"Tsu– Tsunade-hime?!"
The moment the newcomer appeared, a wave of commotion rippled through the Konoha shinobi present.
But most of their gazes went straight to the white haori draped over Tsunade's shoulders, their expressions complicated.
One of Konoha's legendary Sannin, once a pillar of the village… yet after leaving Konoha, she had actually joined Kirigakure's Soul Soceity.
For Konoha, that was undeniably a heavy blow.
Uchiha Fugaku, breathing heavily, scrambled up from the ground and quickly moved to Tsunade's side, his expression grave as he fixed his gaze on Hiruko.
He had long known of Tsunade's ties to Soul Soceity. Back during his battle against Kumogakure, it was thanks to her help that he had so easily crushed the enemy—turning that victory into political capital on his own path toward becoming Hokage.
Later, after fully entering the service of Yuki Yoru, Fugaku's understanding of Soul Soceity had deepened, and he'd interacted with most of the captains—including Tsunade herself.
"Be careful. He's using the Chimera Technique to fuse five different kekkei genkai—among them, the extreme-speed Swift Release, the unbreakable Steel Release, the sealing and absorption of Dark Release, the Third Kazekage's sand-iron Magnet Release, and even the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"Don't worry," Tsunade replied with a soft snort, her eyes calm on Hiruko. "Our intel on him is more complete than yours."
Soul Soceity's intelligence network far surpassed anything the shinobi world imagined. Every current member of Akatsuki, Nagato included, had their information neatly stored in the Mizukage's files.
For someone like Hiruko—who had already completed his ritual, possessing five kekkei genkai and a versatile arsenal—those files not only contained a detailed breakdown of each ability, but also precise strategies for countering them.
"Tsunade-hime…"
Hiruko looked at her standing before Fugaku, a sickly smile twisting his face.
He spread his arms wide, as if to show off his transformed body.
"Look at me, Tsunade-hime. Look at the dead last you all left behind in the past!"
"This—this is perfection! I've become the ultimate ninja! I've caught up to you… no, I've surpassed you!"
"The me standing here now is no less than your grandfather, the First Hokage himself. I am a being who stands at the very peak of this world!"
"Tch."
Tsunade let out a short, dismissive sound. In the blink of an eye, her figure flashed right before Hiruko, her fist driving straight into his chest.
Hiruko's expression turned cold; he caught her fist with a reverse grip—
—but the power within that strike exploded, hurling his body through the air and smashing him heavily into the ground.
"Grandpa wouldn't be as weak as you," Tsunade lightly blew on her fist: "You've turned yourself into this inhuman monster, and you think you've become something amazing. You're far worse than you were back then, Hiruko."
"You inhuman monster, how dare you say that to me!"
Hiruko, who had fallen to the ground, quickly stood up. He glared at Tsunade in a fit of rage and said fiercely: "Talking is pointless! I'll let you personally experience my power!"
Saying that, Hiruko activated his Swift Release. His figure suddenly turned into a blur and rushed towards Tsunade.
Tsunade didn't waste any words. She clenched her fists, and with a flash of her body, she met him head-on!
Bang!!
In an instant, the two figures collided at an extremely fast speed. A low muffled sound and a wave of compressed air spread out at the same time.
The ground beneath their feet sank and collapsed due to the huge recoil, and cracks extended outwards, instantly expanding for dozens of meters.
"Monster strength, huh…"
Hiruko's lips curled into a cold smile.
Among the Sannin, Tsunade was famed not only for the greatest medical ninjutsu in the shinobi world, but also for her monstrous physical strength.
Now, matching her blow for blow with only Steel Release and his own raw power—Hiruko felt sure he had completely surpassed the Sannin.
The obsession he had carried for decades seemed to come full circle. Excitement lit his eyes—he could no longer wait to let those "targets" he had once chased witness the power he now possessed!
Tsunade shifted, pulling back her arm. Her head tilted slightly—then she spun into a sweeping kick.
Hiruko dropped low, the Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes whirling rapidly as he slipped past the kick, instantly appearing behind her.
