkling with admiration, completely ignoring the fact that the one being chased was her former beloved teacher.
"Not at all! Orochimaru-sama, who inherited the Third Hokage's teachings, has such incredible ninjutsu!" Shizune swallowed nervously. She tried her best to maintain a calm expression, but inside, her emotions were in complete turmoil.
Were those two actually trying to kill each other?
Was there some deep-seated grudge between the Legendary Sannin?
Tsunade-sama had never mentioned anything like that before!
What should they do now?
Should they try to stop them?
But if they interfered, wouldn't they die instantly?
How could Anko still be smiling at a time ?!
Orochimaru-sama was about to be beaten to death by Tsunade-sama!
"If I ask Tsunade-sama to teach me her monstrous strength technique, do you think she would?" Anko suddenly asked, a hint of wild curiosity in her voice.
If possible, she could combine it with her Cursed Seal's endurance, enhance her attacks with Blaze Release, and use monstrous strength as her main offensive ability.
Even if she couldn't match Tsunade-sama, at the very least, she could become a deadly close-combat assassin, right?
"Well... maybe? Tsunade-sama is actually quite generous when it comes to teaching," Shizune said with an awkward laugh, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"What do you think, Shisui?"
Ignoring Anko and Shizune's friendly conversation, Kagetsu leaned closer to Shisui and asked softly.
"Orochimaru-sama and Tsunade-sama's battle?"
Understanding the meaning behind Kagetsu's tone, Shisui immediately grasped what he was asking.
After thinking for a moment, Shisui replied, "From what I've heard and sensed, Tsunade-sama's destructive power is already on par with my Susanoo."
"Even if I activate the second stage of Susanoo, I might not be able to withstand Tsunade-sama's punches right now."
Kagetsu nodded. Chapters first released on Nove1Fire.net
This meant that, at least in terms of destructive output, Tsunade in Hōgyoku Mode could already rival a second-stage Susanoo.
As for the third stage, Shisui didn't mention it, but that also implied that, in his opinion, Tsunade's current destructive power was still slightly inferior to a third-stage Susanoo.
From this comparison, while Shisui's third-stage Susanoo also required the support of the Hōgyoku's power to be forcibly activated, it seemed to surpass Tsunade in raw combat strength.
However, Kagetsu also understood that neither Tsunade nor Orochimaru had gone all out yet.
At the very least, Tsunade hadn't used her Strength of a Hundred Technique or any of her forbidden medical jutsu—she was purely fighting in Hōgyoku Mode.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, hadn't even tapped into the power of the Hōgyoku. It was only natural that he was at a disadvantage.
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