Thirty-four: Mad Dash

"BOOM!"

Tsunade gritted her teeth and slammed a fist into an Amegakure ninja.

The immense force instantly sent him flying, crashing into a wall where he became deeply embedded.

The house shuddered, on the verge of collapse, and Tsunade's breathing accelerated in sync with the tremors.

If an outsider were here, they could clearly see that her complexion was already deathly pale.

This was the signal that her internal chakra was nearing exhaustion.

A grave miscalculation.

Tsunade felt a pang of regret in her heart.

She had actually anticipated that the ninjas of Amegakure would poison their corpses to prevent them from being stolen.

She had even made thorough preparations before coming into contact with the bodies.

But what she hadn't expected was that the poison Amegakure used on the corpses was the toxin from the Demigod's Salamander.

Even though she was well-prepared and had only been exposed to a trace amount, it was still incredibly severe.

She could already feel her chakra being pushed to a critical deficit.

This was a symptom of overusing medical ninjutsu to suppress the toxins within her body.

One must remember that Tsunade was a descendant of both the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan, possessing a naturally massive reserve of chakra; yet, facing the Demigod's potent poison, she had burned through nearly eighty percent of her chakra in less than two hours.

If she couldn't find a chance to rest and force the toxins out of her body, she feared that she would...

Accompanied by a flash of silver light, a long, narrow katana slashed toward Tsunade from behind. Unable to dodge in time, a deep gash was carved into her back.

"Cough!"

She stumbled two steps, spat out a mouthful of blood, and turned back in resentment, slamming a fist violently against the katana.

The immense punching force shattered the blade and, passing through the steel, struck the katana-wielding ninja squarely in the chest and abdomen.

After killing him, Tsunade rolled on the ground, narrowly dodging shuriken thrown by another ninja, and accelerated into a sprint.

In the distance, the smoke and dust had long since dissipated, and the flames were once again smothered by the heavy rain.

The signal flare had also risen long ago; all of this indicated that Uchiha Sakuya and Orochimaru had successfully retreated.

At the same time, it meant that she would become the thorn in the side, the eye-sore for every ninja in Amegakure.

There was no escaping.

Tsunade realized this clearly in her heart.

With her chakra nearly depleted, poisoned by the Salamander, and suffering from wounds all over her body—these debuffs combined made it impossible to break out of Amegakure and rendezvous with Sakuya and the others.

But to surrender right here and now? That was something she could never do.

She was the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, with the blood of the God of Shinobi flowing through her veins; the idea of her kneeling in surrender so easily was absolutely impossible.

The only thing she felt was a bit of pity... a bit of regret.

Dodging the attacks of two more Amegakure ninjas, she raised her leg high and slammed it down into the ground.

Heaven-Piercing Kick!

The massive force split the earth, and the crumbling mud buried the two ninjas amidst the downpour.

Taking the opportunity, she bit her finger.

Summoning Jutsu!

Katsuyu, looking like a giant slug, was summoned and perched upon her shoulder.

"Lady Tsunade!? Your body!"

Katsuyu's voice rang out in panic.

"I'm counting on you, Lady Katsuyu."

Tsunade gasped for air.

"Yes, I will immediately... What!?"

The healing summon from the holy land of Shikkotsu Forest attempted to treat Tsunade's wounds, but the moment her chakra surged in, Katsuyu realized that Tsunade's body was already riddled with the potent toxin.

To heal her, they would need to find a quiet place to force the poison out.

"Damned Konoha ninja!!!"

Following a roar.

Another massive Amegakure ninja charged toward her.

Because her reaction speed had been severely hampered by the poison coursing through her body, Tsunade was sent flying by the impact. Even Katsuyu, perched on her shoulder, was knocked off, seized by the brute, and crushed on the spot.

"Lady Katsuyu!"

Tsunade gritted her teeth.

The true body of Katsuyu in Shikkotsu Forest is unimaginably massive, so every time she is summoned, only a portion of her clones appear, scaled according to the summoner's chakra reserves.

The size varies depending on the amount of chakra provided.

The one just killed by the Amegakure ninja was merely a clone and did not affect the main body; she could simply summon her again once she found an opening.

However, she had no chance to summon her again now.

Even her chakra was...

"Aaaaaah!"

She roared, charging forward like a wild boar toward that ninja. The immense force carried her through several walls, causing houses to collapse in her wake. The ninja twitched a few times before falling to the ground, unconscious.

She had no way to check if he still had any fighting strength left; she could only kneel on one knee, gasping for air.

In the corner of her eye, she saw many more Amegakure ninja rushing toward her.

Although that last strike had taken down another expert, there were simply too many ninja in Amegakure.

Reinforcements from other sectors swarmed like ants from a nest, wave after wave. Even if their individual strength wasn't high—mostly consisting of chunin—she was already severely wounded and riddled with the deadly poison of the Salamander.

Even a swarm of ants can kill an elephant, let alone the current situation.

"Surround her!"

"She's poisoned! Just wait for the toxin to take effect!"

"We must make her pay! Her companions killed so many of our people; we'll take it out on her!"

There were many other things Tsunade could no longer hear clearly.

She only felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

Her breathing became increasingly rapid.

The chakra within her, locked in a struggle against the toxins, was dwindling, nearing its critical limit.

She remembered her grandmother had a technique that could store chakra, but because the training was so arduous, she had never learned it.

If only I had learned it.

Tsunade smiled bitterly to herself.

She had originally thought her own chakra was sufficient.

But now, facing a life-or-death crisis, she realized it was nowhere near enough.

Yet, what was the use of regret now?

Tsunade's body swayed, on the verge of collapse.

Her vision gradually blurred.

Finally, she began to sink.

She had expected the impact of her body hitting the ground to be excruciating.

Instead, a powerful, warm hand caught her.

Tsunade felt her mouth pried open by two fingers, and a pill was shoved inside, rapidly dissolving into chakra that nourished her body.

She instantly felt a surge of energy. Opening her eyes, she saw a side profile with black hair and red eyes.

"How is your body?"

"...I'm fine."

Tsunade suddenly smiled.

This was the second time.

The second time she had been... by this person.

"No time for talk. We're breaking out. Hold on tight."

Sakuya tore his clothes into strips, using his teeth and right hand to quickly weave them into a rope, binding her to his back. "Don't you dare let go."

Just like back in the Land of Fang.

Tsunade wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

"I won't let go of you."

Tsunade nodded.

My... the person I love...

In this lifetime, I will never let you go again!

As if responding to the words in her heart, she pressed her body as close to Sakuya as possible.

As scorching flames ignited once more within Amegakure, the Dragon of Raging Flame roared around Sakuya.

Uchiha Sakuya, carrying Tsunade on his back, rode the flames and sprinted through the torrential rain.