Racing

"Boom!"

Tsunade gritted her teeth and slammed a punch into a Rain Ninja.

The immense force sent him flying. He crashed into a wall and sank deep into it.

The house shuddered, on the verge of collapse, and Tsunade's breathing quickened wildly with its tremors.

Anyone nearby could clearly see how pale she had become.

It was a sign that the chakra in her body was nearly exhausted.

What a miscalculation.

Tsunade felt a pang of regret.

She had expected the Rain Ninjas to poison their dead to prevent their bodies from being stolen.

In fact, she had taken every precaution before touching the corpse.

But she hadn't expected the poison the Rain Ninja had used to be the venom of the Demigod's Ibuse.

Even though she had been well prepared and had only been exposed to a trace of it, the venom was still devastating.

She could already feel her chakra being severely depleted.

It was a symptom of using too much Medical Ninjutsu to suppress the poison in her body.

Tsunade was a descendant of both the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan, and had an enormous amount of chakra by nature. Yet, faced with the Demigod's deadly poison, she had already used up nearly eighty percent of it in less than two hours.

If she couldn't find a chance to rest and force the poison out of her body, she was afraid she would...

A flash of silver glinted as a long, narrow katana slashed at Tsunade from behind. She couldn't dodge in time, and it carved a deep gash across her back.

"Cough!"

She staggered two steps and spat out a mouthful of blood. Turning back in fury, she slammed her fist into the katana.

Her tremendous strength shattered the blade and passed straight through it, striking the swordsman in the chest and abdomen.

After killing him, Tsunade rolled across the ground to dodge another Ninja's Shuriken, then broke into a faster run.

The smoke in the distance had long since begun to clear, and the rain had put out the flames.

The signal flare had gone up some time ago. All of it meant that Uchiha Sakuya and Orochimaru's group had successfully escaped.

It also meant that she would become a thorn in the side of every Rain Ninja here.

She couldn't get away.

Tsunade understood that.

Her chakra was almost depleted, she had been poisoned by Ibuse's venom, and she was covered in wounds. With all those debuffs, there was no way she could make it out of Amegakure and rendezvous with Sakuya and the others.

But she couldn't bring herself to surrender right there.

She was the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, and the blood of the God of Shinobi ran through her veins. There was no way she would kneel and surrender without a fight.

The only thing she regretted was... that she hadn't done something sooner.

After dodging two more Rain Ninjas, she raised her leg high and brought it crashing down.

Heaven-Piercing Kick!

The tremendous force split the ground open. Chunks of earth crumbled and, carried by the rain, buried the two Rain Ninjas.

Taking advantage of the moment, she bit her finger.

Summoning Technique!

She summoned Katsuyu, a slug-like creature, and settled her on her shoulder.

"Lady Tsunade!? What happened to you?"

Katsuyu's voice was filled with alarm.

"Sorry for the trouble, Lady Katsuyu."

Tsunade panted heavily.

"Yes, I'll heal you right away... What!?"

The healing summon beast from the sacred land of Shikkotsu Forest tried to heal Tsunade. But the moment her chakra flowed into Tsunade, Katsuyu realized the poison had already spread throughout her body.

To treat her, they had to find a quiet place and force the poison out first.

"Damn Konoha Ninja!!!"

A roar rang out.

Another huge Rain Ninja charged at her.

The poison had badly slowed Tsunade's reactions. He slammed into her and sent her flying, knocking Katsuyu off her shoulder as well. The burly man grabbed the slug and crushed her on the spot.

"Lady Katsuyu!"

Tsunade gritted her teeth.

Katsuyu's true body in Shikkotsu Forest was enormous, so whenever she was summoned, she sent out a part of herself as a clone according to the summoner's chakra reserves.

The size varied with the amount of chakra.

The Katsuyu the Rain Ninja had just killed was only a clone, so her true body was unharmed. Tsunade could summon her again as soon as she found an opportunity.

But how could she possibly find the chance to summon her again now?

She was even running out of chakra...

"Gaaaaah!!"

She roared and charged forward like a wild boar, slamming into the Ninja. Her immense strength carried her through several walls, and the buildings collapsed one after another. The Ninja twitched a few times, then fell still.

She couldn't check whether he was still able to fight. All she could do now was drop to one knee and gasp for breath.

In the corner of her eye, she saw more Rain Ninjas rushing toward her.

That last strike had taken down another formidable Rain Ninja, but there were simply too many Ninjas in Amegakure.

Reinforcements from other areas kept pouring in like ants spilling out of a nest. Most of them were only Chunin, and not especially strong, but she was already gravely wounded, with Ibuse's venom still coursing through her body.

Enough ants could kill an elephant. And now, with her in this state...

"Surround her!"

"She's been poisoned. Just wait for it to take effect!"

"Make sure you teach her a good lesson! Her companions killed so many of us—we'll make her pay for it!"

Tsunade could no longer make out most of what they were saying.

Her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier.

Her breathing was growing more and more labored, too.

As her chakra struggled against the poison, it dwindled until it was almost at its breaking point.

Grandma had a technique for storing chakra, but it was so hard to learn that I never bothered.

If only I'd learned it.

Tsunade smiled bitterly to herself.

She had thought her chakra reserves were enough.

But now, faced with a life-or-death crisis, she realized they weren't even close.

But what good was it to regret that now?

Tsunade swayed on her feet.

Her vision gradually blurred.

At last, she began to fall.

She had always thought hitting the ground would hurt terribly.

But then a strong, warm hand caught her.

Tsunade felt two fingers pry her mouth open. A pill was slipped inside and quickly dissolved, turning into chakra that nourished her body.

She immediately perked up. When she opened her eyes, she saw a profile with black hair and red eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

"...I'm fine."

Tsunade suddenly smiled.

This was the second time.

The second time this person had...

"I'll spare you the rest. We're breaking through. Hold on tight."

Sakuya tore his clothes into strips, then quickly braided them into a rope with his teeth and right hand. He used it to tie her to his back. "Don't let go."

Just like back in the Land of Fang.

Tsunade wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

"I won't let go."

Tsunade nodded.

Mine... the person I love...

I'll never let you go again, not in this lifetime!

As if answering the words in her heart, she pressed herself as close to Sakuya as she could.

As scorching flames blazed through Amegakure once more, Dragon of Raging Flame roared around Sakuya.

Uchiha Sakuya carried Tsunade on his back and raced through the heavy rain, riding the flames.