An Unbeatable Duo

Hanma brushed the wound on his arm. The "Savage Growth" Entry gave him powerful regenerative abilities and the confidence to sustain high-intensity combat.

With the boost from her Mangekyo, Tsunade gained the ability to fight Hanma at close range. However, it was only in terms of strength.

Tsunade herself was exceptionally strong. The Senju's Monster Strength Punch, combined with the Mangekyo, allowed her to match Hanma.

But could she keep up with Hanma's speed? The answer was no.

Hanma shifted his footing and circled around Tsunade. His afterimage streaked across the ground as he lunged at Setsuna like a ghost.

Setsuna's wide-range Yasakani Magatama bombardment had been a saturation attack just now, leaving no room to evade.

But how many more times could he use it?

Setsuna was crazy, but not mindless. Already past fifty, he could not recklessly expend his ocular power like Sasuke, firing arrows at will and forcibly activating the Tengu Susanoo.

Hanma pulled dozens of body lengths ahead of Tsunade. Lightning flared brilliantly in his hand, forming a long lightning blade that slashed toward Setsuna.

Setsuna calmly reinforced the solidity of his Susanoo once more, raising its snow-white Tachi to meet Hanma's attack.

Unexpectedly, Hanma withdrew his blade midway. He pulled in his waist and abdomen in midair, spun through the air, dodged the strike, and landed at the Susanoo's flank.

The muscles in Hanma's thighs bulged thunderously. Both hands clamped tightly onto the Susanoo's sides as Lightning Release Chakra erupted, and he leaped into the sky with all his might!

"Lariat!"

The second-stage Susanoo's weakness was its undefended contact with the ground. The white warrior god was hoisted high, then the surging current and terrifying strength smashed the Susanoo viciously into the earth.

Having landed the blow, Hanma glanced back at Tsunade, then used a Body Flicker to widen the distance again.

Mitokado Homura, who had been watching intently, saw the violent yet familiar scene. He pushed up his glasses and could not help saying:

"Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharun. I believe Hanma's combat strength can fully stand alongside that of the Second Raikage in his prime."

The Third Hokage slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. He looked as though he had seen through the mortal world, his face numb as he said, "Yes. This Old Man has also heard for the first time that an Uchiha's Susanoo can be lifted off the ground. What an eye-opener."

Jiraiya's face was even more rigid. "Yeah, and it was lifted by another Uchiha."

At those words, the Jonin watching the battle all revealed strange smiles. Even Danzo was no exception.

Setsuna struggled upright. The armor of his half-body Susanoo was already battered and broken, exposing bone and veins. The tremendous force had shaken him badly as well, and streams of blood flowed from his nose and ears.

Tsunade helped Setsuna up and used the Mystical Palm Technique to heal his injuries, but it did not produce much effect.

Setsuna waved his hand. The Mangekyo in his left eye spun again, shedding a streak of bloody tears. A flash of white light passed, and his injuries vanished once more.

"It does not matter. Even if This Old Man's eyes go blind today, it will be worth it!"

Looking at the stubborn Setsuna, Tsunade hesitated no longer and summoned a massive Katsuyu.

"Lady Katsuyu, please look after this Uchiha."

Katsuyu swayed gently and split into dozens of smaller slugs. They crawled over Setsuna's body, glowing green as they replenished his Chakra.

Setsuna controlled the Susanoo and swung its long Tachi, plowing a pit dozens of meters deep around himself. He and Katsuyu seemed to stand upon a solitary island.

Katsuyu opened her mouth slightly and spat streams of slick, viscous acid, eroding what little space Hanma had left to exert force.

Hanma looked at Setsuna's countermeasure and smiled faintly. He ran around the island Setsuna had created, his fingers flying through seals as he used traditional Five Elements Ninjutsu for the first time in a while.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!" "Earth Release: Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

"Combination Ninjutsu: Lava Earth Technique!" The gale fed the flames, and the flames ignited the earth dragon bullets. Powerful lava-earth shells bombarded Setsuna from every direction.

Setsuna's blood boiled. Fighting Hanma had reignited the battle spirit of his youth, and he shouted at Hanma, "We Uchiha have never placed such ninjutsu in our eyes!"

Then the white Tachi swept across. A powerful slash cleaved straight through the lava earth, failing to affect Setsuna in the slightest.

The Mangekyo in Setsuna's right eye also began to turn slowly, while the Chakra around Tsunade surged violently once more.

The white Susanoo sat upright upon the island like a battlefield commander.

Tsunade charged Hanma again, and their fists and kicks collided once more. This time, Hanma adopted a new approach.

If he wanted to seriously injure Tsunade, he needed to strike vital areas with heavy punches.

But heavy punches inevitably required a slight windup. That would allow Tsunade to keep up with Hanma's speed and ignore her injuries to trade wounds with him.

Hanma's speed was always a full level above Tsunade's. Tsunade herself did not excel in speed, and even with the Mangekyo's enhancement, she could not completely keep up with Hanma.

Hanma dodged left and right, stepping with the Butterfly Step and swaying his body as he avoided Tsunade's straight punches, hooks, and side kicks again and again.

Whenever gaps appeared in Tsunade's attacks, he used light punches to wear down her stamina.

Tsunade had no answer to the harassment. She simply leaped backward and shouted at Setsuna, "How much longer? The next strike will decide the victor!"

Hanma smiled. From the sound of it, they planned to use another saturation attack to seal off his range of movement, forcing him to passively take Tsunade's charged blow again. The tactic was simple, but it truly had no solution.

Hanma resumed his guerrilla tactics, continuing to release ninjutsu to harass Setsuna while occasionally exchanging a few simple punches and kicks with Tsunade.

He seemed completely unconcerned that Setsuna's eyes were slowly recovering.

Feeling the piercing pain from his eyes, Setsuna thought to himself, It seems that if I am to avoid going blind, I can only use my ocular technique one more time.

He shouted to Tsunade, "Continue with the previous tactic!"

Though it was an open tactic, it was a straightforward scheme. They would combine Monster Strength with the Susanoo's long-range attacks to force Hanma into their rhythm.

Hanma glanced up at the sky. A black dot was rapidly descending.

Hanma smiled. Victory in this battle depended on this.

With a long howl, Hanma seemed to ignore Setsuna entirely as he launched a powerful offensive against Tsunade.

At last, the Yasaka Magatama bombarded Hanma once more. Tsunade silently gathered strength, searching for the moment when Hanma would have nowhere to evade, waiting to unleash a thunderous blow.

The Magatama's saturation attack came again, forcing Hanma to dodge and maneuver constantly. Tsunade watched him like a tiger eyeing its prey, searching for a blind spot in his defense.

A black shadow emerged slowly in the sky, carrying an enormous boulder. It was Dahei, the Falcon Hanma had summoned earlier!