Clash

"Move!"

At the command, five figures scattered like ghosts.

En formed hand seals, Fire Release chakra gathering in his throat as the surrounding air instantly grew scorching and distorted.

His cloak fluttered without wind, revealing dense insect-shaped tattoos across his pale wrists. The tattoos wriggled as though alive.

Lake took half a step back, his cloudy eyes sweeping across the battlefield as the insects within the gaps of his bandages began crawling faster.

He pressed both hands against the ground. The earth began to tremble faintly, as though something were moving beneath it.

Mountain stood at the very front. The burly man made no hand seals, merely spreading his feet, lowering his center of gravity, and assuming a stance of pure strength.

Lightning and Wind split to the left and right, their hands hanging at their sides as differently colored chakra gathered at their fingertips—one cyan, the other deep blue.

The five stood apart, yet they vaguely formed an encirclement. Their spacing, angles, and chakra coordination... it was a well-trained formation.

"Interesting!"

Tsunade rolled her wrist and stepped forward. Her pace was unhurried, even somewhat casual.

Her long golden hair drifted behind her. She wore only a thin, short kimono, its collar slightly open to reveal a broad expanse of fair skin and delicate collarbones.

Yet no one dared look there. Everyone watched her movements. This veteran Kage Level powerhouse was one of the legendary Sannin, renowned since the Second Shinobi World War.

"Fourth," Tsunade said without turning around. "Make it quick. Don't drag this out."

The Fourth Raikage stood half a step beside her, blue-violet lightning flickering over his body. His voice was low. "You too."

The brief exchange ended, and golden chakra instantly surged from Tsunade's body.

Boom!

The ground exploded. Tsunade vanished from where she stood, and in the next second, she had appeared in front of Mountain.

That fair, slender fist carried world-destroying force as it smashed viciously toward his chest.

So fast!

Mountain's pupils contracted as he crossed his arms to block.

Bang!!!

A fan-shaped shockwave exploded outward.

Mountain's huge body flew backward like a cannonball, plowing a deep trench through the ground. He smashed through five massive boulders before barely coming to a stop.

The earth cracked and dust rose everywhere. Mountain's arms hung limply at his sides, trembling without end, while Tsunade stood where she was without even sparing him another glance.

She turned to the remaining four. "Next."

Blue-violet lightning flashed!

In the blink of an eye, the Fourth Raikage appeared behind En. Without a word or warning, he threw a punch.

En reacted swiftly, his body instantly dispersing into a mass of flames. It was a Fire Release Substitution Technique. His true body had already reformed thirty meters away.

But the Fourth Raikage was faster. His figure flickered through the lightning, giving En no chance to catch his breath.

One punch!

Two punches!

Three punches!

Every blow came with an explosive roar that tore through the air!

En's expression changed.

His Fire Release could not lock onto the opponent. He could not match his speed, and he had no time to release the Explosive Insects.

Because he did not dare stop moving at all.

"Lake!"

After dodging an attack, En immediately let out a roar.

The ground instantly burst open, and countless tiny swarms of insects poured out from underground, surging toward the Fourth Raikage like a tidal wave.

The Fourth Raikage frowned and rapidly retreated. The insect swarm pursued him, dense enough to blot out the sky.

"Hoo—"

At that moment, a violent gale swept in from the side.

Wind had made his move. His cyan chakra transformed into a raging hurricane, forming a pincer attack with the insect swarm from the other side.

"Useless!"

The Fourth Raikage shouted as the Lightning Release Chakra Mode erupted once more. He launched himself into the air, instantly escaping the encirclement.

The hurricane scattered the insect swarm, but the Fourth Raikage did not stop, because En's attack had already arrived.

Crimson Fire Release chakra became a flaming serpent that struck from another direction.

Tsunade appeared before the flaming serpent and threw a punch. The fire serpent exploded, turning into sparks that filled the sky.

She stood amid the sparks, her golden hair lifted by the heatwave, a lazy smile on her face. "Fourth, watch out!"

"Oh, that was a big help." The Raikage nodded in response.

The battle continued.

The five worked together with remarkable coordination, but against Tsunade and the Fourth Raikage's combined strength, they had no opportunity at all.

Tsunade's monstrous strength could shatter mountains and rocks with every punch. The Fourth Raikage's speed was too fast for the naked eye to follow.

Though the two did not coordinate particularly well and fought separately, they had already left the five members of the Xuan Yuan Corps struggling to cope.

But the five were no weaklings either.

They had carried out missions throughout the nations for years. Tempered by countless battles between life and death, they possessed combat instincts beyond ordinary imagination.

