The sudden sound in the jungle startled Chiyo, Ebizo, and the others. Their first reaction was that Konoha had set up an ambush here, and once again, they fell foolishly into the trap.
Once again.
Chiyo instantly dispersed her own chakra and scanned the surroundings with sensory abilities, but the result was far beyond her expectations.
There were no Konoha ninjas ambushing here, or rather, there was one.
On top of a large tree, a boy with white curly hair, about ten years old, crouched on a branch, revealing a wicked smile on his face.
"Konoha's Dragon!"
"Talkative Tobirama!"
"Jewel Crusher!"
Among the Sand Ninjas, there were also voices of surprise or anger, and upon hearing these voices, Tatsuma's smile disappeared instantly, replaced by black lines on his face.
"Don't waste time, are we going to let them escape?" Tsunade also spoke up, lightly moving her right hand. Although according to their plan, the operation should have been successful by now, until it's over, they absolutely cannot relax or let their guard down.
She leaped as well, jumping onto a large tree. On the trunk of this tree, there was a small mark, and Tsunade glanced at it with some suspicion.
Tatsuma said he could use explosive tag traps to attack all enemies within the formation circle, with only these two positions being safe. Tsunade wondered if this disciple's skills were up to par.
"Sensei, you're too early." Hearing Tatsuma's first half of the sentence, Tsunade's heart sank. Could it be this kid hasn't set up the traps yet? Before she could ask, Tatsuma continued, "If you had come ten seconds later, it would have been perfect."
"Boom, boom, boom~"
"Sizzle~"
At the moment the words fell, with the two of them as the center, within a fan-shaped area stretching over a kilometer ahead, sudden bursts of flames erupted, accompanied by the sound of explosions. The rushing shockwaves continuously stirred up the surrounding land, even uprooting some of the smaller trees.
Tsunade grabbed onto the tree trunk, steadying herself, watching as the rainforest was engulfed by the flames. For some reason, she felt a sense of relief, as if she had finally unloaded a heavy burden. Perhaps this could be considered revenge.
Although she had always followed the teachings of her grandfather, Tobirama, not to mention the Senju Clan in the village anymore, not to identify herself with the Senju Clan, but to see herself as a member of Konoha.
However, deep down, Tsunade always remembered that she came from the Senju Clan, from her ancestors and the Senju Clan where her parents belonged. She could ignore it in her daily life, even deny the existence of the Senju Clan.
But when she truly heard about the deaths of so many of her people, she felt truly lost, as if what her grandfather, Tobirama, and her parents valued had been destroyed by her own hands.
Even though she was already near the pinnacle of the ninja world, arguably the top medical ninja, Tsunade knew the limits of her abilities. She couldn't bring the dead back to life. Perhaps revenge was the only thing she could do.
At this moment, Tatsuma didn't think much. He stared intently at the rainforest engulfed in flames, the shockwaves continuously pounding. His hair kept blowing backward, even the outer strands were stretched straight, fulfilling a short-lived wish.
As the force of the rippling shockwaves began to diminish, Tatsuma's right hand formed a Seal of Confrontation. If one looked closely, they would see steel wires entwined around his fingertips.
With a wave of his right hand, the previously loose steel wires were pulled taut. In an instant, amidst the constant explosions in the rainforest, the sound of triggers being pulled echoed.
"Sizzle~"
"Sizzle~"
In the outermost circle of the flames, countless hidden ninja traps were triggered. Innumerable shuriken and kunai flew towards the burning area, the weakening shockwaves unable to stop these ninja tools from entering the flames.
"I've used enough ninja tools today to last me a lifetime, but they've all been used up today. Sensei, you owe me a big favor," Tatsuma said, looking at Tsunade. Tsunade snorted, as if she had anticipated this, and said, "We're not on a mission for Konoha. Do you see me wearing a Konoha headband?!"
Hearing his sensei's words, Tatsuma showed no sadness or anger on his face, but calmly pointed to the headband on his left arm and said, "I am wearing a headband. And as your disciple, I kindly helped you put yours on."
