"Just now... my monster strength was repelled by some unknown jutsu. It was similar to the Hyūga's Rotation jutsu... no, even more absurd than that" Tsunade analyzed intensely in her mind, going over every detail of their earlier clash.
As long as that mysterious jutsu existed, trying to break through Mitsuki's defense head-on was utterly unrealistic.
A sense of unease crept into Tsunade's chest. Was she... about to lose? To a brat more than ten years her junior?
Then a thought struck her — when Mitsuki activated that unknown ninjutsu, he had initiated it with a swing of his short blade. Could it be related to that movement? Or maybe she should try attacking from behind?
Multiple theories surfaced in her mind. But with so little intel, Tsunade had no choice but to test her hypotheses one by one.
Unfortunately for her, Mitsuki wasn't about to give her time to catch her breath.
He twisted his upper body slightly and forcefully flicked his left hand forward.
A massive surge of wind release chakra was instantly compressed to the limit — forming a Rasenshuriken, deliberately weakened in cutting power — and hurled forward.
Tsunade slammed her foot into the ground with monstrous force, launching herself to the side using the rebound. She wasn't dumb enough to try tanking that kind of jutsu face-first.
"Too naive."
Mitsuki, of course, understood that with Tsunade's speed and reflexes, she'd be able to get out of the blast radius before the Rasenshuriken landed.
After all, it wasn't some complex jutsu — it was just powerful and fast.
But even the simplest ninjutsu, in the hands of someone wielding the Six Eyes with pinpoint chakra control, could be elevated into something divine.
The Rasenshuriken, originally flying straight toward where Tsunade had stood, suddenly twisted mid-air. As if guided by GPS, it curved toward Tsunade as she leapt aside.
Now in midair, Tsunade had no surface to kick off of. Suspended between heaven and earth, she seemed helpless and seconds from impact.
Still, despite her shock at the jutsu's ability to turn twice, her body reacted instantly—she punched the air with her monster strength.
A burst of colossal force exploded outward, causing a literal sonic boom.
And then, an unbelievable sight.
Tsunade, floating in mid-air, used her immense strength and technique to shift her trajectory by punching the air itself, forcefully altering her airborne path.
It was a technique so absurd it defied logic.
She exhaled a faint breath of relief—looked like she had dodged it.
But had she?
That spinning Rasenshuriken suddenly veered sharply again—this time across a sharp angle.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
Tsunade stared in disbelief as the Rasenshuriken flexed again like it was toying with her.
She tried to shift her direction again, using the same trick.
But dodging twice in a row had cost her precious time—time she no longer had.
The humming Rasenshuriken closed in, screaming toward her with unstoppable force, crushing pressure, and deadly speed.
She could already feel its razor wind chakra pricking her skin.
"Lady Tsunade!"
Minato was already preparing to use his Flying Thunder God jutsu to flash in and pull her out. As the fastest man in the shinobi world, he had absolute confidence in himself.
He also figured that if he intervened, Mitsuki would slow the Rasenshuriken just enough.
Even Minato hadn't expected such a high-powered Wind Release jutsu to maneuver so fluidly in the air.
As expected of Mitsuki!
But just as he was about to move—
A large hand landed on his shoulder. Minato turned around.
"Jiraiya-sensei! You're finally here!"
That brief distraction, however...
BOOM!
The Rasenshuriken exploded inches in front of Tsunade. A blue sphere of light surged outward, seemingly ready to disintegrate everything within ten meters.
As the radiant chakra engulfed Tsunade, Minato couldn't help but feel a pang of concern.
But if Jiraiya had stopped him, that meant Tsunade wouldn't be in danger. He had to trust that.
"Sensei!" ×3
There was a rustling sound.
Kakashi, Rin, and Obito popped up from behind Jiraiya.
"What are you all doing here?" Minato asked. He hadn't had time lately to take his students on missions, so he'd left them to train freely around the camp.
"Hahaha" Jiraiya chuckled but didn't answer.
Kakashi adjusted his mask.
"Jiraiya-sama has been mentoring us these past few days. When we heard explosions outside the camp, we came to check it out."
"I see. Thank you for looking after them, Jiraiya-sensei" Minato said, clapping his hands together in gratitude.
Then Rin looked at the battlefield—and gasped.
"Eh?! Why is Mitsuki fighting Lady Tsunade? Did they get into an argument or something?"
Obito, on the other hand, was practically bouncing.
"I knew it! Mitsuki hates that drunk commander just like I do!"
He had met Tsunade once before, and it hadn't gone well.
Why? Because he'd walked right into the landmine of telling her his dream—to become Hokage—and claiming he'd end the war.
Tsunade had promptly roasted him alive for it. And when he tried to argue back, she'd flicked his forehead so hard he flew out of the command tent like a ragdoll.
Now, seeing his best bro Mitsuki standing up for him, Obito couldn't just sit and do nothing.
He ran up closer, cupping his hands to yell: "Mitsuki! You got this! Channel the power of our bonds! Bring our dreams to victory!!!"
"…What the hell is he even saying?" Mitsuki, of course, had noticed their arrival long ago.
But he really couldn't figure out what dumbass thing Obito was yelling now.
Bonds? Dreams? Since when were those his catchphrases?
Wait—was Obito treating Tsunade like some kind of final boss?
Well… in a way, he wasn't wrong.
Too bad their emotions didn't match at all.
While they were shouting about dreams and friendship, Tsunade was still standing in the blast zone of the Rasenshuriken—her ears ringing.
There's a saying: "Seeing is believing."
Hearing about something and experiencing it firsthand were worlds apart.
Now that she'd actually felt the power of the Rasenshuriken up close, she finally understood what Minato had meant.
"A genius a hundred times more talented than me."
The weight of that statement hit her.
Even if Minato's words were partially personal bias—still, right now in Konoha, the only one he praised like this was Mitsuki.
She didn't want to admit it, but she had been backed into a corner.
She had to acknowledge the strength of this kid.
"Yin Seal: Release."