Chapter 111: Fierce Battle
"Lady Tsunade, he's over there." The voice of the slug came from behind, and in front of Tsunade, Deidara's figure slowly reassembled.
To be fair, breaking down into miniature bombs was a really useful trick.
Even though he had just taken a brutal beating from Tsunade, his clay transformation differed slightly from that of his clay creatures.
For clay creatures, while they possessed high physical resistance, the clay that formed them still had to maintain a specific structure to keep their shape intact. However, for his own clay transformation, he could shift into any form at will without needing to maintain a particular structure. No matter how much he was smashed, it wouldn't cause him any real harm.
"How did he escape just now?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
A small slug crawled onto her shoulder and whispered into her ear, "His body disintegrated into incredibly fine particles, far too small for the human eye to detect."
The slug had sensed them due to its Sage Chakra, which allowed it to detect the presence of those tiny bombs with keen precision.
"Damn it! Does that mean there's no way to deal with him?" Tsunade said in frustration. She only specialized in brute-force attacks and medical ninjutsu—nothing else.
"No, Lady Tsunade. With the power of Sage Chakra, you will be able to harm him." The slug assured her.
"You're not getting away!" Despite talking to the slug, Tsunade hadn't lowered her guard for even a moment. The moment she saw Deidara trying to widen the distance, she immediately took action to stop him.
The clay slugs gradually fused together, attempting to encircle the pursuing Tsunade. But she punched forward, creating a massive opening, and before the clay slugs could fully reform, she charged through the gap.
"Not good! Lady Tsunade! The enemy is already at a distance—he might be preparing an explosion!" The slug on her shoulder warned, having a clear view of the battlefield through its main body outside.
"Slug, hold him off! I'll break through in a second."
"With my Creation Rebirth technique, no matter how severe the injuries, it won't matter."
"Understood, Tsunade-sama!"
Deidara saw the giant slug moving once again. This time, it spat acid, but instead of releasing a massive spray like before, it condensed the acid into a dense, rapid downpour aimed directly at him.
"Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid!"
"Tch!"
A large mass of clay slugs exploded, countering the slug's attack while simultaneously striking toward Tsunade.
Having witnessed the terrifying corrosive power of the slug's acid, Deidara had no intention of taking it head-on.
"C2: Special Type – Fire Dragon!"
"C2: Standard Type – Rock Worm!"
Deidara simultaneously molded two different clay creatures with his left and right hands while his main body continued to retreat.
Based on his earlier experience, Tsunade was bound to charge straight at him again.
"Chakra Enhanced Strength!"
Tsunade, her entire body covered in burns, looked terrifying—like a warrior stepping out of a battlefield of despair. If this scene were depicted in an image, it would resemble the ultimate heartbreak moment.
However, the injuries had no effect on her combat power. With a powerful punch, she struck the ground, sending a precise shockwave toward Deidara's position. The earth shattered violently beneath the impact, crushing a large portion of the clay rock worms and destabilizing both the fire dragon and Deidara himself.
"Brat, this is the end for you!"
"Your attacks are useless against me!" Deidara sneered, but Tsunade had already closed the distance in a flash. While she wasn't known for her speed, as a Kage-level taijutsu user, she was by no means slow.
As she neared him, she continued communicating with the slug.
"What did you mean earlier?"
A new slug crawled onto her shoulder and quickly explained,
"Tsunade-sama, the Sage Art of the Shikkotsu Forest is the most balanced of all Sage Techniques."
"Your body is already strong enough to handle a direct infusion of my Sage Chakra."
"When the time comes, just let me know, and I will transfer my Sage Chakra to you."
"Got it!" Tsunade responded.
"Fire Dragon! Dragon Breath!"
Scorching flames erupted from the fire dragon's mouth, surging toward the rapidly approaching Tsunade.
Faced with the searing heat, even Tsunade hesitated. Charging through an explosion required enduring high temperatures for only a brief moment, but being hit directly by the dragon's breath meant sustained exposure to extreme heat.
She was confident that she could survive it, but healing the burns would consume a massive amount of chakra and shorten her lifespan.
"Hah!" She punched the nearby mountain, breaking off a massive boulder and using it as a shield, all without slowing down in the slightest.
Seeing Tsunade dodge his attack in such an unconventional way, Deidara frowned. The real problem was the slug—because of its interference, he couldn't fly.
Without being able to take to the skies, he couldn't create enough distance to unleash his large-scale explosions. That meant he had no way to deal with Tsunade's Creation Rebirth.
Not to mention, she hadn't even activated her Strength of a Hundred Seal yet.
Wait... if he couldn't fly, he could go underground instead. The slug's acid couldn't reach him there.
Deidara's mind raced as he recalled various burrowing creatures and insects.
Eventually, he clapped his hands together, sending several thin, elongated clay worms tunneling into the ground. He needed to dig secretly and strike unexpectedly. If Tsunade followed him down, she'd be walking into a trap.
"C2: Enhanced Type – Giant Dragon!"
"C2: Enhanced Type – Ten-Thousand Snakes!"
Two massive creatures appeared on the battlefield, though compared to the giant slug, they seemed rather small.
"Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid!"
The slug spat out another wave of acid, but Deidara's clay slugs rapidly climbed over it, encasing it in layers of explosive clay.
"Not good!" The slug's usually sweet voice carried a hint of panic as it quickly split into countless smaller versions, slipping free from the clay entrapment.
"You're not getting away! Hah!"
Deidara triggered the explosion, causing the scattered clay slugs to detonate in a rapid chain reaction. Though the individual blasts were smaller, their cumulative impact was devastating.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Like an endless string of firecrackers, the battlefield was engulfed in continuous explosions. Many of the small slugs were obliterated and forcibly returned to the Shikkotsu Forest.
"Katsuyu!" Tsunade smashed the fire dragon aside and turned toward the chaos.
"Tsunade-sama, do not worry about me. Closing in on the enemy is your top priority right now."
The tiny slug on her shoulder spoke firmly.
Meanwhile, the larger slug had lost more than half of its mass after reforming, now roughly the same size as Manda.
Not that it mattered. After all, the initial form was merely a fraction of the Slug Sage's true body. No matter how much damage it sustained, it would never significantly impact the Slug Sage herself.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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