Tsunade didn't attack immediately.
She stood there, eyes locked onto Hiroki, her expression so dark it seemed water could drip from it.
The green glow of medical chakra slowly faded from her body. The wind-inflicted cuts had vanished completely—no scars, no marks—as if the injury had never existed at all.
An illusion.
Hiroki still stood at the exact spot where the match had begun.
He hadn't taken a single step.
How dare he?
How could he stand there so calmly?How could he look at her with such blatant disregard?
How could he look down on her?
Yes—
He was only ten years old.
He had the right to be arrogant.
But still—
Tsunade inhaled sharply.
"Kid!" she shouted, fury boiling over. "This isn't your time yet! Behave yourself! Stay in Konoha and study!"
She slammed her foot into the ground.
BOOM—!
The floor shattered instantly. Cracks spiderwebbed outward as chunks of cement burst into the air.
Hiroki's eyes widened.
Even without calculations, he knew one thing for sure—
Striking the ground wouldn't transmit enough force to hurt him directly.
I'm not Naruto, he thought. I'm not a clueless Genin who doesn't understand basic mechanics.
Was she trying to destroy the ground beneath him? Force him out of position?
He was still processing the idea when—
Tsunade suddenly swung her arm.
Several "meteors" tore through the air.
BOOM—!
—
"Tsunade," Orochimaru frowned slightly, "please be careful. This is a laboratory. The equipment here is very expensive."
Jiraiya nearly jumped out of his skin and grabbed Orochimaru's sleeve."Shut up! Be quiet, Orochimaru—be quiet!"
—
Hiroki reached up and brushed his cheek.
"…What a shame."
Just a little closer—
If he hadn't activated Earth Grudge Fear instantly, he would've been scarred.
From his arm, dense black blood vessels burst forth, expanding outward and forming the shape of an umbrella.
Clack—clack—clack.
The flying stones struck it like raindrops.
So this was Tsunade's method for dealing with long-range threats?
Pure brute-force throwing.
Noted.
—
Before Hiroki could lower his guard, Tsunade moved again.
But this time—
She didn't charge straight in.
Her body blurred, zigzagging violently. Afterimages flickered across the empty laboratory as she flanked him from multiple angles.
She was cutting into his blind spot.
She wouldn't give him the chance to open his mouth and unleash another ninjutsu.
Fast.
Terrifyingly fast.
Nawaki could barely follow her movements. All he saw were golden streaks flashing across the field.
Minato, however, watched with absolute focus, barely daring to breathe.
Yet Hiroki's reaction once again defied everyone's expectations.
He didn't move.
He didn't even turn his head.
Instead, he slowly raised the strange black arm—Kakuzu's arm.
"What is he doing?" Nawaki muttered, fists clenched. "Did he give up?"
"No!" Minato's pupils shrank. "Look at that arm!"
The black limb unfolded.
But this time, it didn't form a shield.
Instead, it split apart.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of slender black tendrils burst outward like living snakes, shooting in every direction. In an instant, the ground, walls, and air within a five-meter radius were completely covered.
The center of the laboratory transformed into a three-dimensional web of black lines.
Not just flexible—
The tendrils gleamed with cold, metallic light.
Jiraiya's eyes widened.
"…That's—"
Needle Jizō.The Technique of the Wild-Haired Lion.
"It's supposed to be hair," Jiraiya whispered in disbelief. "But he's using it on blood vessels…?"
In seven days.
Not only had Hiroki mastered seal-less ninjutsu—
He had modified it.
Integrated it.
Made it his own.
What kind of monster learns like this?
Hiroki stood calmly at the center of the web and closed his eyes.
Tsunade skidded to a halt at its edge.
Her instincts screamed danger.
"Tch. Little brat, playing tricks again?" she snorted.
Instead of entering, she stomped the ground, tore up a massive slab of cement, and hurled it with all her strength straight at Hiroki.
But—
BOOM!
The slab struck the web—
—and was instantly shredded into fragments.
"…As expected," Jiraiya muttered grimly. "That technique's a problem."
"Tsunade doesn't have many long-range options," he added. "This might actually stall her."
"No," Orochimaru replied calmly, excitement glinting in his golden eyes."She does."
"As a medical ninja, Tsunade rarely uses it in battle—but she's extremely proficient with the chakra scalpel."
"If hair can be cut…""…then blood vessels can be severed as well."
—
Tsunade exhaled sharply.
Chakra surged and wrapped around her hands.
She stared at the black web, eyes burning.
"Kid," she said coldly, "even if you mastered Needle Jizō in such a short time—"
"Even if you adapted it to that disgusting arm—"
"Do you really think this can stop me?!"
She charged.
This time, with no restraint.
The ground collapsed beneath her feet. The concrete rippled like water as her speed exploded.
She became a bolt of golden lightning and plunged straight into the black web.
"Break!"
The chakra scalpel flashed.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
Tendrils were severed in an instant, bursting apart one after another.
Hiroki's pupils contracted.
I can't defend this.
Minato's heart sank.
Hiroki had already burned through nearly half his chakra at the start.
He hadn't shown any high-speed movement techniques.
Was this it?
Kushina clenched her fists, unable to look away.
Nawaki froze.
Then—
BOOM!!!
—
To be continued.