What's the Point of Fighting?

That thrust was so fast!

Tsunade was shaken. Her expression was almost one of utter astonishment.

The dense, ear-piercing crackle of electricity flashed past. Tsunade had no doubt about its terrifying penetrating power. Without a doubt, this was a ninjutsu worthy of being a trump card!

Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly. Chakra quickly gathered in her feet, and she slammed them down hard on the ground.

Heavenly Foot of Pain!

The ground immediately groaned under the strain. The center of the courtyard collapsed dramatically, forming a shocking crater as countless stones and clods of earth scattered everywhere. A powerful tremor swept through the area.

Of course, that wasn't all Tsunade did.

Fueled by her immense chakra, Tsunade shot into the air in an instant, drawing a streak across the sky before plunging back down. Chakra still clung to her feet.

A powerful rush of air burst forth as she landed on one foot, striking a pose like a golden rooster standing on one leg. Her robes fluttered wildly.

Her foot hit the ground, and the courtyard erupted!

Chidori vs. Heavenly Foot of Pain!

The greenery in the courtyard instantly turned to fragments, whirling through the air and scattering in the force of what seemed like an earth-shattering blast.

Only after the dust settled did the entire courtyard finally grow quiet again.

Ye Ning appeared some distance away, his eyes still filled with lingering fear.

That madwoman... She really was even more terrifying than he'd expected!

If that kick had actually landed on him, it probably would've sent him straight to meet his great-grandfather!

Good thing Chidori could hold its own.

By now, Tsunade seemed to have been thoroughly roused into fighting spirit by Ye Ning. Her curvaceous body tensed as she sprang forward, leaving streak after streak in her wake and charging toward him with terrifying force.

Her pale fist packed immense power. Each swing came with a startling whoosh as it hurtled toward him at an unbelievable speed.

!?

Ye Ning reckoned that, aside from Jiraiya, no one in the entire Shinobi World would want to take Tsunade's loving iron fist head-on. He immediately used Swift Release to dodge, flashing to the other side of the courtyard.

Tsunade couldn't stop her momentum in time and punched the wall. In an instant, the tall wall crumbled into rubble.

But Tsunade refused to let up. Like a husky tearing up a house, she charged after him again, throwing punch after punch.

Ye Ning was starting to get a headache.

Of the ninjutsu he'd developed so far, apart from the few tricks he kept up his sleeve, the rest didn't seem capable of doing anything to a rampaging Tsunade.

With no other choice, Ye Ning could only keep using Swift Release to dodge.

The two chased each other around, making it look as if Ye Ning was leading Tsunade on a demolition spree.

After smashing things with dozens of punches, Tsunade finally stopped. Maybe she was tired, or maybe she'd lost interest after failing to land a single blow. Either way, she sat down in the one intact spot she could find, looking thoroughly disgruntled.

Of course, there weren't many places in the house or courtyard that hadn't been damaged.

Ye Ning caught his breath and looked up in confusion.

"Why, giving up?"

The repeated use of Swift Release had worn him down, even with the chakra he'd absorbed from the old abbot at the Fire Temple. Still, he couldn't figure out what Tsunade was thinking. He was afraid she might play dirty and ambush him the moment he let his guard down.

Tsunade leaned lazily against some rubble and said with ill humor,

"What's the point of fighting? You're slippery as an eel. You've had me running all over the place. How am I supposed to fight you like that?"

Tsunade abruptly sat up, her expression hostile.

"You never told me you had this kind of power."

The fight had seemed to pass quickly, and most of the time she'd been chasing Ye Ning around. But his current strength had still left her deeply shaken.

First, there was that bizarre Body Flicker Technique. Then there was that Fire Release Ninjutsu mixed with Wind Release. It wasn't just a combination of two simple releases—it was a true Kekkei Genkai! And that terrifying Lightning Release, which rivaled an A-rank ninjutsu, was something else entirely.

When had the little brat she used to chase down the street, shouting "Dad!" after him, gotten so strong?

He was only twelve!

As a descendant of Senju Hashirama, her younger brother Nawaki had been nowhere near as strong when he went to the battlefield at twelve.

Even Orochimaru, the genius universally recognized in Konoha, hadn't been this ridiculous at Ye Ning's age.

Ye Ning found a place to sit too, a little farther away from Tsunade. He spread his hands and said innocently,

"You never asked."

"Besides, if I didn't have skills like these, why would I come to Konoha to learn ninjutsu? I'm not an idiot, and I know my own limits."

Ye Ning hesitated for a moment, seeming reluctant to reveal his secrets. But considering who Tsunade was, he eventually explained.

"My chakra natures are Fire, Wind, and Lightning. At the Fire Temple, I learned about the nature and shape transformations of chakra from the old abbot, and that got me thinking."

"That strange speed you saw comes from combining the nature transformations of Wind Release and Lightning Release. It's a Kekkei Genkai called Swift Release. Dark Release works the same way. As for Chidori, I developed it specifically by applying the properties of Swift Release."

Ye Ning let Tsunade in on some of the truth. Otherwise, given her nature, she'd probably keep digging, and might even start to suspect something.

Tsunade was the only person he knew well in Konoha. They were related, too, and he didn't want her to feel there was a rift between them. Besides, as long as it had nothing to do with his cheat, none of this was particularly secret.

Tsunade's mouth fell open, her heart filled with shock.

She'd seen geniuses before. Konoha had never been short of them.

Orochimaru, back in the day, and that kid from the Sakumo family who graduated from the Ninja Academy at five were both geniuses.

But this was the first time she'd seen a genius like Ye Ning: twelve years old, already developing A-rank ninjutsu and at least two Kekkei Genkai.

Sometimes, the gap between people really was bigger than the gap between people and dogs...

Tsunade moistened her dry lips and forcibly suppressed her shock, putting on an impatient expression.

"You're already this strong. What do you even need me to teach you? Honestly, you're wasting my drinking time."

"Uh, I was hoping you'd teach me the ninjutsu in the Scroll of Seals, as well as genjutsu and Taijutsu. Those are my weak points. You're the one who dragged me into this because you wanted to beat me up for revenge..."

Revenge?

Tsunade's face immediately fell. She shouted, "I didn't!"

Mm, very convincing!

She was practically protesting too much!