Malphegor
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GSiN: Ch. 29
🕑 Added 2025-03-14 23:55:54 +0000 UTC---Third POV---
Just now, my attack was deflected by some kind of force. Was it something similar to the Revolving Heaven? No, it's even more unreasonable than that.
Tsunade's quickly analyzed the exchange that had just occurred. With that mysterious technique in play, attempting to break through his defense head-on was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Perhaps ninjutsu would be more effective?
Tsunade was a little flustered. Was she really going to lose? Lose to this kid who was a whole generation younger than her?
Her eyes narrowed, focusing on the short sword in Ryouma's hand. She recalled that when he activated that jutsu, it began with a swing of his short sword. Could it be related to that? Or perhaps an attack from behind would work better.
Several guesses surged in her mind. However, with the current lack of information, she could only try to verify them one by one.
But Ryouma wasn't about to give her a chance to catch her breath. With a slight twist of his upper body, his left hand suddenly flung something forward, moving with surgical precision.
A massive and violent surge of wind chakra was compressed to its limit in an instant, forming the Rasenshuriken with deliberately weakened cutting power before it was hurled.
Tsunade stomped hard on the ground, using the force to leap swiftly to one side. She wasn't foolish enough to try to tank such a dangerous jutsu head-on.
Too naive. Ryouma knew full well that with Tsunade's speed and reflexes, she could easily dodge out of the explosion radius of the Rasenshuriken before it hit her.
After all, this jutsu wasn't a particularly complex one to analyze, its main characteristics were its immense power and rapid deployment.
But even the simplest jutsu could be transformed into something extraordinary under the precise chakra control brought about by his Rikugan.
The originally straightforward Rasenshuriken, which had been flying toward Tsunade's previous position, suddenly made a sharp turn instead of exploding. Like it had GPS navigation, it continued to chase after the Sannin.
At that moment, Tsunade was midair with nowhere to land.And it seemed she was about to be hit.
Although she was shocked internally by the fact that the jutsu could change direction mid-flight, her physical reflexes were quick as ever. She punched into the air.
A huge blast erupted, creating a sonic boom that echoed all around.
Tsunade managed to use her incredible strength and technique to forcefully adjust her body posture and successfully change her flight trajectory.
This level of skill was simply beyond imagination.
Thinking she had narrowly avoided the attack, Tsunade let out a small sigh of relief.
But had she truly evaded it?
The spinning Rasenshuriken paused for a fraction of a second, as if considering its options. Then it made yet another sharp turn, this time crossing a sharp angle, heading straight for Tsunade again.
You've got to be kidding me!
Looking at the absurdly agile Rasenshuriken that seemed to be toying with her, she attempted to repeat her maneuver to change direction once more.
However, after narrowly dodging two attacks in quick succession, the precious seconds of respite had already slipped away.
Now, the Rasenshuriken, buzzing ominously, was racing toward her position at an astonishing speed!
Tsunade could even feel a slight stinging sensation on her skin as it approached, the outer layer of wind chakra already beginning to affect her even before direct contact.
Seeing this, Minato prepared to intervene with his Flying Thunder God Technique to get her out of the attack. Known as the fastest man in the ninja world, he had the confidence to pull it off.
He was also sure that Ryouma would slow down the Rasenshuriken's speed if he saw him stepping in.
Minato couldn't believe how such a terrifyingly powerful jutsu could exhibit such flexibility mid-air.
But he was interrupted yet again.
A large hand clapped down on his shoulder from behind. The grip was familiar, powerful yet companionable.
"Jiraiya-sensei! You're finally here."
But in the time it took for this brief exchange...
The Rasenshuriken had already reached its target in the blink of an eye, exploding right in front of Tsunade. The blue sphere of destruction bloomed, expanding outward. Countless microscopic wind blades churned within, seemingly intent on annihilating everything within a ten-meter radius of its impact point.
Watching Tsunade engulfed by the blue sphere, Minato couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry. However, since Jiraiya had stopped him, it must mean that she wasn't in real danger.
"Minato-sensei."
