BOOM!
Makiya's figure shot out, plowing a deep trench into the ground as a series of steam geysers erupted from beneath the earth.
"Cough, cough... do you have to be that ruthless?" Makiya crawled out from the ruins, covered in dust and grime from the mixture of mud and high-temperature steam.
Although his injuries were minor, he looked quite pathetic.
In that instant, his body had been struck by countless punches from Tsunade. Even with Makiya's powerful physical constitution, he felt sharp pain all over.
Strangely enough, not a single punch had landed near his 'third leg'; Tsunade seemed to have intentionally avoided that area.
'I didn't expect Tsunade to be so honorable.' Makiya marveled inwardly. As the eldest daughter of a great clan and the titular Princess of the Land of Fire, her upbringing was indeed different; she even knew to avoid vital points during battle.
Shinobi usually used any means necessary to complete a mission, and attacking vitals was the optimal choice. Someone like Tsunade was truly a rarity.
"Uh, Makiya, are you all right?"
Tsunade herself was startled by the sheer force. This was the first time she had sent Makiya flying so far. Looking at the scale of the wreckage, she knew that hit definitely wasn't pleasant.
'The new Sage Mode is too strong. And this guy, Makiya, is so talented at researching ninjutsu.' Tsunade was secretly shocked. Makiya's image grew even more impressive in her eyes; he seemed perfect no matter how she looked at him.
Just as Lord Third and his wife had said, he was indeed a good match.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. It just looks worse than it is."
Makiya waved it off casually, took off his white haori, and threw it aside, revealing a slightly swollen upper body.
Under Tsunade's surprised gaze, white steam rose from his exposed torso, and the swelling faded at a visible rate until it vanished completely.
Self-Regeneration, a skill from Ho-Oh Makiya. It was almost a universal ability for high-level Pokémon and was incredibly useful.
"With this kind of recovery speed... Makiya, are you really an Uchiha?" Tsunade had a strange expression. This scene reminded her of her grandfather, Hashirama Senju.
This was bad. Biwako's letter mentioned that calling him 'Daddy' could spice things up, but Tsunade was worried that if she wasn't careful, she might accidentally call him 'Grandpa' later. How embarrassing would that be?
Makiya had no idea what kind of strange knowledge the old woman had been feeding Tsunade. Facing her question, he flexed his biceps with a fist. "A certified Uchiha, through and through. Speaking of which, the Uchiha and Senju share a common origin, so it's normal to have a powerful recovery constitution. Who knows, maybe one day I'll suddenly awaken the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai."
"Keep dreaming," Tsunade rolled her eyes. "You, awakening Wood Release? If you can awaken Wood Release, then I'll..."
"You'll what?"
"Enough talk. I can't maintain this mode for long. Let's pick up the pace." Tsunade's eyes flickered as she changed the subject.
"Fine, bring it on!"
Their figures intertwined once more, leaving afterimages everywhere. One second they were clashing in the hot spring water, the next they appeared in the sky. Fists met flesh, legs locked, and shockwaves of the impacts continued to ravage the surroundings.
Their taijutsu was bold and direct. The head-on collision of their strength caused the ground to be torn apart yet again, with debris flying everywhere.
BOOM!!!
With a thunderous roar, two inseparable figures leapt out from the mist. Makiya and Tsunade stood atop two massive boulders, facing each other.
Makiya gasped for breath, but as Self-Regeneration took effect, his stamina and chakra were restored in an instant, and his breathing leveled out.
Tsunade's overall condition was better, but more than half of the nature energy Makiya had injected into her was spent. Her Sage Mode wouldn't last much longer.
"That's some impressive fist technique. But surely Sage Mode has more to it than this. If that's all, I'll be disappointed." Makiya's blood was boiling. Close-quarters combat, where every blow was felt, was the best way to stir primal desires.
"Of course there's more. I was just worried I might kill you." Tsunade hesitated. Developing new abilities required a lot of combat—actual practice was the best teacher—but she feared for Makiya's safety and didn't dare release her ultimate move.
"What are you afraid of? Indecision isn't your style." Makiya stretched his arms, and a massive torrent of chakra erupted within him. The surging energy even cleared the clouds for a moment.
"So much..." Tsunade's lips parted slightly. The scale of the chakra Makiya released in an instant exceeded her expectations.
Since he possessed a high-speed regeneration ability like her grandfather and such a massive amount of chakra, there really was nothing to worry about.
"In that case, watch closely!" Tsunade pressed her hands together, then held one hand out like a blade. A golden aura flared from her palm, extending like a saber.
It looked familiar to Makiya—it was the Chakra Scalpel that Tsunade excelled at.
In Sage Mode, the Chakra Scalpel underwent a mysterious transformation. With a gentle wave from Tsunade, a massive blade of energy over three meters long sliced through the air, flying silently toward Makiya.
Golden flames erupted from Makiya's body, condensing into three solid-looking golden flying swords. With a thought, the three swords flew out in a triangular formation to meet the energy blade.
The energy blade and flying swords clashed. With a sharp crack, Makiya's flying swords were snapped in two, while the energy blade continued forward with undiminished momentum.
"What power." Makiya tilted his body, retreating dozens of meters in the air to dodge the blade. The sharp slash pierced the earth, silently cutting through rock and trees until it leveled a distant mountain peak.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Makiya clapped his hands, his chest swelling deeply, and then a vast quantity of golden flames spewed from his mouth. The sea of fire swept forward like a tsunami, engulfing Tsunade.
