In the depths of the Forest of Death, moonlight filtered through shredded leaves, scattering like silver dust across the ground.
Two figures collided in the messy clearing, separated, and collided again. Each contact erupted with visible airwaves.
Ryo slowly raised his head, gripping the sharp long blade in his hand. His body slightly heaved, his intense aura yet to calm.
In his mind, [Shanks' Legacy unlocked to: 60%!][Shanks' Legacy Fusion: 50.3%!]
[Detected host fighting under extreme high pressure, Shanks' Legacy Fusion increased by: 0.2%]
[Shanks' Legacy Fusion increased to: 50.6%!]
[Strength evaluation: Elite Jōnin]
After two years of Ryo's desperate efforts and Tsunade's beatings, his strength had broken through to the Elite Jōnin stage.
Not far in front of him, Tsunade's hands hung by her sides, knuckles white from clenching.
Sweat traced shining paths down her cheeks and neck, revealing, along with her slightly hurried breathing, the true marks left by the battle.
She looked at the young man before her, at the ugly forest scar carved out by his long blade, her heart filled with a churning sense of absurdity.
The shocking mess before her clearly showed the young man's growth over the past two years.
From the very beginning, when this kid was sent flying by her punch, crashing into a tree trunk and unable to get up, to today… this landscape of messy wooden stakes, as if dozens of A-rank Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu (Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique) had been unleashed.
The kid who could barely take a casual punch from her two years ago, now his sword's reach could force her, an Elite Jōnin, to retreat repeatedly?
Tsunade vigorously shook her head, dispelling the lingering dizziness. Her throat was dry, and her voice was a little hoarse: "Let me catch my breath? You little monster!"
Soon, she took a step closer, her toes grinding into the damp soil, knuckles cracking. An invisible pressure instantly spread. "Again!"
As her words fell, the air tore!
Chila—!
Responding to her was a dazzling, crimson arc of light, condensed as if solid, tearing through the air close to the ground without warning, aiming straight for Tsunade's legs!
Its speed was so fast that it only left a burning trail on the retina, arriving in an instant!
The surrounding flying wood chips were caught by the strong wind, suddenly pulling out fine, hissing straight lines.
"Tch!" Tsunade let out a short, dissatisfied sound from her nostrils, her eyes suddenly sharp.
Her forward momentum was forcefully interrupted. Chakra instantly erupted violently from her feet, and she, like a top struck hard, violently twisted her waist on the spot, performing an extreme dodge!
Boom!
The crimson arc of light brushed past her rolled-up clothes, fiercely crashing into the dense forest barrier of ancient trees behind her.
Dull, thunderous shattering sounds exploded in a series.
There was no stalemate, no resistance. Trees as thick as bowls were neatly severed the moment they were touched, the sound of wood fibers bursting like the wails of dying beasts.
Dozens of giant trees simultaneously let out an ear-piercing groan, their canopies tilting, interlocking as they fell, crashing, raising a sky full of murky dust and a wild storm of branches and leaves.
Tsunade didn't even have time to change her surprised expression before her vision was obscured by the overwhelming, rolling dust.
"Too slow!" A sharp shout, however, ghost-like, closed in within an inch behind her!
The young man's clear voice, filled with boiling battle intent, came coldly from behind her neck!
Too fast, there was no time to think!
A chilling sensation ran up Tsunade's spine—that was the battle instinct honed through countless near-death experiences!
Her entire body's muscles instantly tensed like iron. Without thinking, the surging chakra within her body suddenly reversed, like an erupting tsunami, forcefully pouring into her feet!
Chakra violently erupted!
The ground violently caved in, mud and gravel shooting into the sky!
Using this brute-force recoil, her body, instead of advancing, retreated, turning into a blurry afterimage against common sense, using the weight and momentum of her entire body to savagely crash towards the source of the sound behind her! Using her back as a weapon, she bravely counter-attacked!
Bang—!
A dull, heart-stopping collision sound exploded!
