Tsunade snorted. "Brat, stop saying weird things like that. I'll make you lose miserably in a minute!"
"Sure—but if I win, then what?"
"You? Win? If you win, I'll agree to anything!"
Tsunade laughed with confidence. "Come on—training ground!"
Uzumaki Mito shook her head. "Go on, then. This old woman needs to rest. Keep it down late at night; don't wake the others."
Tsunade waved a hand. "Got it, Grandma!"
Her thoughts clicked into place; picturing herself utterly crushing Night Maple in a moment, Tsunade couldn't help but smile.
Soon, Night Maple and Tsunade reached the training ground.
The grounds were empty. Tsunade picked a boulder and, with an easy punch, smashed it—turning it into an instant arm-wrestling table.
"How about it, kid—scared yet?"
She'd meant to shock Night Maple, but seeing how little he cared only made Tsunade more annoyed.
"You'll see how tough I am in a minute!"
Night Maple and Tsunade stood at opposite ends of the stone table and clasped hands.
Tsunade glanced back at Kushina. "Kushina, step back. Don't get caught in it."
Kushina nodded and retreated ten meters, then shouted loudly, "Three, two, one—start!"
"Aaaaahhhhh!!!"
Tsunade let out a string of roars; the instant Kushina called start, golden chakra burst off her body.
Night Maple smiled slightly and began to ramp up his strength.
Ten percent, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty.
Purple chakra rose around Night Maple as well.
Tsunade blinked—his chakra looked exactly like her grandfather's.
At the same time, a massive force surged through her hand.
"Hmph!"
Tsunade grunted and, in an instant, opened the Yin Seal on her forehead.
Strength of a Hundred Technique!
Chakra all but overflowed from her body as she clawed back her earlier disadvantage.
This kid's strength is actually this great?
And he still looks so calm about it?
Tsunade gave a low growl; a golden sheen wrapped her whole body.
"I don't buy it—your strength can't be greater than mine!"
A terrifying aura exploded outward from the two at the center; purple and gold chakra twined together, forming a cyclone of intermingled colors.
Boom!
The stone table split apart.
The ground beneath their feet cracked open as well.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had just gotten home and sat down when a messenger from the ANBU arrived.
"Tsunade and Night Maple again?!"
Sarutobi Biwako had been complaining that Hiruzen was working late too often. Their elder son was about to graduate, and their younger, Sarutobi Asuma, was entering the Academy this year—Hiruzen had no time for either.
And off Hiruzen went again.
Biwako shook her head helplessly. Maybe overtime is simply the Hokage's fate.
At the same time, having just seen Danzō off and returned to the village, Konoha's White Fang and Namikaze Minato also spotted a sudden purple-gold tornado rising from the training ground.
"What's that?!"
"Let's go take a look!"
Inside the grounds, Kushina had retreated another ten meters.
She couldn't see what was happening inside the chakra whirlwind—how Night Maple and Tsunade were faring.
Kushina was already regretting it; she shouldn't have suggested arm wrestling.
How is this any different from a fight?
Around Night Maple, purple chakra boiled up like water and surged into the sky.
At the same time, countless branches and vines sprang from the earth at Kushina's feet, forming a wall in front of her.
Night Maple split his focus in two—arm-wrestling Tsunade while protecting Kushina.
"Hmph. At least you pass—you know to protect Kushina!"
With a roar, the fighting lust that had been dormant in Tsunade for the past two years was instantly reignited by Night Maple.
Her golden chakra shot straight into the heavens as well, sweeping the clouds aside!
Rumble!
The vast chakra dispersed in the air, and the sheer pressure actually caused the ground around them to cave in.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
One massive crater after another formed all around.
"Kushina?"
Kushina looked back—it was Namikaze Minato and Hatake Sakumo.
"What on earth is going on?"
Minato frowned, staring at the two hazy figures—one purple, one gold—on either side of the shattered table, momentarily stunned.
"Night Maple? And the woman is…"
Hatake Sakumo beside him said, "Tsunade."
"Lady Tsunade?!"
Minato's eyes went wide—Tsunade was one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin, on par with his teacher Jiraiya.
"And it looks like Night Maple has the edge."
Sakumo's brow furrowed; Night Maple's strength exceeded his expectations.
His own assassination arts might be the best in Konoha, but in raw power he wasn't Tsunade's equal.
Yet the Night Maple before them was already ahead of Tsunade.
Is awakening a kekkei genkai really this strong?
The Senju are terrifying…
"Night Maple is arm-wrestling Tsunade—and he isn't losing ground?"
Minato felt crushed. He'd thought he could catch up to Night Maple—only to find himself falling even farther behind.