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Chapter 196 - Chapter 196: Saitama's Test

Whoosh! As Saitama's tone shifted, Ephemeral felt an overwhelming surge of malice crashing down on him. Instantly, he drew his weapon and held it across his chest, while chakra — a powerful internal energy — surged within him, preparing to face any imminent danger.

"Don't be so tense. Resistance won't do you any good, will it?"

Saitama raised his right hand to the brim of his hat and pushed it down slightly.

"You bastard..." Ephemeral's expression darkened. As a jinchuriki, this was the first time someone had looked down on him so casually.

"Still don't believe me?"

Saitama stared at Ephemeral with a slight frown, his entire body tensing as if coiling for action. Then, he took a small step back with his right foot.

Zap! In a flash of lightning, Saitama lunged forward like a living arrow, aiming straight at Ephemeral.

"Hmph!" As a jinchuriki, Ephemeral wasn't about to be intimidated so easily. His Sharingan sharpened instantly, tracking every detail of Saitama's movement. Calmly, he brought his weapon to his lips, channeling chakra through his throat.

[Water Release: Bubble Technique]

Leaning his upper body backward, Ephemeral pointed the tube of his weapon directly at Saitama. Countless yellowish-brown bubbles erupted from the narrow barrel, flying toward Saitama under his control.

Right after releasing the technique, he quickly leapt backward, landing on one leg that slid along the ground for balance.

Saitama's eyes narrowed. Blue electricity crackled around his body as he activated his Sharingan and simultaneously began retreating.

"Ha!"

Seeing Saitama dodge, Ephemeral narrowed his eyes. Without waiting for the bubbles to reach Saitama, he activated his Self-Destruction technique immediately.

At his cold command, those yellowish-brown bubbles shimmering in the sunlight erupted violently, unleashing the volatile chakra stored within them.

A sudden explosion tore through the space between the two fighters.

Zap! Saitama had studied Ephemeral's techniques before, so he was already prepared. The moment he saw the floating bubbles approaching, he started backing away.

At the last possible second, he planted both hands on the ground and activated [Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall] to shield himself from the blast.

Crack! When the shockwave faded, Saitama stopped channeling chakra into the wall. It fractured into countless hairline cracks and then exploded into rubble with a thunderous crash.

Far away, Ephemeral had already increased the distance between himself and Saitama.

From the very beginning, when Saitama charged in headfirst, Ephemeral deduced that this mysterious opponent was likely a close-combat specialist relying on taijutsu.

Ephemeral, however, specialized in long-range ninjutsu. By keeping his distance, he could gain the advantage!

Moreover, he had an ace up his sleeve that would render any close-combat brute like him completely powerless!

Thinking this, Ephemeral lifted his weapon again and blew out a breath filled with chakra.

In an instant, a large bubble formed in front of him, fully enclosing his body as it slowly rose into the air.

Exactly. Ephemeral's secret weapon was flight! By wrapping himself inside the bubbles he created, he could achieve the incredible feat of soaring through the sky!

Holding his weapon, Ephemeral folded his arms and slightly lowered his head to look down at Saitama, a trace of disdain flickering across his cold face.

This mysterious figure who appeared from nowhere had launched an unprovoked attack — Saitama would definitely make him pay for that!

But not now — this place was too close to Konoha Village, where many ninjas came and went; drawing attention here could be dangerous.

Gazing deeply at the figure standing motionless on the ground below, staring up at him, Ephemeral recognized Saitama's chakra pattern before crossing his legs and sitting down. The bubble surrounding him was quite sturdy; although it wavered slightly, there were no signs of it breaking.

Once inside the bubble, while flight was possible, steering was extremely difficult. At most, one could only control speed — all other movement depended entirely on wind currents. This was the major weakness of this ninjutsu technique.

BOOM! A powerful explosion rang out, inevitably drawing the attention of nearby townsfolk. Tsunade and Shizune were among them.

"Hmm?"

Tsunade set her chopsticks down, her brows knitting together. That explosion had been strong — and dangerously close.

"Who dares cause trouble right outside Konoha's borders?"

Driven by this thought, Tsunade turned to Shizune and said, "Done eating? Let's go check it out."

Shizune had nearly finished. She set down her chopsticks, swallowed the last bite in her mouth, and nodded at Tsunade.

As ninja of Konoha, they couldn't tolerate someone causing destruction so close to the village. Even if it didn't seem serious, checking it out couldn't hurt.

They'd already paid when their meal arrived, so after putting down their chopsticks, both grabbed their belongings and immediately stepped outside.

Stepping out of the izakaya, they saw smoke drifting toward Konoha. Dust still floated through the air from the explosion's aftermath.

They exchanged a glance, then Tsunade took the lead without hesitation, heading directly toward the scene with Shizune closely following behind.

In the town, curious onlookers also wanted to see what was happening. But upon hearing the noise, they realized it involved ninja business. Ordinary civilians like themselves had no place getting involved. So they stayed at the village edge, simply watching from afar.

The dust clouded the view, but that didn't stop curious eyes from trying to see what was going on. Sometimes, the unknown carried its own kind of allure.

"Shizune, take your time. I'll move ahead first!"

Rushing past the town limits, Tsunade increased her speed. Glancing back, she gave Shizune instructions before vanishing forward, quickly widening the distance between them.