She was at the tail-end of her attack motion, body momentarily unable to generate power—prime timing, and Hiruko knew it.
A triumphant smile appeared on Hiruko's face. With his Swift Release, his speed completely surpassed the Fourth Raikage. Paired with the absolute perception of the Mangekyō Sharingan, even the Sannin, Tsunade, could only be caught by him.
The power of Steel Release was concentrated in his palm at this moment. His indestructible arm turned into the sharpest sword, and with an undetectable and terrifyingly strange speed, he fiercely stabbed at Tsunade's back.
A killing blow.
"Tsunade-sama, look out!"
"Tsunade-hime!"
But the next second, the smile on Hiruko's face froze.
Tsunade, who was in mid-air and had been caught in the middle of her attack, suddenly pulled out the Zanpakutō at her waist and blocked Hiruko's attack.
Then, in an instant, Tsunade adjusted her body. She switched her Zanpakutō to her other hand, grabbed the hilt with her left hand, and stabbed at Hiruko's chest.
Whoosh!
The sound of steel slicing air—Hiruko vanished just before the strike landed. But Tsunade vanished as well, reappearing right on his heels. The ringing clash of metal echoed like music as the two emerged on one end of the battlefield.
"You can actually keep up with my speed..."
The Mangekyō in Hiruko's eyes spun. In the instant he caught Tsunade's attack, he activated his Dark Release and Magnet Release at the same time.
He knew monster strength relied on concentrated chakra bursts. If he could just use Dark Release to absorb—
What?!
The devouring power of Dark Release landed on Tsunade like a rock sinking into the sea. The power she had gathered seemed to be an unshakable wall, and Dark Release was completely unable to devour it.
Fortunately, Hiruko had released the power of Magnet Release in advance. Iron sand wrapped around his arm and collided fiercely with Tsunade. Countless pieces of black iron sand were shattered by Tsunade's punch and flew all over the sky.
His power was repelled, and Hiruko's body was sent flying backward, smashing a large hole in a giant tree.
"So this is what they call spiritual power…"
The power of the Shinigami had already spread throughout the shinobi world, but Hiruko had always been obsessed with researching his Chimera technique and didn't have much thought for the power of the Shinigami.
To him, the Chimera Technique was the pinnacle of all power—if he could succeed, every other ability would bow before it.
But he didn't expect this...
"You're self-absorbed. Stagnant."
Tsunade's voice was calm as she looked at him emerging from the wreckage of the tree.
"The Chimera Technique you're so proud of is just a crude, low-grade form of kekkei genkai fusion. Coarse, and clumsy."
"You've never opened your eyes to the wider world—you don't know how many kinds of overwhelming power exist. That's the greatest difference between you and Orochimaru."
"You bitch!"
His face contorted, her words stabbing straight into his deepest, most sensitive wound.
"If you're so eager to find out…"
"Bankai!"
A sudden, terrifying pressure, like a roaring tsunami, roared out in this instant, completely interrupting Hiruko's words!
That terrifying pressure spread out abruptly with the words from Tsunade's mouth. Hiruko even started to have trouble breathing. The Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes continuously contracted, as if he had seen something incredibly terrifying.
At the same time, countless eyes on the battlefield all converged on Tsunade at this moment. Those eyes were either astonished, shocked, or bewildered.
"Bankai, huh… Tsunade's in the mood," said Orochimaru from afar, having just composed himself, licking his lips in mild surprise. "Honestly, those words were a bit too hurtful. Hiruko, who has completed the Chimera technique, is quite valuable for research."
"Tsunade's Bankai…"
The Deva Path of Pain remained expressionless, his pale-violet Rinnegan fixed on Tsunade, a trace of solemnity flickering across his face. He had felt this same power from Yuki Yoru before — but in the last battle at the Gold Sand Fortress, Yoru had unleashed a power of an even higher level.
It was clear that Bankai was only a weak power to Yuki Yoru.
