"What brings you here? Surely not just to visit me."
After saying this, Tsunade couldn't resist opening the bottle and taking a sip. The liquor Hyuga Mirai had brought was among the finest in the shinobi world, with a taste that surpassed anything she'd had before.
At this base in the Land of Tea, almost everything was provided—except unlimited alcohol. For someone like Shizune, who didn't drink, the place was a paradise, filled with games, movies, and more. But for Tsunade, it was frustrating.
After training with new jutsu and soaking in a hot bath, all she wanted was to drink freely. Yet the base strictly rationed her alcohol, denying her that pleasure.
Venturing outside to buy more was pointless—nearby merchants were under Hyuga Mirai's control, enforcing strict limits on personal alcohol sales.
Eventually, Tsunade gave up, unwilling to deal with the hassle.
"Is that any way to talk? Caring for my subordinates is part of my duty as leader."
Before Hyuga Mirai could finish his self-aggrandizing speech, Tsunade shot him a disdainful look, prompting him to change the subject.
"I heard your new jutsu is nearly complete?"
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you. It's almost finished, and I even developed a taijutsu style tailored for me. Care to test it?"
After downing the bottle, Tsunade's eyes gleamed with challenge.
"You seem confident, Princess Tsunade."
Hyuga Mirai considered it. Watching through a screen couldn't convey the true power of her new jutsu—experiencing it firsthand might be worthwhile.
"Very well. If I win, you'll agree to one request."
"Fine. If I win, you'll answer one question honestly... or maybe fulfill a request. I haven't decided yet, but it's settled."
With their wager set, they moved to an open area outside the base. If Tsunade went all out, the "fragile" alloy walls wouldn't survive her punches.
"Give it your all. I'm coming at you!"
Tsunade shed her green coat, fists clenched in warning.
Hyuga Mirai formed hand seals. "You first, Princess." As he spoke, sealing formulas flickered across his body before vanishing—signaling the release of his Weighted Rock Seal. Tsunade knew this technique, having used it for training, but unlike him, she couldn't sustain four times gravity indefinitely without straining her body.
"Here I go!"
In an instant, Tsunade vanished, reappearing mid-charge, her fist crashing down with devastating force.
"Still as brutal as ever..."
Hyuga Mirai sensed her enhanced strength. Without Sage Mode, blocking this punch would be tough.
BOOM!
He dodged, leaving a thirty-meter crater in his wake, cracks spiderwebbing outward.
"Not done yet!"
Tsunade hurled five kunai toward him.
"Kunai?"
Hyuga Mirai frowned. Such weapons didn't suit her style—this had to relate to her new jutsu. The kunai, propelled by her monstrous strength, closed in fast.
"Air Palm!"
A shockwave blasted the kunai aside—but Tsunade followed up with shuriken, redirecting the kunai toward him. Though rarely using projectiles, her aim and power were impeccable.
She'd anticipated his counter. As he struck, she'd already thrown the shuriken—each trailing wires for midair adjustments.
"Similar to the Uchiha's throwing style. Princess, what exactly are you—"
Hyuga Mirai's words cut off as his body froze.
Not total paralysis, but his neural signals were scrambled.
"Ranshinshō? When did she—?"
Then he remembered the kunai. Activating his Byakugan, he spotted residual chakra dispersing from them.
"Found it, huh? This is an advanced form of Ranshinshō—the Electromagnetic Field Jutsu. Within this domain, I control electrons."
Tsunade smirked proudly before charging.
The moment the kunai were deflected, her technique took effect. Now, the surrounding electric field obeyed her will.
Hyuga Mirai entered Sage Mode. His mastery had grown—his body constantly absorbing natural energy, nearing the proficiency of Shikotsumyaku's Sage.
With Sage chakra, he regained slight control, dodging Tsunade's punch—but the impact still sent him flying.
"Sage Mode resists my domain?"
Tsunade frowned, rubbing her chest. She hadn't sent him far. Reactivating the field, she scrambled his neural signals again.
"Not entirely. You briefly overpowered it with Sage chakra. Admit defeat—even Sage Mode can't break free."
Hyuga Mirai rose slowly, surprising her. She tried disrupting his electrons again, but he kept moving.
"Strange. My nerves are completely scrambled, yet you still control them..."
Switching to the Rinnegan, he cloaked himself in black Truth-Seeking Orbs, leaving only his head exposed.
His nervous system remained hijacked—Sage chakra couldn't counter it. While bursts of Sage energy offered temporary relief, Tsunade could readjust instantly, and prolonged exertion strained his body.
"Why can you still move? That black cloak?"
Tsunade's sharpened senses (thanks to Sage Mode) recoiled at the orb's aura.
"Truth-Seeking Orbs. They nullify all ninjutsu and kekkei genkai. I'm moving by manipulating them like puppet strings."
He demonstrated, the orbs acting as chakra threads—far more precise than standard puppetry.
"A warning: only senjutsu and taijutsu work on me now."
Then he lunged. Tsunade's earlier smugness demanded payback.
Despite the warning, the orbs were treacherous. Though Tsunade activated her cursed seal's Sage Mode, Hyuga Mirai's flight and orb manipulation left her struggling.
A single touch revealed their nature—like her domain, but disrupting chakra instead of nerves.
Their taijutsu clash lasted an hour before Tsunade, bound by orb-chains, deactivated her techniques.
Hyuga Mirai had used only taijutsu, withholding his dojutsu.
"Your jutsu still needs specialized tools. Kunai and shuriken are too rigid. With practice, you won't need them."
Post-battle, he sat across from her, critiquing her technique's strengths and flaws.
Its potential was limitless—even now, few could counter it. Disrupting neural electrons left even elite medics helpless.
Tsunade accepted his advice, asking him to have No. 18 craft a tool for rapid chakra conduction, making her domain even deadlier.
Any shinobi entering it would lose bodily control.
"Enough small talk. What do you want?"
Tsunade eyed him. He'd dodged the topic, baiting her into a spar under the guise of testing her jutsu. Had she not hoped to teach him a lesson, she'd never have agreed.
Hyuga Mirai smiled, then sobered.
"The shinobi world's in turmoil. I want you to return to Konoha as the Fifth Hokage."
(End of Chapter)
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