Chapter 330: Chakra

In the post-God of Shinobi era, the Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique had become the pinnacle of all jutsu.

Even Jiraiya's Sage Mode techniques or Aoba's 'Flash' jutsu theoretically could not match the destructive power of Dust Release.

The ninja world had little documented information on Dust Release, as it was Iwagakure's top-secret technique. However, Konoha's research division had made significant progress in studying Kekkei Tōta.

The defining trait of Dust Release was its absolute destruction. Whether it was ninjutsu or physical matter, nothing could resist its disintegration, it was a technique of pure annihilation.

This characteristic was fundamentally different from Aoba's Flash and was more akin to an innate suppression of anything it touched.

Since Dust Release was a fusion of three chakra natures, its higher "authority" over chakra was understandable.

However, what happened next left Ōnoki utterly dumbfounded.

Tsunade didn't move. She simply stood there. Yet, Ōnoki could sense an unusual chakra field forming around her.

A pure white sphere of Dust Release enveloped her in an instant.

But then, Ōnoki's face turned pale, because Tsunade was still alive.

He could sense her chakra, stronger than ever.

"Impossible!" Ōnoki refused to believe it.

He had wielded Dust Release for decades. He was confident that even Madara Uchiha in his prime could not have directly withstood it.

Dust Release worked by disassembling all matter and chakra at a fundamental level. Theoretically, it was unavoidable.

Yet, Tsunade had blocked it.

Tsunade's ability to withstand Dust Release stemmed from her newly developed Domain.

During her previous sparring match against Aoba, she had already demonstrated some of its properties, completely suppressing and even nullifying Aoba's elemental ninjutsu.

At that time, however, her Domain was still in its infancy. It only worked on her fists and was not fully developed.

But after that battle, Tsunade refined her Domain further.

Through her research, she finally began to understand what Aoba had been talking about, the concept of chakra authority.

Every ninja who could use chakra essentially held a certain level of chakra authority. This power was never truly theirs, but rather, it had been granted to humanity by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

All shinobi possessed secondary chakra authority.

The deeper one's understanding of chakra, the closer they came to obtaining a higher level of true chakra authority.

This was precisely why the Sage of the Six Paths did not want peace. He continuously provoked wars because only through conflict would humanity deepen its research into chakra, gradually gaining greater authority. When they died, he could harvest their accumulated progress.

The ultimate goal of chakra fusion was to reach true authority over chakra.

And the pinnacle of chakra control was called Truth-Seeking Orbs.

When someone wielded Truth-Seeking Orbs, neither ninjutsu nor taijutsu could affect them. Anything that touched them would be erased, making them even more dangerous than Dust Release by an immeasurable margin.

Dust Release had some properties of Truth-Seeking Orbs, but in the end, it was merely a fusion of three chakra natures. Compared to Truth-Seeking Orbs, which fused all seven elements, it was vastly inferior.

Tsunade's Domain, in contrast, was based on a fusion of five chakra natures.

While she had not yet achieved complete fusion, her starting point was high enough that even in its infant stage, her Domain already surpassed the authority of Ōnoki's Dust Release.

As a result, Dust Release was completely ineffective against her Domain.

Ōnoki instantly knew he was in trouble.

Dust Release was incredibly powerful, but it was also incredibly draining.

Unlike Tsunade, he had no Yin Seal to store chakra. He was already a full generation older than her and had no techniques to counteract his aging.

His physical endurance was completely inferior to Tsunade's. The one Dust Release he had just used had already consumed a massive amount of his chakra.

Tsunade, on the other hand, wore a custom-made chakra cloak.

She had her Yin Seal and Creation Rebirth as backups. Chakra was the last thing she needed to worry about.

What made things even worse for Ōnoki was that Tsunade had begun addressing her greatest weakness.

For too long, she had relied on ninjutsu and taijutsu alone. But in high-level battles, this had become a glaring vulnerability.

She had been reminded of this harsh reality long ago, when she and Jiraiya fought against Orochimaru.

On paper, the three Sannin should have been evenly matched.

Yet, even with Jiraiya fighting alongside her, they had struggled to suppress Orochimaru.

The reason?

Orochimaru had no weaknesses.

He was a near-perfect ninja, capable of adapting to any situation.

If it weren't for Living Corpse Reincarnation lowering his resistance to genjutsu, he would have been the ideal shinobi. More so than even Uchiha Itachi.

Itachi, for all his brilliance, had a fatal flaw, his lifespan.

Even if he didn't suffer from his illness, he still had a human's natural limits.

Orochimaru, however, had achieved near-immortality.

That was an entirely different level.

If you would like to read more...

The novel has be completed (Chp. 362) on the patreon (only costs $5) -> SaintXI