As a massive boulder tore through the flames toward him, Uchiha Ran, retreating midair before his feet could even touch the ground, instantly gathered chakra into his right fist and struck forward with force.
Technique of Monstrous Strength!
The moment his fist connected with the rock, it shattered into fragments. Using the recoil from the impact, Ran continued to retreat.
But almost at the same time, Tsunade—who had hidden behind the rubble of the destroyed boulder—burst forward and landed a furious kick square into Ran's chest before he could raise a defense.
Boom!
Ran's body exploded in a puff of smoke.
A clone!
At that very instant, a powerful column of water shot from the air ten meters to the side, barreling toward Tsunade.
But Tsunade, as if sensing it, activated Precise Chakra Control Mode the moment she landed—her chakra-anchored feet clinging tightly to the ground.
Using the suction-like grip she created, she abruptly ducked, narrowly avoiding a direct hit.
At the same time, she rolled aside, just in time to evade a second water column that slashed downward like a sword.
The stone slab beneath the water strike was split cleanly in two, and the column didn't stop—it swept forward in a slicing motion, gliding along the surface.
Suiton: Suiryūdanha!
This technique had been created by Senju Tobirama himself—a concentrated stream of water shot from the mouth under immense pressure, like a continuous blade.
Even so, Tsunade managed to dodge again. Crouching low, she charged straight at Uchiha Ran with lightning speed.
By then, the water column had already dissipated.
"Let's see how you block this!" came her battle cry.
In the next instant, Tsunade was above Ran, launching a crushing downward kick aimed to break through him from above.
After months of training, Tsunade had learned a great deal about Ran's capabilities.
Weaker techniques like Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu he could perform even through shadow clones.
But high-level jutsu like Suiton: Suiryūdanha required his main body—he still couldn't channel that kind of power through a clone.
After all, not everyone was like Uzumaki Naruto, with such absurd reserves of chakra that even his clones could cast Fūton: Rasenshuriken.
Nor was he like Edo Tensei Uchiha Madara, whose shadow clone could summon a full-body Susanoo with ease.
While Uchiha Ran's talent was undoubtedly exceptional, his chakra volume remained within the normal range for Kage-level shinobi. He couldn't afford to burn through it recklessly like a Jinchūriki.
With no time to form hand seals again, Ran hastily gathered chakra into his body and raised his left arm to block.
Crash!
The enormous impact instantly cracked the ground beneath his feet, sending fractures spreading in all directions, tearing across dozens of meters.
The downward force of the blow sent Ran spinning through the air—absorbing part of the kinetic energy through the rotation.
And using that same momentum, he launched a counterattack—a kick from above aimed at the just-landed Tsunade.
But she had anticipated it. She drove her fist upward, meeting his descending leg head-on.
Boom!
The clash triggered a shockwave that obliterated the already fractured ground—the platform they fought on sank lower from the impact.
Initially, Ran had intended to use the recoil to break away and gain distance, but he didn't make it in time—before he could move, Tsunade's figure flickered into view before him like a ghost.
She immediately unleashed a flurry of blows.
So began their fierce exchange: fist after fist, strike after strike, their bodies whirling in a furious dance of close-quarters combat.
At this point, Uchiha Ran had only recently mastered the Technique of Monstrous Strength—barely ten days ago.
He had yet to learn Precise Chakra Control Mode, and his combat experience was still lacking.
In pure taijutsu, he was still a step behind Tsunade.
But now, he had no choice.
Tsunade, giving him no room to breathe, didn't let him retreat or form a single hand seal—forcing him to fight hand-to-hand.
Under her relentless barrage, Uchiha Ran gradually began to lose ground.
Only thanks to the body-conditioning training he had started six years ago using chakra reinforcement did he manage to hold up physically. His incredible reaction speed helped him withstand Tsunade's pressure—if only barely.
Still, the gap in raw taijutsu between them was unmistakable.
Ten minutes later, Uchiha Ran was flat on the ground, breathing heavily—ending today's sparring match as the loser once again.
Before reincarnating into this world, Ran had secretly underestimated Tsunade's strength.
After all, not every taijutsu specialist was Might Guy, who could explode into a storm by opening the Eight Gates.
But now, after actually fighting Tsunade, Ran realized just how wrong—how completely wrong—he had been.
Because of him, Tsunade hadn't stopped training over the past few years.
Once the laziest of the Three Legendary Sannin, she had become the most disciplined.
She had even given up gambling—devoting herself entirely to training and studying medical ninjutsu.
And that had led to something incredible: with her already extraordinary talent, Tsunade had, in reality, far surpassed the Orochimaru and Jiraiya of her time, reaching a solid Kage level.
Most importantly—she was still improving.
Her potential was truly terrifying—as if the heavens themselves had blessed her.
In the original story, even after more than two decades of decline, that laid-back Tsunade had managed to display top-tier Kage strength during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
And now—if she hadn't missed a single day of training since…
The heights she might one day reach were truly frightening to imagine.
And while Uchiha Ran was awed by Tsunade's power, Tsunade herself was even more shocked.
Because Uchiha Ran's rate of growth terrified her.
In her eyes, he was a monster.
Just a month ago, he'd been a complete novice, clueless about ninjutsu or real combat.
And now, he could fight her evenly—even when she was going all out!
And that was without using senjutsu or his Sharingan.
If he had used senjutsu, Tsunade wouldn't have stood a chance.
If things kept progressing like this, would he be able to completely overpower her without enhancements in just a month?
No, this didn't mean Ran's talent vastly exceeded hers.
Over the past seven years, even though he hadn't trained physically, he had never stopped studying ninjutsu and combat techniques.
He had simulated tens of thousands of battles in his head.
He used to be just a theorist, someone who had never practiced seriously, never mastered techniques, never stepped onto a real battlefield.
So even with his staggering talent, he still needed time to adapt.
And only thanks to Tsunade—an incredibly patient and meticulous super-trainer—had he managed to integrate all his knowledge into real combat within a single month.
In essence, Uchiha Ran had only trained for one month.
And the fact that he could go toe-to-toe with a fully unleashed, Kage-level Tsunade for twenty minutes—without using senjutsu or Sharingan—was already a miracle.
Such a growth rate was inhuman.
And now Tsunade finally understood why the Second Hokage—Senju Tobirama—had been so wary of Uchiha Ran.
He had seen Ran's monstrous potential—and had tried to crush it before it bloomed.
And all because of one thing.
Because he was an Uchiha.
And with that, everything suddenly made sense.
Which only fueled Tsunade's fury even more.
Just because he bore the name Uchiha, he wasn't allowed to reach his potential? His future had to be destroyed? He had to be erased?
In the end, it all traced back to the ancient prejudices of the Second Hokage.
But weren't the Uchiha shinobi still shinobi of Konoha?
And knowing her grand-uncle well, Tsunade could say with confidence:
If Ran hadn't been an Uchiha, Tobirama would've done everything in his power to raise him into Konoha's greatest warrior.
But just because of the name Uchiha—he'd been marked for destruction from the start.
And that… was utterly absurd.