The river water beneath his feet suddenly formed a swirling vortex, lifting Chiba’s body into the sky and allowing him to catch up to the off-balance Tsunade in an instant.
Chiba whirled his arms, and two sharp Water Release blades, carrying a biting chill, slashed down fiercely at Tsunade in a cross pattern!
The shift between offense and defense happened in a matter of seconds, dazzlingly fast.
Although Tsunade had been sent flying by the surprise attack and the sudden impact had even rattled her internal organs, causing a thin line of blood to spill from the corner of her mouth, she relied on her Senju constitution—unrivaled in the Ninja World—and her super-strong recovery ability to instantly stabilize her body and catch her breath.
Watching Chiba, who had launched the close-quarters surprise attack, a cold smile flashed in her eyes.
“This brat always manages to surprise me.”
“But he’s still too inexperienced.”
“Initiating close combat is your biggest mistake!”
As she spoke, Tsunade used the momentum of being airborne to violently twist her waist.
She concentrated a massive amount of Chakra into her right foot, with a pitch-black Chakra halo wrapping around her ankle—the power was terrifying!
“Heavenly Foot of Pain!”
“Boom!!!”
The heavy kick slammed down, colliding precisely with Chiba’s dual water blades!
The disparity between the two in terms of raw power, Chakra reserves, and physical foundation was vast.
In just two seconds, the tough and sharp water blades could not bear the weight, shattering into pieces and scattering as a shower of water.
The next second, Tsunade’s heavy kick landed on Chiba without any resistance!
“Oh no!”
The moment the water blades shattered, Tsunade’s heart suddenly tightened.
Caught up in the excitement of the fight, she had forgotten to hold back and used too much force!
She tried her best to restrain her strength, but in her haste, she only managed to pull back thirty percent of her power; the remaining overwhelming force still slammed down hard!
“Chiba!!!”
Minato, who had just landed in the distance, had been watching the entire battle.
Seeing this, his pupils shrank, he cried out in alarm, and rushed toward the battlefield regardless of anything else!
Jiraiya’s expression also turned grave in an instant.
Starting after Minato but moving faster, he leaped into the air, intending to intervene and save Chiba!
But the anticipated heavy blow and loud crash did not occur.
“Poof!”
The Chiba who had been struck by the kick suddenly turned into a puddle of water, splashing everywhere!
The attack had missed completely!
“This…”
“Huh?!”
Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Minato were all stunned, their faces full of bewilderment.
In the split second the three of them were stunned, Chiba’s voice suddenly rang out from deep within the river!
“Water Release: Twin Water Dragon Bullet Technique – Modified – Vortex Strangling!!!”
Splash—!
Two thick water dragons spiraled out from the river surface, crossing head to tail and intertwining in a spiral.
Carrying extreme strangling force, they precisely locked onto Tsunade, who had just exhausted her old strength and hadn’t yet generated new, and struck at her fiercely!
The timing was absolutely perfect!
“Oh no!”
Tsunade was slightly startled; it was already too late to dodge with full effort.
The surging water vortex instantly swallowed and engulfed her entire body!
But the anticipated heavy blow did not come.
The water exploded into the air, and in its place, countless tiny wood chips flew everywhere.
“Replacement Technique?!”
Chiba’s pupils shrank, and he immediately thought, ‘This is bad!’
Almost at the same time, he keenly sensed a terrifyingly powerful Chakra fluctuation rising behind him, the pressure hitting him head-on!
Without a second thought, he exploded with Chakra at his feet and dashed toward the shore at full speed!
“Boom!!!”
A loud explosion erupted behind him.
The terrifying shockwave, carrying a sky full of debris and mud, swept across the area, and the powerful force instantly sent the half-retreating Chiba flying!
Chiba flipped repeatedly in the air to disperse the force and cushion the impact of his fall.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he used the momentum to retreat rapidly, dragging his feet through the hard ground and leaving two long trenches.
