Chapter 0067 Defeated Sand Ninja
Ha, ha...
At the Sand Ninja's headquarters, Chiyo was panting heavily, her face pale as she stared at Tsunade in front of her. "I never thought... after a few years, your strength would have reached such a level."
"People always grow," Tsunade said casually as she flexed her sore arms. "But you, even at your age, haven't lost your touch."
The area around them had turned into a wasteland. Several broken puppets lay twisted on the ground, creating an eerie scene.
"I may be old, but my heart is still young!" Chiyo said, her fingers moving like she was playing a piano.
Clatter, clatter.
The fallen puppets rose again, rushing towards Tsunade.
Her gaze sharpened, and without a moment's hesitation, Tsunade lifted her right foot and swung her leg.
Boom.
There was a sudden sonic boom.
The two nearest puppets were struck as if hit by a massive hammer, flying back and crashing into the ground. The other two puppets, however, dodged just as Tsunade was about to strike, launching kunai from their mouths, arms, and wrists, raining down like black arrows toward her.
Hah!
With a shout, Tsunade slammed her fist into the ground. A rumble followed as chunks of dirt and stone shot up, blocking all the kunai.
As if predicting her move, Chiyo raised her arm and lightly squeezed her sleeve.
Swish, swish, swish.
Countless senbon needles shot out. At the same time, the two still-functional puppets rushed at Tsunade from both sides.
Unfazed, Tsunade raised her right leg to meet the attack.
Heavenly Foot of Pain!
Boom.
The moment her foot hit the ground, it exploded as if a bomb had gone off. A terrifying shockwave burst out. Dust rose, and stones flew through the air, a smoky haze engulfing the battlefield...
Tsunade and Chiyo's figures shot out of the smoke. After that clash, both took a few steps back in unison, re-establishing a stalemate.
They were old rivals, and deeply familiar with each other's techniques, making it difficult to determine a victor in a short time.
The other battlefield wasn't much different.
Though Ebisu was considered a Kage-level ninja, he was no match for his sister. Facing off against a dozen Konoha jōnin and elite jōnin, he could barely hold his ground, and breaking through their lines was nearly impossible.
The two key figures of the Sand Village were being tightly restrained, while the Sand's defense force at headquarters was clearly no match for Konoha's strike team.
After all, Konoha had sent its finest for this assault.
Most of the Sand's elite forces had been positioned on the border. Though there were strong fighters in the headquarters, they were no match for Konoha. The signs of defeat were clear.
"Damn it!"
As the sounds of fighting around her gradually weakened, Chiyo glanced around and instantly understood the situation. Her face darkened as her trembling hands reached into her ninja tool pouch.
"Sister, don't act rashly!" Ebisu suddenly shouted, seemingly noticing her movements. "In this situation, we should consider retreating as soon as possible!"
He knew that his sister's trump card was hidden in that pouch. Once it was used, they might be able to suppress Tsunade temporarily, but it wouldn't turn the tide of the battle.
Besides, could Konoha's golden-haired princess not have a trump card of her own? If they continued fighting with everything they had, they might not even have the strength to retreat.
Huff.
Perhaps her brother's words convinced her, or maybe she realized it was too early to reveal her trump card. Chiyo stopped reaching for her pouch and instead pulled a cylindrical tube from her sleeve, similar to a firework.
Boom.
Without hesitation, Chiyo pulled the string, and a green light shot into the sky, bursting open. It was the signal to retreat!
"Tsunade-hime! I'll make sure you pay for this!" Chiyo gritted her teeth as she spat out a threat, then turned and left without hesitation.
"I'll be waiting," Tsunade didn't stop her.
There were over a thousand corpses at the scene, most of them Sand ninja. It was clear that their goal in attacking the camp had been achieved. At this point, trying to capture a Kage-level opponent like Chiyo was unrealistic.
"Tsunade-sama, it seems our operation was a success," Nara Shikaku said as he approached, covered in dust.
"Yes." Tsunade nodded, her eyes scanning the ruins of the Sand ninja's headquarters.
Not far away, a few particularly gruesome corpses caught her eye, the dark red blood stains making her body tremble uncontrollably.
Nara Shikaku noticed her reaction and asked with concern, "Tsunade-sama, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. My symptoms are much better than before." Taking a deep breath, Tsunade turned away. "Have the medical team treat the severely wounded quickly. We need to leave before more Sand ninjas return. And bring back the bodies of our fallen comrades as well."
"Understood!" Nara Shikaku nodded and bowed before leaving.
"Don't let anything happen to you, brat…" Tsunade muttered to herself, glancing up at the moonlight.