"Shisui and Itachi are very close. Perhaps we can use that," Black Zetsu chuckled sinisterly.
"Shisui? The Uchiha whose eye Lord Madara plucked out? I remember we needed that eye..." White Zetsu muttered, lost in thought.
"Shut up, you fool!" Black Zetsu snapped. "Don't just blurt out the plan! How many times do I have to tell you?"
"What does it matter?" White Zetsu whined. "It's just the two of us. It's not like anyone else can hear."
"No means no. If you keep being disobedient, Lord Madara might just have you dismantled," Black Zetsu threatened.
Seeing White Zetsu finally shut his mouth, Black Zetsu refocused on the distant camp. "Itachi Uchiha is the clan leader's son. He recently gained a younger brother, so perhaps..."
"Speaking of sons and brothers," White Zetsu chimed in, his thoughts drifting. "What does giving birth feel like? It's so strange. Why can't I have babies? Hey, Black Zetsu, do you know what it feels like? Is it like taking a dump?"
Black Zetsu: "..."
'Stay calm. Don't get angry. White Zetsu is just a brainless simpleton. No point getting mad at an idiot.'
Repeatedly telling himself this, Black Zetsu chose to say nothing more, silently analyzing Itachi's social circle.
The Uchiha were a clan of love. Once their most cherished person was harmed, their extreme mental state would trigger their Kekkei Genkai, awakening or evolving their Sharingan.
After careful observation, Madara had decided to choose Itachi to replace Obito as the executor of the Moon's Eye Plan. However, there was a fatal obstacle: Itachi was incredibly difficult to control.
One reason for choosing Obito was that he was relatively easy to manipulate. Even though things eventually spiraled out of control, there was still a chance to fix it.
Itachi was different. Despite his age, he possessed a mind far beyond his years. Such an analytical thinker was the hardest to control; one could only use threats.
Looking at the infant in Itachi's arms, a cruel plan formed in Black Zetsu's mind.
Only the death of a loved one could make Itachi truly feel pain and lose hope in reality. From his observations, Black Zetsu noted that Itachi wasn't particularly close to his parents, but he cared deeply for Shisui and his newborn brother, Sasuke Uchiha.
If he engineered a situation where both of them died before Itachi's eyes...
"Heh heh heh..."
Black Zetsu's sinister laugh left White Zetsu looking confused.
Amidst the ruins of Kusagakure, two figures were locked in combat.
"Heaven Spear Kick!"
Tsunade raised her leg high, her muscles supercharged with chakra. As her left foot descended, the terrifying wind pressure nearly split the stone beneath her.
Boom!
Her foot shattered the ground, sending a massive fissure snaking toward Makiya. Scalding underground steam erupted from the crack, hot enough to maim on contact.
Makiya took to the air, nimbly dodging the jets of steam. With a wave of his hand, he summoned two flying swords that shot toward Tsunade like lightning.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two flashes of sword light cut through the air. Tsunade dodged backward urgently. Although she reacted instantly, the flying swords still managed to graze her loose green haori, sending a few blonde strands fluttering to the ground.
"Use Sage Mode already, or this will get boring," Makiya said, hovering in the air as he turned his head toward her.
Tsunade's strength might be formidable among ordinary ninja, but she was still within the realm of conventional shinobi. Facing someone of Makiya's transcendent caliber, she was simply outmatched.
"You insensitive jerk," Tsunade muttered under her breath. She shrugged off her haori, tossing it aside to reveal her form-fitting combat gear.
As she performed a series of strange hand signs, the diamond-shaped seal on her forehead suddenly glowed with a purple radiance.
"Strength of a Hundred Seal: Release!"
The massive reservoir of chakra she had accumulated over the years was unleashed at once. The sheer energy it contained forced even Makiya to take her seriously.
Ignoring Makiya's suggestion, Tsunade charged forward immediately after releasing the first stage of the seal, her fists clenched tight.
"Monster Strength Punch!"
Her chakra-laden fist whistled through the air, hurtling toward Makiya with ten thousand pounds of force.
"Six Powers: Iron Body!"
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Her fists rained down like a storm. Though her hands were delicate and fair, the force behind them was monstrous. On any ordinary person, a single hit would have been no different from being struck by a tank—it would be lights out instantly.
Makiya utilized the Navy techniques from the One Piece world, hardening his muscles until they were as rigid as iron. Having been perfected by Navy Makiya through grueling training, 'hard as iron' was an understatement; his body was now far more durable than steel.
After a series of dull impacts, Tsunade withdrew her fists, her face contorted in pain. She winced inwardly.
'How can his body be this hard?'
Due to the sheer power of her own blows, the impact had cracked the knuckles of both her hands. Although the regenerative powers of the Strength of a Hundred Seal healed them almost instantly, the sensation was far from pleasant. Even as one of the Sannin, it was difficult to endure.
Suddenly, she recalled the bedroom knowledge Biwako had shared in her letters recently. Her face flushed between blue and red. If his body is this hard, who could possibly handle him once he starts thrusting?
