Fanma stroked the wound on his arm; the robust recovery provided by the “Wild Growth” trait gave him the confidence to engage in high-intensity combat.
Under the enhancement of the Mangekyo, Tsunade had gained the ability to fight Fanma at close quarters—but only in terms of raw power.
Tsunade’s own physical strength was exceptional, and combined with the Senju’s “Strength of a Hundred” and the Mangekyo’s boost, she could match him blow for blow.
But could she match his speed?
The answer was no.
Fanma’s footwork shifted; he bypassed Tsunade, his afterimages streaking across the earth as he ghosted toward Setsuna.
Setsuna’s Yasaka Magatama bombardment from earlier had been a saturation attack, leaving no room to dodge.
But how many more times could he use it?
Setsuna was fanatical, but not brainless.
Past his prime, he couldn’t afford the reckless expenditure of ocular power like Sasuke, raining down arrows or keeping a Full-Body Susanoo active indefinitely.
Fanma surged ahead of Tsunade, lightning gathering in his hand to manifest a long thunder-blade, which he brought down on Setsuna.
Setsuna steadily increased the density of his Susanoo, raising his snowy-white katana to meet the strike.
Unexpectedly, Fanma retracted the blade mid-swing.
With a sharp contraction of his abdominal muscles, he performed an mid-air flip, dodging the strike entirely and landing on the flank of the Susanoo.
Fanma’s thigh muscles bulged with explosive force; he locked his hands onto the sides of the Susanoo, lightning chakra erupting as he leaped high into the air!
“—Lightning Release: Liger Bomb!” The weakness of the second-stage Susanoo lay in its lack of defense against the ground.
The white warrior was heaved upward, and with a terrifying display of raw power mixed with searing electricity, Fanma slammed the Susanoo head-first into the ground.
Having succeeded, Fanma glanced at Tsunade and used a Body Flicker to create distance.
Koharu Mitokado, watching intently, adjusted his glasses.
“Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharu.
I believe Fanma’s combat power now rivals the Second Raikage of the past.” The Third Hokage exhaled a long trail of smoke, looking as though he’d seen through the vanity of the world.
“Indeed.
It’s also my first time hearing that an Uchiha’s Susanoo could be…
lifted.
I’ve truly learned something today.” Jiraiya stood frozen.
“Yes.
And by an Uchiha, no less.” A ripple of strange laughter broke out among the watching Jonin; even Danzo was not immune.
Setsuna struggled to straighten himself; the armor of his partial Susanoo was in tatters, exposing bone and meridians.
The shockwave had rattled him significantly, and thick streams of blood poured from his nose and ears.
Tsunade rushed to his side, channeling her Mystical Palm Jutsu to heal his wounds, though with limited effect.
Setsuna waved her off, his left Mangekyo spinning until it shed a trail of blood-tears.
A flash of white light later, and his injuries were erased.
“It is no matter.
Even if these eyes go blind today, it is worth it!” Seeing Setsuna’s stubbornness, Tsunade hesitated no longer and summoned a massive slug.
“Lady Katsuyu, please look after this Uchiha.” The slug undulated, splitting into dozens of smaller versions that crawled onto Setsuna, glowing with green light to replenish his chakra.
Setsuna controlled his Susanoo, swinging the long katana to carve deep trenches around them; he and the slug sat as if on an isolated island.
The slug opened its mouth, spitting pools of slippery, viscous acid that eroded Fanma’s limited room to maneuver.
Fanma looked at Setsuna’s countermeasure and smiled.
He began to run in circles around the “island,” his fingers flying through seals as he used, for the first time in a while, traditional Five-Element Ninjutsu.
“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!” “Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!” “Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!” “Combined Ninjutsu: Molten Earth Technique!” The wind fueled the fire, which ignited the Earth Dragon bullets.
A barrage of high-velocity, molten earth shells rained down on Setsuna from 360 degrees.
Setsuna’s blood boiled; the clash with Fanma had reignited the warrior spirit of his youth.
“Such ninjutsu!
We Uchiha have never held such things in high regard!” He swept the white katana horizontally, the sheer force of the slash cleaving the molten earth apart, leaving him untouched.
Setsuna’s right Mangekyo began to spin slowly, and the chakra aura around Tsunade violently flared once more.
The white Susanoo sat on its island like a battlefield commander.
Tsunade charged again.
As they traded blows, Fanma adopted a new approach.
To critically wound Tsunade, he needed a heavy blow to a vital point.
But heavy blows required a split-second of wind-up, which allowed Tsunade to track his speed and trade injury-for-injury without regard for her own safety.
Fanma’s speed was still a tier above hers, but Tsunade was not slow, and with the Mangekyo’s boost, she could keep him honest.
Fanma weaved, dancing with “butterfly steps,” dodging her straight punches, hooks, and side kicks.
Every now and then, he took advantage of the gaps in her offense to land light strikes, draining her stamina.
Tsunade, feeling harassed with no recourse, leaped back.
“How much longer?
The next blow will decide it!” Fanma smiled.
He knew what that meant—they wanted to lock down his movement with a saturation strike and force him to take her “charged” hit again.
The tactic was simple, but indeed, it was a “sun-tzu” strategy—undefeatable by conventional means.
Fanma began his guerrilla tactics again, unleashing ninjutsu to harass Setsuna while engaging in short, light skirmishes with Tsunade, seemingly unconcerned that Setsuna’s eyes were slowly recovering their breath.
Setsuna felt the piercing pain in his eyes.
It seems, he thought, that I have only one more use of my ocular power left before I go blind.
He shouted to Tsunade, “Continue with the current tactic!” Though the strategy was predictable, it was a calculated pressure—using heavy strength and Susanoo’s long-range support to force Fanma into their rhythm.
Fanma glanced at the sky, where a tiny black dot was descending rapidly.
Fanma smiled.
The success of this battle rested on this single moment.
He let out a long howl and, appearing to ignore Setsuna entirely, launched a ferocious assault on Tsunade.
Finally, the Yasaka Magatama rained down on him once more.
Tsunade silently began to charge her strength, hunting for the blind spot in his movement, waiting for that thunderous final strike.
As the saturation bombing of the magatama descended, forcing Fanma to dance frantically for survival, Tsunade locked onto his path with predatory focus.
High above, a black shadow carrying a massive boulder appeared in the sky—it was Dahei, the falcon he had summoned earlier!
Earn Them Together!