With that, Tatsuma lightly pulled back the headband on his left arm, revealing another headband underneath.
"Let's talk about it when we get back!" Tsunade's face fell, she said angrily. Tatsuma made an OK gesture and looked towards the rainforest where the Sand Ninjas were. By now, the flames had gradually died down, and the rain of the monsoon season was quickly extinguishing the remaining flames.
The miserable sight of the Sand Ninjas was revealed before everyone. Almost all of the over a thousand Rain Ninja who had pursued them were lying on the ground, covered in charred black and blood red, many with ninja tools stuck in them, constantly groaning and rolling, some even unresponsive.
Chiyo and Ebizo, protected by the exposed ten Puppets, barely preserved their bodies, but the white robes covering The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets had completely disappeared.
Many parts were now directly exposed to the air, open for others to scrutinize.
At this moment, calling The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets the White Secret Technique seemed inappropriate; it should be called the Naked Secret Technique.
Chiyo removed a kunai from her arm, glancing at it to find it wasn't poisoned, which eased her mind a bit. She realized she had been overly cautious. After all, passing through such flames, even if the kunai had been poisoned in advance, it would have been completely burned.
Not to mention poison, the kunai in her hand were subtly deformed. The wounds on her arms were charred black, indicating they had not only been pierced but also burned.
"Tsunade! Do you think with just your meager skills, you can defeat us Sand Ninjas?!"
Chiyo said angrily, but Tsunade remained silent. Although many Sand Ninjas had died by now, and even those who could keep up with her speed to pursue them here were at least elite among Chunin, they were not so easily defeated.
They had only experienced the first and second rounds of attacks.
Tatsuma shook his head and honestly said, "Facing elite forces like yours, a few explosive tags and ninja tools naturally can't harm you."
"A few?!!!" Hearing Tatsuma's response, Chiyo clenched her teeth. Just now, through the flames, she saw a sky full of ninja tools flying, and the explosive tags that could severely damage over a thousand Sand Ninja, the quantity couldn't possibly be just a few!
Moreover, this kid had just clearly stated that he had put in enough ninja tools to last a lifetime!
But Chiyo's anger didn't last long. After a brief outburst, she realized that the attacks with explosive tags and ninja tools were not the endgame.
"Sensei, how are you recovering?" Tatsuma also arrived by Tsunade's side at this moment, asking in a low voice. Tsunade shook her head slightly and said, "Not enough."
"Then you take cover," Tatsuma nodded. Then he looked up at the rainwater that had gradually increased due to the fire. The monsoon rain was already abundant, let alone encountering such high local temperatures. Almost all the rainwater around them was concentrated here.
Seeing the master and disciple whispering to each other, Chiyo felt something was amiss. When she saw Tatsuma looking up at the sky, both Chiyo and Ebizo instinctively followed suit.
"It's now!"
Just then, Tsunade shouted loudly, jumped down from the tree, and rushed towards Chiyo and Ebizo. Tsunade's sudden attack momentarily startled Chiyo and Ebizo, but Chiyo quickly reacted and countered with The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets.
Tatsuma wasted no time either. He tore off his backpack, and a few sealing scrolls fell into his hands. Quickly forming seals, the scrolls suddenly expanded as the sealing jutsu was released, eager to release the sealed items.
"Swoosh~"
One by one, Tatsuma threw scrolls into the sky. With his enhanced strength, the trembling sealing scrolls resembled grenades as they exploded into the air.
"Ebizo!"
Sensing the danger, Chiyo quickly shouted. Ebizo had a handful of kunai in his hand. With his exceptional skill in ninja tool throwing, several kunai were thrown into the sky.
"Sizzle~"
However, he seemed to underestimate the speed at which Tatsuma threw the sealing scrolls. Even the closest one only passed by in a flash.