'I'd probably just end up completely dehydrated.'
"Million Ton Heavy Kick!"
Makiya seized the opening to counter-attack. His legs whipped up a massive wind pressure, blanketing Tsunade in a flurry of shadows. Close-quarters combat was also one of Tsunade's specialties, and the exchange of punches and kicks created shockwaves that reduced the already cracked earth to rubble.
Tsunade's face was beet red. Whether it was due to her thoughts or the physical pressure Makiya was exerting on her, the blood was rushing to her head. His aggressive assault forced her back step by step, and for a split second, her heavy chest caused her to falter.
If she could, Tsunade would have gladly gotten rid of those two oversized burdens. Unfortunately, they weren't going anywhere.
"Found an opening!"
Makiya was a master of close combat. He didn't have a sword in hand, but why should that matter? His skill as a Sword God had reached the pinnacle; in his heart, he was the blade, and all things could serve as his weapon.
Ducking under Tsunade's frantic counter, he pressed two fingers together like a blade and swept them across her chest. A sharp sword intent erupted from his fingertips, reaching her in an instant.
Boom!
The chakra concentrated in the soles of her feet exploded as Tsunade used the recoil to blast herself backward, narrowly evading the brunt of the strike at the last moment.
A tear appeared in her combat gear. As a breeze blew past, the lower half of the fabric fell away, leaving her in what essentially looked like a bib-style top.
"I told you to use Sage Mode," Makiya said, hands on his hips, looking quite proud of himself. "You can't beat me as you are."
Tsunade: "..."
Tsunade ground her teeth, shooting Makiya a glare with her autumn-water eyes. Once again, her hands flew through a series of strange signs.
"You asked for this!"
As the final seal was formed, the purple markings extending from the diamond on her forehead changed shape. They transformed into flame-like patterns that swept across her cheeks and down her body, tracing over her curves and past her navel, finally converging at her lower abdomen.
"Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration - Strength of a Hundred!"
The Strength of a Hundred Technique was the second form of the Strength of a Hundred Seal, an S-rank combat-oriented medical ninjutsu. When activated, the seal covered the entire body, allowing for high-speed automatic regeneration the moment an injury occurred, meaning she didn't have to waste focus on healing during a fight.
However, automated healing had its drawbacks. Even minor scratches that wouldn't affect the battle were healed indiscriminately, which consumed a massive amount of chakra.
This was Tsunade's signature technique. A single use required years of preparation, meaning the cooldown was incredibly long.
While it sounded powerful, in the Warring States period, this was merely a passive ability that Hashirama Senju possessed naturally. Tsunade's version might be slightly more refined; even if her body was cut in half, she could just wash it off and stick it back together.
Originally, this was a true forbidden jutsu. Once used, Tsunade would enter a state of extreme aging after her chakra was exhausted, becoming a wizened old woman with wrinkled skin.
However, the new Sage Mode Makiya had developed gave Tsunade inspiration. The Strength of a Hundred had been modified so that the previously stored chakra needed to be released.
"Strength of a Hundred: Second Form—Sage Mode!"
Golden flames erupted from Tsunade, enveloping her entire body. Her long hair danced within the aura, rising upward.
Tsunade could sense natural energy, but her talent for it wasn't high. Her absorption speed was painfully slow. If she tried to enter Sage Mode in a real fight, the enemy would have enough time to go home, cook a four-course meal, and finish eating before she was ready.
But the energy she was using now was energy Makiya had pumped into her.
"Well, I'll be... a Super Saiyan transformation," Makiya marveled. Tsunade's current appearance looked incredibly familiar—it was a dead ringer for Goku's transformation in Dragon Ball, right down to the anti-gravity hair.
'Aizen-ecstatic.jpg'
The path of combining the Strength of a Hundred Seal with the new Sage Mode was indeed viable. Tsunade seemed perfectly normal, with no visible side effects.
The next step was to modify the Strength of a Hundred Seal so that men could learn it too.
"Makiya, are you ready for a beatdown?" Tsunade smirked, cracking her knuckles.
The power of this new Sage Mode exceeded her expectations. She felt her physical capabilities skyrocket, as if she could shatter the world with a single punch.
Whoosh!
Tsunade's golden figure vanished instantly. She moved so fast that Makiya's eyes couldn't track her. It wasn't until a shockwave hit his back that he finally reacted and turned.
The moment he turned his head, a barrage of fists blanketed him. Having suffered in their previous exchange of blows, Tsunade was determined to get even. She would rise right where she had fallen!
Because she was punching so fast, the air was literally pushed aside, creating a brief vacuum of silence. Makiya scrambled to respond, but in the blink of an eye, he was struck by a hail of punches.
A crimson light flickered in his eyes as he activated his three-tomoe Sharingan. He could finally capture the lingering afterimages in the air. As his visual prowess pushed his dynamic vision to the limit, Tsunade's movements finally became clear.
"Incredible. To think you could achieve this much... As expected of a technique I researched!" Makiya said with a face full of joy, offering his sincere praise.
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