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GSiN: Ch. 28
🕑 Added 2025-03-13 19:06:42 +0000 UTC---Third POV---
Tsunade looked at Ryouma as he had already walked to the doorway, and found herself in a bit of an awkward situation.
Her pride wouldn't allow her to back down now, but the rational part of her brain was screaming that this was childish and unnecessary.
Forget it. Doesn't matter anymore.
She decided to stop overthinking and simply fight it out. This was a good opportunity to see how much skill this kid actually possessed.
She reframed the entire confrontation in her mind. This wasn't about her losing her temper; this was a professional assessment of a rising talent.
Minato, watching everything unfold, felt a sense of helplessness. In such a situation, all he could do was follow closely, not daring to lag behind.
If things get out of hand, I'll step in immediately, no matter what.
What troubled him wasn't just the potential physical damage, but the psychological impact.
---
Ryouma left the command post without hesitation, appearing outside directly. Having made up his mind, he sought a location suitable for the battle.
His Rikugan scanned the surroundings, assessing terrain features, visibility lines, and escape routes.
Outside the camp was an open clearing.
This area was neither too close nor too far, resembling a natural depression. The surroundings featured uneven terrain, like a miniature basin with subtle ridges that could provide momentary cover without obstructing movement.
Tsunade also surveyed the area. "I thought you'd pick a more complex terrain. A place as open as this doesn't seem ideal for a ninjutsu-type ninja like you."
"Let's cut the chatter. Ninjutsu isn't my strong suit," Ryouma replied tersely.
"Oh? That's not what your impressive performance against Suna indicated," she remarked, one eyebrow raised.
"There's a difference between what I can do and what I prefer to do," he answered flatly.
The nerve of this kid.
Annoyed, Tsunade decided that once she subdued this brat, she'd make sure to discipline him thoroughly. He had truly tested her patience this time. Her fingers flexed unconsciously, chakra gathering in her fists before she consciously dispersed it.
Minato caught up quickly, realizing there was no way he could talk us out of this. He decided to take a different approach.
"In that case, I'll treat this as a friendly sparring session between comrades. How about that?" he said seriously, stepping between us.
If either of them refused his suggestion, he was prepared to intervene. He would not allow any harm to come to his teammates under his watch.
"Fine," Tsunade replied dismissively, rolling her eyes. "I don't need lethal techniques to make my point."
Minato then turned to Ryouma, and he nodded. "Of course. Just a friendly exchange of techniques."
"And you'll both stop immediately if I call the match?"
Neither of them is truly listening. This could get out of hand quickly, he worried.
"Yes," we replied simultaneously, though neither of us looked at each other while agreeing, a detail that didn't escape Minato's notice.
"Alright, I'll act as the referee."
He picked up a small rock from the ground. "When this rock hits the ground, the spar begins."
He tossed the rock into the air. As it spun and fell, it seemed to hang in the air, time slowing as both combatants prepared themselves.
Tsunade instantly focused.
Despite her annoyance to teach Ryouma a lesson, she would never underestimate him. That Wind Release technique of his was no joke. Even she wouldn't come out unscathed if she were hit by it. Of course, that's assuming he could land a hit.
Ryouma stood still at a distance, not making any immediate moves. Tsunade smirked. "What's the matter? Not using ninjutsu yet? If I make the first move, this fight might be over in an instant."
"You're welcome to try," Ryouma replied without blinking.
"Or perhaps you're waiting for me to get impatient? I've fought wars before you were born, kid."
Hearing her taunt, he knew she wouldn't make the first move.
"Fine then."
With the crackling sound of birds chirping, dazzling arcs of electricity quickly converged, forming an impenetrable electric net around his body, resembling an energy shield.
In an instant, enveloped in blinding lightning, he closed the distance of several dozen meters. He appeared to Tsunade's right side in the blink of an eye.
His sword was unsheathed in an instant, with violent lightning chakra coursing through the blade.
Tsunade's battle experience was unparalleled. As Ryouma approached, she didn't waste motion on blocking or dodging, either would have been too late against his speed. Instead, she stomped her foot on the ground, channeling precise chakra through her heel.
