"I've been trying to forget… I really have!"
Tsunade kept saying she wanted to forget, yet Dan, Nawaki, and Naruto's voices tangled together in her mind.
"That was the dream those two staked everything on. Fulfilling it was my dream too. You once said that anything with form will one day perish… but this one wish… this is the only thing that will never disappear."
Watching her speak with such raw emotion, Orochimaru couldn't help feeling a trace of helplessness.
"So negotiations have failed. There's only one way left." His voice was cold. "At this point, we'll have to settle it with our fists."
Tsunade wiped away her tears. The sharp, commanding gaze of one of the Legendary Sannin returned to her eyes.
In the next instant, she attacked.
It was just a simple kick.
The ground exploded beneath her heel, blasting open a massive crater visible to the naked eye.
Uchiha Sasuke, watching from outside the scene, flinched.
What kind of taijutsu is that?
The power and range of that strike rivaled an S-rank ninjutsu.
Is she even human?
He remembered the battle he'd seen before, Orochimaru against the Third Hokage. The later stages had been dominated by the First Hokage and Second Hokage, but in the early phase Orochimaru himself had fought brilliantly.
"I can't underestimate them," Sasuke muttered, the faint trace of disdain he once held for the Sannin finally fading.
After seeing how easily Uchiha Itachi had defeated Orochimaru, even though logic told him the Sannin weren't ordinary, there had still been a tiny flicker of doubt in his heart.
Now it vanished completely.
If that kick landed, someone would be black and blue all over… if they were lucky.
"Come on, Orochimaru!" Tsunade shouted.
She tore off the green coat with the large "Gamble" character on the back and lunged forward.
"I'm killing both you bastards right here!"
Her fist slammed into the wall behind Orochimaru and Kabuto. The entire structure collapsed under the force.
"Still as monstrously strong as ever," Orochimaru sighed.
"If she lands even one punch, we're done."
Kabuto couldn't help adding, "You only need one look to know that. But fighting her at range in a place this cramped isn't ideal."
"And there's a troublesome individual with her subordinate. If they come to support her, it'll be inconvenient."
Tsunade was already upon them.
The two of them had no choice but to retreat at full speed.
She chased relentlessly, crushing solid stone in her bare hands like it was clay.
"I won't let you escape!"
The pursuit continued until they reached an open plain. At last, Tsunade caught up to Orochimaru and Kabuto.
She was breathing hard now.
Kabuto, who had been fleeing nonstop, was also beginning to feel the strain.
"Her breathing's getting heavier. It's about time," Orochimaru observed calmly.
Kabuto panted. "I'm not exactly a taijutsu specialist."
He reached into his pouch, swallowed a Food Pill, and immediately recovered some stamina before engaging Tsunade head-on.
After just a few exchanges, he cleanly severed the muscles in her arms and legs.
Her monstrous strength vanished.
Within a handful of moves, Tsunade was gravely injured.
Even she had to admit it.
In terms of medical ninjutsu talent and battlefield application, he might have surpassed her at her peak.
"Surpassed you at your peak? Tsunade, you've got some nerve saying that."
Watching the diary, Jiraiya clicked his tongue.
Sure, the kid could apply medical ninjutsu in combat and even injure Tsunade. That alone was rare talent.
But surpass her prime? That was a joke.
He had seen Tsunade at her peak. The number one medical ninja in the world.
If Kabuto truly had that level of skill, why would Orochimaru go out of his way to seek Tsunade for treatment? He could've just used Kabuto.
"Tsunade, you're slipping. Too much gambling and drinking. Your reactions are slow."
Jiraiya couldn't resist teasing.
Just like she had mocked him earlier for dulling his instincts with women, he believed Tsunade was nowhere near her prime either. Her mindset, her reflexes, even her actual combat ability had declined sharply.
To be pushed this far by someone so young…
Add in Orochimaru, whose soul was fragmented from repeated reincarnations, and no wonder Kaede Kitahara had mocked them in his diary as Sannin who were no longer at their peak.
It was true.
