Since the black curse seal covered Haruto Saito's entire body except for his face, when Tsunade's punch landed on his shoulder, she made direct contact with the seal. In that moment, she could feel the chakra properties and effects of the seal.
"He's using a unique sealing technique to suppress his injuries, preventing them from worsening during battle. Moreover, the seal on his body grants him an exceptionally strong defensive ability. Unless he takes a full-frontal attack at 100% force, even I would struggle to break through this seal!" Tsunade's face paled slightly as she spoke while attempting to move her shoulder.
She could still move it, but every motion sent waves of excruciating pain through her body!
"Is that even possible? How can such a technique exist?" Ryoji Takeda exclaimed in disbelief.
Haruto, who had nearly been killed by Tsunade's punch, was somehow able to seal his injuries? And on top of that, he had an incredibly strong defense?!
From the defensive effect alone, it was somewhat similar to the Lightning Chakra Mode used by the Hidden Cloud Village in the Land of Lightning, but the manifestation was different. However, what truly baffled Ryoji was the ability to seal injuries!
How could wounds possibly be sealed?!
"If he didn't possess unique abilities, how could he be known as the Rain Village's number one assassin?" Tsunade stood up, her gaze locked onto Haruto. "And don't assume this sealing technique is something he can use freely. Based on my understanding of sealing jutsu, the cost of activating this ability must be unimaginable!"
"Heh! You sure know a lot," Haruto smirked as he took a few steps to the side, picking up the sword that had fallen earlier.
"Does that mean he's unkillable now? You couldn't even break through his defense," Ryoji said hastily.
"There's no such thing as an unkillable shinobi! His curse seal defense likely only protects against physical attacks, but it doesn't block ninjutsu damage. In other words, flames can still burn him, and lightning can still harm him!"
Tsunade spoke quickly—Haruto could attack at any moment, and she needed to get this information across, mainly for Jiraiya's benefit.
"Additionally, his sealing defense isn't absolute. His face is completely unmarked by the seal! That's because the primary function of this technique is to suppress pain from injuries. If he applied the seal to his face, he would likely lose his sense of hearing, smell, taste, and sight!"
"Tsk tsk, what an interesting analysis. Are you done yet?" Haruto tilted his head, sword in hand, and smirked.
"Be careful! His tactical intelligence is incredibly high! Don't make the same mistake I did!" Tsunade warned urgently. That was her biggest concern—she had been completely outmaneuvered by Haruto earlier!
Haruto had feigned retreat, baiting them into a chase. Since their speeds varied, Tsunade had outpaced Jiraiya and Ryoji, creating a scenario where she was pursuing Haruto alone. That was exactly what he had wanted—he lured her into an isolated one-on-one situation and launched a swift counterattack. He had even deliberately exposed a weakness, tricking her into believing she had an opening. When she went for the attack, she inadvertently revealed her own weakness.
Under normal circumstances, Tsunade's attack should have been decisive—no one could afford to take a direct hit from her. But Haruto had calculated everything. He had knowingly taken her punch in exchange for landing a blade strike on her.
And he succeeded!
The entire sequence was flawless—everything had gone exactly as Haruto planned!
Now, Tsunade's left arm was nearly crippled, drastically reducing her combat effectiveness!
Haruto had, in a matter of moments, completely overturned the disadvantage he had been in due to his severe injuries!
Terrifying!
The more Tsunade thought about it, the more horrifying she found Haruto to be!
Many shinobi abilities aren't just about raw talent—experience is key!
Judging by his appearance, Haruto was at least ten years older than Tsunade and Jiraiya. That meant he had over a decade more experience in combat and missions! And since he was an assassin specializing in high-difficulty missions such as tracking, infiltration, and assassination, he had honed his analytical abilities, tactical mind, crisis management skills, and mental fortitude to a level far beyond normal shinobi!
In all these aspects, Haruto surpassed both Tsunade and Jiraiya!
Now, there was no clear advantage on either side!
Haruto was severely injured, which weakened his combat ability, but he had used his sealing technique to suppress the effects and had gained an incredibly strong defense. On the other side, Tsunade's left arm was nearly useless, but thanks to her mastery of taijutsu, she wasn't entirely out of the fight. Jiraiya still had his full strength, but he couldn't engage Haruto in close combat—it was far too dangerous!
As for Ryoji… neither side considered him a significant factor in the battle.
Two versus one—an unpredictable fight!
The only hope Tsunade had was that Haruto's sealing technique came at a steep price. What was the cost? What kind of side effects did it have? Was it draining his chakra at a massive rate? Or was it causing permanent damage to his body?
This was crucial!
It would determine how long Haruto could continue fighting and how she and Jiraiya should strategize against him!
Yet, up to this point, Tsunade hadn't noticed any adverse effects on Haruto.
"Not talking anymore? No further analysis? Heh… hehehe…" Haruto's raspy, sharp laughter rang out, carrying an unhinged, almost manic edge. Suddenly, his voice rose dramatically: "Twenty-three years! I've been taking assassination missions since I was fourteen! For twenty-three years! One hundred and nine assassination missions! I have never failed! Never once! And now, you… YOU have destroyed my perfect record!"
Haruto's state of mind was clearly unstable. His voice grew increasingly agitated!
"Heh! Tsunade! I underestimated you! But what does it matter?! In the end, you will still die by my hands! I will carve you up piece by piece! And you! And YOU! By the end of this, only I will walk away from here alive! I NEVER FAIL!"
Ryoji suddenly understood why Haruto had been acting so erratically ever since Tsunade injured him.
Because he was an assassin with an unbreakable creed!
His guiding principle was: NEVER FAIL!
He had upheld this belief for twenty-three years! And yet today, he had failed!
However, if he could still win this battle—if he could be the sole survivor—then no one would ever know of his failure. His record would remain untarnished. His assassination mission would still be considered a success!
"Are you ready to face death?" Haruto bared his teeth in a bloodstained grin.
Tsunade locked eyes with him, simultaneously channeling chakra into her wounded shoulder. She was wrapping her fractured bone in chakra to dull the pain and prevent further damage.
"Looks like you're ready," Haruto said coldly. In the next instant, he stomped the ground—and vanished!
High-speed movement—rapid approach!
"Watch out!" Tsunade shouted as she lunged forward.
Jiraiya leaped onto a tree branch, forming hand seals at lightning speed.
Ryoji, retreating rapidly, widened his eyes in terror—his vision couldn't even keep up with Haruto's speed!
WHOOSH!
Haruto had bypassed Tsunade completely. In the blink of an eye, he appeared right behind Ryoji, his blade flashing like lightning!