"Damn it, I gave it everything I had and you're still trying to run?!"
Gekko Chizan felt searing pain in both hands, his whole face twisted in agony, but he still forced his legs to move and ran forward.
"I fly!"
Flying Thunder God activated again, and in an instant he appeared behind A, gritting his teeth through the pain.
"You're not going anywhere!"
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Dozens of venomous snakes burst forth once more—but this time, A didn't fight back. Lightning surged across his body again, and his speed increased even further.
This was the result of forcibly stimulating his body's activity to boost speed. In the next second, he charged straight toward Killer B.
Gekko Chizan didn't lag behind. With his chakra flaring wildly, the venomous snakes began growing at a freakish speed.
They were extending twenty meters per second!
"Brother!"
"You bastard! Idiot! Get your ass back here!"
That clumsy rapping voice rang out again as Killer B took a full punch from Tsunade, flying backward.
Looking closely, it was clear his left arm had been broken by the punch.
But with the help of Tsunade's monstrous strength, Killer B had already arrived at his big brother's side. Facing the horde of venomous snakes, several massive octopus limbs suddenly grew from Killer B's back.
The snakes sank their fangs into the octopus limbs.
"Nice one, Chizan!"
"Bite him! Bite off this bastard's tentacles if you can!"
Chōmei was so excited at the sight, he was practically dancing.
But all he got in return was a light spit from Gekko Chizan.
"The Eight-Tails' tentacles are huge. How the hell are my snakes supposed to bite through that?"
Blocked by the octopus limbs, Gekko Chizan knew he'd lost the best opportunity for a clean hit.
"Bee! We're pulling out!"
"Yes! Brother!"
The A-B combo exchanged a glance—then moved with explosive speed.
Gekko Chizan immediately felt something was off.
They were completely ignoring Tsunade and coming straight for him.
And why the hell were both of them raising their arms???
What the hell kind of "retreat" is this?! This is a double-fisted finisher!
"Double Lariat!"
"Lightning Release: Liger Bomb!"
And just like that, despite shouting about retreating, the two launched a finishing move straight at Gekko Chizan.
A, the son of the Raikage, had a savage look on his face. Pain and fury contorted his expression.
Killer B had blood at the corner of his mouth, his left arm limp, but his presence was like a sharpened blade.
"I fly!"
Faced with this sudden strike, Gekko Chizan didn't dare let his guard down. Flying Thunder God activated instantly.
Relying on the teleportation marks on the field, Gekko Chizan dodged the strike just in time. In his heart, he was furiously cursing the two of them.
Shameless bastards!
Two grown men smashing their arms together with such power that it kicked up a shockwave.
"Bee! Retreat!"
Hearing "retreat" again, Gekko Chizan didn't dare relax. He immediately scanned his surroundings—
Worried those shameless bastards would strike again.
But this time, they really were retreating.
"You little punk! I'll remember you! Next time we meet, I'll kill you!"
A's angry roar echoed from the distance, but Gekko Chizan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, the familiar system voice rang in his ears.
[Ding! Host showed bravery in the face of the powerful opponent, son of the Raikage, and delivered a Thousand Years of Death that left him with both physical and psychological trauma, nearly breaking his mental defenses. Special reward granted: Kekkei Genkai Fusion Progress +10% (Current Progress: 90%)]
With A and Killer B's retreat, the remaining three enemy ninja immediately abandoned their fight with Inuzuka Tsume and Hyuga Hizashi, threw down smoke bombs, and fled.
But they didn't know that the two they were up against weren't the kind of people you could just escape from with a smoke bomb.
With sharp sense of smell and Byakugan, the two of them coordinated and caught one of the fleeing enemies.
Gekko Chizan leaned against a tree trunk, his whole body aching.
The Lightning Armor—also called Lightning Release Chakra Mode—coats the body in lightning chakra for offense or defense.
Just now, he struck A directly, but the lightning backlash hurt him too.
And not just that—his Thousand Years of Death technique had backfired, fracturing four fingers.
No—severely fractured. His index and middle fingers were now bent at bizarre angles...
And he had overdone it earlier: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique + Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, plus Summoning Technique. Damn.
What kind of normal person can pull that off?
To make it believable, Gekko Chizan deliberately slumped into a weak and exhausted posture.
"Tsunade-sama... help..."
To relieve the pain, he hurriedly called out to Tsunade.
Tsunade appeared by his side. Seeing Gekko Chizan's sorry state, she couldn't help but laugh before beginning to heal him with Medical Ninjutsu.
"Come on, seriously? Why are you laughing? You were supposed to handle him!"
"Why the hell did he come for me?! What the hell was that?!"
To be fair, Gekko Chizan did look pitiful. His whole body was scorched black, his short hair was still smoking—that's what happens when you touch Lightning Armor barehanded.
His hands were broken, and his face was full of pain.
"Can you still use Flying Thunder God? We're still deep in enemy territory."
Feeling the pain rapidly subsiding, Gekko Chizan nodded and theatrically pulled out a medicine box from his pocket, stuffed a bunch of pills in his mouth.
In the previous fight, he had been using Chōmei's chakra—but he still needed to play the part.
So he had already condensed all the chakra into scale powder stored inside his body.
Which meant his chakra reserves were now empty—something Tsunade quickly noticed.
And the moment Gekko Chizan swallowed the medicine, Tsunade's pupils contracted sharply. She could clearly feel his chakra rapidly regenerating under the effect of the pills.
"Tsunade-sama, we need to retreat. A lot of enemy reinforcements are closing in."
"Obviously other units from the enemy."
Hizashi and Inuzuka Tsume arrived next to them. Having taken down one of the enemy ninja, they were in good spirits—but the situation didn't allow them to celebrate for long.
Still, when they saw Gekko Chizan's condition, they were stunned for a moment.
"I've recovered some chakra already. Tsunade-sama, we can't delay."
With Tsunade stabilizing his injuries and the chakra-recovery medicine developed by Orochimaru kicking in, Gekko Chizan immediately signaled the group to initiate Flying Thunder God.
In a flash, all four figures vanished from the battlefield—leaving the incoming Kumogakure ninja with nothing but empty air.
Seeing they had already fought the enemy commander and even gained some advantage, Tsunade immediately gave the order to return to base.
Gekko Chizan and the others agreed without hesitation.
But no one noticed the flicker of red light in Gekko Chizan's eyes.
It was clear—he wasn't over it yet.