He quickly looked up and steadied himself, only to see that Tsunade had already landed firmly on the bank, a mere four meters away from him.
The young woman clenched her fists slightly, a menacing smile full of pressure curling at the corners of her mouth as she stared intensely at Chiba.
“Pretty capable, aren’t you, brat.”
“Whatever other tricks you have, use them all. Otherwise, you won’t have another chance to make a move!”
Facing Tsunade’s pressure, Chiba didn’t hesitate for a second.
His hands flew through hand signs again, his fingers clicking and clacking as they moved!
At the same time, Tsunade stomped her feet, shattering the ground with a roar, and charged out again, swinging her iron fist straight at Chiba!
“Earth Release: Earth Wall – Modified – Triple Earth Wall!”
With a rumble!
Half a meter in front of Chiba, a thick earth wall rose from the ground.
A wall three meters thick stood firmly, blocking the space between them.
The moment the technique was complete, Chiba retreated at high speed to put a safe distance between them.
“Monstrous Strength!”
Crack—!
Dense cracks instantly covered the entire wall, and it shattered with a roar, kicking up a cloud of dust!
“Huh?”
As the dust settled, Tsunade raised an eyebrow, looking surprised.
This earth wall wasn’t a single solid layer, but a three-layer stacked structure!
Between each layer of the earth wall, there was a twenty-centimeter gap acting as a buffer zone.
Because of this, her powerful Monstrous Strength punch only shattered the first two layers of the earth wall before the massive force she had accumulated was completely exhausted, ultimately failing to break through the final layer of defense!
“This brat! He actually modified every single basic Ninjutsu himself?”
On a tree branch by the shore, Jiraiya had taken in the entire duel.
Watching the Triple Earth Wall with its layers of buffers and ingenious design, he couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.
“This kind of modification thinking, this kind of attention to detail—even the older generation of Jonin might not be able to achieve it. This is definitely a top-tier genius!”
Beside him, Minato looked calm and indifferent, his tone carrying the certainty of someone who was long used to it: “This is just business as usual for Chiba.”
“In terms of understanding and creating Ninjutsu, he has a terrifying talent that no one can match.”
In normal times, he would certainly have kept Chiba’s secret well, hiding this heaven-defying trump card.
But now that Chiba had already fully displayed his strength in front of Tsunade and Jiraiya, there was no longer any need to hide it.
Moreover, during this time, Chiba had already analyzed the various situations in Konoha with him; both of them were well aware of Tsunade’s character, stance, and bottom line, and knew she was an elder who could be absolutely trusted.
As for Jiraiya…
Minato didn’t give it much thought at the moment.
In the center of the battlefield, Tsunade’s offensive did not stop.
“Monstrous Strength!”
“Boom!!”
Another domineering, heavy punch was thrown, and the final remaining layer of the Earth Wall instantly shattered with a roar, sending gravel flying.
As the dust cleared, seeing Chiba, who had already taken the opportunity to retreat more than ten meters away and whose breathing was slightly unstable, Tsunade stomped her foot, ready to rush forward again to continue the test.
“I surrender!”
Just then, Chiba raised his hands high without hesitation and cleanly admitted defeat.
“Brat, what did you say?”
Tsunade’s forward-rushing figure suddenly paused.
Veins popped slightly on her forehead, her clenched fists clicked and clacked, and she stared at Chiba with an unfriendly expression, her tone carrying a hint of ferocity.
She looked like she was about to smash the ground with one punch if she didn’t get a reasonable explanation.
Seeing this, Chiba understood and quickly began to explain, his attitude sincere and clear-headed: “Lady Tsunade, you are here today to test my talent and strength.”
“In the fight just now, I have already used up all the Ninjutsu and trump cards I currently possess, and more than half of my Chakra has been consumed.”
“Continuing to fight would just be purely one-sided crushing, and there would be no point to the test, so I might as well just surrender.”