Several Anbu moved quickly to repair the arena; the ground, shattered by the intensity of the previous clashes, was reshaped by Earth Release jutsu.
The Third Hokage and the majority of the Jonin had already vacated the high platform, many dispatched to maintain order throughout the village as the scale of this duel threatened to disrupt daily life.
Fanma stood silently in the center of the training ground, quietly utilizing his “Wild Growth” trait to patch up his condition while calculating his next tactical move.
In reality, he wasn’t entirely confident against the combination of Tsunade and Setsuna.
Although Tsunade was not yet in her prime—lacking the Strength of a Hundred Seal—she had already signed a contract with Shikkotsu Forest, and her summons, the slugs, were notoriously difficult to deal with.
Furthermore, her Strength of a Hundred technique meant Fanma couldn’t simply take hits head-on; if he were pinned down by Setsuna and allowed Tsunade to land a clean strike, it would be catastrophic.
What baffled Fanma most was Uchiha Setsuna.
The old man had lived since the end of the Warring States period; why would he come out today to challenge him?
Even if he wanted a command position, there was no need to compete against a fellow Uchiha.
The whole affair stank of something unnatural.
Fanma quietly increased his vigilance toward Setsuna.
Based on twenty years of living within the Uchiha clan, he knew this man was “sick”—suffering from the classic Uchiha paranoia.
A sick Uchiha was truly lethal; in a desperate bid to win, he might even resort to Izanagi.
According to Fanma’s experience from his two lives, in a team fight, you target the squishy glass cannons and the healers first.
That was the golden rule of combat.
The problem was, this healer was incredibly tanky, which made his teeth ache.
“How unlucky.
Tsunade of all people had to step up.
This grudge, I, Fanma, will note down for now.
If you ever fall into my hands, I’ll make sure you ‘relax’ thoroughly,” Fanma thought viciously.
“Alright, we’re ready on our end.
Do you need more time to rest?” Tsunade shouted loudly toward him.
Setsuna nodded in agreement.
Fanma was speechless.
When women get angry, they really don’t care about decorum.
“Then, let’s begin.” As the words left his lips, violent blood-qi erupted from his body, weaving itself into a suit of dark-red armor that shimmered with an eerie, seductive light.
Pushing off the ground with explosive power, he boosted his speed to the maximum, becoming a streak of red light as he charged straight at Tsunade.
He leaped high, launching a downward punch coated in a gale of violent pressure!
Tsunade curled her lip into a cold smirk.
Dozens of chakra-replenishing slugs were already clinging to her back, hidden from view.
Cerulean chakra swirled into a vortex, densely wrapping around her fist.
“BANG—!!” The two fists collided, and a massive cloud of dust exploded into the air as Fanma gauged Tsunade’s strength.
As expected, without the decades of accumulation required for the Strength of a Hundred, the power of her Strength of a Hundred technique isn’t yet exaggerated enough to crack Susanoo’s ribs.
Tsunade was forced back several steps by Fanma’s punch.
She bit her lip in frustration and shouted, “Setsuna, be careful!
If he gets close, activate that!” “Plan A, now!” Fanma didn’t care about their “plan.” He ignored the incoming threat, executing a whip-kick aimed directly at Tsunade’s face, triggering a thunderous sonic boom.
Setsuna moved his wrists with fluid precision, sending several shuriken flying toward Fanma at high velocity.
Fanma chose to ignore them—he had to take Tsunade down.
If possible, he wanted to force a kill during this close-quarters scramble!
Tsunade took the kick head-on, an unnatural flush rising on her beautiful face.
With a low cry, she gathered a thick layer of chakra on her arms, pinning Fanma’s leg firmly in place.
“Now!” “—BOOM, BOOM!” The explosive tags attached to the shuriken detonated, the fire swallowing Fanma’s figure.
Tsunade performed a hand seal with one hand while keeping a death grip on Fanma with the other.
“Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!” The ground began to collapse, bubbling with thick, viscous sludge.
Earth chakra acted like a vacuum, swallowing everything on the surface.
“Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!” Setsuna didn’t hesitate, ignoring Tsunade’s presence.
A firestorm large enough to incinerate half a forest roared toward Fanma, a massive dragon of flame consuming the landscape.
Fanma realized then: they knew they couldn’t match his speed, so they were fixing him in place, using Tsunade’s recovery as the bait for an “injury-for-injury” trade.
The fire dragon shrieked as it plunged into the mud; the earth was incinerated, turning the swamp into a thicker, more solidified prison.
Yet, Tsunade refused to let go of Fanma’s leg, clearly ready to go down with him.
Slugs covered Tsunade’s body; the chakra of the Slug Sage drastically dampened the heat of Setsuna’s fire.
It was a “lose 30 to inflict 100” tactic—simple, lacking flair, but incredibly frustrating to deal with.
“Useless.
This level of Fire Release doesn’t even faze me.” The smoke cleared.
His clothes were charred, but Fanma, shirtless, didn’t have a single scratch on him.
Majestic Destroyer Flame was a top-tier jutsu for clearing out fodder—it had massive range and decent damage, but against Fanma, it was meaningless.
Fanma remained unmoved within the mud.
With one hand, he locked onto Tsunade’s wrist, and with a heavy elbow, he slammed it toward her shoulder blade.
Trying to grapple with me?
How much do you underestimate my close-quarters burst?
Setsuna and Tsunade were both shocked—they hadn’t expected a jutsu of that caliber to fail even as a probe!
Fanma gritted his teeth, his hair standing on end.
Blood-qi surged, his muscles coiled like serpents, and his spine arched like a living dragon.
He planted one foot against Tsunade’s stomach, gripped her arms with both hands, and pulled in opposite directions with savage intent!
The most primal form of violence was laid bare.
Fanma looked as if he intended to tear Tsunade apart alive!
Tsunade let out a muffled groan of pain, struggling against his titanic strength.
The slugs writhed, pumping vast amounts of chakra into her, but under the erosion of Fanma’s predatory aura, even more chakra was simply stripped away and absorbed by him.
Fanma let out a roar, his eyes turning a frenzied blood-red.
He could hear her bones beginning to moan under the crushing pressure.
No love, no friendship—in this moment, there was only the win!
Setsuna watched the scene with a solemn expression, sighing internally.
The blood-red three-tomoe Sharingan slowly merged into a single, blade-like shape.
“Susanoo!” Eerie, cold ocular power coalesced.
Fanma, mid-struggle, felt the alarm bells of his senses scream.
With perception far superior to any ordinary ninja, he had a unique sixth sense for danger.
He released Tsunade’s arms, gripped the back of her head, landed a brutal headbutt, and then followed with a flying kick, using the recoil to launch himself away.
Tsunade’s arms hung limp.
A section of her spine protruded unnaturally.
Having suffered the headbutt and the kick, she fell to her knees, blood staining her fair face.
Jiraiya, watching from the sidelines, was filled with burning rage and began to scream, nearly vaulting out of the spectator area.
Third Hokage held Jiraiya back, his voice deep and clear: “Watch.
Tsunade isn’t that fragile.
She is the finest medical ninja we have.” Danzo’s gloomy voice drifted over: “The focus isn’t Tsunade right now—Fanma couldn’t kill her anyway.
The key is that the Uchiha somehow possesses a Mangekyo Sharingan!” For once, the Third didn’t argue with Danzo, focusing his undivided attention on the white pillar of light Setsuna had summoned.
The beam crashed down onto Tsunade, and the very fabric of space rippled like a wave.
Had he been a second slower, Fanma would have been caught in the blast.
The patterns in Setsuna’s eyes spun rapidly; the pillar erupted with blinding intensity.
Fanma watched Setsuna in stunned silence—Setsuna had awakened the Mangekyo!
This Setsuna… he’s been hiding so much!
The light enveloped the fluctuating space, bursting into a brilliant flare.
Tsunade slowly stood up, the wounds on her body instantly erased.
Fanma couldn’t help but grow vigilant.
This eerie ability… it looked far too much like Izanagi!