Whoosh!
The air whistled shrilly as Orochimaru, like a cannonball, flew out from between Tsunade and Jiraiya, who had charged up to help the moment he was pulled forward.
They could have caught Orochimaru, but they didn't.
As companions and even friends, they knew Orochimaru well. They knew his body had undergone modifications, granting him far greater resistance to blunt force trauma than an ordinary person.
Even struck by this level of monstrous strength, he wouldn't be in mortal danger.
As the saying goes, opportunity knocks but once... Their companion Orochimaru was fine, while their enemy Gin had a sword piercing her chest… the perfect opportunity to take her down decisively.
If they missed it, the battle's outcome would become uncertain again.
To prevent Gin from recovering, Tsunade performed precise Chakra Control at her ankles, instantly bursting with powerful monstrous strength, even denting the metal floor of the city wall.
She herself transformed into a projectile, instantly overtaking Jiraiya as she threw a punch at Gin.
At this moment, Gin not only had her chest pierced but had also used maximum force to send Orochimaru flying. It was the moment after old force spent, new force not yet generated. Even if she wanted to block or counterattack, she couldn't.
But sometimes, evasion could also form a counterattack.
At the last possible moment, Gin crouched down, using her body to trip the enemy who had burst forward... Tsunade's monstrous strength burst couldn't be withdrawn at will. Normally, she also relied on pure strength and momentum for rapid strikes until the enemy was defeated.
She couldn't change direction in time. Her legs were tripped, and she fell forward headlong.
At the critical moment, she used monstrous strength again. Her legs burst with savage force, turning the forward fall into a forward charge. Coordinating her body posture with the momentum, she performed a front flip to dissipate the momentum, then landed steadily.
But the moment she landed, her vision was already filled by a fist.
It was Gin's.
The moment Tsunade burst a second time to turn the fall into a charge, Gin had already risen, bursting with strength as well to pursue, completely ignoring the life-threatening sword wound in her chest, blood spraying out in large amounts.
But the desperate, disregard-for-injury approach was effective.
Tsunade had just landed, her body not even stable yet. It was the moment after old force spent, new force not yet generated. She couldn't formulate an effective response to Gin's attack... No, she couldn't even react in time.
By the time she saw the fist, it had almost simultaneously struck her face, sending her tumbling backwards.
But the force was off.
Tumbling several times on the ground, about a dozen meters away... Tsunade quickly regained her balance, rising to a kneeling position, looking forward.
In her blurred vision obscured by blood flowing from her forehead, Gin's waist was tightly wrapped from behind by a mass of white hair.
It was Jiraiya.
The moment he saw Tsunade tripped and Gin rising to pursue, Jiraiya knew it wasn't good. He hurriedly performed the Wild Lion's Mane Technique, trying to stop Gin's pursuit.
But he was still late. By the time his Ninjutsu bound Gin's waist, Gin's fist had already struck Tsunade's face.
However,
Although he couldn't fully prevent it, he also prevented the fist's force from landing completely, allowing Tsunade to escape with her life.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
Jiraiya changed hand seals, maintaining the Wild Lion's Mane Technique while also unleashing a high-level Earth Release Ninjutsu, turning the ground beneath Gin's feet into a swamp, causing her body to sink continuously.
However,
Because the ground was a metal wall, Earth Release Ninjutsu were hard to employ effectively. A technique that could turn dozens of meters into a bottomless swamp now only affected a one-meter radius around Gin's feet.
And it was shallow.
The swamp only submerged Gin's ankles before reaching its limit.
"Just keep her controlled like that!"
Tsunade shouted, quickly getting up and charging towards Gin.
Gin expressionlessly grabbed the white hair coiled around her waist, pulling and throwing violently, yanking Jiraiya over and hurling him towards the charging Tsunade.
Thud!
Tsunade steadily caught Jiraiya, her legs sliding backward on the ground for a distance before barely stopping.
Gin with effort raised her right leg, trying to step out of the swamp.
Suddenly, a white silver python shot forward, opening its mouth from a distance to spit out a sharp blade.
"Kusanagi Sword!"
Gin caught the light reflected off the blade, instinctively sidestepped to avoid it.
But her legs were stuck in the swamp, unable to move. This sidestep caused her whole body to lose balance, falling to the ground, half her body sinking into the swamp.
If the swamp weren't this shallow, this might have completely engulfed her.
The white silver snake, its sneak attack failed, raised its upper body, slowly transforming into Orochimaru's appearance.
He stood with his head lowered, shoulders hunched, trembling slightly. From beneath his long hair, his face let out a triumphant chuckle. "Hehehaha... I've long wanted to study a puppet completely identical to a human. Now I finally have my chance."
"Orochimaru~"
Tsunade and Jiraiya now also arrived beside Orochimaru... Among the three, Orochimaru's face was a bloody mess, even distorted.
Tsunade was better; although blood from her forehead covered most of her face, her facial features remained intact. Jiraiya showed no visible signs of injury.
And Gin... her vital chest was pierced, blood dyed her clothes red, half her body sunk in the swamp. Even if left alone, she wouldn't last much longer.
The outcome was already clear.
"Give up. This time, Sunagakure has lost."
Jiraiya looked up towards the distance, trying to persuade her to surrender.
Gin followed his gaze... The Allied Shinobi Forces continuously charged onto the wall, engaging Sunagakure's defenders in fierce combat. The sounds of clashing weapons, exploding tags, various Ninjutsu, and the roars and shouts of people intertwined, constantly echoing in the sky.
Although the Allied Forces' numbers were now less than half, far inferior to Sunagakure's force of thirteen thousand people and forty thousand autonomous puppets.
But those who could break through the Mechanical City's layered defenses and reach the wall were, aside from one or two extremely lucky individuals, each elites among elites. Their strength generally exceeded the Sunagakure's Army's; only Sunagakure's own elites could match them.
Additionally, in terms of top-tier expert numbers, the Allied Shinobi Forces held an absolute advantage.
Sixteen large units, almost each led by one or two Kage-level experts. Sunagakure couldn't muster an equal number of experts to counter them.
Furthermore, puppets were just puppets.
Although they were autonomous puppets with self-awareness, their standardized mechanical bodies and mechanisms were all the same. The elite Allied Forces easily summarized strategies and methods to deal with them.
Considering all these factors, the moment the two armies clashed, the scales of victory began tilting towards the Allied Shinobi Forces. If Sunagakure had no other trump cards, defeat had become inevitable.
But...
"Heh..."
Gin let out a cold laugh.