The attacker was none other than Kakuzu, lurking in the shadows.
Once a shinobi of Takigakure, Kakuzu had long since become a missing-nin. When he fled, he stole the village's most forbidden technique: Earth Grudge Fear.
After mastering this jutsu, Kakuzu's body could no longer be considered that of a normal human. From within, he could generate black, tendril-like threads capable of extending his limbs underground for long-range surprise attacks.
Tsunade had fallen victim to one of these.
Under normal circumstances, Kakuzu could have used this to rip out her heart in an instant.
But Tsunade was no ordinary kunoichi. The moment she sensed the incoming attack, she had already begun to dodge. While the blow still landed, it missed her heart, sparing her life.
Even so, the injury was critical. The tendril had pierced clean through her torso. Combined with her hemophobia, it rendered her completely unable to fight.
"Now! Kill Tsunade while she's down!"
The remaining bounty hunters, seeing their chance, charged in all at once.
Suddenly—BOOM!
Six ferocious water dragons surged from thin air and crashed into them, scattering the attackers in all directions. Some of the weaker ones were critically injured on the spot.
Water Release: Six Water Dragons Jutsu!
Aoshi had just finished wiping out the hunters targeting him when he caught sight of Tsunade being impaled. Without hesitation, he jumped in to assist.
"What the hell kind of Water Style is that?!" one of the bounty hunters exclaimed in disbelief.
They had underestimated Aoshi, dismissing him as nothing more than a rookie with a bit of fame. Now they realized how laughable their assumptions had been.
They weren't hunting prey—they had walked into their own deaths.
"Spare me!" one cried out in panic.
But all he received in return was the cold flash of Aoshi's ninja blade slicing through him.
"Run!"
Terrified, the remaining bounty hunters scattered in every direction.
With a cold smirk, Aoshi formed a hand seal and created several Shadow Clones to give chase. His real body, meanwhile, rushed to Tsunade's side to begin emergency treatment.
Kakuzu hadn't held back in the slightest—Tsunade's wound was life-threatening. If he didn't act quickly, she would die.
"Tsunade-sama, lie down. I'll begin treatment immediately."
But Tsunade, gripped by hemophobia, was trembling uncontrollably.
Left with no choice, Aoshi gently lowered her himself and began working on the gaping, blood-soaked wound.
He could even see bone beneath the torn flesh—stained red, jutting out like white knives.
For anyone with weaker nerves, the sight alone would've made them faint.
Suddenly—
Kakuzu launched another ambush. This time, his target was Aoshi.
He had initially planned to reveal himself after successfully striking Tsunade. But upon retracting his arm and witnessing Aoshi unleash the Six Water Dragon Bullets in a place with no natural water, Kakuzu reevaluated his opponent.
Even he had to admit—Aoshi was no ordinary shinobi.
Kakuzu couldn't use Water Release on that level, not even close.
As he struck again, confident of success, another Aoshi appeared out of nowhere, intercepting the attack.
It was a Shadow Clone, one Aoshi had hidden earlier in anticipation of a sneak attack.
Since he'd already sensed someone lying in wait, Aoshi had prepared accordingly.
"Got you."
The clone grabbed the tendril-arm and yanked hard, slamming Kakuzu out from his hiding place and into the ground with bone-crushing force.
BOOM!
The impact split the earth into a spiderweb of fractures, the epicenter caving in from the blow.
Anyone else would've been dead or critically wounded. But Kakuzu had activated Earth Release: Earth Spear in time.
Though it sounded like an offensive jutsu, Earth Spear actually hardened the skin to dramatically boost defense. Its strength also allowed it to be used offensively.
In short, it was both shield and sword.
"Heh. So you're not just some brat after all," Kakuzu muttered.
Given that he had lived since the First Hokage's time, it wasn't strange for him to call Aoshi a kid.
"Too bad for you. You've run into me. I once tried to assassinate your First Hokage, Hashirama Senju—and not even he could kill me!"
Hearing this, Tsunade—still trembling on the ground—couldn't help but raise her head. She was the granddaughter of the First Hokage after all.
But Aoshi remained calm, completely unfazed.
This unsettled Kakuzu. He'd dropped that name specifically to shake Aoshi's confidence. Hashirama's reputation alone was enough to make even hardened shinobi lose composure.
He expected hesitation—weakness. But Aoshi didn't flinch.
"So ever since then, you've just been a rogue ninja, skulking through the shadows of the shinobi world."
Before Kakuzu could retort, Aoshi's Shadow Clone created another wave of clones, launching them at him.
Meanwhile, Aoshi himself began forming a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken in his hand.
"He can use that kind of Wind Style too?!" Even while dodging the swarm of clones, Kakuzu's expression grew grim.
He could feel the Rasenshuriken's terrifying power from a distance.
Fire Release: Searing Migraine!
Kakuzu's back split open—revealing a grotesque masked creature. As soon as it appeared, it unleashed a vast ocean of flames from its mouth. The inferno of flames devoured everything in its path.
Aoshi's Shadow Clones were annihilated instantly, and the firestorm surged toward Aoshi himself. Behind him—Tsunade.
"Run! Don't worry about me!" Tsunade shouted, not wanting to be a burden. She didn't believe Aoshi's clone could block that kind of attack.
Kakuzu clearly wasn't an ordinary opponent.
"I will never abandon a comrade!" Aoshi's real body roared back.
At that moment, the remaining clone raised the Rasenshuriken with one hand—and with the other, cast Water Release: Water Wall.
A wall of water burst forth from nothingness, intercepting the incoming sea of fire.
A storm of scalding mist exploded outward, engulfing the battlefield.
Tsunade's eyes widened in shock. Her trembling stopped—if only momentarily.
She hadn't overcome her hemophobia. But the sheer impact of what she was witnessing temporarily drowned it out.
She knew Aoshi was strong—but this strong? Back when she was his age, she didn't have half his power.
She felt like a relic of a bygone era.
"Impossible...!" Even Kakuzu was stunned.
To cast such an advanced Water Style with one hand—under that kind of pressure—wasn't something just anyone could do.
This wasn't someone worth ten million ryo. He was easily on par with Tsunade herself.
And then, while Kakuzu was still frozen in disbelief, Aoshi's Shadow Clone appeared behind him in a flash, slamming the Rasenshuriken downward with devastating force.