Although Mountain's taijutsu had been utterly crushed by Tsunade, his defense was astonishing. He could withstand a punch and still rise to continue fighting.

En's Fire Release could not lock onto the Fourth Raikage, but he switched to wide-area attacks, forcing the Fourth Raikage to evade.

Although Lake's insect swarm had been scattered by the hurricane once, he quickly adjusted his tactics and had the insects spread out to encircle their enemies.

Lightning and Wind were swift and coordinated as if they were one person. The interplay of Wind Release and Lightning Release also prevented Tsunade and the Fourth Raikage from fighting without restraint.

Just as the battle reached a stalemate, the Fourth Raikage suddenly frowned.

His speed remained the same, and so did his strength, but he could feel the Explosive Insects within his body awakening.

They were wriggling, absorbing, growing.

He did not have much time left, and Tsunade had clearly noticed it as well.

Her attacks became even fiercer. Every punch carried world-destroying force, forcing Mountain and En to join forces in defense.

But at that moment, Mountain, who had remained silent for so long, made his move.

He charged forward head-on and took one of Tsunade's punches, then clenched his fist and smashed it viciously toward her face.

It was a move meant to take them both down!

Tsunade twisted aside to evade, her left hand naturally striking toward his chest.

Mountain did not dodge.

He took the blow head-on again, then changed the direction of his right hand. His five fingers spread as he clawed viciously toward Tsunade's shoulder.

His goal had never been to kill Tsunade. It was to restrict her movements.

"Idiot."

Tsunade sneered.

Her left hand had clearly struck his chest, yet it suddenly changed direction. Her fingers clenched into a fist, and an uppercut smashed viciously into his chin.

Mountain was sent flying. His right hand lost its target and flailed weakly through the air. Then, blue-violet lightning flashed in an instant.

The Fourth Raikage appeared at his side and chopped his right arm with one hand.

Crack!

The sound of shattering bones was clearly audible. In the next moment, Mountain's right arm was severed cleanly at the wrist.

Blood sprayed out. The severed arm spun through the air, scattering droplets of blood before finally landing on the ground and kicking up a wisp of dust.

"Mmgh—"

Mountain was tough enough not to cry out. Blood gushed from his severed arm, staining the broken stones on the ground red.

Tsunade had no time to look away. Her pupils suddenly shrank.

Blood.

The bright red blood spreading across the ground overlapped with the blood in her memories.

Dan lay in her arms, the bloody hole in his chest pouring without end. It stained her hands, stained her clothes, stained her entire world red.

Nawaki's body had been blown apart by explosive tags, his limbs scattered everywhere, blood flowing like a river.

Blood.

There was blood everywhere.

Tsunade's body began trembling uncontrollably. Her hands dropped, her gaze lost focus, and her breathing became rapid and disordered.

"Lady Tsunade!"

Shizune's frightened voice came from the distance.

"This is bad."

The Fourth Raikage's pupils shrank. He abruptly turned to Tsunade. He had been focused only on dealing with the enemy and had forgotten about Tsunade's hemophobia.

Tsunade stood frozen in place, trembling all over. Her face was pale as paper, and her golden eyes had lost all focus, filled only with endless terror and pain.

The members of the Xuan Yuan Corps also sharply noticed the situation.

En's eyes lit up. "Something's wrong with her!"

Lake's cloudy gaze swept over Tsunade, and he suddenly smiled. Lightning and Wind exchanged a glance and nodded at the same time.

They instantly spread out and assumed formation. Their previous retreat formation shifted into an attack formation.

"Mountain, can you still move?" En asked quietly.

Mountain gritted his teeth, clutching his severed arm. His face was deathly pale, but his eyes remained fierce. "I can!"

"Good!"

En said coldly, "The three of us will hold back the Raikage. Lightning and Wind, you two..."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Tsunade. "Take that important figure's head and return to collect the reward."

"Yes!"

Lightning and Wind flashed forward, charging toward Tsunade.

Seeing this, the Fourth Raikage flew into a rage. "Don't even think about it!"

Blue-violet lightning exploded as he instantly rushed toward the two, but En, Lake, and Mountain had already blocked his path.

"Your opponents are us!"

En's Fire Release became a wall of flames that sealed off the path. Lake's insect swarm surged from underground, attempting to entangle his feet. Mountain used his remaining left hand to throw a punch at his face.

The Fourth Raikage was forced to stop. He sent Mountain flying with a frontal punch, crushed the insect swarm beneath one foot, then spun around and split the wall of flames apart with a palm strike, but time had already been wasted.