Tsunade slowly stood up, looking like a berserk lioness.
She spat out a thick clot of blood and glared coldly at Fanma.
Fanma paid no mind to her expression; in truth, against a formidable ninja, gender was irrelevant.
Going all out was the greatest respect he could show Tsunade.
Without hesitation, Fanma kicked off the ground and retreated at high speed.
Until he understood the nature of Setsuna’s ocular powers, it was better to avoid the sharpest edge of the blade.
“Clan Head, do you have any more surprises for me?” Fanma asked, his expression pained as he looked at Setsuna.
He truly hadn’t expected this.
An old man like Setsuna actually possessed a Mangekyo Sharingan?
Setsuna was in high spirits, as if he had returned to the invincible days of his twenties.
He responded arrogantly, “Junior, I have merely inherited a fragment of the Uchiha’s glory.” Fanma’s eyelid twitched.
This old man was getting carried away—he was even using the antiquated speech patterns of the Warring States period.
The situation had become clear.
Both Tsunade and Setsuna possessed excellent offensive and defensive capabilities, and with Setsuna’s eerie ocular powers in play, the plan to force one of them out of the arena had failed.
At this moment, Fanma’s odds of winning had hit their absolute nadir.
Setsuna smiled at Fanma.
“For so long, you’ve been fighting using only pure physical strength and that strange blood-qi.
What about your chakra?
What about your Nin-Taijutsu?
Surely you aren’t arrogant enough to believe you can defeat both of us with taijutsu alone?” Most of the watching Jonin nodded slowly, with Hyuga Tenzo nodding the most emphatically.
As a member of the Main Branch with a Byakugan, he had long discovered Fanma’s peculiarity: this man didn’t use chakra to fight!
Fanma sighed, looked at an impatient Tsunade, and pressed his palms together, temporarily deactivating the “Heaven and Earth Crucible” trait.
Because he possessed a deep aversion to the “high-attack, low-defense” nature of typical ninja, Fanma almost constantly ran the “Heaven and Earth Crucible,” pouring his chakra into the perpetual reinforcement of his physical body.
Fanma was not ignorant of ninjutsu; on the contrary, he had a passing understanding of all five elemental transformations, and his mastery of Nin-Taijutsu was among the best in the ninja world.
However, using elemental ninjutsu didn’t provide experience for his taijutsu traits.
Against most enemies, a few punches and kicks were enough, making the expenditure of chakra unnecessary.
Eventually, Fanma grew accustomed to finishing enemies with taijutsu alone.
Because of his knowledge of the Otsutsuki from his previous life, Fanma understood profoundly that without Senjutsu, chakra became increasingly irrelevant in the later stages of power.
He lacked a platform to obtain Senjutsu, but he did have the Trait System.
He could match, and eventually surpass, the Six Paths Sage through taijutsu alone.
Because of this, he had developed a minor obsessive-compulsive urge to conserve every ounce of chakra, wanting his physical form to evolve as quickly as possible.
Fanma sighed, a hint of excitement surfacing.
“Then, Clan Head, Tsunade…
I’m going all out.” Violent arcs of electricity began to wreath Fanma’s body.
A massive amount of Lightning Release chakra gathered around him, striking the air and emitting a restless, crackling sound.
Fanma let out a long howl.
Blood-qi merged with the Lightning Release; the deep-blue lightning armor became tinged with dark red.
No longer being absorbed by his traits, his chakra surged into the armor, causing it to grow more and more imposing.
Setsuna’s Mangekyo Sharingan widened, his heart churning with tumultuous waves.
Having experienced the “Power of God”—Susanoo—he felt a faint, familiar resonance within this lightning armor.
The blood-red arcs of electricity roared and expanded to five meters in height.
Fanma was enveloped in the discharge, his form completely obscured.
The observing Jonin wore looks of pure horror.
Yuhi Shinku had a realization: “Is the reason he’s immune to genjutsu because he doesn’t use chakra to fight in his daily routine?” White Fang, who had been silent, watched the blood-red lightning sphere towering several meters high.
“Chakra is the foundation of a ninja.
Even a taijutsu specialist cannot be an exception.” Jiraiya, seeing that Tsunade’s wounds had been fully healed by the power of Setsuna’s Mangekyo, finally calmed down.
“I’ve sparred with Fanma since we were kids.
This bastard must have developed some kind of secret art that allows his chakra to constantly reinforce his physical body.
Since I turned sixteen, I’ve realized the rate at which his strength grows is just not normal.” In the arena, the blood-red lightning sphere had expanded to over ten meters.
The lightning on its surface began to spiral out of control, spreading into the surrounding area.
Tsunade and Setsuna took a few steps back.
Setsuna asked with an air of triumph, “Senju junior, what do you think of the Uchiha Clan’s Mangekyo Sharingan?” Tsunade didn’t bicker; she looked at her fully healed body and agreed, “The Mangekyo is indeed extraordinary.” She paused, then added, “Old man Setsuna, take care of yourself.
If you’re not feeling well in the future, come see me for a check-up.” Setsuna smiled.
It seemed the bonds between ninja were truly built in the heat of battle.
However, Tsunade was worthy of being a direct descendant of the Senju; her understanding of the Uchiha was deeper than many of the Uchiha themselves.
Setsuna pointed at the lightning sphere, a look of helplessness on his face.
“What is he doing?
Is this a defensive jutsu?
It feels like his chakra is out of control.
It isn’t going to explode, is it?” Tsunade frowned, equally helpless.
“I don’t know any long-range offensive jutsu.
Even your Majestic Destroyer Flame hitting him head-on didn’t do anything, let alone now.” She added, “Don’t be impatient.
With such massive chakra consumption, he can’t be stalling for time.
Get ready to keep fighting.
Today, we must defeat this asshole who has zero sense of decorum!” As she finished speaking, the twenty-meter-wide giant ball lightning stopped its expansion.
The surface emitted a dense, steady humming sound.
The sphere began to contract, the lightning light gradually solidifying and compressing into a humanoid shape.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Fanma’s deep voice resonated from within the light.
The blood-red lightning chakra compressed further, revealing a substantial texture.
Surging chakra scoured the armor; with every pulse, the lightning armor became more refined and solid.
Finally, after several heartbeats, Fanma appeared before them, looking like a demonic god.
Fanma’s vibrant blood-red Lightning Release chakra overflowed his body, forming the first layer of protection.
He wore a blood-red lion-shaped helmet, a thick protective sash wrapped around his waist, and gruesome demon-heads adorned his shoulders.
The main armor was comprised of overlapping plates, protected by heavy breastplates in the front and back, and he stood tall in a pair of high-top, thick-soled combat boots.
This was Fanma’s unique version of “Susanoo,” modeled after the ancient Chinese “Mingguang” and “Shanwen” armors, forged using his personal Lightning Release Nin-Taijutsu and blood-qi.
The air was thick with the acrid scent of ozone and the iron tang of blood.
A true battle was about to begin.
Earn Them Together!