Ryo's backhand strike with the flat of his blade, seemingly carrying a thousand catties of force, landed squarely on Tsunade's hard, chakra-reinforced back.
A visible ring of airwaves violently burst from the two of them as the core, fiercely tearing through the sky full of dust that had not yet settled. Power violently clashed in an instant, forming a brief stalemate.
In this struggle lasting less than a thousandth of a second.
Buzz—!
A second crimson slash had silently condensed and detached from Ryo's blade!
Its angle was as cunning as a venomous snake's bite, piercing through the chaotic, swirling air between them. It was no longer a massive arc of light, but condensed into a finer, even faster and more terrifying, sharp arrow, rapidly spinning out close to Ryo's own blade!
Its target was Tsunade's completely exposed and undefended waist and abdomen, revealed by her counter-attack!
Time seemed to stretch infinitely in the solidified collision. Even the wood chips and dust floating in the air paused for a moment.
Tsunade's nerves were suddenly tightened by this insidious change in technique!
There was no time to think!
Her battle instincts, honed through countless trials, forcibly took over her body!
She forcefully twisted her center of gravity mid-counter-attack, chakra brutally pouring into her left arm. The arm instantly became unnaturally twisted and swollen!
All subsequent moves, all techniques, were forced to be completely abandoned by this vicious, insidious, and unannounced attack!
She could only take it head-on!
The thick arm, wrapped in visibly dense chakra, carrying the domineering momentum of crushing rocks and mountains, hastily yet resolutely slammed towards the fatal crimson arrow-like trajectory in front of her waist and abdomen!
Boom—!!!
The moment the arm met the slash, it wasn't a simple blocking sound, but a violent clash of airflow and a chakra energy detonation!
Dazzling light briefly swallowed the outlines of the two figures!
The sharp sound of metal cutting mixed with the explosion of energy, stinging the eardrums.
The condensed crimson slash, like an invisible beast crashing into a thick steel barrier, suddenly shattered and exploded!
It transformed into countless tiny, swirling red streams of light, scattering in all directions, cutting thousands of crisscrossing deep marks into the ground.
Tsunade let out a muffled groan. The powerful impact made her lose her footing, and she stumbled back two steps sideways before barely steadying herself.
A large section of her left arm's sleeve was torn away by the violent energy. Several thin lines of blood were cut into the outside of her forearm by the residual sword intent, and a subtle burning sensation spread.
She lowered her head to glance at the blood marks on her arm, then looked up at the figure standing as steady as a rock opposite her. Her gaze was as complex as if she were looking at a monster in human skin.
"Hey!" Ryo casually rested his blade on his shoulder, slightly raising his chin. Beads of sweat dripped along his slightly youthful jaw, but his eyes were astonishingly bright, and the corner of his mouth unconsciously curved into a youthful, spirited smile.
"Still standing? Pretty tough, aren't you, you crazy old hag!" The provocation in his eyes was so direct it was almost arrogant, burning like fire.
"You...." Tsunade shook her stinging arm, suppressing the surging emotions in her heart. The usual ferocity returned to her face, her voice rough from the battle.
"Got your wings, huh? Think you can fly just because you can cut one? Forgot how I used to beat you senseless?" She stomped her foot violently, her body shooting forward like an exploding cannonball! The ground cracked inch by inch beneath her feet!
No more probing, no more holding back!
Chakra, like boiling lava, wildly coiled, compressed around her clenched fist, forming a heart-stopping, almost solid milky-white aura!
The air in front of that fist was brutally squeezed, letting out an unbearable shriek!
Just the stance of accumulating power and rushing forward, the wild and unparalleled oppressive force, like a tangible heavy mountain, slammed towards Ryo!
"Ha!" Ryo let out a sharp laugh, advancing instead of retreating!
The blade brought forth a dazzling waterfall of cold light, slashing straight down!
It wasn't a subtle technical confrontation in swordsmanship, but the most primitive and violent direct clash between pure power and sharp edge!
(To be continued.)