The Pursuit

Kidoyun's words were easy to understand.

The Demigod, Hanzo of the Salamander, had gradually taken over the entire Land of Fang and seized all its sugar refineries.

The Sugar Refinery belonging to Konoha was one of them.

And the reason word had gotten back to Konoha was also part of the Demigod's plan.

He had anticipated Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts from the start and guessed that Hiruzen would send her to the Land of Fang to investigate.

Yes.

The Demigod's target had been her from the very beginning.

The last living descendant of the Senju.

"Your body may possess the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai."

Kidoyun said, "The Demigod has asked Princess Tsunade to cooperate and come with us to Amegakure for some research. Don't worry. You're a princess of the Land of Fire, and we would never do anything to offend you. At most, we'll draw a little of your blood and take a few of your cells."

Tsunade laughed in anger.

"You want to study the power of Wood Release in my body?"

Blue chakra burst from her, and in an instant she flipped the gambling table. Banknotes filled the air, fluttering everywhere.

"Not a bad plan. But we'll see if you're capable of pulling it off."

Tsunade's cold expression came into view before Kidoyun. At that moment, she was a far cry from the jubilant gambler she'd been just moments ago. Her cool features held a hint of mournful, murderous intent.

Human experimentation was something she hated most. It was a forbidden subject, and she would never let anyone investigate it.

"As expected of the God of Shinobi's granddaughter. That chakra alone is immense."

Feeling the fierce aura radiating from Tsunade, Kidoyun stood up. The six arms behind him slowly unfurled, making him look all the more monstrous.

"But it's precisely because you're the God of Shinobi's granddaughter, Princess Tsunade, that we haven't let our guard down."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tsunade's expression changed. A sickly, ashen hue gradually appeared on her face.

The more chakra she used, the more short of breath she became.

"You poisoned me? When?"

"From the moment you entered the casino."

Kidoyun said, "We'd planned to poison you at a casino in a city you passed through, after you'd finished dealing with all the rogue ninja and were returning to Konoha with the results. But we didn't expect you to sneak out alone tonight and come into the nearest city to have some fun."

A chilling smile spread across his face, making Tsunade's heart lurch.

"How's the salamander poison taste?"

"Damn it..."

"I heard you recently developed Medical Ninjutsu, Princess Tsunade. I imagine you're quite good at dealing with poison, too."

Kidoyun said, "I wonder if you can counter the poison of a species related to our Demigod's summoned beast?"

Watching the smug expression on the six-armed boy's face, Tsunade gritted her teeth and glanced around. More than twenty elite jōnin had surrounded her. She clenched her jaw and stamped hard on the ground.

Strength of a Hundred: Heavenly Kick!

The immense force brought the entire gambling den crashing down almost instantly. Amid the clouds of dust, she rolled through the crowd and out of the building, then sprinted away with all her might.

Though she was Hashirama Senju's granddaughter, she was only in her twenties and hadn't inherited the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai. In Konoha, she could only just be considered a taijutsu jōnin.

She couldn't handle a coordinated assault by so many jōnin.

And that was without even considering that she'd been poisoned.

In this situation, her only way out was to run!

But Kidoyun and the others had anticipated that she would try to escape. Watching the dust kicked up by the collapsing gambling den, the nine jōnin of the Tsuchigumo Clan, led by Kidoyun, joined hands to form Seals.

"Ninja Art: Spiderweb Bind!"

The nine men opened their clothes to expose their navels, drew in their waists, and spat several white webs from their navels. At the same time, three Wind Release jōnin joined hands to form Seals and blew the dust away. With nothing to obscure her, Tsunade was exposed near the gambling den's entrance. Several Tsuchigumo Clan ninja grabbed the webs and flung them together. The webs they had spat out spread rapidly, forming a massive net that swept toward Tsunade.

Tsunade gritted her teeth. As she rolled backward several times, she rapidly formed Seals.

Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!

Water Release: Water Formation Wall!

A wall of earth thrust up from the ground, and a wall of water rose along it, extending from the earthen wall to maximize her defensive range. The two defenses barely stopped the net and the Wind Release attacks. But as the chakra she'd used coursed through her, Tsunade's face turned ashen. She could feel the poison spreading even faster. She couldn't afford to hesitate. Pressing the Mystical Palm Technique to her abdomen, she barely managed to slow the poison's spread, then darted into an alley and vanished in an unoccupied direction.

As soon as she was gone, with nothing holding them in place, the walls of water and earth were instantly shattered by the enemy. Kidoyun, at the head of the group, rushed up to the broken wall and stared grimly at the spot where Tsunade had disappeared.

"Lord Kidoyun, Princess Tsunade got away. What do we do now?"

A subordinate stood bowed beside Kidoyun, a hint of panic in his voice.

"Got away?"

Kidoyun's lips curled, his smile cold as a poison-coated blade.

"She won't escape."

He raised his eyes and looked beyond the rooftops of Tea House Street, as though he already held the entire city in his grasp.

"Pass down the order. Everyone, put on your gas masks."

The subordinate's expression changed abruptly. "Lord Kidoyun?!"

"Didn't we bury a lot of young salamanders outside Tea House City before we came here?"

Kidoyun slowly curled his lips, his smile growing more sinister in the shadow of his six arms.

"We'd planned to use them for an ambush, but it looks like the time has come to put them to use."

He raised one arm and gently clenched his hand, as though he already held the fleeing Tsunade between his fingers.

"Take this order: release the poison! Use it to force Princess Tsunade out!"

The subordinate's pupils contracted sharply at his words.

"B-but, my lord! What will happen to the civilians in the city if we release the salamanders' poison?!"

His voice trembled, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

"There are nearly a hundred thousand civilians in Tea House City! They don't have gas masks! If they inhale the poison, they'll have no chance of survival!"

"So what?"

Kidoyun turned his head. His gaze settled on his subordinate as though he were looking at a noisy bug.

"Nearly a hundred thousand civilians? An entire city's population?"

His tone was as flat as if he were stating the weather, but his eyes held not a trace of warmth.

"As long as the Demigod's great ambition is fulfilled, the Small Nations Alliance will be able to carve out a path to survival through the Five Great Nations' siege. When that happens, we'll establish a new great nation, and more civilians will naturally join us."

He paused, and the curve of his lips slowly deepened.

"Those mere hundred thousand people are nothing more than a necessary sacrifice on the way to success."

"My lord!!"

"I said—"

Kidoyun abruptly stepped closer and shot out an arm, grabbing his subordinate by the throat.

"I said release the poison! Are you deaf?!"