"Drip Drip..."
"Hiss..."
Dark blood dripped from Tsunade's wound, while above the wound, wisps of steam appeared. The sliced skin and muscle quickly closed and healed at this moment.
"This..."
Watching this scene unfold, Chiyo's mouth hung open in astonishment. She had only heard of one person possessing such self-healing ability, Senju Hashirama. She had never heard that Tsunade also had such power.
Although the scene before her was very shocking, Chiyo, who had experienced countless storms, quickly calmed down. She looked at the technique on Tsunade's forehead and the faintly glowing seal.
"How many times can you use this seal's self-healing ability?"
Chiyo's tone became calm, and Ebizo also reacted after Chiyo spoke, restraining the surprise on his face and the unease in his heart.
Indeed, such self-healing ability is very magical, but how many times can Tsunade use it? If Tsunade really has unlimited usage, even if her proficiency in the Five Elements Escape Jutsu is limited, relying on Enhanced Strength and this self-healing ability, she could surpass the entire Shinobi world.
But that's not the case. Although among the new generation, compared to the young Ninjas from all over the Shinobi world, Tsunade is considered powerful, but compared to those truly strong in the Shinobi world, Tsunade still falls short.
Not to mention the seasoned strong ones, even Sakumo Hatake, who belongs to the same generation as Konoha's trio is far superior to them.
Seeing the calm expressions of these siblings and those Sand Ninjas gradually calming down, Tsunade's face lifted with a confident smile and said, "Give it a try, see if I kill you first, or you kill me!"
Chiyo raised her hand and ordered, "Attack!"
The Sand Ninjas around Tsunade had already been killed or retreated in the recent wave of scattered stones, so there were no Sand Ninjas around her, and she didn't need to worry about accidentally injuring her comrades like before.
Not only Kunai and Shuriken but also a large number of Ninjutsu were all directed towards Tsunade.
"Hmph!"
Tsunade snorted lightly, and all the power under her feet burst out in an instant.
"Bang!"
Where she had originally stood, there appeared a semicircular pit with a diameter of three meters, and her figure had disappeared without a trace.
"It's impossible! With such a burst of power, she's not afraid of her body collapsing."
Ebizo said incredulously, but halfway through his words, he stopped abruptly. Would Tsunade, who possesses such self-healing ability, worry about her body collapsing?
The fact is, she wouldn't.
"Heavenly Kick of Pain!"
Tsunade, who appeared among the crowd of Sand Ninjas, kicked up her slightly swollen right leg high and then heavily landed it on the ground.
"Boom!"
Under the burst of Enhanced Strength, four or five large cracks appeared on the ground centered around her, and dozens of Sand Ninjas instantly fell into them. The sudden ground collapse didn't even give them time to react.
As several reacted by grabbing the edges of the cracks, Tsunade's kicks fell again, creating a scene reminiscent of a grinding stone crushing soybeans, even more terrifying than before.
"Stay back!"
Chiyo's face showed urgency as she quickly took out her own sealing scroll. Upon unsealing it, ten bodies of Puppetry appeared.
"White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets!"
Chakra Threads appeared in Chiyo's hands as well, manipulating the ten Puppetry. Some launched Ninjutsu or projectiles from a distance to attack Tsunade or block her, while others restricted Tsunade up close.
Seeing Chiyo actually releasing The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets, Tsunade's face also showed a serious expression. Not only her, but even Ebizo, as Chiyo's brother, spoke softly at this moment:
"Sister, didn't you say you were going to refrain from using this technique?"
"After the war,"
Chiyo's response was very calm, or rather indifferent, because the vast majority of her energy was focused on controlling the ten Puppetry.
As a disciple of the Second Kazekage Shamon, the creation of The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets by Monzaemon Chikamatsu is particularly powerful. It can even conquer a city and can be said to be the masterpiece of Puppet Jutsu in the current stage of the Hidden Sand Village.
However, controlling The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets is also extremely difficult. Even Chiyo, who took over this "legacy" after Hoshi's death, has not been able to fully demonstrate all its power.
She can only use some of the functions of The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets. But Tsunade's current strength forces her to bring out The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets, after all, other Puppetry would be too fragile for Tsunade.
Tsunade naturally has heard of the power of The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets, so she handles it with extreme caution. However, faced with the endless means of The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets, such as close combat, sharp blades, blunt weapons, Ninjutsu, and even Explosive Tags applied directly to her face, she still finds it somewhat overwhelming.
Soon, Tsunade's body once again bore numerous wounds. Seeing a rather feminine Puppet wielding two Greatswords coming at her, Tsunade roared angrily, and her Enhanced Strength burst out, smashing onto the Greatswords.
"Boom! Clang!"
The sturdy swords were struck, and along with it, the two small arms of the Puppet flew off, embedding into the ground in the distance. The exposed blade continued to tremble, emitting a buzzing sound.
At this moment, Tsunade grabbed the Puppet and threw it towards the other Puppets. She herself withdrew to a distance, exiting the battlefield. With hands forming seals, she once again mobilized her released and constantly dissipating Chakra.
Her wounds healed again at an extremely fast pace, but...
Chiyo noticed that the diamond-shaped seal on Tsunade's forehead seemed to dim slightly. In an instant, Chiyo guessed what was happening. With a wave of her hands, three Puppets lined up separately, forming a triangular formation.
The Puppets opened their mouths, revealing the characters "Buddha," "Dharma," and "Sangha," while simultaneously unleashing a combined Ninjutsu.
"Three Jewels Suction Crushing!"
A tornado swept forth, enveloping Tsunade. Everything around was drawn into the tornado, lifted from its original place, and propelled towards the three Puppets, being continuously crushed.
