Horror: Cutting Technique
Tsunade clenched her fair, smooth fist.
Without holding back, she slammed it into the ground.
"Boom, boom..."
A tremendous crash rang out.
A violent gale swept through.
The ground for several meters around shattered.
Countless chunks of rock flew in every direction under the force of the blow.
They drove back the Root members charging at her.
Tsunade looked like a pampered woman who lacked even the strength to truss a chicken.
Now she displayed terrifying monstrous strength.
It made cold sweat pour down their faces.
"Whoosh!"
Tsunade darted forward at a run.
One of the closer Root members had no time to dodge before her fist slammed into him.
"Argh!" With a scream, he flew away like a cannonball.
He crashed straight into the depths of the forest.
A series of crashes rang out. There was no telling how many trees he had smashed in half.
A vast cloud of dust rose.
"What!?"
It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
The other Root members, who had yet to regain their footing, had no time to help.
Root was naturally not without information on Tsunade. They knew full well that she possessed astonishing monstrous strength and was quite skilled in Taijutsu.
But even though they had been prepared, seeing it for themselves still sent chills through them.
Every one of them was somewhat horrified.
Simply because it was too violent.
One hit would leave them dead or crippled.
They couldn't fight this woman at close range.
"You bastards, you're all staying right here!"
Tsunade pressed her attack, charging at another Root member.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Flash!"
At that moment,
the Root members scattered around her regained their footing and reacted.
Without hesitation, they rapidly formed Hand Seals and attacked Tsunade.
"Whoosh... swoosh..." A huge fireball, razor-sharp blades of wind, dazzling lightning...
They came crashing at Tsunade in succession from every direction.
Chapter 56: Horror: Cutting Technique
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
In a flash,
Rikuto struck again.
Thick wooden beams burst out of the ground.
There, they formed an oval-shaped defense at an astonishing speed.
It stood firmly on both sides of Tsunade and behind her, shielding her.
"Boom... boom..."
The barrage of attacks
was stopped by the impenetrable shield.
At the same time, the Root member Tsunade had targeted narrowly dodged her hurtling fist.
But before he could put any distance between them, a sharp pain tore through his abdomen.
It was as though all his internal organs had ruptured.
"Wah..."
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
He was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
"Ah... blood..."
Tsunade, who had been fighting so fiercely and cutting down everyone in her path, saw the blood spray.
Her entire body began trembling involuntarily.
"Sister Tsunade..."
Seeing this, Rikuto shouted.
"Damn it, Lady Tsunade's fear of blood has flared up again..."
Shizune looked "horrified."
Kunai in hand, she rushed forward.
She stood guard beside Tsunade, who "couldn't move."
She narrowly blocked an attack from a Root ninja.
The concealed weapons she usually kept hidden in her sleeves were launched at once.
"Whoosh, whoosh..." Poisoned needles shot out.
The other Root ninja who had kept charging at them couldn't help but pale.
They dodged in a flurry and were forced back.
Meanwhile, Rikuto, who was also charging over,
was held up by Root members.
"The employer wants his corpse. Show no mercy!"
Several Root members radiated killing intent.
Their blades flashed coldly as they were the first to attack from all directions.
They slashed at Rikuto without mercy.
"Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs!"
Without warning-
Rikuto, who had been in danger, wore a cold gaze and a sneer.
A mass of razor-sharp branches shot from his hands.
They hurtled toward the Root members closing in on him from every direction.
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
The Root members' expressions changed drastically.
Yet these men, normally so well trained,
suddenly found their vision blurring.
They all froze in place.
Unable to move.
"Damn it! It's a Genjutsu!"
"Damn it, when did he do it?"
"Release!!"
The Root members who realized what had happened
either formed One-Handed Hand Seals or bit the tips of their tongues without hesitation.
One after another, they broke free of the Genjutsu Rikuto had quietly cast on them at some unknown point.
However-
the branches hurtling toward them were already upon them.
Root members failed to dodge in time, and branches pierced their bodies.
"Ah... ah..."
The next moment, the branches lodged inside them suddenly forked and grew wildly.
They pierced right through their bodies.
They punctured organs from within and tore their bodies apart...
Blood poured everywhere. It was a horrific sight.
It sent a chill through those who saw it.
From head to toe.
"Hiss-"
As she watched the terrifying scene,
even Shizune, who had traveled with Tsunade over the years and had long since seen blood and experienced many bloody scenes, couldn't help drawing a sharp breath.
Her scalp tingled.
She truly understood how terrifying Wood Release was.
If someone was hit by concealed weapons such as Shuriken or Kunai, even if they were coated in deadly poison, there was at least still a chance of saving them as long as no vital points were struck.
But if someone took a direct hit from this move of Rikuto's, surviving would probably be a miracle.
"You're much weaker than I imagined!"
Looking at the few surviving Root ninja,
Rikuto said indifferently, his face expressionless, "In that case, all of you can die!"
He had once assumed from the outset
that, at only eight years old, he was still too young and his strength needed improvement.
But after fighting these Root members,
he found that he hadn't overestimated the enemy's strength.
He had completely underestimated himself.
After days of frenzied training,
he had pushed himself to the brink without mercy in Taijutsu matches against his Wood Clone.
His Taijutsu had improved by leaps and bounds as a result, and his reactions were astonishingly fast.