At the border between Sunagakure and Amegakure, the Konoha camp was in chaos.
The heavy smell of blood mixed with the scent of medicinal herbs inside the medical tents.
Painful groans rose and fell throughout the camp.
Sweat had soaked the blond hair on Tsunade’s forehead, causing it to cling to her pale cheeks.
A Chakra Scalpel glowed in her hand as she precisely cut open the abdomen of a wounded shinobi.
Three poisoned senbon were deeply embedded in his internal organs.
The poison had already spread into his chest cavity.
“Forceps.”
Her voice was hoarse.
A medical trainee immediately handed her the instrument, although her trembling fingers betrayed her nervousness.
Tsunade didn’t reprimand her.
She quickly extracted the hidden weapons, then intensified the healing chakra glowing in her palm.
“Start an intravenous injection of the antidote serum.”
“Prepare a blood transfusion.”
The medical ninja beside her immediately began rummaging through the medical supplies.
The clinking of glass bottles sounded particularly sharp inside the tent.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached from outside.
The tent flap was violently thrown open.
“Lady Tsunade!”
“The casualties on the front line are extremely serious!”
“At least twenty critically wounded shinobi are being transported here!”
The messenger’s face was covered in blood.
His voice trembled.
Tsunade’s hands did not pause for even a moment as she continued stitching the wound.
“Arrange the critically wounded according to priority.”
Her voice was taut like a drawn bowstring.
“Anyone who can still walk is to evacuate immediately.”
When no one moved, Tsunade barked:
“What are you waiting for?”
“Go prepare the bandages!”
Several medical ninjas finally snapped out of their shock and rushed outside.
More stretchers continued arriving.
The already cramped medical tent quickly became overcrowded.
A Chūnin who had lost his left arm suddenly grabbed the edge of Tsunade’s clothing.
Blood foam trickled from the corner of his mouth.
“Lady Tsunade…”
“My… my little brother is still on the front line…”
“I can’t stop…”
Tsunade pressed down on his severed artery.
Glowing green chakra flowed into the wound like a stream.
“You need to stay alive.”
“Only then can you see him again.”
Her voice was soft.
Yet those words caused the despairing wounded around them to fall silent.
In the corner of the tent, a medical trainee suddenly broke down crying.
The patient she had been responsible for had just stopped breathing.
Tsunade strode over.
Her bloodstained hand firmly gripped the trainee’s shoulder.
“Tears won’t save anyone.”
She pulled a white cloth over the dead shinobi’s face.
Another wounded shinobi was brought in.
He wore a Konoha flak jacket.
Three poisoned puppet blades protruded from his back.
His build looked vaguely similar to Chiya’s.
“Chiya?”
The name escaped Tsunade almost through clenched teeth.
She rushed toward the stretcher.
But when she saw the man’s face, she froze.
It wasn’t Chiya.
Tsunade closed her eyes for a moment.
When she opened them again, her expression had returned to its usual composure.
“Prepare for surgery.”
“Prioritize those with penetrating wounds.”
Just then—
The sound of puppet mechanisms suddenly grew louder outside the tent.
“Enemy attack!”
A frantic shout rang out from outside.
Tsunade remained unmoved.
Her fingers continued stitching the wound with unwavering precision.
When the thirteenth wounded shinobi was finally out of danger, the tent suddenly shook violently.
Poisonous smoke from Sunagakure began seeping through the gaps.
Several trainees immediately started coughing violently.
“Move every patient who can walk through the rear entrance.”
Tsunade reacted instantly.
She slammed her fist into the ground.
BOOM!
Spiderweb-like cracks spread outward from beneath her feet and extended beyond the tent.
Several screams immediately followed as Sand shinobi attempting to sneak inside were struck by the rupturing ground.
Tsunade turned around.
Her expression was grim.
“Evacuate immediately!”
“You are medical ninja.”
“No matter what happens…”
“You will all survive.”
“That is an order!”
The flames from the medical camp illuminated the sky in a blood-red glow.
Poisonous smoke filled the air.
Its pungent stench made breathing difficult.
