"Kazuyama, what on earth are you doing?"
"Matatabi's temper isn't that bad. Don't let her fiery appearance fool you—she has a good heart."
Hearing Chōmei's attitude toward the Two-Tails, Kazuyama was slightly taken aback.
"Huh? Chōmei, your attitude toward Matatabi seems a bit different."
"Hmph, needless to say, Matatabi is not Kokuō. She's very gentle. I dare say no one dislikes her except for those two bastards, Shukaku and Kurama."
Tsk tsk, love really can transcend species.
"Damn it! What are you thinking! I treat Matatabi like a sister!"
Kazuyama laughed wickedly and added, "Right, she's just your sister~"
"That's enough, Chōmei."
"It's not a big deal if Matatabi goes on a rampage again. Just hurry up and speed up!"
"We have to make it happen before most of Kumo's forces return."
Seeing that Kazuyama had a plan, Chōmei stopped asking questions and simply supplied more chakra. Kazuyama's flying speed instantly increased.
The Battlefield in the Land of Hot Water
"Yellow-haired kid! Tsunade! Come!"
"I will show you the pride of the Kumo ninja!"
As the leader of Kumo, A directly confronted Tsunade, while Minato, as one of the main combatants, stood at her side.
"Hmph, how many times have you said that?"
"Isn't it annoying?"
"This time, I'll drive you all out of the Land of Hot Water! Minato, distract him!"
Tsunade bit her finger and leaped backward.
The moment Minato saw her movement, he knew exactly what she was planning.
Instantly, he threw his kunai in all directions, preparing for battle.
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode!"
A roared, his body instantly crackling with lightning, serpents of electricity coiling around him as his power surged to its peak.
Minato's expression turned serious.
After several clashes, he already understood how difficult A was to deal with.
His Lightning Style Armour had two forms: the standard state, where lightning cloaked his body, and the advanced Lightning Serpent State, where lightning transformed into a long snake that coiled around him.
In this state, A's chakra output was pushed to the extreme.
His speed became a blur of thunderous motion, making him incredibly difficult to avoid—even for someone with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Come!"
With a deafening roar, A activated the Body Flicker Technique.
In an instant, he was right in front of Minato, who simultaneously teleported away with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The battlefield became a blur of movement—a relentless game of cat and mouse. One chased, the other dodged, and all that could be heard were rapid collisions, their figures moving too fast to be seen.
Under Minato's cover, Tsunade pressed her hand against the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
A giant slug emerged from the white smoke.
"Katsuyu! Disperse! Help in the battle!"
"Yes! Lady Tsunade!"
Tsunade's chakra spread through the summoned creatures. These slugs, infused with her chakra, aided her allies by healing minor injuries.
At this point, she hadn't yet reached her peak, so her healing capabilities were limited.
However, the slugs weren't just for support—they also had offensive abilities.
With their presence, the battlefield instantly grew more chaotic.
Despite being outnumbered, the Kumo forces held their ground, driven by sheer determination.
Meanwhile, a black mamba slithered rapidly across the battlefield, relying on its keen sense of smell to dodge enemy after enemy.
Suddenly, a loud voice roared across the battlefield.
"Super Multi-Size Technique!"
Akimichi Torifu swelled into a giant, towering tens of meters high.
The black mamba's eyes lit up.
"Finally! I see the target! And damn, he's huge!"
Without hesitation, it accelerated, darting toward Torifu.
Upon reaching him, the snake slithered straight up his leg.
Torifu, caught up in the heat of battle, suddenly felt a strange itch creeping up his leg.
"What is it?"
"It's so itchy!"
Instinctively, he reached down to scratch, only to feel something coil around his hand.
As he lifted it, he came face-to-face with a long black snake.
"Dammit! What the hell?!"
Startled, Torifu flinched, causing his massive body to jump—and then crash back down.
The impact was like an earthquake.
Konoha and Kumo ninja alike were thrown off balance, caught in the shockwave of his colossal movement.
When the dust settled, Torifu noticed the black mamba looking at him like he was an idiot.
"Isn't this the snake that delivered the letter earlier?"
"Huh? You're delivering another one?"
"Hey, I told you not to bring it to me. Let me see."
Torifu stopped moving, scanning the battlefield for Tsunade.
He soon spotted her not far away, landing a crushing blow against a rubber shield.
Her opponent was none other than Kumo's Lava Release expert, Dodai.
"There! Go, snake!"
"Deliver the information to Tsunade!"
With all his strength, Torifu hurled the black mamba toward Tsunade.
The throw was so powerful that the snake nearly found itself flying straight back to Ryūchi Cave.
Meanwhile, Dodai smirked.
"Hmph! Tsunade, your brute strength won't break my Lava Release!"
"As long as I'm here, you won't take a single step forward."
Despite losing an arm and being unable to form seals, Dodai was still an elite Jōnin of Kumo.
Through sheer determination and mastery of his Kekkei Genkai, he had adapted, learning to use Lava Release with just one hand.
That was the extent of his resilience.
"Hmph!"
Tsunade prepared to strike again when something caught her eye.
A black dot appeared in the sky.
It rapidly grew larger, stretching into the shape of a long rope.
Just as Tsunade's eyes filled with curiosity, Dodai sneered.
"Trying to distract me?"
"You want to—ouch!"
His words were cut short by a sudden, agonizing impact.
Something slammed into his lower back, sending a sharp pain through his body.
"Shhh..."
Holy shit! That scared the hell out of me! This giant guy is such an asshole!
"Shhh...?"
Huh? What is this thing? A cushion? Not bad, this guy is weirdly soft.
Poor Dodai had no idea he had just been used as a landing pad by a snake.
Luckily, he couldn't understand snake language. Otherwise, he would have been absolutely furious.
Tsunade finally recognized the fallen object—it was the same snake that had delivered the last letter.
The black mamba looked dazed, shaking its head as if to clear its senses.
Even so, it still held a letter tightly in its mouth.
"Did this letter come from Kazuyama?"
"But why did you fly here?"
"Never mind, being able to deliver mail in the middle of a battlefield—you might be the bravest messenger I've ever seen."
She quickly approached and took the letter.
Dodai, meanwhile, clutched his waist, his face twisted in pain.
"Damn it! Where did this damn snake come from?!"
At that, the black mamba's eyes darkened, and its fangs gleamed with deadly venom.
It glared at the one-armed Jōnin in front of it—clearly offended.
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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