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What a terrifying killing intent.
Move.
Move!
Kakashi gritted his teeth. A thin line of blood slid down from the corner of his mouth, and finally—
Whoosh!
In an instant, chakra burst out of his body, faint crackles of electricity running along his skin.
Lightning Release chakra stimulating his muscles.
Even though his technique wasn't mastered yet, facing Tsunade right now, Kakashi didn't dare hold back.
His speed shot up to the fastest he could possibly go.
And yet—
The next second—
Bang!
He flew back just as fast as he rushed in.
In the blink of an eye, Kakashi had smashed into a tree and couldn't move.
Hands on her hips, Tsunade said, "Shizune, go check how bad that is."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Shizune flickered forward.
Kakashi pushed himself up, coughed a little blood, then waved one hand to signal that he was mostly fine.
He stood still, lost in thought.
"Confused?" Tsunade smirked.
Bullying kids wasn't exactly a skill, but it was undeniably satisfying—especially genius kids.
She chuckled. "Brat, your speed is impressive. Using Lightning chakra to stimulate your body like that can get you ridiculously fast, but you can't control it."
Then her expression hardened.
"If you can't control that kind of speed, it becomes a double-edged sword. Either your enemy dies, or—like just now—I beat you with one finger."
Tsunade flicked her finger.
She really had only used a single finger.
A swollen red lump sat right in the middle of Kakashi's forehead.
And that was her holding back.
If she'd flicked with full force, his head might've popped like a melon. Not everyone could take a beating like Orochimaru.
Kakashi had already felt something was off about his earlier tactics. Now it was basically confirmed.
Speed didn't work. Explosive tags…
With Tsunade's reaction time and strength, no way those tags would even get close enough to matter.
He'd try kenjutsu, then.
Drawing his blade, his eyes sharpened again.
Then—
Kakashi dashed forward once more.
Sword in one hand, explosive tag pinched in the other.
This time he kept his speed under control.
Tsunade smirked.
The moment his blade came down, she simply tilted her body aside and pinched the blade between two fingers.
Then she flicked.
Kakashi gripped the short White Fang tanto with everything he had, keeping it from flying away, but his palm split and bled from the shockwave.
Lightning chakra surged through the blade.
It sharpened instantly, little sparks dancing along its edge.
He tried to use the lightning to numb Tsunade's fingers, but she flicked again and shattered his chakra before it even stabilized.
Still—
Kakashi had achieved what he wanted.
He slapped his free hand against the ground and pushed off hard, retreating in a blur.
The next moment—
Dust erupted into the air.
BOOM!
The explosive tag detonated mid-air.
Tsunade straightened up and blew dust off her fingertips.
"Got any more?"
"Nope."
Kakashi froze for a moment, then shook his head helplessly.
If even that didn't work—
He was out of ideas.
"Next."
Two straight losses were enough. Kakashi stepped aside without trying again.
Kurenai was stunned.
So this was the gap between a Sannin and them?
Even fighting with one finger and in a tiny training circle, she still beat them senseless.
Worse—
Her killing intent alone felt like a genjutsu.
No—
Stricter speaking…
It was worse than genjutsu.
Genjutsu could be dispelled. Killing intent, if you couldn't block it with pure willpower, could get you killed on a real battlefield.
Kurenai was about to step forward.
But Leo took a step first.
"I'll go."
"The Hatake brat gave up pretty quick. Hopefully you can last a bit longer. At least be as tough as your mouth," Tsunade laughed.
Leo simply said, "I'll do my best."
"Good. Come on."
Tsunade curled her finger.
And she really meant it—only one finger.
But—
Her killing intent hit like a mountain collapsing.
Leo felt like he was stuck in quicksand.
This feeling…
Compared to Tsunade's killing intent, those wandering samurai and the ninjas who ambushed them before weren't even worth mentioning.
If Tsunade is like this… what about Orochimaru?
No wonder just a stare from him had scared even elite-rank Kakashi earlier.
Sannin, Kage-level—none of them were simple.
Leo clenched his teeth.
Their difference in strength was huge, sure, but he couldn't let killing intent scare him into retreat.
He had to endure it.
Over and over, he repeated in his heart: Get stronger. Stay alive.
His resolve hardened.
I have a system.I'm going to get stronger.I'm going to survive.How could I back down from something like this?
In the next instant, he dashed forward.
Kakashi's eyes widened.
This…
Just like him?
Tsunade narrowed her eyes slightly, then suddenly thrust a finger behind her.
BOOM!
Chakra blasted out like a blade of air, splitting the ground open. But the figure that had been right in front of her turned into a chunk of wood.
"A clone plus a substitution…"
Kakashi immediately understood.
Leo didn't know many jutsu—just the basic three and body flicker—so he loved combining them creatively.
That earlier charge had been a decoy.
And at that speed, it was genuinely hard to tell real from fake.
If Leo were fighting a chunin, it would absolutely work.
But unfortunately—
His opponent was Tsunade.
Tsunade grinned. "Not bad. When it comes to speed control, you're better than Kakashi."
Kakashi couldn't deny it.
Leo now leaned against a distant tree, breathing heavily and looking pretty beaten up—but still very much alive.
Honestly—
With that killing intent and her monstrous strength behind her finger…
Leo had really thought he was going to die.
But at the last moment, Tsunade deliberately restrained her chakra output, only making his shoulder ache instead of blowing a hole straight through him.
It was insane.
Her chakra control was absurd. Aside from Uchiha Madara hiding underground somewhere, no one in the ninja world could match her right now.
No wonder she could heal anything others couldn't.
"Going again?"
"Yeah!"
Leo rushed in again.
But—
He didn't attack right away. Instead, he kept weaving in and out of Tsunade's range, constantly moving forward and backward.
At first, Tsunade stayed cautious.
But after a few rounds, she couldn't help laughing.
"You don't seriously think you can exhaust my chakra like this, do you?"
"Of course…"
"I don't!"
His voice came from far away—then suddenly from right in front.
"Hm?"
Tsunade slid sideways instantly—
A kunai sliced past her.
Using sound, shifting speed, messing with her perception…
This brat wasn't as strong as Kakashi, but he was at least three times as crafty.
Aren't they both seven years old?
Tsunade had that thought for just a moment—then her eyes widened.
She sensed chakra gathering rapidly along Leo's arm.
What—
No.
Impossible!
For a moment, even Tsunade couldn't believe it.
The ground erupted.
The entire training circle shattered.
Kakashi, Kurenai, and Shizune all stared, completely frozen.
This level of destruction…
Leo caused that?
How?!
Wasn't that Tsunade's technique?
How did Leo learn it?
But—
Even that wasn't the most shocking part.
The next instant, a massive explosion swallowed both Tsunade and Leo whole.
"Lady Tsunade! Leo!"
Shizune gasped, panic replacing shock.
"Leo!"
Kurenai looked horrified.
Tsunade definitely wouldn't die, but Leo… probably would.
But—
The next second, she sensed both Tsunade and Leo moving away from the explosion.
When she looked over—
Tsunade was dragging Leo by the collar, her face stern, though from afar they could still see her trembling slightly.
Blood poured down Leo's arm.
He was hurt.
"I'll heal him!"
Shizune darted forward immediately.
"....."