Sunagakure’s puppet forces surged forward like a tide.
Their wooden joints produced an eerie clicking sound.
Poison-coated weapons glimmered with a cold blue light beneath the moon.
“Damn it!”
Tsunade kicked away the puppet charging at the front.
The wooden construct shattered into pieces.
But more puppets continued advancing.
She looked back.
The wounded were being helped away by the medical trainees.
But they were moving too slowly.
At this rate, everyone will be surrounded!
“Lady Tsunade!”
“We’ve been cut off!”
A medical trainee shouted in panic.
Tsunade gritted her teeth.
A resolute light flashed through her light-brown eyes.
She bit her thumb.
Her hands rapidly formed seals.
Then she slammed her palm against the ground.
“Summoning Technique!”
The earth trembled.
Smoke erupted.
A massive white figure rose from the ground, standing like a mountain between the enemy and the retreating medical personnel.
Katsuyu.
Tsunade’s summoning beast.
Her enormous body was soft yet remarkably resilient, and her presence alone was breathtaking on the battlefield.
“Lady Tsunade…”
“The situation doesn’t seem very good.”
Katsuyu’s gentle voice echoed across the battlefield.
The appearance of the giant slug caused the Sand puppet forces to abruptly halt.
Even the puppet masters showed fear.
“Katsuyu!”
“Protect them!”
Tsunade shouted.
Chakra surged around her body.
“Understood.”
Katsuyu’s enormous body rapidly divided.
Countless smaller Katsuyu clones crawled toward the wounded and medical trainees.
They wrapped themselves around the retreating personnel, shielding them beneath their soft bodies and protecting them from poisonous smoke and hidden weapons.
Tsunade stood alone at the front.
Her fists tightened.
The ground cracked beneath her feet.
She coldly stared at the approaching puppets.
The next moment—
Her figure shot forward like a cannonball.
Her fist slammed into the puppet formation.
BOOM!!!
Terrifying superhuman strength erupted.
Dozens of puppets were instantly shattered.
Sand shinobi recoiled in fear.
But Tsunade gave them no chance to recover.
She grabbed one puppet by the head and smashed it into the ground.
The resulting shockwave sent nearby enemies flying.
“Retreat!”
“Everyone, retreat!”
A Sand commander finally realized what they were facing.
This wasn’t merely one of Konoha’s Legendary Sannin.
It was a beast that had been pushed to its limit.
But Tsunade had no intention of letting them escape.
“You came here.”
“Then don’t expect to leave.”
Her figure flashed across the battlefield.
Every punch carried enough force to crush anything in its path.
Puppet wreckage rapidly piled up behind her.
Meanwhile, Katsuyu’s smaller bodies continued protecting the medical personnel, ensuring that not another person was injured.
When the final puppet master collapsed—
Tsunade stood amid the ruins, breathing heavily.
She turned toward the people protected by Katsuyu.
After confirming that no one had been injured, the tension in her body finally eased slightly.
“Lady Tsunade…”
The medical trainees stared at her in awe.
Their eyes were filled with respect.
Tsunade exhaled deeply.
Even as a member of the Senju clan, she couldn’t withstand endless battles of this intensity without limit.
She wiped the blood from her face and moved toward the medical supplies lying nearby.
Then—
An authoritative voice suddenly echoed from the distance.
“I didn’t expect the person leading the camp to be the princess of the Senju clan.”
“What an unexpected surprise.”
Everyone turned toward the voice.
Their hearts immediately sank.
Standing at the front was a middle-aged man.
One Sand shinobi after another appeared behind him.
Then—
Figures began appearing on several surrounding mountains.
Hundreds of shinobi.
The expressions of everyone at the camp fell into despair.
Just one day earlier, Lord Hatake Sakumo had received intelligence and led the main Konoha force in an attack against the Sand shinobi.
Now, only Tsunade’s medical unit and several dozen combat shinobi remained at the camp.
And they were facing a Sand force numbering at least three or four hundred.
They were completely trapped.
“Princess Tsunade.”
“You should surrender peacefully.”
The middle-aged man at the front looked at Tsunade with complete confidence.