Capítulo 18: The Toad Mountain Sage
Standing before Fang Yuan, the 3 Sannin observed the surroundings.
Orochimaru clenched his sealed hand, confidence wavering as he surveyed the scene before him, the ruins of Konoha. After defeating the wooden clone, he had felt a surge of hope, believing he could at least touch Fang Yuan to remove the seal and retreat. But now, doubt crept in as he recalled the scene just before. He was sure it was Itachi, who had been lying on the ground just moments ago, until someone had come to save him. The fact that Fang Yuan had defeated Itachi suggested he still had considerable power left after the destruction of Konoha. Speaking of Konoha, Orochimaru could still sense a flicker of life within the ruins, but it was slowly draining as Fang Yuan's chakra rose ominously.
Tsunade and Jiraiya though weren't as calm. Witnessing Konoha, their home, in ruin, they couldn't be calm. They had already learned how strong this 'Fang Yuan' was but they did not care. They were ready to die right then and there if it meant taking him down. If it meant they could pardon their sin of abandoning Konoha when it needed them the most.
"Grandpa, Sensei, I am sorry." Tsunade said, looking down at the remains of the village. She turned her gaze, meeting Fang Yuan's eyes.
"The prophecy will have to wait." Jiraiya spat as his chakra flared.
Fang Yuan payed them no heed. He looked at the horizon, his long hair fluttering in the wind before focusing back at the 3 legendary shinobi.
"The last three leaves
They try their chances
Each wielding a better technique
I am intrigued, so to speak."
"Shut up, you bastard!" Tsunade roared, launching herself forward with a ferocity that cracked the ground beneath her. She was like a wolf who had lost its entire pack, mad with grief but brimming with power. Just as her punch was about to connect, Fang Yuan stepped back, narrowly evading the blow. Tsunade, refusing to relent, redirected her strike, slamming her fist into the earth instead.
Fang Yuan jumped back as the ground shattered before him, but Tsunade wasn't finished yet. She unleashed a flurry of punches, each one a testament to her strength, but Fang Yuan danced around her, dodging effortlessly. As they circled around the other two, Tsunade's frustration mounted with each near-miss, her determination only fueling her rage.
"Chasing after a prophecy, I couldn't protect those I held dear. If Konoha, the people I love, cannot thrive in that vision of peace, then I reject it. I will embrace war."
Jiraiya entered the battle, the two Sannin pressuring Fang Yuan from 2 fronts. Tsunade's punches were deadly, each more than enough to kill Fang Yuan. That is if they hit. Jiraiya though fought in a different style, his strikes graced with not power, but technique. His parries immaculate, attacks calculated.
Tsunade's punch swung toward Fang Yuan's head, but he skillfully tilted it aside, narrowly avoiding the blow. The shockwave from her fist rattled him, and as he pushed her punch away, he launched a spinning kick. Anticipating this move, Jiraiya aimed a low kick at Fang Yuan's leg instead. After having to jump up, Fang Yuan, mid-air and off-balance, couldn't put much power in his kick. Tsunade caught his leg with her other hand, planning to slam him into the ground, but Fang Yuan was quicker. Using Tsunade's grip for balance, he spun around and landed another kick aimed at her head.
Caught off-guard by the reckless maneuver, Tsunade couldn't evade the incoming strike. Just in time, Jiraiya leaped from the ground, catching her from the waist to pull her out of harm's way.
Jiraiya went back to the fight as Fang Yuan advanced, and they exchanged a flurry of blows. Jiraiya fell back, but Tsunade joined the fray, their movements synchronizing flawlessly. Despite their combined efforts, they struggled to gain the upper hand against their formidable opponent.
"How? He only has a single arm!" Jiraiya exclaimed.
Just then, for the first time in the fight, Tsunade's fist was stopped. What had happened shocked the Sannin to the core. Fang Yuan had caught Tsunade's full powered fist.
"Great use of your immense chakra, though its a shame I have more." Fang Yuan hurled Tsunade away. She flew hundreds of meters, critically injured if not caught by Orochimaru.
"How?" Was what Jiraiya thought before Fang Yuan rushed at him. He was quickly overwhelmed. With 2 strikes to his 2 arms, they were momentarily paralyzed from the impact. Then, Fang Yuan caught Jiraiya from the throat and held him up.
"You will die next time." Jiraiya was thrown away too, at the same direction.
Tsunade was furious. "Orochimaru, why didn't you help!"
"My current body isn't suited for taijutsu. I will just be a burden."
"Tch" Tsunade sneered.
With blood trickling down his mouth, Jiraiya spoke "It isn't time to argue. I will use Sage Mode. Orochimaru, Tsunade, gain time for me."
"Oh, does that mean?" Orochimaru smiled.
"Like the old days." Jiraiya continued.
"Just do it already!" Tsunade snapped, exasperation clear in her voice.
"Kuchiyose No Jutsu" Three gigantic clouds appeared as the three hit the ground. The smoke cleared and 3 giant creatures were revealed.
"Good to see you, Tsunade-sama."
"Hey Jiraiya, is this a reunion?"
"To have the audacity to summon me again."
"Jiraiya-boy, why have you summoned us?" It wasn't only the bosses who were summoned
"Fukasaku-sama, Shima-sama, it is time." The frogs got serious.
The three Sannin stood on top of their summons, each looking down at a single foe.
Fang Yuan, that single foe, observed them silently, clearly unimpressed.
