The clearing shook from the first impact.
Tsunade moved first, her fist tearing the air apart.
Ryusei met it head-on, his own strike splitting the shockwave down the center.
The ground cratered beneath them. Dust rose.
For a heartbeat, neither of them stepped back.
Both of them were using her signature Monster Strength.
The corners of Ryusei's mouth lifted. "You're not the only one who can crack mountains anymore."
Tsunade snorted, shifting her stance. "Don't get cocky. I've been doing it longer."
The fight exploded again.
Trees snapped, rocks shattered, and each exchange shook the forest like thunder.
Both of them had their Creation Rebirth seals active, each using that single hand sign from time to time to repair crushed bones or torn muscles before diving back in.
The match had no judges, only one rule, as before.
Whoever immobilized their opponent or dealt more total damage in the end won.
Then Ryusei noticed it, the subtle pulse in her chakra, eventually.
She'd opened the first two Gates.
He laughed mid-exchange, dodging one of her kicks.
"So that's what you were hiding. Two Gates already? Since when did you get so greedy?"
He blinked, actually grinning as a little surprise hit him.
She smirked, a bit proudly, sweat tracing down her neck. "What's wrong? Surprised? Don't act like you're the only one who studies."
His grin widened. "But, I've got five now."
The words hung for a second, then the ground caved again as both of them flared their chakra Gates chakra at once.
From there, the rhythm changed.
Ryusei also started adding the two new abilities he'd been training, boiling force and gravity pressure, layering them over his taijutsu.
At first, the transitions were rough, steam bursting unevenly from his skin, the weight distortions knocking his own footing off balance.
But he learned fast.
With every clash, every exchanged blow, Ryusei adjusted a little more, letting Tsunade's relentless counterattacks sharpen him like steel on a whetstone.
Each time she pushed him back, he forced his new form to adapt, grinding out the rough edges under real pressure.
"Again using me as your practice dummy, brat?" she called out, her voice steady but edged, sharper than before.
Even with her holding the upper hand so far, she could feel the difference; he was catching up, his growth impossible to ignore.
The usual pride in her tone was laced with something else now, something closer to caution.
"Perfect sparring partner," he replied simply.
The heat began to shimmer around them, vapor swirling in rings each time they met again.
Her thoughts eventually tangled between irritation and disbelief.
She had spent years perfecting close-range combat, built her name on strength and durability.
Yet every minute that passed, his pressure built.
Gradually, slowly, his newfound speed outpaced hers, his weight control distorted her footing, hardened his skin, and when their fists collided, she felt the recoil travel deeper through her bones than ever before, from anyone.
It was a physical kind of power she had never felt from anyone else.
Soon, inside, Tsunade's thoughts were a whirlwind.
She'd never met anyone who could do this to her, not in raw taijutsu and physical prowess, not even Jiraiya or Orochimaru back in the day.
Her body was her pride, her power, her proof that she was still the Sannin, still untouchable.
However, Ryusei, despite his age, despite everything, and where he was just a few months ago, was grinding her down, and even worse, he was doing it with pure body and fists.
No jutsu tricks, no clones, no elemental releases to bail him out anymore, like in the past.
Just him.
It was infuriating.
It was humiliating.
But it was also, she hated to admit it, a little exhilarating.
By another hour, he was in full control.
Every exchange went his way.
He'd now mastered the two new abilities mid-battle, integrating boiling chakra and gravity pressure so well it almost felt unfair.
He wasn't rough about it, though.
Every time he overpowered her, there was a softness, a subtle confidence in the way he handled her, assertive, never cruel.
"What kind of technique is that?" she demanded between strikes.
He ducked under her arm, palm grazing the air near her shoulder.
"A new one. You'll get used to it."
"You're still using me as a test subject, aren't you?"
"Maybe. But you're a resilient one."
By the last half-hour, he was in full control.
Both of them were breathing hard now, clothes torn, chakra spilling in visible waves.
