Chapter 188.2 : Kagetsu Joins!!

Suddenly, a blonde kunoichi appeared above them, raising her foot high before swinging it down like an axe.

With no time to dodge, Ōnoki and Kitsuchi chose to block the attack.

Kitsuchi's arms were instantly covered in thick rock. One hand formed a shield to block the attack, while the other clenched into a fist and struck toward Tsunade.

At the same time, Ōnoki placed both hands on Kitsuchi, maintaining the Light-Weight Rock Technique while enhancing Kitsuchi's strength with the Added-Weight Rock Technique.

Boom!

Tsunade's downward kick slammed against Kitsuchi's rock-covered shield, while Kitsuchi's massive stone fist struck Tsunade's body.

Both were ninja known for their monstrous strength. Without holding back, they were sent flying in opposite directions like arrows released from a bowstring.

Ōnoki continuously adjusted Kitsuchi's weight with his technique, making his body lighter and reducing the force of the impact. 

This way, they avoided being slammed into the ground and taking further damage.

"That monstrous strength…"

Regaining his balance with Ōnoki's support, Kitsuchi felt the pain radiating from his arm and instinctively muttered a comment about Tsunade.

In the contest of raw strength, even with the support of ninjutsu and Ōnoki, they hadn't gained much of an advantage. This was completely beyond Kitsuchi's expectations.

However, his punch had landed solidly on Tsunade. Without any protective measures, even if she didn't die, she should at least be forced to withdraw from the battle temporarily until she could heal herself with medical ninjutsu, right?

That meant the only opponents left were Orochimaru and the Uchiha who was on his way.

If Tsunade was still in the fight, this battle could turn into a prolonged war of attrition, which wasn't favorable for them in this situation.

Kitsuchi and Ōnoki instinctively turned toward Tsunade to confirm her condition. But when they saw her, their eyes widened in shock, their expressions filled with disbelief.

"Not a single scratch? How is that possible?! Even a Jinchūriki in partial Tailed Beast transformation would have been injured by that punch!"

For a moment, Kitsuchi even wondered if he had fallen into a genjutsu.

"It's not that she's unharmed! Look closely at that layer of chakra surrounding her!" Ōnoki noticed something unusual. After carefully observing her, he pointed it out.

Hearing this, Kitsuchi focused on Tsunade's condition. With a closer look, he realized that his punch had indeed injured her.

His attack should have inflicted severe damage. The beads of blood seeping from her skin and the awkward angle of her arm were clear signs of injury.

But those wounds were healing rapidly, just like a Jinchūriki recovering from damage. 

In just a few breaths, what was once a fatal wound had become a minor injury, and then, in an instant, completely disappeared.

"A medical ninjutsu that can actively heal injuries? As expected of a Senju!"

Watching Tsunade, whose injuries were healing on their own without using medical ninjutsu, Onoki couldn't help but think of Senju Hashirama.

It was said that Senju Hashirama's body had a powerful healing ability. No matter what kind of injury he suffered, he could heal it quickly in a short amount of time.

Onoki had never seen it firsthand because Hashirama's power was so great that even among the original five Kages, he was unrivaled. 

Onoki, the grandson of the First Tsuchikage, had only heard stories from his grandfather about Hashirama's almost unreasonable healing and strength.

But now, in front of him, Tsunade, a descendant of Hashirama, was displaying that legendary self-healing ability that restored her injuries.

"Tsuchikage-sama!"

A few muscular figures quickly approached Onoki, surrounding him and keeping a cautious eye on Orochimaru and Tsunade standing in front of them.

"Reinforcements?"

Orochimaru's voice reached them from a distance, causing Onoki's already grim expression to darken even further. But he didn't order the reinforcements from Iwagakure to leave.

In his eyes, even with him and Kitsuchi facing off against Orochimaru and Tsunade together, they couldn't take the upper hand.

When he saw the giant form of Susanoo land in front of Orochimaru and Tsunade, Onoki wasn't concerned.

Susanoo looked powerful, but to him, who wielded Dust Release, it wasn't something he couldn't handle. His strong reaction to it was simply because of the lingering shadow left by Uchiha Madara.

"Another one!"

Suddenly, Onoki noticed that the massive form of Susanoo disappeared quickly, revealing two figures.

One was an Uchiha ninja, marked with the Uchiha clan symbol, while the other was an extremely young-looking boy with a topknot.

"One is Uchiha Shisui, and the other is Nara Kagetsu," Kitsuchi, who occasionally helped Onoki with official duties, introduced as he saw their overly youthful faces.

"So young?"

Even though he had some information beforehand, seeing those two exceptionally young faces, Onoki still couldn't help but feel a bit emotional. He once again felt envy toward Konoha.

The village has generations of young people who can support it. For him, someone who desperately wanted a capable successor but couldn't find one, it was a form of torture.

Onoki made a resolution. No matter how this war ended or what direction it took, after the war, he would need to consider the issue of a successor for the village.

Originally, Kitsuchi's strength was enough, and his intelligence as a commander was sufficient. But as the leader of a village, his character was still too honest and simple.

Especially with the talents of the opponent, which had already reached their peak. It would be hard for anyone to inherit or master his Dust Release. As for his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, she was still just a child.

"How did you come here?"

Tsunade looked at Kagetsu with a slight frown. Although she knew Kagetsu's strength was enough to participate in battles of this level, as an elder, she still felt Kagetsu wasn't being careful enough.

Even she and Orochimaru couldn't guarantee their safety or survival against Onoki.

In Tsunade's mind, Kagetsu carried the future of Nawaki and Dan, and if anything happened to her here, all her hopes would shatter.

She didn't want Kagetsu to die in some mysterious way on the battlefield, like Nawaki or Dan.

"With Sensei and Shisui here, you don't have to worry about me," Kagetsu replied softly, sensing Tsunade's irritation and concern. "Besides, I can help!"

Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!

A beam of white light shot from a distance. 

Before Orochimaru's fan could block it, a figure faster than him swung an oddly shaped long sword, striking with incredible speed, as both Orochimaru and Onoki watched in shock.

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