Tsunade didn't give Tōma a chance to refuse.
The moment she finished speaking, she lunged forward. Her attacks were straightforward, almost blunt, and to Tōma, completely readable.
As he slipped past her fist, he spoke calmly. "Tsunade-sama, the inauguration ceremony is about to begin."
"I'm not joking," Tsunade snapped. Every strike missed, and that only sharpened her glare.
She clenched one slender-looking fist and drove it into the ground.
The earth shattered.
The entire training field lurched violently, cracks racing outward like lightning. Tōma clicked his tongue softly. Her technique was crude, but the raw force behind it was no joke.
If that punch landed cleanly, even a Kage-level shinobi would be lucky to walk away alive.
She was trying to take away his footing.
It wouldn't work.
Tōma continued to evade with ease. "Honestly, Tsunade-sama, in your current state, you're not my opponent."
"You'll never beat me by running!" she shot back. "Fight me head-on!"
Tōma didn't stop talking. "You left Konoha for decades. You barely fought during that time, didn't you?"
"And?" she demanded, not denying it.
"You know what happens when skills aren't used. Combat sense dulls. Yours has fallen far below what it was when you were one of the Sannin."
Her punches grew heavier. Faster. Angrier.
Shizune watched anxiously from the side. He wasn't wrong, but saying it now was like pouring oil on a fire.
Tōma continued evenly. "Your body hasn't declined, so it'll come back quickly. I can already see you adjusting. But experience like that can't be restored in minutes."
"Enough!" Tsunade roared.
She leapt high and brought her heel down.
"Pain of Heaven!"
The kick missed him. The ground didn't escape so easily.
The field collapsed into a crater, dust and debris exploding outward. When the smoke cleared, Tsunade stood at the bottom, stone pulverized beneath her feet.
Tōma stood at the edge, unshaken.
"If you want to rebuild your combat instincts," he said, "come find me later. But right now, the ceremony matters."
"Stop dodging," Tsunade replied coldly. "If you want me to go, settle this properly."
"One exchange," Tōma said. "Decisive."
"…Fine."
They faced each other in silence. One at the crater's base. One at its rim.
Shizune swallowed hard. This was supposed to be a celebration day. Someone was going to get hurt.
Lightning crackled along Tōma's right arm, building into a blinding white glow. Wind chakra layered over it, forming a refined, pale-green armor that wrapped only his arm. The gauntlet looked almost solid, viciously sharp at the knuckles.
Tōma stared at it, briefly surprised.
So this is the limit when everything overlaps.
He met Tsunade's gaze.
They charged.
Their fists collided.
The shockwave tore through the field. Broken stone disintegrated into dust, the ground screaming as it was ground finer still.
Shizune barely kept her footing, eyes wide.
Someone had just blocked Tsunade's punch head-on.
Tōma was thrown back, flipping once in the air before landing hard but controlled. His face was pale, but his arm was still attached.
Tsunade stood unmoved.
Dust settled.
Tōma flexed his right arm. It was completely numb.
Figures.
Even using everything he had, brute force was still Tsunade's domain.
Still, he was satisfied.
She hadn't held back. And he'd only lost ground, not the fight.
Tsunade looked at her trembling fist, then at him.
She had taken a step back in that clash.
That realization hit harder than the recoil.
Without her forbidden techniques, even at full strength, she wouldn't beat him. In a real battle, with Flying Thunder God involved, she might not survive at all.
She turned away.
"That's enough."
"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.
"We're going," Tsunade said. "The ceremony."
Shizune's eyes lit up. "Yes!"
She glanced back at Tōma, awe clear on her face.
"Hey," Tsunade added, pausing. "You can still move?"
"Of course."
She eyed his arm. "It's a waste you didn't focus on medical ninjutsu."
Tōma smiled. "My teacher said the same thing about genjutsu."
She stopped, then laughed softly. Some people really were unfairly talented.
They headed toward the ceremony grounds together.
"…About the repair costs," Shizune said hesitantly.
Tsunade blinked. "Repair costs?"
"Normally covered," Tōma replied. "But not when the entire field is destroyed."
Tsunade's face stiffened. She'd just returned and already owed money.
"I'll pay," Tōma said easily.
She stared at him as if he'd descended from heaven.
What a good kid…
Tōma just shrugged. Compared to his current assets, it was nothing. If it eased her mood, all the better.
Far away, Danzō read the latest report and smiled.
Even from a distance, the shockwaves had been obvious.
They'd fought. And not lightly.
Perfect.
If Tsunade was already clashing with Fujimoto Tōma before even taking office, things would only get worse after.
With a little push from the shadows…
He chuckled.
White Fang. Little White Fang.
History could always be rewritten.