Suddenly, Makiya's eyelid twitched. He instinctively drew the Kusanagi Sword to block in front of him.
CLANG!
The golden energy blade collided with the Kusanagi Sword, and the immense force traveled through the blade into Makiya's hand. Tsunade had actually charged straight through the flames. She completely ignored the intense thermal radiation; it couldn't affect her in the slightest.
Senjutsu chakra and Sage Mode seemed to have an overwhelming advantage against ninjutsu driven by regular chakra. He wondered how it would fare against Kekkei Tota.
"Leaf Style Taijutsu: Sage Art Iron Fist!"
Tsunade lunged forward, her foot shattering the rock beneath her. Cracks spread out like a spiderweb. Countless fist shadows once again enveloped Makiya, but this time, every punch Tsunade threw launched a massive fist-shaped projectile made of golden energy.
These fist shadows, composed entirely of senjutsu chakra, each possessed power rivaling a direct-damage Forbidden Jutsu. To better test the power, Makiya didn't dispel his Shadow Clone at Shikkotsu Forest to enter Sage Mode himself; he chose to endure it with regular chakra.
Golden flames spread out, forming giant hands and shields in front of him, while countless flying swords condensed behind him, launching forward at his command.
Under the barrage of fist shadows, the shields shattered and the flying swords snapped. Even the golden sea of fire was blasted into a million sparks. Only the Kusanagi Sword in Makiya's hand managed to hold firm against the powerful assault.
"Illusionary Sword Dance!"
Gripping the Kusanagi Sword with a reverse hand, the signature sword technique of the Blade Master bloomed in the ninja world. In an instant, Makiya was surrounded by an airtight shroud of sword light. The fist shadows were shredded one by one, their shockwaves hitting Makiya's body only to be stopped by his hardened muscles.
Tsunade smiled slightly, pulled back her hand to build power, and threw another punch.
Makiya shifted his stance and delivered a swift Draw Slash. When the sword light met the fist shadow, it effortlessly sliced through the image, which continued toward the distance.
"No, it's an afterimage!"
A trail of afterimages was left in the air. It seemed she had released a massive burst of senjutsu chakra to push her physical attributes to the limit.
Tsunade appeared behind Makiya with a mischievous smirk, lifting her foot to kick him in the rear.
Because she was completely enveloped in Sage Mode, the power of this kick was extraordinary. Makiya felt a tingling sensation in his lower back, as if he were about to face a misfortune.
A man's waist was vital—that was where the kidneys were. He couldn't afford to take any risks there.
"This tigress!"
Cursing inwardly, Makiya immediately dispelled a Shadow Clone. Dark markings appeared around his eyes as he instantly entered Sage Mode.
In this state, his body could keep up with his extreme kinetic vision. With a flash, he vanished from in front of Tsunade.
Katsuyu at Shikkotsu Forest: "?"
As far as she knew, Lord Makiya was currently developing ninjutsu with Lady Tsunade. What kind of ninjutsu required him to enter Sage Mode?
Was there some kind of danger?
While her gloating smirk was still on her face, Tsunade felt a surge of nature energy from Makiya and immediately thought, 'Uh oh.'
Sure enough, Makiya vanished before her eyes. He was so fast she almost couldn't react.
Sage Mode had greatly enhanced her physical stats, but her dynamic vision wasn't as insane as Makiya's Three-Tomoe Sharingan. It was normal that she couldn't track him.
Makiya appeared behind Tsunade, intending to show her how cruel the world could be.
He pressed his palms together, shifting his fingers into the Tiger Seal, and lowered his body into an attacking stance.
"Young Tsunade, witness the ultimate secret technique passed down through the Hokage generations!" Makiya let out a cold laugh. "This is a top-secret forbidden technique only taught to men. Hashirama never told you about it, did he?"
Makiya's voice rang out from behind her. By the time the words reached her ears, his attack was nearly complete. No matter how fast her reactions were, it was too late.
"Oh no!"
Although Tsunade didn't know what the ultimate secret technique passed down through the Hokage generations was, a mysterious sense of dread instantly filled her heart. A massive tingling sensation surged from her tailbone all the way to her crown, making her whole body tremble.
'The attack hasn't even landed, and it already has this kind of pressure. Did Grandpa really hide some secret forbidden technique only for men?' Tsunade's eyes widened. 'Why have I never heard of it? Did Nawaki know about this?'
Makiya gathered senjutsu chakra in his hands. If this hit the bullseye, Tsunade might actually end up as a 'Rear Guard' in the most literal, painful sense.
At the last second, Makiya slammed on the brakes. Thinking about it, their relationship hadn't reached that point yet. Pranks, if not done at the right time and place, only caused resentment. It really wasn't good to do this between a man and a woman.
Makiya stopped in time, changing his fingers to a palm and striking Tsunade's back, sending the golden figure flying.
A long trail of dust rose from the ground as Tsunade was blasted three miles away. Fortunately, her 'brake pads' were protected by senjutsu chakra, otherwise, they would have been ground flat by the friction.
If her double Fs were ground down to flat As, how would she feed a child in the future? Who would make up for that lost nutrition?
A Steam Messenger Hawk appeared near the battlefield. Feeling the powerful energy fluctuations below, it hesitated to descend.
'What are those ninjas down there doing? It's terrifying!'
The hawk felt timid. As a summoned beast, it had developed a basic level of intelligence. It knew the intel it carried was too important—it concerned the safety of the Uchiha clan. It had to contact Lord Makiya immediately!