173 - The Professor's Final Grade: F
Boom—
Tsunade stomped her foot down hard on the ground.
Cracks spread rapidly across the earth, extending in the direction of Hiruzen, who swiftly retreated, his hands forming seals.
A dragon made of earth surged out from beneath the ground, halting the spread of the fissures. At the same time, its ferocious head spewed stone bullets at Tsunade.
The dragon's body, now fully formed, lunged toward her to bite her!
With slight movements, Tsunade dodged the barrage of dense stone bullets.
Each stone, the size of a fist and packed with massive force, tore up the ground behind her, sending dirt and grass flying.
Facing the menacing dragon head barreling toward her—
She didn't retreat but advanced instead, stepping forward aggressively. With a flick of her right arm, her palm smacked the several-meter-wide Earth Dragon Bullet, shattering it into fragments that scattered through the sky.
Bang—
She suddenly exploded with power in her legs, moving at such speed that afterimages trailed behind her. Before Hiruzen could complete his hand seals, she had already appeared at his side.
Boom—
Hiruzen blocked her violent punch with both arms. His pupils contracted—under that inhuman strength, he was blasted away like a cannonball. Feeling his arm bones nearly snap, he gritted his teeth against the pain, twisting mid-air to stabilize himself.
Once again, he formed seals, using Bringer-of-Darkness Technique.
"Kai!" Just as the illusion took effect, Tsunade had already formed a seal with one hand, forcibly using her chakra to break through the illusion's visual restriction.
Compared to the many genjutsu released by Kurenai and Shizune in the past, this technique, which once seemed troublesome, was now a mere parlor trick to her.
Hiruzen watched Tsunade rapidly approach. Unable to withstand another direct hit, he bit his fingertip and performed the Summoning Jutsu, calling upon his old companion—Enma, the Monkey King.
"Tsunade! I am getting serious now!"
"Sage Art: Yin Seal — Sage Mode! Activate!"
With a low shout, Tsunade charged at Hiruzen. A brilliant light bloomed from the Yin Seal on her forehead.
With the help of Shizune and Kushina, the Sage Art Yin Seal had been improved multiple times within the illusion space.
The next moment, brilliant white light from her forehead flowed across her body, senjutsu chakra surging through her chakra pathsystems.
Two cute, horn-like chakra protrusions appeared on either side of her forehead, and a white dragon's phantom coiled around her.
Her speed exploded—she blinked to Hiruzen's side in an instant.
Rumble—
From the distant stands, ninjas from various prestigious clans wore grave expressions. Some jonin even exclaimed in shock.
Hiruzen was among the top-tier ninja—mastery of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, all nearly flawless. He wielded high-level jutsu of various elements with ease, and his combined techniques were incredibly powerful!
If they had to fight him, they feared they couldn't even last three moves before being defeated!
But as powerful as Hiruzen was, Tsunade was even stronger. She casually dispersed his jutsu, crushed his combinations with a single stomp, turning them into nothing.
Even the golden staff in Hiruzen's hand, transformed by Enma and said to be indestructible, was now being beaten until it cried out.
If Hiruzen's body weren't so tough, he might have been killed by Tsunade already!
"This can't be… how can this be…" Koharu watched the battle at the center of the field, her face blank, eyes empty.
In her heart, Hiruzen who once seemed invincible was now being battered across the battlefield like a sandbag.
Was this truly not an illusion?
"Hiruzen…" Homura's face was bitter. Watching his friend cough up blood again and again, he lowered his head in despair.
"Held back, did she? That useless pity and sympathy—truly the hallmark of the Senju clan."
Madara crossed his arms, his expression cold. Yet in his eyes, those Rinnegan remained locked on the battlefield.
He was secretly shocked by Tsunade's display of power.
Fifty percent.
She probably hasn't even used half of her full power yet.
Even with that much strength, it was already enough to break through Susanoo's defense.
The strongest kunoichi in the shinobi world?
"Hahaha~ That's her teacher! Just a spar, no need to be too serious~ Hahaha~"
Hashirama clapped Madara on the shoulder, only to have him brush it off with clear disdain.
"A madman of the Uchiha… How could he possibly understand the compassion and magnanimity of a Hokage." Tobirama slightly lifted his chin, quite satisfied with Tsunade's strength and her choice to show mercy. After all, that teacher of Tsunade's was also one of his own students.
Even though, honestly, Hiruzen hadn't done a great job. He'd driven the entire village to division and disunity. Still, as Hokage, he at least deserved a dignified exit.
Besides… the Sage Body, that was supposed to be something only his brother had.
Tsunade's potential might not even lose to that of Hashirama.
After all, the reason Tobirama kept researching forbidden jutsu was because the stronger one became, the more one realized the limits of talent and chakra capacity.
With this kind of potential, her future accomplishments could surpass his own.
Madara heard these obviously biased and targeted words and shot up furiously, his purple Rinnegan eyes in his reanimated form glaring directly at Tobirama.
Chakra surged violently around him—clearly ready to throw down.
Smack—
Hashirama smacked Tobirama on the back of the head, shattering his reanimated head into fragments. Then, he quickly pulled Madara back down into his seat, grinning apologetically.
"He is immature, I'll discipline him properly, definitely won't happen again! Madara, don't be angry, for my—uh, Kei's sake, let's let it go."
"Hmph!"
Madara glanced coldly at Tobirama, whose head was slowly reforming.
Then he shifted his gaze to Kei, who had just used Sage Art: Wood Release with a single seal to silence Tobirama's foul mouth, and Madara's lips curled into a barely visible smile as he sat back down.
Although he had been killed by this guy, the way Kei swiftly executed Black Zetsu had satisfied him greatly.
And since Kei had promised him a fight against the Otsutsuki clan, he might as well tolerate them for now.
"Cough cough…" Kushina stood beside her boyfriend, tightly gripping his left hand. Her face was tense, head down, struggling to hold in her laughter.
Kei grinned, also having a hard time keeping it together.
It wasn't just how hilarious the clash between Tobirama and Madara was, it was also the Nine-Tails, who had been unleashing a lifetime of verbal abuse that had them both on the verge of bursting out laughing.
From the moment they encountered Madara and Hashirama, the Nine-Tails hadn't stopped once!
Its mouth and butt seemed switched, spewing all sorts of flowery profanity like it was poetry.
On the high platform, the clan leaders and department heads who had heard every word of this back-and-forth didn't even dare to look at each other. Every single one of them pretended to be deaf.
Terrifying!
Absolutely terrifying!
When Madara had released his chakra earlier, the pressure was so intense they couldn't even raise their arms, forced to sit stiffly while cold sweat poured down!
Among them, Shikaku remained expressionless, but deep down he was very satisfied with how things were playing out.
He had many ways to quietly push the Third Hokage into retirement.
While short-term coercion and persuasion were possible to rally Konoha's forces, long-term unity would require the deterrent of absolute power.
Tsunade, just as he'd predicted, showed mercy, which sent a very positive signal to the ninjas.
No one liked a cold, heartless leader.
Someone with great strength but who valued bonds—to the ninja clans, that was a huge advantage.
And the antics of Hashirama, Tobirama, and Madara only further enhanced Tsunade's image of compassion in their eyes.
Thanks, Madara-sama, Hashirama-sama, Tobirama-sama, for your cooperation. Later, I'll make sure to place extra flowers on your graves.