The figure flipped in midair and landed on the ground but staggered and nearly fell. Their right hand clutched their left shoulder, looking utterly disheveled.
It was Tsunade!
She looked completely exhausted. Her clothes were tattered and covered in bloodstains, with visible scratches all over her body. Her golden hair was a mess, devoid of its usual beauty, and her face was deathly pale.
She had been buried alive, yet she survived. When the cave collapsed, she knew there was no way to escape in time. So, she pushed her chakra to the absolute limit, distributing it across her entire body using her monstrous strength technique. Her head, shoulders, waist, and back—all these areas were shielded from the crushing rocks by the protective layer of chakra.
When Tsunade used her monstrous strength, she could shatter mountains with a single punch without injuring her fists. That was the power of her chakra control!
Luckily, she was born with an enormous chakra reserve, allowing her to generate enough chakra to protect her whole body. If it had been anyone else, even with perfect control over monstrous strength, they would have been buried alive due to insufficient chakra reserves.
She had made it out!
But her chakra was almost entirely depleted, and both her physical and mental energy had been pushed to their limits.
"Damn it!" Tsunade muttered, stumbling forward a few steps before gritting her teeth and scanning her surroundings.
Her vision was blurry. The night was dark, and the rain obscured everything. As she slowly looked around, all she could see was destruction—ruins upon ruins. The cave had collapsed into rubble, and the once-thriving forest before it was now reduced to a wasteland. Ancient trees that had stood for centuries were uprooted and destroyed by the battle that had taken place that night.
She didn't see Haruto Saito or Jiraiya. Due to the terrain and her position, she was unaware that they were just over a hundred meters away. Fallen trees further obstructed her view.
"Did he... leave?" Tsunade wondered to herself. The "he" she referred to was, of course, Haruto Saito.
There was no time to dwell on it!
Tsunade turned to the southeast and started running at full speed.
Moments later—
She arrived at the battlefield that had been devastated by an S-rank Wind Release forbidden jutsu. She leaped over a mound of dirt, climbed past several fallen trees, and finally spotted Jiraiya. In that instant, her expression shifted from shock to joy—she could still sense his life force!
It was weak, extremely weak, but it was there. Jiraiya was still alive!
Though he looked miserable.
He had been caught in the tornado. Who knew what defensive measures he had used inside it, but at least his body hadn't been torn apart? However, his injuries were severe. Deep, gash-like wounds covered him from head to toe, as if he had been sliced by countless blades. He had lost a tremendous amount of blood, and his breathing was faint—he was unconscious, teetering on the edge of life and death.
Tsunade rushed forward and knelt beside him, ignoring the searing pain in her left shoulder as she quickly formed a series of hand seals.
Even though her chakra reserves were almost depleted, her immense total chakra capacity allowed her to cast high-level medical jutsu even with the little she had left.
Completing the hand seals, she pressed her glowing green hands against Jiraiya's wounds.
His external injuries began to heal rapidly before her eyes, but his life force was recovering at an agonizingly slow pace. The worst of his injuries were internal—external wounds were always easier to treat. Internal damage, however, was far more complicated.
She wasn't even sure if he had suffered broken bones.
Tsunade performed two more medical jutsu in succession, ensuring that not only did Jiraiya's external wounds completely heal, but his life force also returned to a relatively stable level. However, he remained unconscious, breathing weakly, his injuries still grave.
Smack! Smack!
Tsunade forcefully slapped Jiraiya's face.
No response.
She had no choice but to form another set of seals. Her hands now glowed red as she pressed them against his forehead, forcibly awakening him.
"Ugh! Cough, cough, cough…" Jiraiya gasped sharply, his body convulsing as he broke into a violent cough. His eyes shot open.
"You're awake! Thank goodness!" Tsunade let out a deep breath, slumping backward. Relief washed over her exhausted face, and for the first time in a long while, a weak but genuine smile appeared.
Jiraiya's eyes widened as he turned his head slightly. He struggled to sit up, his gaze darting around, taking in the devastation before looking at Tsunade.
"I'm… not dead…" Jiraiya's voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper.
"Of course, you're not. Come on, get up." Tsunade stood, reaching out to pull Jiraiya to his feet. She hadn't completely healed his wounds—her chakra reserves wouldn't allow it. She had only done enough to stabilize him and prevent his condition from worsening.
With Tsunade's support, Jiraiya managed to stand, though he was barely able to keep his balance.
Bzzzzzz!
Was that… mosquitoes?
Tsunade suddenly heard a faint buzzing sound from the south. She turned in that direction, narrowing her eyes. She couldn't see clearly—darkness and rain limited her vision—but she could hear it. The buzzing was rapidly approaching.
"Be careful!"
"What is it?"
Both Tsunade and Jiraiya took a cautious step back. Their bodies were in terrible condition, and while they assumed defensive stances, they lacked real strength.
The buzzing grew louder. Finally, Tsunade saw them.
A swarm of small flying insects—thick as a black fog.
These weren't ordinary insects. Tsunade could tell at a glance—they were ninja insects, controlled by a shinobi!
The cloud of insects circled around them but showed no intention of attacking.
Then—
Hisssss!
A new, eerie sound emerged.
From behind a fallen tree in front of them, a pale, blue-white python slithered into view, its forked tongue flicking out. Its blood-red eyes locked onto them the moment it appeared.
Insects buzzed in the air. The snake slithered forward.
Tsunade and Jiraiya remained frozen in place, a strange mix of fear, disappointment, and anticipation filling their hearts.
Was it them?
Was it really them?!
Whoosh!
A chilling figure suddenly appeared a few meters ahead of them. His long black cloak rippled in the wind, and his pale, bloodless face carried an expression that rarely showed emotion. Yet, at this moment, his cold eyes flickered with a strange glint as he looked at the battered but still-breathing Tsunade and Jiraiya. His lips twitched slightly, as if attempting a smile.
He wanted to smile but seemed to struggle with the expression.
Because—
He was Orochimaru!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Immediately after Orochimaru's appearance, several other figures materialized around him—elite tracking shinobi from the Aburame Clan, renowned for their mastery of insect-based techniques. Top-tier reconnaissance shinobi from the Hyuga Clan. Elite jonin from the Sarutobi and Senju Clans.
And behind them, the faint rustling of movement signaled the approach of even more figures—the dozens of Konoha shinobi who had ventured into the Land of Rain alongside Orochimaru in search of Tsunade and Jiraiya.