Chapter 73: Ascension — Phantom Lord Arc (Part 7)

Seventeen and a half hours remaining.

Magnolia City Sewers.

It looked as if a colossal beast had rampaged through the place. The stacked bluestone walls had shattered into fist-sized rubble, and several sections of the sewer, each more than ten meters long, had completely collapsed from the ferocity of the battle, blocking off the way they came.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Each collision made the air tremble. A support-type mage from Phantom Lord cowered in the corner, trembling uncontrollably.

Th-These two... They're monsters!

The sound of fists striking flesh resounded like drumbeats of the old world—a brutal, primitive fight between two humanoid beasts roaring at each other with every blow.

Tsunade's fists and legs were now encased in a metallic sheen. Every punch and kick she unleashed carried monstrous strength and terrifying explosive power.

After all, this was her Monster Strength Technique, enhanced not once, not twice, but five times over.

Her explosive power had increased by a full 150%—a completely different level compared to her original technique.

It could be said that even if she punched solid steel, she'd punch clean through it.

Yet even with all this, she still couldn't gain the upper hand against Gajeel.

As an Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel's iron-scaled body was far tougher than steel—he was practically a humanoid dragon.

And his regenerative ability was on par with Tsunade's own.

Tsunade burned through her chakra, activating Creation Rebirth, healing the injuries on her right hand in mere moments.

Meanwhile, Gajeel...

With a scowl, he casually ripped a rusted iron bar from the sewer railing and stuffed it directly into his mouth, chewing and crunching it to bits before swallowing, exhaling a breath laced with metallic shards.

Before their eyes, his cracked and flaking iron scales visibly regenerated at an astonishing speed!

Wiping his mouth, Gajeel bared a row of steel fangs and gave a cruel grin.

"Soon as I eat, the power surges back in."

He brought both hands to his mouth, puffing his cheeks out like a shinobi preparing a Fire Style jutsu.

Then—he let loose.

Iron Dragon's Roar!

A torrent of silver steel erupted like a dragon's breath—shredding winds made up of countless razor-sharp shards and iron debris, roaring toward Tsunade with tremendous speed and force.

Everything in its path was ripped apart, the ground upheaved as though a massive typhoon had scraped away the topsoil.

Anyone caught in it without high-level defense would be reduced to minced flesh in an instant!

In the split second before impact—

Tsunade's hands flashed through a blur of hand signs, and her body flickered away, appearing seven or eight meters to the side.

Only a wooden log remained where she had been, instantly devoured by the metal storm.

So strong...

Tsunade's face darkened. She hadn't expected the very first wave of enemies to be this powerful.

After just ten minutes of battle, she had already burned through a tenth of her chakra—both from fighting and healing herself... and there were still nearly twenty hours left!

She couldn't afford to drag this out. If she got pinned down, she'd risk being surrounded.

She had to regroup with Orochimaru and the others, and use the maze-like sewers to play cat and mouse.

Otherwise...

If waves of enemies kept coming, there would be no time to recover—and eventually, they'd be trapped with nowhere to run.

Her mind raced through countless scenarios in the blink of an eye.

Then, without hesitation, she drove her fist into the sewer wall.

BOOM!

Under her precise control, the corridor crumbled, massive stones falling to block the path—aimed to bury Gajeel under the rubble.

And that was just the beginning.

As Tsunade retreated, she punched at the walls again and again. The sewers trembled violently as tons of stone came crashing down.

"You won't get away!"

Gajeel roared, but he was already a step too late.

Tsunade, using her explosive speed, had already crossed into a side tunnel.

BOOM!!

A barrage of stones collapsed behind her, sealing off the path and temporarily cutting Gajeel off.

She knew this would only stall him briefly.

Without wasting a moment, she rushed toward where Orochimaru and Jiraiya were waiting. She grabbed Lucy from the ground and started sprinting.

"We're leaving! Orochimaru, use Earth Style to seal off the tunnel. Camouflage one of the exits as a wall if possible. Even if they notice, it'll buy us time."

Orochimaru and Jiraiya fell in step beside her.

They had heard the ferocious battle echoing moments ago, and now they saw the blood on Tsunade's body.

Jiraiya asked gravely, "How strong is the enemy?"

"Roughly equal to me right now. He excels in close combat, but once he eats metal, both his strength and speed spike dramatically. Aside from burst speed, he completely overwhelms me in every aspect. He's extremely dangerous."

A troubled look crossed Tsunade's face.

Jiraiya inhaled sharply.

As her teammate, he knew just how powerful Tsunade was.

Among the Kage-level elite, she stood at the top—and had even defeated the so-called demigod Hanzo in a head-on fight.

Yet the first enemy they encountered already forced her into such a struggle?

What about the next ones?

As that thought weighed heavily on Jiraiya—

Orochimaru, silent until now, suddenly spoke, eyes sharp and serious.

"Right-side tunnel. Another one's almost here."

Tsunade and Jiraiya stiffened. A wave of scorching heat washed over them.

The next moment, a boy wrapped in flames burst into view—arms flung back, using the fiery propulsion to rocket down the long corridor at breakneck speed.

Eyes blazing with fury, he roared:

"Let go of Lucy!"

It was Natsu, who had been trailing Gajeel.

Somehow, while Tsunade had been locked in battle, Natsu had looped around through another route and located Lucy's position.

Jiraiya, bringing up the rear, halted his steps.

Tsunade and Orochimaru, in perfect sync, continued without pause, turning down a side tunnel and leaving one message behind:

"Meet us at the rendezvous point."

"Got it!"

Jiraiya's gaze locked onto Natsu, who was speeding toward him in a fire-propelled dash. A grave look settled into his eyes.

Without hesitation, he formed hand signs and entered his strongest state.

In an instant, crimson markings spread from the corners of his eyes, forming a red Sage pattern across his face.

Sage Mode: Activated!

Normally, entering Sage Mode took time—absorbing natural energy from the surroundings and combining it with chakra to form Sage Chakra.

But Jiraiya had taken a different route—he'd exchanged for a new energy conduit from the Lord God System.

This allowed him to store natural energy for long durations and activate Sage Mode instantly when needed.

It didn't shorten the time required to gather natural energy—just allowed it to be gathered in advance, ensuring he wouldn't be vulnerable during battle. A practical and efficient improvement.

Then, with lightning-fast hand seals, Jiraiya inhaled deeply—

And exhaled with a roar:

Sage Art: Fire Style — Giant Flame Blast!

~~~

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Remove the parentheses btw