Feeling the pulling force all over her body, Tsunade gritted her teeth and grabbed onto a nearby boulder. But even the boulder began to loosen under the immense suction force.
The area where Tsunade grabbed the boulder even showed cracks.
At that moment, a metallic whip lashed out from afar. It was about to strike the boulder Tsunade held onto. Tsunade reacted swiftly, grabbing the metallic whip in advance and swinging it forcefully.
The metallic whip didn't coil towards the distant rocks. Tsunade wasn't intending to divert it; she was aiming to attack!
"Ah!"
The metallic whip struck the distant Sand Ninjas. Initially, the first few were directly cut in half by the swift whip. As the force subsided slightly, the whip looped around trapping dozens of Sand Ninjas.
The boulder Tsunade was holding onto finally shattered. Tsunade then moved towards the three Puppets. At that moment, she grabbed the whip with both hands and swung it again. The dozens of Sand Ninjas trapped by the whip were dragged into the range of the tornado, rushing towards the three Puppets.
"Plop, plop, plop..."
The pressure within the tornado was immense. Even rocks and metals were flattened and crushed, let alone humans. Some of the Sand Ninjas caught in it had already been squeezed into blood mist, drifting out from behind the three Puppets and towards Chiyo in the rear.
"Damn it!"
Chiyo's face darkened as she gave up the continued suction of the Three Jewels Suction Crushing. She hadn't fully mastered The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets yet, or else this situation wouldn't have arisen.
Seeing Chiyo remove the Puppets, Tsunade's eyes lit up. Seizing the last remnants of suction, she stopped resisting. Even taking advantage of the remaining suction, she leaped up and, propelled by the suction force, quickly pounced towards the direction where Chiyo and Ebizo were.
The glow of Chakra on Tsunade's body began to dissipate, no, rather, it gathered. Tsunade's right hand, enveloped in Chakra, swung with all her might towards Chiyo.
"Sister! Let's block it together!"
After Ebizo finished speaking, he took out a scroll and began to unseal it. A Puppet appeared in front of Chiyo. But before anyone could see the appearance of this Puppet, it was crushed by Tsunade's fist.
Tsunade's fist did not lose its momentum and struck towards Chiyo. Chiyo had already reacted by now. Between her hands flying, she and Ebizo together wove a large net using Chakra Threads.
"Puppet Jutsu: Ground Network Defense!"
"Bang!"
"Crack!"
Tsunade's fist struck the Chakra net. The net deformed severely, like a squashed balloon. But at the same time, Tsunade's right hand emitted the sound of bones cracking.
The pain caused Tsunade's forehead to show veins, and her neck to the back of her ears turned abnormally red due to the pain. However, Tsunade did not retreat. Instead, she tightened her fist again, and Enhanced Strength erupted once more.
"Boom!"
The Chakra net dispersed like a burst bubble, and the fist, with little remaining strength, landed under the joint defense of Chiyo and Ebizo.
"Bang!"
Two figures were sent flying backward. Around them, the Sand Ninjas let out incredulous shouts. Clearly, Tsunade seemed to have no strength left, yet she still managed to send Chiyo and Ebizo, who were prepared for defense, flying with her Enhanced Strength.
"Ah!"
Only then did Tsunade let out a sigh of relief. Shortly after, she cried out in pain, tightly clutching her right hand. She quickly mobilized Chakra to heal her body once more, but this time, the progress was not very ideal, and the wounds did not heal as quickly.
Chiyo and Ebizo, who climbed up from the ground in the distance, didn't suffer much harm. Although they looked a bit disheveled, it was also because Puppetry users were not adept at close combat.
Seeing the diamond-shaped seal on Tsunade's forehead disappear, along with the fading of the black markings on her, coupled with her painful appearance, Chiyo knew that Tsunade had reached her limit and could no longer reproduce the prowess she had shown earlier.
"Capture her!"
Chiyo urgently exclaimed, but due to her disheveled appearance and overly anxious tone, she gave off an impression of being frantic.
However, the surrounding Sand Ninjas swiftly took action, attempting to surround Tsunade and capture her. Tsunade scanned her surroundings and knew she couldn't delay any longer.
"You better be ready!"
With a shout in her heart, Tsunade's agitation and anger disappeared in an instant. Using the remaining Chakra, she quickly healed her right arm and simultaneously performed the Body Flicker Jutsu, fleeing towards the outskirts of the camp.
"Chase after her! Don't let her escape!"
This time, Chiyo was truly frustrated. She had assumed Tsunade would be the one overwhelmed, but Tsunade's calm response and choice of the most suitable escape route caught her off guard.
She also reluctantly pulled Ebizo along, heading towards the direction Tsunade fled. Tsunade's recent display was truly awe-inspiring, and no Sand Ninja dared to risk their lives to stop her.
Soon, Tsunade escaped from the Sand Ninja camp and plunged into the rainforest. However, due to her injuries and significant Chakra depletion, Tsunade's speed was not fast. Additionally, the inconvenience of her right hand caused her to stumble several times during her escape.
As a result, Chiyo and the Sand Ninjas not only didn't lose track of her but also closed in on her. Just as Tsunade entered another section of the rainforest, exhausted, she stopped and turned around, panting heavily as she looked at Chiyo and the pursuers.
"What's wrong, realizing you can't escape?" Chiyo was also a bit breathless, and the Sand Ninjas chasing behind her were also heavily fatigued. At that moment, Tsunade suddenly smiled.
From the canopy of the rainforest, a rather youthful voice could be heard.
"Impressive, the bulk of the Sand Ninjas forces actually managed to push my sensei to such a state of disarray. Though we're enemies, you're not bad at all!"
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