"This pressure... Is this the ultimate power that the Shinigami have mastered, Bankai?!"
Near Tsunade, Fugaku, the Fourth Raikage A, and others stared in disbelief at the surging reiatsu that seemed to change the very color of the world.
They knew the Shinigami were strong—any shinobi who gained spiritual power grew greatly in strength.
But they hadn't imagined that a Shinigami's full release could be this overwhelming.
Under the watchful eyes of countless people, the Zanpakutō in Tsunade's hand slowly disappeared, turning into a stream of light that fused into her body.
Her brown eyes slightly lifted—and in that moment, Hiruko felt as if the entire world was hostile to him. His entire body was filled with an increasingly heavy pressure, and he even felt like he was about to kneel down under this power!
"Bankai—"
"Kin-gō Komokusei!" (Golden Hero, Withered Tree Blossoms!)
Tsunade's form vanished.
In the next second, Hiruko felt an irresistible, crushing force slam into him.
By the time his mind caught up, all he saw was orange hair whipping and the hem of her white haori—and a gaping hole torn through the chest his Steel Release had armored so well.
Blood sprayed as Tsunade's cold gaze lingered on him, his body crashing into the ground.
Instant kill.
In the shadows at a distance—
White Zetsu, who was peeking out from behind some ruins, was full of shock: "How is this possible? How can she be so strong?!"
"The Bankai of the Shinigami captains is their strongest power," Black Zetsu's expression was cold: "In that instant just now, the intensity of Tsunade's power increased by several times. Most importantly, the release of these Shinigami all have some kind of special ability."
"If Tsunade's ability is too troublesome, Hiruko will probably be defeated."
"How is that possible? That guy Hiruko is..."
White Zetsu was stunned, a little incredulous.
After completing the Chimera ritual and becoming an Ultimate Ninja, Hiruko's strength had improved to a terrifying degree. It could be said that he was completely above the Kage, one of the strongest people in the shinobi world, and the absolute fighting power of the Akatsuki organization, second only to Nagato.
And with the 'Power of All Things" in his body, his strength could keep climbing, spiking even higher in fierce battles. Black Zetsu called this phenomenon the "Ignition of All Things Power."
"If every one of these Shinigami captains has the same strength as Tsunade, then the Akatsuki is finished today."
Black Zetsu's tone dropped. "We need to tell Obito to hurry. If he doesn't act now, once Yuki Yoru turns her attention here, Obito's ritual could face serious interference."
"These Shinigami… and Yuki Yoru… they're terrifying," White Zetsu muttered.
His clones were completely unable to monitor the battle between Nagato and Yuki Yoru, but he didn't expect that even the battle between Tsunade and Hiruko had completely surpassed the limits of ordinary shinobi.
"You bastard..."
The bloody hole that Tsunade had punched out of him didn't have much blood flowing from it. Instead, a strange milky-white substance was continuously squirming, like the division and proliferation of cells.
In just a moment,, the hole on Hiruko's body, which should have been a fatal wound, was completely healed.
"It's not just five kekkei genkai; you also fused some of Grandpa's cells with your Chimera technique, huh?"
Tsunade was expressionless, with a stream of spiritual power radiating from her body.
"The First Hokage's policies were stupid, but his power is indeed strong," Hiruko roared as he felt his body recover:
"I don't care about the Shinigami's Shikai or Bankai! Under my ultimate power, everything will be meaningless! And you, Tsunade, you will be the first sacrifice for my conquest of the shinobi world!"
Tsunade said nothing—she made everything clear through her actions.
Hiruko, freshly recovered and proclaiming himself the Ultimate Ninja, had no time to react before a sharp pain tore through his lower abdomen. His body curled like a shrimp, saliva spraying from his mouth.
He had barely registered the pain when Tsunade vanished before his eyes—only for agony to explode across his back.
How is this possible? It was as if his Steel Release had no effect at all, and his Mangekyō couldn't even track her.
This is impossible, this...
Waa!
He spat out a mouthful of blood, and Hiruko's heart was trembling!