With a deafening roar, the earth within a ten-meter radius crumbled entirely beneath Ryouma.
Even lightning needed ground to travel. Take that away and what happens?
Losing his footing, he had no choice but to abort his attack and retreat.
But Tsunade wasn't about to let him off so easily. She found it curious why he had chosen to abandon his initial advantage of distance and opted for close combat instead of using his Wind Release technique.
However, if he willingly delivered himself to her, she wouldn't hesitate to exploit his mistake.
Don't blame me for bullying you, Tsunade thought with a sly grin. This is a learning experience. Physical pain is only temporary.
How many seconds did it take to go from charging to sprinting? Less than a single second.
In mere fractions of a second, she completed her charge.
The ground beneath her, already riddled with cracks and rubble from her earlier stomp, now groaned under immense pressure, new fissures radiating outward as she surged forward.
In the blink of an eye, Tsunade was upon Ryouma, and threw a punch straight at him.
Starting off with her signature move, she made it clear she had no intention of holding back. After all, if Ryouma got hurt, she could always heal him.
Minato, standing off to the side, prepared to intervene. His hand slipped into his kunai pouch, fingers brushing against the specially marked weapon that would allow him to teleport instantly between them.
When he saw Ryouma opt for close combat, he had already anticipated this outcome.
Tsunade's taijutsu, while not definitively the best in the shinobi world, was unquestionably among the top-tier.
As expected, the first clash showed Ryouma at a disadvantage in taijutsu, just as Minato predicted.
However, the same question that puzzled Minato also crossed Tsunade's mind: Could Ryouma really not have foreseen this outcome?
Of course, he had. His apparent tactical error wasn't an error at all, it was bait.
The oldest trick in combat: appear vulnerable, draw the opponent in, then counter with unexpected force.
As Tsunade's chakra-enhanced fist approached, he had no doubt it could shatter several of his ribs.
With a sweep of his sword, his movement appeared futile, as if he were making a last-ditch effort. Minato tensed further, fingers gripping his kunai, ready to teleport.
But reversals often arrive unexpectedly.
"Full Counter!"
Victory?
A decisive blow?
The end?
All those hopes turned to nothing. As long as it involved chakra, there was a counter.
Tsunade's punch was abruptly deflected by a strange, unseen force.
The chakra she had concentrated in her fist seemed to recoil under some peculiar rule, detonating uncontrollably in front of her.
And then, the power of her own Chakra Enhanced Strength struck her directly.
The confident grin on her face vanished, replaced by pure astonishment.
"What...is this?"
She was hurled backward at an even greater speed than her charge, slamming into the ground. The impact sent rubble flying and stirred up a thick cloud of dust.
Both Tsunade and Minato were stunned.
Minato, acting as the referee, even stumbled backward in disbelief, nearly losing his footing.
To clarify, he wasn't staggered by the shock of what had happened in the fight.
Instead, he had been just about to teleport in and save Ryouma from Tsunade's punch, confident in his ability to do so at this range.
What he hadn't anticipated was Ryouma's employing some kind of special jutsu to turn the tables in an instant.
This unexpected development left him awkwardly halting his teleportation mid-action, resulting in his near stumble.
On the open clearing, though Tsunade had been struck by her own attack, her body remained remarkably durable.
Blunt attacks like her Chakra Enhanced Strength Punch didn't do significant damage to her. The same training that allowed her to deliver such devastating blows had conditioned her to withstand them. Still, being on the receiving end of her own signature technique was not a pleasant experience.
Few in the shinobi world could have risen after such an impact.
In the dust cloud, she quickly pieced things together. The boy must have used a jutsu that reflected her attack back onto her.
Emerging from the dissipating haze, she appeared relatively unharmed.
"Not bad. You've got at least one trick up your sleeve."
Ryouma held Lostvayne in one hand, understanding that his plan to take her out in one move using Full Counter had failed.
In that case, he thought, eyeing the Sannin as she readied herself, the next round will be ninjutsu!
