Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Tsunade’s Strike
Under Arima's Barrier, the train withstood the sudden and violent assault unscathed.
The conductor, realizing they were under attack, immediately brought the train to an emergency halt.
Inside the other compartments, the passengers had already been thrown into a panic by the deafening explosion, plunging the train into temporary chaos.
Without hesitation, Arima directed his team to follow his main body to engage the enemy, while dispatching dozens of shadow clones into the carriages to calm and reassure the civilians.
From his sensory perception, Arima quickly determined that nearly a hundred ninja had joined this ambush.
Alarmingly, a full third of them were Jonin, and more than half were Chunin, this was clearly a carefully orchestrated attack.
Whoever had planned this assault clearly possessed detailed intelligence on their movements and had prepared accordingly.
Had it not been for Arima's habit of routinely scanning his surroundings, the earlier explosion might've cost their squad dearly.
Now, they were seven against nearly a hundred. To most, it would seem a hopeless mismatch.
Any ordinary Kage-level shinobi might have opted to avoid direct confrontation.
But Arima was no ordinary Kage. Even a decade ago, he could take on armies alone, much more so after years of further growth.
Looking over the assembled assailants, Arima turned to the six behind him.
"I'll immobilize most of them. The rest are yours. Let's see how well you work together as a special unit."
A high-pressure battle was the fastest way to bond a team. With Arima there, they had no need to worry about casualties.
Arima cast a calm gaze on the rogue ninja and said coldly, "Have ten years of silence made you all this bold?"
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
In an instant, colossal trees erupted from the open plain. Vines danced through the air and quickly ensnared most of the enemy ninja.
Arima left only a dozen free, targets for his squad to spar against and get used to one another's fighting styles.
From the distant train, the passengers fell into an awed silence at the sight.
Many of them, to varying degrees, had heard tales of their nation's supreme military commander, the Third Hokage of Konoha, and especially of his miraculous Wood Release.
The commotion inside the train died down. To them, the Third Hokage's presence meant safety, a haven no storm could shake.
Arima immediately sent a clone racing back to the village to mobilize the Anbu.
These rogue ninja would be rounded up and imprisoned, those with especially grave crimes would be sealed away in Hozuki Castle for eternity.
With the battlefield under control and the enemy mostly subdued, the pressure on Tsunade and the others lifted considerably.
They couldn't help but admire, "As expected of the mightiest Wood Release jutsu, balanced in offense and defense. Numbers mean nothing before the Third Hokage."
Eager to prove themselves, the squad sprang into action. They wanted Arima to witness their own strength.
The remaining enemy ninja, realizing the situation had turned against them, scattered in all directions. The six team members immediately gave chase.
Tsunade was the first to reach the fleeing rogues, surging ahead with full force.
She channeled dense chakra into her right fist and brought it down in a single strike, shattering the terrain before her. The blast separated the enemy into three scattered groups.
That one blow was enough to display Tsunade's precise chakra control, she had clearly honed a fighting style all her own.
The six split into three pairs. Tsunade and Iwa, Jiraiya and Orochimaru, and the remaining two, Dodai and Kata, as the final duo.
Years ago, when Konoha and Kumogakure had just begun merging, mixed teams from both villages had been disbanded and reshuffled into new squads to encourage inter-village bonds.
As part of that restructuring, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were each assigned to different teams.
That was when Tsunade met Iwa, and the two had collaborated on multiple missions over the years.
Tsunade was fiery, straightforward, and carefree in her conduct. Iwa, by contrast, was cold, quiet, and analytical.
Their personalities often clashed, and their approaches diverged, sometimes completely.
Yet, oddly enough, Iwa became unusually lively and talkative whenever she was around Arima, a fact that left Tsunade vaguely annoyed.
Over time, they'd become something like "frenemies." Naturally, they were paired together once again.
Silent, they surged forward, rapidly closing in on their targets.
The enemy ahead was a four-man squad, two Jonin, two Chunin. On paper, Tsunade and Iwa, both elite Jonin, held the clear advantage.
The four conferred briefly and decided to face them head-on, running would only get them picked off one by one.
Seeing Tsunade charging at the front, they split their forces, one Jonin to keep Iwa at bay, while the remaining three went to overwhelm Tsunade.
Tsunade frowned as she realized they'd pegged her as the weaker of the two. 'Do I really look weaker than that Iwa?'
She had intended to loosen up with a light warmup, but now she was more inclined to crush them outright.
Chakra surged into her legs as she stomped the ground and launched herself forward, instantly closing the gap between her and the two Chunin.
Raising her right leg high, she slammed it down with tremendous force.
The two never saw it coming. Before they could react, Tsunade's devastating heel strike knocked them unconscious.
The remaining Jonin, now outnumbered, had no choice but to use his trump card.
Forming hand seals, he called out.
"Water Release: Waterfall Basin Technique!"
A torrent of water burst forth from nowhere, surging toward Tsunade.
She clicked her tongue in disappointment. This was supposed to be a jutsu? In her brother Arima's hands, this same technique could create a lake dozens of times larger.
The Jonin saw her disdain and smirked. The move was only a setup, his real trick was hidden.
Continuing his seals, arcs of lightning danced between his palms. He infused the electricity into the water.
A silent, tiger-shaped bolt of lightning darted through the water and struck where Tsunade stood, causing a massive explosion.
Watching the shockwave ripple outward, the Jonin laughed smugly. "That's what you get for underestimating me!"
But a cold voice rang out behind him. "And this is what you get for underestimating me."
Every hair on his body stood on end. He turned to flee.
Only for Tsunade's punch to connect squarely with his back. He collapsed, unconscious and broken, into the mud.
Brushing her hands together, Tsunade sneered, "I mastered that lame technique years ago. I might not use hand signs often, but these eyes? Arima-nii trained them himself."
Looking over, she saw Iwa had already dispatched her own opponent. Once again, it was an even match between them.
Tsunade grabbed the collar of one of the unconscious enemies, leapt over to Iwa, and smirked. "Not bad…not bad…."
Iwa retorted coolly, "You're not so bad yourself, firecracker."
Calm and unbothered as always, Iwa rarely showed emotion, but Tsunade somehow brought out her competitive spirit.
The enemy had been far too weak. Neither of them had even needed to coordinate.
They'd probably let Arima down a bit with how easily it all ended.
With their four unconscious prisoners in tow, they returned to Arima.
---------------
Guys do leave some power stones and reviews.
🤞pa treon . com / plotplanner🤞
Remove all the spaces in between and then search.
If you guys enjoy this story, you can support me on Patreon and get access to 30 Advance Chapters, it really helps me to work on new chapters.