"Thank you!"
Tsunade smiled faintly. She knew Katsuyu was worried about her.
After all, the price of using this jutsu was her own lifespan. But right now... she had no better options.
She couldn't betray Orochimaru's trust, and she definitely couldn't let that woman Chiyo underestimate her...
"You be careful."
Katsuyu said, then its body rapidly shrank in size. Tsunade jumped off its back.
Eventually, Katsuyu reduced to only about ten centimeters long.
Tsunade picked it up, and then Katsuyu directly crawled into the wound Tsunade had made earlier to summon it.
Under Tsunade's skin, it kept squirming — an unsettling sight.
But Tsunade remained unfazed. Instead, she formed hand seals, until the movement beneath her skin gradually stopped.
...
A dozen meters ahead of her, two extremely powerful Wind Release techniques collided. The resulting pressure gradually flattened surrounding boulders and carved away at both sides of the valley cliffs.
Orochimaru continuously performed hand seal sequences, alternating Fire Release and Wind Release techniques to maintain his jutsu's power.
The effect was significant - even Chiyo's terrifying Wind Spear couldn't break through this wall across the valley for now.
However, the pluses and minuses were obvious - although Orochimaru had significantly enhanced his technique by combining Fire and Wind Releases, compared to Chiyo's Wind Spear which originally possessed power comparable to an S-rank Ultimate Art, there still existed some gap.
At this moment though, Chiyo who controlled the Wind Spear also showed growing seriousness on her face. Her once steady breathing had started to grow ragged.
Clearly, she too was beginning to struggle with the energy consumption.
Immediately she activated her Chakra Threads, pushing the Wind Spear's power to its peak.
Between the two competing forces, the Wind Spear gradually pierced into the Raging Storm of Wind and Fire.
...
At this moment, as Tsunade continued forming hand seals, Katsuyu's voice came into her ear.
"The assimilation has been completed. However, I must remind you one thing - splitting within a certain timeframe has its limits. If you rely excessively on regeneration through this ability, it won't just shorten your lifespan, it will kill you."
"I understand." Tsunade said with a smile, then slowly clenched her fist tightly enough that veins stood out clearly on her arm.
Something seemed to be pulsing gently within her blood vessels.
Lifting her gaze, Tsunade saw Orochimaru there struggling bitterly, apparently nearing his limit as well.
"Orochimaru, that's enough! Let me take over!"
Tsunade shouted. At this moment, the confrontation between the two winds had reached its absolute limit. Orochimaru tried to pull back, but his chakra had been nearly drained, slowing him down.
Though he dodged most of it, the side of the Wind Spear still grazed him slightly.
Boom!
This move instantly sent Orochimaru's body spinning like a fan before slamming him violently against the nearby rock wall. His shirt was completely torn open, revealing dozens of deep cuts across his body that broke the pale skin and let blood pour out.
"Cough... cough..."
Orochimaru began coughing violently. Although this injury wouldn't kill him, it certainly wouldn't heal quickly either.
From that brief contact earlier, he'd inhaled some wind chakra, which caused internal damage.
"Watch out!"
Despite his own condition, Orochimaru still warned Tsunade. This Wind Spear technique was truly terrifying. However, when his eyes shifted toward Chiyo again, he noticed her aged face gradually showing signs of exhaustion.
It was a clear symptom of excessive chakra depletion.
Tsunade nodded heavily and positioned herself to face the incoming Wind Spear. She stood firmly on the ground.
Her actions caused all the watching ninjas from Konoha and Suna to freeze in shock.
But while amusement and mockery appeared on the Suna ninja's faces, horror covered those of Konoha.
Orochimaru was already severely wounded. If Tsunade fell next, who could possibly stand against Chiyo?
Amidst countless mocking and horrified gazes, Tsunade clenched her fists tightly, then suddenly swung her arm forward, punching straight at the tip of the Wind Spear.
To everyone watching, this action seemed absolutely suicidal!
Even Hiashi Hyuga and Sakumo Hatake felt their hearts leap into their throats at this moment.
"Bang!"
Before countless stunned eyes, this vastly mismatched collision occurred. Under Tsunade's immense strength, the massive Wind Spear actually paused mid-spin.
A flicker of hope flashed through Sakumo's eyes, and even Chiyo looked somewhat surprised by Tsunade's action.
Yet she immediately poured her full strength into it.
Using just one's bare body to withstand an S-rank Ultimate Art—probably only the Third Raikage from the Land of Lightning would dare attempt such a feat in the entire Ninja World!
Sure enough, the moment contact was made, the skin on Tsunade's fist was immediately torn away. The tip of the Wind Spear appeared as if stained with blood, some splattering onto her cheek. In the rushing wind, the warm blood quickly turned cold and solidified.
The intense pain from her torn flesh made her wince slightly.
Although the secret technique she used minimized the sensation of pain, physiologically speaking, this level of pain was simply unbearable.
Yet there wasn't the slightest sign of retreat in Tsunade's eyes. Her fist remained clenched tightly as all the chakra in her body surged down her arm, exploding outward in waves of immense force.
[Ninjutsu: Splitting Regeneration!]
As chakra flowed through and beyond Tsunade's fist, it seemed to emit faint glowing light. Before everyone's astonished eyes, her torn flesh began regenerating right against the Wind Spear.
At the same time, wave after wave of power further slowed the Wind Spear's rotation momentarily.
"What's going on?"
Sakumo Hatake narrowed his eyes slightly. He couldn't see what was happening at Tsunade's position clearly, especially not the changes occurring on Tsunade's fist.
But now, every pair of eyes watching previously showed extreme shock.
No matter what, they had seen it with their own eyes—someone actually used their mortal body to block an S-rank Ultimate Arts ninjutsu.
If not seen firsthand, nobody would believe it.
"What's going on?"
Chiyo stared at Tsunade standing before [Wind Spear]. Her eyes widened in utter shock. Even she had never imagined that one day someone would intercept her last-resort Puppet Technique in such a way.
This completely overturned her understanding.
Before [Wind Spear], Tsunade's immense strength surged continuously from her fist, resisting its power. While most of the force had been neutralized, the remaining portion was still enough to tear through her skin—and even her bones.
She only winced slightly at the pain, then faint chakra light surrounded the injured muscles and bones. Something softly pulsed there as the wound rapidly began healing, glowing faintly with chakra.
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