A rustling sound came from behind Jiraiya as Kakashi, Rin, and Obito emerged. Their voices overlapped in a slightly out-of-sync chorus, the kind of unintentional harmony that came from a team that spent too much time together.
"What are you doing here?" Minato asked, surprised. He hadn't had time to take Kakashi and the others on missions lately, so he had left them to act on their own within the camp during this period.
"Haha," Obito chuckled without responding directly.
Kakashi adjusted his mask and explained, "Lately, Jiraiya-sama has been instructing us on advanced chakra theory. When we heard explosions outside the camp just now, we came out to investigate."
"I see. Thank you for looking after them, Jiraiya-sensei," Minato said gratefully, clapping a fist into his palm.
Jiraiya waved dismissively. "These kids have potential. Especially that one," he nodded toward Kakashi.
Obito's expression immediately soured at Jiraiya's praise of his rival. "Hey! What about me? I've been practicing my Fire Release every day! Soon I'll master the Great Fireball Jutsu better than any Uchiha before me!" He was clearly bothered by Kakashi getting all the recognition yet again.
"You still can't maintain it for more than five seconds," Kakashi pointed out flatly.
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Obito retorted, his face reddening.
Meanwhile, Rin had moved to the edge of the clearing, her attention fully on the combatants. Upon recognizing who was fighting, she turned back to the group with wide eyes. "Eh?! Why are Ryouma and Lady Tsunade fighting? Did they have an argument?"
"It's just a spar, Rin," Minato reassured her. "Though it's gotten a bit more intense than intended."
Obito, on the other hand, was excited. "I knew it! Ryouma hates that drunken commander as much as I do!"
His face lit up with the special kind of glee that comes from witnessing authority figures challenged.
"Not everything is about personal grudges, Obito," Kakashi sighed.
"You wouldn't understand!" Obito shot back defensively.
Having spent so much time at the frontline camp, he had naturally encountered Tsunade before, but the experiences weren't exactly pleasant.
He had managed to step on all the wrong landmines in front of Tsunade, even boldly proclaiming his dream to become Hokage and vowing to end the war.
The result? A sharp tongue-lashing from her, which left him red-faced and furious. He had tried to argue, only to be flicked on the forehead by her monstrous strength and sent flying out of the command tent.
Now, seeing his friend standing up to her, Obito, as Ryouma's self-proclaimed closest ally, couldn't let the moment pass. He ran a bit closer, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted with all the dramatic flair of a theater performer, "Ryouma! Go for it! With our bonds, you must win back our dreams!"
"Is he serious right now? I am dumb for asking," Kakashi muttered, covering his face with his palm.
"…"
---
What's he even talking about? Ryouma, who had already noticed Jiraiya's group approaching, was utterly baffled by Obito's antics.
Did he think Tsunade was some sort of boss to be defeated?
Well, in a way, he wasn't entirely wrong.
But unlike his dramatic framing, for Ryouma this was neither personal vendetta nor heroic stand, it was a calculated demonstration of capability.
The sorrow and joy of individuals didn't always align. Trapped in the epicenter of the Rasenshuriken's explosion, Tsunade could only feel irritated by their noisy commotion.
The countless microscopic wind blades surrounding her weren't merely cutting, they were systematically attacking her at the cellular level, a thousand papercuts on a microscopic scale.
Witnessing something firsthand was vastly different from hearing about it secondhand. And she had now experienced it personally.
Feeling the immense power of the Rasenshuriken up close, she finally understood what Minato meant when he called Ryouma: "A genius more talented than I am."
The weight of that statement now hit her with the same force as the jutsu itself.
Regardless of how much of his personal bias was mixed into those words, for someone in Konoha to earn such praise from him, it could only be Ryouma.
Though she didn't want to admit it, she was undeniably being pushed into a corner. She could no longer deny Ryouma's strength.
The brat's abilities are the real deal.
As the Rasenshuriken's energy began to dissipate, her expression shifted. A diamond-shaped mark on her forehead began to glow with chakra, lines spreading outward like a blooming flower.
"Yin Seal: Release."