Each time Tsunade healed, he matched it.
Each time she found an opening, he turned it into a trap.
She hated it, but part of her felt proud, too.
'He really caught up to me.'
By the third hour, he'd fully adapted.
The boiling pressure and gravity shift flowed seamlessly with his strikes, every punch landing heavier, every step sinking deeper into the ground.
She tried to counter with pure force, meeting him blow for blow, but his rhythm never broke again.
When their final clash sent both sliding back across the dirt, she realized he hadn't stopped smiling once.
"You done yet?" he asked quietly with a soft amusement on his face.
"Not—" she started, panting heavily, and on the brink of her baseline stamina, but her body locked mid-movement.
Because just when Tsunade tried to push more of her last bits of chakra into her Creation Rebirth seal to reset again, Ryusei had somehow already blitzed and caught her wrist, twisted behind, and locked both arms at her back.
She struggled, tried to break free with raw force, but his grip was absolute, joints immobilized just so she couldn't make the sign.
For a split second, her back pressed against his chest, both of them breathing hard, heat rolling off their bodies.
She froze, feeling the difference; his dominance now was complete, unspoken but clear.
"Looks like I win," Ryusei said softly, his grin obvious in his voice.
He released her carefully, stepping back just as Tsunade glared at him.
Her cheeks were darker than ever, her voice coming out lower, almost grudging, like she barely wanted to admit it.
"That was dirty," she muttered, weaker than usual, almost as if she was just letting him have it, a strange mix of defeat and something else in her tone.
Ryusei only shrugged; that cocky, relaxed smile never left his face.
"Next time, try not to let me get that close. Or maybe you just don't mind it."
She then turned around a bit and landed a half-hearted punch on his shoulder, more reflex than true anger, perhaps, because even after he let go of her hands, he didn't step back.
Still lingering close behind her for reasons she couldn't, or maybe didn't want to, pin down now.
Strangely, she also didn't move away much either, caught somewhere between strange confusion, the disorientation of the moment, and a flicker of something she couldn't quite name.
"Shut up," she said, but there was also no weight or bite behind it, for some reason.
He laughed, and for a moment, the clearing was silent except for the sound of their breathing and the lingering hiss of steam.
Eventually, she exhaled slowly, unable to deny it, as if to congratulate him. "You win again."
He didn't gloat too much, still not moving away, his tone only a bit playful. "Seems like I do."
Neither of them spoke, and neither seemed willing to break whatever had just settled between them.
They stood there like that for a few long seconds, silent.
Only the wind moved through the trees, the air still humming with the energy of everything that had just passed.
This time, it was nothing but raw taijutsu, no tricks or tactics, just pure body against body.
This time, he'd even won straight as possible, even with her using the two Gates she'd worked so hard to master recently.
Ryusei knew that for Tsunade, it was a new kind of defeat, the ultimate show of dominance in the thing she prided herself on most.
It was the clearest proof yet of his worth, undeniable, absolute.
To Tsunade, both as an overpowered kunoichi and as a woman, there was no mistaking it anymore.
Things could never return to how they were.
From this point on, she would see him differently, place him somewhere new in her mind, even if she didn't want to admit it yet.
Ryusei already knew.
Tsunade, meanwhile, flexed her wrist, breathing deep, watching him from the corner of her eye, lost in thought.
Three hours.
Last time, he needed every trick.
This time, nothing but pure taijutsu, and he still came out on top, fully mastering new skills right there in the fire of battle.
She flexed her fingers, still catching her breath, mind racing, pride, frustration, something that felt too much like excitement for her comfort.
Ryusei just smiled, eyes already moving ahead.
For him, this was it, the last two pieces finally in place.
He'd closed the gap, and both of them knew it.
"Next time," he said, grinning, "maybe I'll go easy on you. Or let you win for nostalgia."
Tsunade's glare was sharp enough to cut stone, as he finally moved away from her body again, but underneath, there was a new spark, one that said she'd never felt more alive.