His hair was floating a little from the excess amount of chakra rising every second. His reserves still hadn't reached their full. His eyes radiated an oppressive aura as he stood in front of the 3 giants.
Manda looked around to see his summoner's companions. Was he going to fight the other bosses? More importantly, how was Orochimaru still alive? He then glanced down to see a familiar face.
As soon as he did, in a puff of smoke, he was out of there.
"Huh, did that snake run away?" Gamabunta said suprised and laughed.
"We faced off against him once. Manda nearly died so I expected him to run away. It was worth a try though with Katsuyu-sama supplying chakra here."
"Orochimaru, did he return to the leaf, Tsunade-sama?" Katsuyu asked Tsunade.
"It is hard to explain but please supply everyone with chakra and healing for the time Katsuyu. And head to Konoha to save the surviving."
"Surviving?" Fukasaku, the old toad, asked.
"Konoha was destroyed by that man but now everyone please focus on the fight." Jiraiya said. as he leapt back and sat on the ground, collecting natural chakra.
"Is that what I think it is?" Fang Yuan mused before Katsuyu broke into countless clones and Gamabunta unsheated his blade.
"Tch, I am not good at fighting people." The giant toad said before bringing down his giant sword right at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan dodged right to meet with Orochimaru, who extended his hand in response, summoning countless snakes. Fang Yuan weaved and cut through all of them, quickly getting close to Orochimaru who couldn't keep up at all and with a single punch, got sent flying away. Orochimaru would have died right then and there if not for a Katsuyu clone continuously healing him. While flung back, Orochimaru extended the sword of Kusanagi, just for it to get grasped and shattered by Fang Yuan's hand
A horizontal slash of Gamabunta came, which Fang Yuan responded with jumping up. He got on the sword and with an earth-shattering punch, sent it downward. The sword got planted in the ground with Gamabunta groaning as he tried to free it.
Tsunade jumped onto the sword and rushed at Fang Yuan but this time, she didn't have the power advantage. As soon as their punches met, her hand blew up from the impact, the blood getting all over both her and Fang Yuan. She trembled at the sight but with a grit of her teeth, activated the Byakuyo seal and her arm formed back in mere seconds. She kept fighting, each time shattering her limbs on impact. The exhange continued, kicks slicing the air, punches shaking the air. Orochimaru started raining down snakes, perfectly in tandem with Tsunade's moves though not a single one hit Fang Yuan. Fighting and fighting, after nearly 2 minutes, even with Katsuyu aiding her, Tsunade was on her wit's end. Though Fang Yuan was damaged too, his fists dripping with blood, his bones cracked.
"Such a great technique. What do you call that seal?" Fang Yuan asked.
"What are you gonna do, reminisce about it in the afterlife?" Tsunade asked.
"Whatever." Fang Yuan said.
Before her eyes, a seal was formed on his forehead, quickly getting bigger and bigger. Then it spread through Fang Yuan's body, unlike Tsunade's, completely covering it in black, and suddenly, it vanished.
"What did you do!" Tsunade shouted as Fang Yuan's injuries were quickly healed.
Fang Yuan raised the stump of his arm as his bone grew back, nerves gliding through, flesh reforming around. The hand had regenerated. Fang Yuan clenched his reformed fist, admiring the technique.
"And with that, you have destroyed the final marks the Hokages left on this world, Senju Tsunade."
Tsunade looked at Fang Yuan in horror. Wasn't she the one who created the Byakugo seal? How was this guy using it? Had he copied it like Orochimaru said? Absurd.
Fang Yuan leapt forward with incredible speed and power. Unable to dodge, Tsunade formed a cross with his arms but by a single punch from Fang Yuan, both her arms exploded to the shoulder. Before Fang Yuan could continue the assault, Gamabunta finally got the sword out of the ground, holding it up so Fang Yuan and Tsunade both fell towards him. He opened up his mouth to spit out gasoline, thinking Tsunade could tank it. Fang Yuan though held the sword and by focusing all his chakra on his hand, spun the sword downward at Gamabunta.
Gamabunta couldn't even reverse-summon in time as the sword cut him in half. He instantly lost his life. Tsunade wasn't any better. With the sword spinning and coming down, the sharp side would cleave her from the middle but Orochimaru came in time, extending the remains of the Kusanagi sword to save her then held the near-unconcious Tsunade as they fell.
"Hold on Tsunade, if you close your eyes, you will die." The calm Orochimaru shouted. He was suprised to see that he still valued Tsunade.
The two fell and rolled on the ground. When they looked up, they saw Fang Yuan standing there with an even more chakra than before, and with an additional hand.
"You have no use left. I have no business with you anymore" He said and the ground cracked beneath him under the chakra pressure.
"The one I want-" Fang Yuan exploded forward.
But before he could reach the 2 Sannin, a white-haired man blocked his path.
Seeing the incoming punch, Fang Yuan narrowly dodged and prepared a counterattack.
"is me, right?!" Jiraiya shouted out.
An then, the impact hit, sending Fang Yuan flying back. Sage Mode didn't have to contact the enemy, natural energy did could do it instead. Stopping his spin, Fang Yuan planted his feet on the ground, the damage to his face quickly getting healed.
Jiraiya stood between Fang Yuan and the 2 other Sannin, his cloak fluttering in the wind.
"Jiraiya" Orochimaru said with vigor and Tsunade with a fading voice.
"Thank you, you two. Leave the rest to me." Jiraiya said,
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