"Bang, bang, bang~"
Above the sky, the poor bindings of the sealing scrolls couldn't hold back the urge to unravel. They snapped one by one, and the scrolls unfurled, activating the sealing jutsu already inscribed on them, rapidly releasing the sealed items.
One test tube after another appeared in the air, then plummeted towards the ground. Seeing the pitch-black liquid inside the test tubes, Ebizo instantly realized that they were all poison.
He manifested chakra threads, intending to bind and restrain the poisons, but Tatsuma had already formed seals.
"Explode!"
"Boom, boom, boom~"
Once again, explosions without visible flames occurred. The poison inside the test tubes turned into patches of poison mist, enveloping the area above.
"Don't forget, your sensei is also here!" Ebizo exclaimed in shock and anger. Tsunade also struggled free from The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets' entanglement and returned to Tatsuma's side. However, the spreading poison mist dispersed into the surroundings, some merging with the rainwater and dripping onto the wounded.
Even Tsunade's skin inadvertently came into contact with some. The poison swiftly invaded her body through the wounds. Tsunade staggered and almost fell, but Tatsuma quickly supported her.
At this moment, Chiyo watched helplessly as over a thousand subordinates, each tainted with toxins, turned their reddened eyes towards Tsunade. She understood.
"Those Rain Ninja! Did you also do this?!"
Supporting herself on Tatsuma's body to stand, Tsunade managed a smile and said, "So what?"
Chiyo's anger had now surpassed its limit. She extended her trembling hand, pointing at Tsunade. Last time, the Rain Ninjas had declared war without reason. To quickly deal with them, the Sand Ninjas compensated with a large sum of war reparations.
Despite severely damaging the Konoha team, the Sand Ninjas didn't gain anything. Even that sum of war reparations displeased the Daimyo greatly, who even expressed a desire to cease hostilities towards the village.
However, now wasn't the time to investigate the last time Konoha had been blamed. Chiyo reluctantly regained her composure and said, "The information from last time has been handed over to the Sand Ninjas. With this kind of poison, we can soon find an antidote."
"Unlike remnants like you in the ninja world, I won't reuse the same poison. You want an antidote?" Tsunade reached out to Tatsuma, who, like an excellent assistant, handed her a syringe. Tsunade injected the antidote into herself, and the purplish-black color on her body began to fade away.
"Bang~"
Immediately, Tsunade crushed the syringe in her hand. Chiyo gritted her teeth and said, "Then I'll take you back. If you don't reveal the antidote formula, I'll make you wish you were dead!"
With that, The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets sprung into action. Obviously, Chiyo had no intention of paying attention to the injured and poisoned Sand Ninjas. Instead, she wanted to capture Tsunade as quickly as possible.
Seeing this scene, Tsunade's eyelids twitched. In her current state, she couldn't beat Chiyo and Ebizo. As for Tatsuma, his skills were still lacking to be of much help.
"Chiyo, withdraw now. With your medical skills and those of the Hidden Sand Village, you can easily save the lives of these thousands of comrades. If you want to delay, it won't be so simple."
At this moment, a hoarse voice sounded. Orochimaru and Jiraiya appeared behind Tsunade and Tatsuma, but Tsunade's face showed surprise. She and Tatsuma hadn't told anyone about their actions.
Orochimaru noticed Tsunade's expression and looked at Jiraiya, saying, "The day you prepared the poison, Jiraiya guessed your intentions."
At his words, Tsunade cast a complicated look at Jiraiya. She hadn't expected someone to figure out her thoughts. She felt touched, but why did it have to be Jiraiya of all people?
"With just the two of you, what can you do? Even if I can't take Tsunade away, I can still kill her here!"
A grimace appeared on Chiyo's face. She knew Orochimaru's suggestion just now was very reasonable, but if they retreated like this, her position within the Hidden Sand Village would plummet, dragging her already low reputation into the abyss.
But just then, Chiyo felt a chill down her spine, followed by a tangible coldness around her neck.
"If they're not enough, then count me in."
"Sakumo Hatake!!!"
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