None of them were.
Outside the scene, Tsunade rubbed her forehead as hot spring water streamed down her face.
She looked awful in that footage.
Falling for something so simple. Having her muscles sliced apart by a surgical blade. Even her heart and lungs had been severely injured.
If Orochimaru or Jiraiya had done it, she could accept that.
But this was just a twenty-year-old brat.
She had just ridiculed Jiraiya for letting his guard down and getting drugged so easily.
Now it seemed her own performance was even worse.
Where was the pride of one of the legendary Sannin?
She'd degraded to the point of being bullied by a mere Jonin.
"This is humiliating… damn you, Orochimaru. This is all your fault."
She ground her teeth.
Back in the scene, Kabuto was smugly delivering his victory speech when Tsunade suddenly struck him with a surprise knife-hand blow, knocking him flat.
"Impressive. Most people would be immobilized from breathing trouble. Looks like I'll need to make you suffer more… just short of lethal."
But as Kabuto tried to rise, something was wrong.
He couldn't control his body.
"I'm trying to move my hand… but my foot moves instead. Don't tell me…"
He realized his nervous system was in chaos. That last strike had scrambled his body's electrical signals.
Before he could think further, Tsunade's fist sent him flying again.
If her muscles hadn't already been severed, that punch alone would've crushed his skull.
Yet what shocked everyone was how quickly Kabuto regained control. Even at eighty percent, it was enough.
Gripping a Kunai, he charged forward.
At that critical moment, with a burst of colored smoke, Jiraiya, Uzumaki Naruto, and Shizune arrived.
"Long time no see, Jiraiya," Orochimaru said, his expression shifting briefly before smoothing out.
"Yeah. Long time. Your eyes are just as twisted as ever," Jiraiya replied bluntly.
Naruto stared in shock at the figure beside Orochimaru.
"Kabuto-senpai!"
"Naruto-kun." Kabuto smiled faintly.
"You know each other?" Jiraiya asked.
"We took the Chunin Exams together," Naruto explained. "But Kabuto-senpai, why are you here?"
"So he really is from Konoha."
Watching the diary, Hatake Kakashi wasn't surprised.
Just as he suspected, Kabuto was a piece Orochimaru had planted in the village.
Medical corps member. Same Chunin Exams as Naruto. That meant he was probably still a Genin back then. With a name and that information, tracking him down would be easy.
Before anyone could say more, Tsunade launched another fierce assault. In moments, she drove Kabuto into a corner.
Then something no one expected happened.
Kabuto deliberately injured himself.
The sight of blood triggered Tsunade's hemophobia. She froze, unable to move.
By the time she regained her senses, Kabuto had fully recovered.
Faced with Naruto's confusion, he openly admitted he was a spy from Otogakure. Then he crushed Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clone attack with ease and returned to Orochimaru's side.
"So that's what he meant by not being good at taijutsu?"
Outside the scene, Sasuke clenched his fists.
He used to think not being good at taijutsu meant exactly that.
But watching Kabuto effortlessly overwhelm Naruto in an instant, he finally understood.
For someone at Jonin level, there were no real weaknesses.
"Not good" only meant not as strong as their specialty.
Compared to his medical ninjutsu, Kabuto's taijutsu might not stand out.
Even so, he still dominated Naruto completely.
And that was with his nerves still partially disrupted.
If he were at his peak…
The thought was terrifying.
Each of these people was stronger than the last. It made Sasuke keenly aware of his own weakness.
Even in taijutsu alone, he had a long way to go.
Back in the scene, Kabuto used the blood from his own wound to assist Orochimaru, whose arms were crippled, in performing a summoning.
Jiraiya formed seals at the same time.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Summoning Jutsu!"
What followed left everyone speechless.
Orochimaru effortlessly summoned two massive snakes.
Jiraiya, meanwhile…
summoned a tiny toad.
"You idiot!"
In the hot spring, Tsunade smacked her forehead.
Then she felt a little awkward.
It was obvious.
Jiraiya had been sabotaged by the drug she gave him.