"Stop right there!!!"
Tsunade chased the man relentlessly, all the way to the outskirts of Konoha. Yet, the man showed no signs of stopping.
Crack!
Tsunade snapped a massive tree in half, lifting it with one hand. She gathered her strength and hurled it forward with all her might.
"I said stop! Didn't you hear me?!"
Boom…!!
The flying tree crashed down, blocking the man's path.
The man finally halted, turning around slowly.
When Tsunade saw his face, she was stunned. "You're… Uchiha Madara?!"
Though she had never seen Madara alive, she had seen the statues at the Valley of the End. She recognized him immediately.
Madara Uchiha greeted her with a calm demeanor, "The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. Hashirama's granddaughter. As the rumors say, you're quite hot-tempered. Seeing the face of Hashirama on my chest, you couldn't hold back and chased me all the way here…"
Tsunade glared at him. "The face of my grandfather on your chest… So it's true, you've obtained his cells. But why do you also have the Byakugan?!"
Madara replied indifferently, "Oh, this Byakugan? I took it from a member of the Hyūga Clan I just killed. It's quite useful, I must say."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "You mean… you just transplanted it? But you're supposed to be an Edo Tensei summon. How can you transplant a living person's eye? Could it be… you've already freed yourself from the Edo Tensei body?"
"Oh?" Madara raised an eyebrow, surprised. "You seem to know quite a bit about this. Are you a medical ninja?"
This was as good as admitting it.
Tsunade clenched her fists. After a moment, she steadied herself and probed further. "Madara, what's your purpose in luring me all the way out here? Do you intend to capture me, the Hokage, to control Konoha?"
"Heh heh heh…" Madara chuckled before answering, "Do I look like someone who would resort to such roundabout methods? Let me be direct. I want to obtain the Sage Mode of the Shikkotsu Forest through you."
Tsunade froze for a moment but then laughed. "Then you should go to the Shikkotsu Forest and ask the Slug Sage yourself. While I can summon Katsuyu, I haven't mastered that Sage Mode."
Madara's tone turned serious. "If that were an option, I wouldn't be here. I need you to make that slug submit to me, Hashirama's granddaughter. I'll give you a chance to resist. Whether it works or not is up to you."
Tsunade declared firmly, "I don't need you to tell me to resist! There's no way I'd let someone like you get their hands on Sage Mode!"
Zzz!
The Strength of a Hundred Seal on her forehead fully released, its markings spreading across her entire body.
Madara observed her chakra using the Byakugan. "Oh? So you were the one who taught that pink-haired girl. Your chakra's quality and quantity surpass hers, but compared to Hashirama, it's not even worth mentioning. You don't seem to know Wood Release either, do you?"
"Enough talk! Take this!!!"
Boom!!!
Tsunade shattered the ground beneath her feet, launching a powerful punch.
Madara stood motionless as his Susano'o rose to shield him.
Crack…!!
The skeletal frame of Susano'o shattered under Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred-enhanced punch!
Madara, unfazed, simply formed hand seals and launched a close-range attack.
— Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!!!
Boom!!!!
The explosion of flames turned the battlefield into a sea of fire.
Whoosh!
From within the inferno, a burning Tsunade raised her leg high and brought it down with immense force.
— Heavenly Foot of Pain!!!
Rumbleeeee!!!
The ground crumbled, and Tsunade carved out a clear space in the midst of the flames. Her body, covered in burns, began healing rapidly under the power of the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
Fwoosh!!
A path opened through the flames.
Madara strode forward, unfazed. "Your monstrous strength is impressive, and your medical ninjutsu is passable. But for Hashirama's granddaughter to be this weak… it's truly disappointing."
I'm no match for him.
At this point, Tsunade had come to terms with the grim reality.
I was reckless. I shouldn't have pursued him so hastily.
But now that things have come to this, I can only think about how to minimize the damage.
He wants to use me to coerce Katsuyu into teaching him Sage Mode. The only way to stop this is for me to die here.
Swish!
Tsunade deactivated her Strength of a Hundred Seal.
Madara narrowed his eyes. "What's this? Have you given up?"
Buzz! A layer of bright blue chakra enveloped Tsunade's palm—it was the Chakra Scalpel.
With a resolute determination to end her own life, she swiftly moved her hand toward her neck.
Slash…!
A blade from Susano'o rose from below, severing an arm that spun through the air before landing on the ground.
Tsunade clutched her bleeding right shoulder and retreated, staring at the blade protruding from the ground. She realized in shock, "Wood Release… a clone?!"
Clang!!
A kunai landed before her. Madara appeared via Flying Thunder God Technique, precisely striking a point on her chest with a single finger.
"Flying Thunder God… Acupoint Seal…"
Thud! Tsunade collapsed, powerless.
Madara, gazing down at her with his Byakugan, remarked coldly, "Weakness is ugly. And for a member of the Senju Clan, weakness is even more disgraceful. Black Zetsu, she's all yours."
"As you command, Lord Madara…"
Rustle, rustle, rustle! With a sinister voice, black liquid seeped from the ground, covering Tsunade's body.
By dusk, Madara and the Black Zetsu-controlled Tsunade arrived once again before the Slug Sage.
Black Zetsu threatened openly, "Slug, teach Lord Madara Sage Mode, or this woman dies…"
"…" The Slug Sage remained silent, its drooping eyes coldly observing the scene below.
Black Zetsu pressed a kunai against Tsunade's neck, taunting, "Didn't you hear me? Or do you think I won't do it?"
The sharp kunai pierced Tsunade's skin, drawing blood.
The Slug Sage intervened, "Stop…!"
Whoosh…! The Sage Pool opened.
The Slug Sage relented, "Go soak in that pool…"
Black Zetsu sneered, "If you'd been this cooperative earlier, we wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble. Lord Madara, please."
Madara stepped into the Sage Pool.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu, controlling Tsunade's body, sat nearby, keeping a vigilant eye on the Slug Sage.
After a day and a night, Madara emerged, having successfully mastered the Sage Mode of the Shikkotsu Forest.
The Slug Sage demanded, "Now, release her."
Black Zetsu glanced at Madara for approval. Upon receiving a nod, it slowly withdrew from Tsunade's body, all the while remaining wary of the Slug Sage.
The moment it fully detached, Black Zetsu swiftly retreated into the ground and vanished.
The Slug Sage warned coldly, "One day, you'll regret this!"
Madara, his back to the Slug Sage, replied fearlessly, "Regret? That word doesn't exist in my vocabulary. You may be strong, but one day, I, Madara, will rise above you—and everyone else!"
Madara left the Shikkotsu Forest unscathed.
However, the enmity he sowed with the Slug Sage through coercion would later bring him bitter consequences—but that is a story for another time.
Late at night, on a desolate wasteland.
Black Zetsu remarked, "They say the beginning is always the hardest. It seems that's true. Where to next?"
Madara, gazing at the face of his old rival in his mind, murmured, "After Hashirama mastered the Sage Mode of the Shikkotsu Forest, he went to Mount Myōboku…"
Black Zetsu asked, "Shall we head to Mount Myōboku next?"
Madara, with a smirk, replied, "No. This time, I'll go against the norm. To the Ryūchi Cave!"
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