Although she had consumed some alcohol just now, it had absolutely no effect on her. A small pot of sake was nothing to a seasoned drinker like her.

Eyes locked on the source of the explosion, Tsunade caught a faint glimpse of a figure hovering midair.

"That's that kid again — who is he fighting?"

Closing in rapidly, Tsunade moved at speeds rivaling Olympic sprinters.

Her golden ponytail bounced behind her as she dashed forward, her green robe whistling in the wind.

On Tsunade's forehead, a dark diamond-shaped mark occupied the center position, looking quite unique.

...

"Next time we meet, it won't be this simple anymore!"

Ephemeral sat cross-legged inside his floating bubble, mumbling those words before exhaling them outward.

He turned his head slightly and spotted a green-clad figure swiftly approaching from above—and a black-cloaked one falling far behind. He knew it was time to leave, or else his identity might get exposed.

Releasing the pressure on his bubbles, he let the yellowish-brown foam rise quickly before the wind carried it away in one direction.

"Hehe, where did you get this confidence... Six-Tails?"

Saitama didn't try to stop him. He could feel several chakra presences closing in too, some of them oddly familiar.

Given how close they were to Konoha, Saitama wasn't surprised, but he wondered which of his old friends would show up this time.

The dust gradually settled to the ground as Saitama remained rooted in place, arms naturally hanging down on both sides of his body.

In his line of sight, a figure clad in green and golden clothing was drawing closer—it would arrive any moment now.

He had no intention of leaving because the approaching figure was Tsunade herself. If Tsunade was here, maybe Shizune wasn't far either. Since his cover was already blown, he wouldn't mind meeting Shizune face to face.

Looking past Tsunade, Saitama carefully sensed the chakra again and soon detected that signature trailing far behind her.

"Ah, still not good enough! Can't even keep up with Tsunade!"

A smile tugged at the corner of Saitama's mouth. He'd once told Shizune he hoped she'd become stronger—at least reaching the level of her master, Tsunade. But judging from today's performance, it seemed there was still a gap between Shizune and Tsunade!

Maybe it was because she thought he was dead—whatever the reason, whether those words still lingered in her mind remained unclear.

Saitama stood motionless, eyes locked onto Tsunade's figure.

"That clothing..."

Tsunade had arrived and naturally noticed Saitama standing there. However, hidden by the straw hat, she failed to recognize Saitama's true face immediately.

Black cloak adorned with red clouds!

Tsunade halted her steps, her expression serious. If she remembered correctly, this uniform had come up in the report Minato gave her.

It seemed to be the special attire worn by core members of the organization Saitama Uchiha belonged to.

Tsunade observed Saitama Uchiha carefully, hoping to extract more information from him.

According to the intel Minato provided, Tsunade knew members of this organization were powerful rogue ninjas. Their targets were always jinchurikis—the individuals sealed with tailed beasts.

Moreover, these people showed no restraint—they weren't bound by Ninja Codes and displayed merciless brutality when taking lives.

Tsunade looked at Saitama Uchiha, while Saitama Uchiha naturally also watched Tsunade.

Seeing the mark left by the [Yin Seal] on Tsunade's forehead, Saitama understood that in these past few years, she'd completed this rather bizarre ninjutsu after all.

"Who are you?"

Tsunade maintained her guard, silently praying that Shizune would notice this anomaly and stay away—after all, the enemy was too dangerous, while she herself wasn't suited for battle.

Despite appearing formidable due to her strong presence, her heart was actually trembling from fear, all because of her fear of blood.

"Have you forgotten me already, Tsunade-sama?"

Saitama smiled faintly as he spotted Shizune emerging from behind Tsunade and steadily drawing closer.

"Hmm... this familiar presence..." A suspicion began to form in Tsunade's mind as her eyes narrowed, fixing her gaze on the figure hidden beneath the rice hat.

"Uchiha Saitama!"

Her expression darkened. Tsunade raised both hands before her chest, assuming a defensive posture shaped like the number eight.

"So it seems Tsunade-sama hasn't forgotten about me after all!"

Saitama extended his right hand in front of him, examining his fingers while also revealing the ruby ring worn on his ring finger. An ancient Chinese character 'zhu (vermilion)' was engraved onto the gemstone.

"I see..."

Tsunade's face turned grim. Slanting her eyes sideways, she spotted Shizune drawing ever closer. The pale whiteness on her face deepened.

"What are you doing here? Don't forget, this place isn't far from Konoha at all. You should understand that you're now a Rogue Ninja wanted by multiple villages!"

Tsunade continued, though she couldn't see Saitama's face, she knew from experience his expression would undoubtedly remain calm and composed.

Back during the Mist Warfront days, no matter what happened, this kid always wore that confident smirk.

"Oh, I just ran into a solitary Jinchuriki earlier, couldn't help but test my strength against him—and he actually got away! What a pity."

Saitama shrugged his shoulders, though his tone lacked any real sense of regret, sounding only faintly indifferent.

"Is that so..."

Tsunade hadn't expected that young boy earlier to actually be a Jinchuriki. But in these special times, which village would dare let their Jinchuriki out of the village?

Frowning, Tsunade felt a dull pain growing in her back muscles. Remaining constantly alert had kept her entire body tense for so long that soreness was setting in.

The pressure coming from Saitama took her aback too—he'd grown this powerful in such a short time.

Even if her grandfather were still alive, he'd have called him a "prodigy" without doubt!

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