Tsunade had turned into a statue, only her eyes showing any movement, pupils contracting violently. Aside from disbelief, there was a hint of fear! Turning the impossible into possible—this wasn't the first time Haruto Saito had done something like this. But this time, it was the hardest to accept!
Using a unique tracking technique or an extraordinary perception ability could still be explained logically.
Learning an A-rank ninjutsu in a day? That could be attributed to some form of replication ability or an unbelievably monstrous talent.
But this? How could this be explained?!
Tsunade had considered the possibility of Haruto Saito winning. After all, she had been hypnotized by him before. So when Haruto Saito claimed that he had mastered a hypnosis technique infused with chakra and planned to use it on Jiraiya, it wasn't entirely impossible. She had even considered the possibility of him cheating—perhaps he was still using basic hypnosis but deliberately releasing certain energy signatures to fake the chakra infusion.
But no matter what—
It shouldn't have happened this fast!
Did it even take a second? Did the process of Haruto Saito hypnotizing Jiraiya even last a full second?!
Tsunade saw everything with her own eyes!
Who the hell knew what had just happened?!
Jiraiya was asleep. Tsunade was too shocked to move. But Haruto Saito also remained still. As soon as Jiraiya fell asleep, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion filled Haruto Saito's mind. At that moment, he felt more mentally drained than ever before.
His body stiffened and wobbled. His eyelids grew heavy. He struggled for three seconds but could no longer hold on.
Boom!
Haruto Saito collapsed, falling right on top of Jiraiya, which startled him awake.
Jiraiya's eyes snapped open, and he froze immediately.
Tsunade, however, reacted quickly. In two steps, she was in front of Jiraiya, pulling Haruto Saito up. After a quick check of his vital signs, she exhaled in relief. "He's fine, just extreme mental exhaustion. He's passed out."
Jiraiya wasn't paying attention to Tsunade's words at all. His eyes widened as he slowly asked, "Just now… what… happened to me?"
"That little brat hypnotized you." Tsunade placed Haruto Saito down gently, then continued, "It only took a second. Unbelievable! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed… but he actually did it."
Jiraiya stared at Tsunade, looking completely dumbfounded.
Was she speaking in riddles? Why did it sound like some kind of myth?
"It's different, completely different!" Tsunade continued, her voice filled with awe. "From his current state, it's clear that he has merged chakra into a hypnosis technique he already mastered, turning it into a true ninjutsu. While using chakra, he also infused an immense amount of mental energy. Based on my analysis, he transmitted mental energy through his voice, forming an attack—this should count as a genjutsu, or even a type of mental assault… Ugh! I lost again!"
Tsunade looked conflicted. Damn it… this meant she was in for another beating!
Jiraiya had completely lost track of the conversation. What genjutsu? What mental attack? Did Haruto Saito even form hand seals? And how the hell did the technique activate in just a second?!
Tsunade proceeded to check Haruto Saito's physical condition thoroughly.
Though she had already determined that he had passed out due to excessive mental energy depletion, she wanted to make sure there were no other hidden problems. A comprehensive examination never hurt.
Jiraiya remained lost in disbelief. It took him a while to accept the reality—he had indeed been hypnotized. Haruto Saito had succeeded! But how exactly he succeeded remained a mystery.
"How is he?" Jiraiya tilted his head and asked.
"So far, it looks like he's suffering from severe mental energy depletion. He was on the verge of a dangerous threshold. If he had pushed himself any further just now, he might have suffered sudden death!" Tsunade frowned slightly. "In his condition, there's no telling how long he will remain unconscious."
"You can forcibly wake him up and help him recover some mental energy," Jiraiya suggested.
"No, that won't work. Forcing him to wake up will only make him temporarily conscious. After a while, he'll experience even greater exhaustion. This is a form of energy overdraft. He still needs a proper rest to fully recover his mental energy. We've been on the run for days now, and he hasn't had a good rest. Every time he sleeps, he wakes up from nightmares. His mental state is already extremely fatigued…"
"Then what do we do?" Jiraiya walked over to Haruto Saito. "If he sleeps for days, that'll be a problem."
"No." Tsunade shook her head. "It won't take that long. Let's wait and see."
Night fell, deepening the darkness.
By midnight, the heavy rain had weakened into a light drizzle, and the fierce winds had calmed into a gentle breeze.
"Shall we move?" Jiraiya glanced outside before turning back to ask.
"Let's go!" Tsunade nodded. As she stood up, she lifted Haruto Saito onto her back… This kind of task was usually a man's job. Compared to Jiraiya, Tsunade's physique was much smaller. But in reality, her strength and stamina far surpassed his, making it natural for her to carry the extra weight.
The dense night sky swallowed their figures as they dashed out of the cave.
Jiraiya led the way. Tsunade carried Haruto Saito on her back and followed closely behind. They disappeared into the forest, speeding away.
Haruto Saito remained in deep sleep. In his current condition, he was beyond unconscious—he was in a true state of slumber. No amount of movement or noise could wake him until his body had fully recovered.
And so, ten hours passed.
A new day arrived. Around ten in the morning—
Amidst an endless forest stretching over the landscape—
"Look here!" Jiraiya leaped onto a towering tree and crouched on a branch twenty meters high. He ran his fingers over an S-shaped mark carved into the bark. "Orochimaru left this mark, and it was made within the past half-day!"
Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had their own unique way of leaving coded signals for each other. Since only they knew about these markings, the likelihood of anyone else deciphering them was almost nonexistent.
"Half a day?" Tsunade, still carrying Haruto Saito, stood at the base of the tree. She spoke quickly, "Orochimaru is leading a large group. They can't be moving fast. We can catch up!"
"Northwest!" Jiraiya confirmed. The mark pointed in that direction.
"Let's move!"
The two of them merged into motion, their figures blurring as they sprinted forward.
An hour later, they reached the forest's edge. Beyond lay an open grassland stretching far and wide, with a mountain visible on the distant horizon.
"Damn it!"
"If Rain Village's scouting birds are nearby…"
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged a glance, both glancing skyward.
"Go!"
"Hurry!"
The two figures shot across the grassland like shadows, heading northwest at full speed. Even if they were spotted, they had no choice—Orochimaru was close. Once they reunited with him, even if Rain Village's forces arrived, the outcome of a battle would be unpredictable.
Surely, Hanzo wouldn't just happen to be nearby… right?
They ran, faster and faster.
The grassland was vast. Even at their speed, it took over thirty minutes to reach the halfway point.
Up ahead, the land rose into uneven hills.
As they crested a hill, both of them suddenly halted.
In the wide-open terrain before them, about half a kilometer away, over a hundred warriors were charging in their direction.
The warriors spotted Tsunade and Jiraiya as well, slowing down while pointing and discussing amongst themselves.
Then, suddenly—cheers erupted, loud enough to be heard from half a kilometer away.