Meanwhile, Sasuke Sarutobi also moved, blue flames erupting around him, hotter and denser than normal.
Beside him, Kagami Uchiha's purple flames flared to life, the result of his mastery over Fire and Yin Release fused together.
The two advanced in perfect coordination, already closing in on Kiyomi, Kanae, and Renjiro, who immediately looked outmatched.
Just before they were overwhelmed, a blinding flare of orange light cut across the field.
Pakura appeared, her body blazing with Scorch Release, twin suns spinning in her palms.
Her heat clashed with Sasuke's flames head-on, neutralizing them instantly, vaporizing the oxygen in the space between.
The air itself shimmered and distorted from the intensity.
At the same time, another figure blurred into view, Ryusei's first clone on this battlefield, freshly made and carrying nearly a quarter of his chakra.
It intercepted Kagami's advance with perfect timing.
Ryusei's clone immediately countered Kagami's dual-element offense, merging Yang and Water Release instead, an exact conceptual reversal of Fire and Yin.
The water moved with vitality rather than calm, shimmering with inner light, each wave infused with regenerative, life-aspected chakra that quenched Kagami's purple inferno.
As they exchanged blows, Ryusei's clone realized something fundamental.
The combination of Yin or Yang with an elemental nature wasn't nearly as difficult as creating a Kekkei Genkai.
Unlike elemental pairings that clashed, conceptual and natural releases could blend smoothly if one understood the chakra flow precisely.
The legendary Yin-Yang fusion of the Ōtsutsuki was different, as well, but using one conceptual and one elemental at once was a learnable skill, not divine inheritance.
Kagami's example proved it, and now Ryusei was doing the same in reverse.
Behind them, Kanae, Renjiro, and Kiyomi watched with a mix of awe and confusion.
Kiyomi's Sharingan flickered. "Who is that woman?" she asked sharply, her eyes locked on Pakura's blazing form.
Before anyone could answer, Ryusei's clone spoke over the chaos, his voice calm and commanding. "She's with me. Focus on the other two—those behind Kagami and Sasuke. They're too strong for you to face directly."
Renjiro and Kanae both nodded instantly, snapping back to focus.
Renjiro rushed toward Hisamichi, lightning crackling through his blade as he met the older shinobi head-on.
Kanae activated her Byakugan, dashing toward Shinsuke, who was previously badly injured by Ryusei, so his power dropped.
Tsunade was still struggling against Izuna's Susanoo.
It wasn't just the size or durability of the avatar that made it difficult; it was everything inside.
Izuna himself moved fluidly within the massive construct, attacking through it as if the armor were part of his own body.
Every swing of his personal blade released a strange Yin-infused kenjutsu energy that lingered after each strike, cutting even when the sword had already passed.
Tsunade's regeneration could heal the wounds quickly, but it still slowed her momentum each time.
She also had to contend with the black flames Izuna expelled from his Mangekyō Sharingan—shifting and reshaping at his will.
Ryusei's telepathic warnings reached her just in time before the first hit, just when Izuna used it the first time during this battle with her, urging her to dodge before they touched her.
"One hit kill," he had called them. She didn't know how he knew—but she trusted him.
It was impossible to focus the power required to destroy such a large creature in one concentrated blow.
Even she needed several punches to break through the Susanoo's armor of such magnitude first, yet Izuna never gave her that chance.
His attacks came from every direction, and whenever she managed to land a solid damage, the Yata Mirror would also intercept it, dispersing her chakra force.
More than once, she narrowly escaped being caught by either the Totsuka Blade or the black flames, barely twisting away before the sealing sword or burning void reached her.
She was constantly circling the Susanoo, reading its rhythm, searching for a weak point.
Eventually, she spotted one—the grounding point where the Susanoo's massive torso met the earth.
She focused her chakra, launched downward and then forward, and struck with all her might.
The impact tore through the ground, cracking the Susanoo's footing and shaking its entire frame.
But Izuna reacted instantly.
The moment her punch connected, he dismissed the Susanoo's outer layer and released a ring of black flames that exploded outward, forming a burning cage around him.
Tsunade was forced to retreat..
When the flames faded, Izuna's Susanoo reformed—towering and flawless again, its magenta glow flooding the field.
Tsunade clenched her teeth.
She knew she couldn't win by brute strength alone.
Against those one-hit-kill techniques, stagnation and stalemate meant eventual death.
She needed more power, and she needed it now.
Her chakra surged violently as she refocused her breathing.
She had been experimenting with more Inner Gates for months under Ryusei's guidance recently, something she'd once dismissed as reckless and unnecessary, lacking both the motivation and reason to pursue.
But now, she understood it completely.
Years of using the Yin Seal and Creation Rebirth had given her almost perfect internal chakra control, and her medical expertise meant she knew every limit and repair point of her body.
Combined with her Senju, first-class physique, and lifelong taijutsu training, her body could handle it.
Now, as she steadied her stance, her chakra flared brighter, golden veins pulsing beneath her skin.
One by one, she opened more Inner Gates, third, fourth—and finally, the fifth, just like Ryusei's limit presently also was, which she also realized would be her final ceiling.
Her power exploded outward, the ground fracturing beneath her feet.
She exhaled sharply, her eyes narrowing as her strength stabilized. "Much better."
Izuna's Susanoo raised its sword again, and she charged forward again, resuming the strange clash of human fists versus godly powers.
But the longer it went on, the faster she became.
Her movements smoothed, her rhythm adapted, her control of techniques sharpened.
She knew she had to give everything she had, not just for survival, but to protect Ryusei as well and ensure their shared revenge still remained within reach.
"Emotions channeled into a rational sequence… not blindly unleashed," she reminded herself, Ryusei's voice echoing in her mind. "Otherwise, we get nowhere."
He'd said that countless times during their training, usually with that calm, irritating confidence that used to make her roll her eyes.
But now, in the middle of this chaos, it finally made sense. Power without control was suicide. Anger without purpose was just noise.
So she forced her fury into focus, shaping it the way Ryusei had taught her—letting it burn clean, not wild.
If she wanted to live next, if she wanted their revenge to mean something, she couldn't fight like a grieving woman. She had to fight like a surgeon—precise, deliberate, and merciless.