Ren looked at Tsunade opposite him, gritting his teeth, and quickly thinking about tactics in his mind.
Taijutsu was out of the question; using taijutsu in front of Tsunade, a taijutsu master, was like showing off in front of an expert. The previous close-quarters combat was merely Ren's attempt to show Tsunade his achievements in taijutsu, and he had no intention of clashing with Tsunade using taijutsu. So, he could only resort to guerrilla warfare first, then look for an opportunity.
"Hey, brat, if you don't come over, I'm coming over!"
Seeing Ren standing there, not moving, Tsunade, who was getting a bit impatient, shouted. Her hands cracked as she clenched them.
Ren snapped back to reality. Seeing Tsunade's eager expression, he gritted his teeth. No matter what, he had to go first. If Tsunade made the first move, he would lose the initiative.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!"
Ren formed hand seals, and as Chakra surged, dozens of wind blades materialised around him. After pausing in mid-air for a moment, they attacked Tsunade from all directions!
"Good!"
Tsunade let out a low cry, Chakra surging in her left hand, covered by a faint blue glow. Facing the incoming wind blades, she did not retreat but advanced, heading straight for them.
"This..."
Ren was bewildered by his teacher's move. Shouldn't you first use a defensive Ninjutsu to defend? Why did you charge straight ahead!
While Ren was momentarily distracted, Tsunade had already rushed to the wind blades. Several sharp wind blades directly struck her face. However, Tsunade remained calm. She dodged to the left, and several wind blades grazed her hair, leaving faint marks on the wall behind her.
Tsunade showed no intention of stopping, continuing her charge. She dodged the remaining wind blades by sidestepping, and if she couldn't dodge, she swung her Chakra Scalpel to defend. Dozens of wind blades did not make her flustered; instead, she appeared relaxed and at ease.
"So Chakra Scalpel can be used like this..."
Ren was truly amazed. Although Chakra Scalpel is an A-rank Medical Ninjutsu, its primary purpose is to cut any part of the body for treatment, and it can also transplant any organ. Of course, it can also be used for attack in combat, severing an opponent's muscles and meridians, with immense power. But this method of physically dispelling energy attacks with the Chakra Scalpel was truly the first time Ren had seen it.
"Getting distracted in battle isn't a good habit."
By the time Ren came back to his senses, Tsunade had already burst out of the wind blade cluster. In the blink of an eye, she was already in front of Ren, swinging her Chakra Scalpel down!
Ren had no time to react and was directly split in two by the scalpel. Tsunade, however, was not surprised. Instead, she looked up.
A dark shadow fell, which was Ren. The Ren split in two next to Tsunade suddenly burst into white mist, revealing it to be Ren's Shadow Clone. As Ren rapidly descended, his palms also rapidly moved up and down.
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
Several streams of water suddenly surged from below, continuously rotating and expanding, allowing Ren to land safely. Ren's gaze never left Tsunade, and his hand seals changed!
"Attack!"
The water vortex, which had expanded to several meters high, poured down like a waterfall. Under the guidance of Ren's Chakra, it pressed down on Tsunade with immense momentum.
"Good momentum."
Tsunade chuckled lightly, still showing no intention of using Ninjutsu. She merely dispelled the Chakra Scalpel in her hand, narrowed her eyes, aimed at a certain point, and then quickly began to run. Just as the water vortex was about to attack, Ren sensed that his teacher had infused a large amount of Chakra into her right hand, and she unleashed a powerful punch directly into the ground in front of her!
"Crack!"
A crisp sound of earth cracking echoed, and cracks continuously spread from where Tsunade's fist met the ground.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
Another series of cracking sounds echoed, and a bitter smile appeared at the corner of Ren's mouth.
He still underestimated Kage-level powerhouses. There was no need for any so-called Ninjutsu cooperation. In the face of the huge power gap between them, Tsunade didn't need to consider what Ninjutsu to use to resist. She simply unleashed her strongest attack; she didn't need any tactics against him. She could simply overwhelm him with pure strength!
"Boom!"
The next moment, the cracked ground collapsed. Immediately, mud and water splattered, and dust rose. The ground within a radius of five or six meters completely exploded. The immense impact collided with the water vortex formed by the Water Shockwave. In less than three breaths, the water vortex collapsed and dispersed. As for Ren, he had already used the Instantaneous Body Technique to retreat from the centre of the battlefield when the two attacks collided. He stood at the edge of the forest, leaning against a tree trunk, swallowing. He watched the aftermath wreak havoc in the arena.
When the aftermath dissipated, Tsunade was standing safely in her original spot, waving at Ren as if nothing had happened.
"Come here, brat, no more fighting."
Ren breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the fighting was over and quickly gathered Chakra to move towards Tsunade.
When he got closer, Tsunade patted Ren's shoulder and said with a satisfied expression.
"Well done, kid. Your Taijutsu and Ninjutsu are both well-trained, and your Chakra reserves are decent. No wonder you could defeat Kakashi. It looks like you're not far from Jonin."
"Tsunade-sensei, you flatter me. I don't have a powerful bloodline, and my talent is ordinary, so I can only start early like a clumsy bird."
Ren scratched his head and smiled shyly.
"Humility is a good thing, but excessive humility is bad."
Tsunade rolled her eyes, then turned and walked away.
"Oh, right, I heard from Shinku Yuhi earlier that your talent in Genjutsu is also quite good. Why didn't you use Genjutsu when you were fighting me just now?"
Tsunade walked and looked at Ren, puzzled.
"Uh, my mastery of Genjutsu isn't very high, so I didn't want to make a fool of myself."
"Oh, is that so? Then you'd better train hard. I'll also take some time to assess the progress and results of your other training courses. If I'm not satisfied, the consequences are something you definitely won't want to know."
"Yes, Tsunade-sensei!"
Ren replied while secretly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
How could he possibly use Genjutsu on Tsunade?! Not to mention whether Ren's Genjutsu could trap a Kage-level powerhouse, he currently only knew two Genjutsu: the Fox's Heart Technique and Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique.
The Fox's Heart Technique is a Genjutsu that makes the victim wander endlessly in a labyrinth. It can also be controlled by multiple people, but where would he create a labyrinth in an open training ground? This technique is mainly for jungle combat.
As for Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, this technique can project the opponent's deepest fears or most unwanted scenes. The more severe the fear in the opponent's mind, the greater the lethality of this move.
Tsunade had only lost her younger brother a few years ago. If he dared to use this move to provoke her, the consequence would be being punched into the Konoha Hospital emergency room by an enraged Tsunade's monstrous strength in a matter of minutes.