Chapter 147: Sannin vs Raikage: The Grudge Match Nobody Authorized

Chapter 147 - Sannin vs Raikage: The Grudge Match Nobody Authorized Soon, everyone had gathered in the clearing behind the club. Two massive stones had been pushed together to create a makeshift platform for an arm-wrestling showdown. On one side stood Tsunade, her arms crossed, her expression unreadable. Behind her were Shizune and Kimura, and further behind, a crowd of random mob spectators, all cheering loudly for Tsunade while booing the other side. On the opposite end, A, the Fourth Raikage, arms folded stood like a fortress. Behind him was his subordinate, Amai, and behind them, another crowd of enthusiastic nobodies, cheering for A and loudly booing Tsunade. Standing on the stone table in the center was Ren, arms stretched wide in theatrical flair. "Welcome, everyone, to this prestigious arm-wrestling competition between the Fourth Raikage A and one of the legendary Sannin, Tsunade Senju! Now place your bets because we're about to begin!" Tsunade's eye twitched. Her hands clenched. Through gritted teeth, she hissed up at him, "Get down, you brat. And dispel your clones." Ren glanced at her, then at A. Both looked plenty pissed now. Perfect. Without another word, he jumped down from the table and snapped his fingers, dispelling all the disguised clones in the crowd. The cheering mobs on both sides vanished in bursts of smoke, leaving just a confused silence. "Alright," Ren said, grinning, "Let's begin." Tsunade and A stepped forward, each placing an elbow firmly on the stone slab. Their hands locked together, muscles tensing. Ren reached out, gripping both of their hands. "Begin on my mark. 1... 2... 3... Go!" He released their hands and hell broke loose. Electricity sparked violently around A's body, lightning chakra flickering and snarling across his skin. On the other side, Tsunade's chakra surged, becoming nearly visible as a golden, dense aura that radiated raw strength. Ren stepped back and began his commentary with mock gravitas. "Both participants appear evenly matched at first glance. However! A trained eye would clearly notice that Tsunade Senju of the Leaf holds an obvious advantage due to her inhuman strength. The woman can punch through mountains, folks! Will the Raikage manage to turn the tides and get the lady brute to heal his subordinate?" As he spoke, the concentration of chakra around both fighters thickened, especially around Tsunade, whose arm was beginning to press A's downward. "Oh my! Even after employing all his power, it seems the Raikage is losing ground! Tsunade's arm is pushing his down, BUT WHAT IS THIS SUDDEN TWIST?!" Ren pointed theatrically. "The Raikage loosened his grip for just a millisecond, converting an insane amount of chakra into speed in that one instant! That sudden burst disrupted Tsunade's flow and she faltered!" A loud thud echoed as Tsunade's fist slammed into the stone slab below. "And with that, THE WINNER OF THIS ARM-WRESTLING COMPETITION IS THE FOURTH RAIKAGE A! Give a round of applause for the winner!" There was only one clap from Amai, standing loyally behind A. Shizune gasped. "Lady Tsunade lost? In a contest of strength?" Ren turned to her with a mock-teacher tone. "Tut tut, Miss Shizune. That wasn't a contest of strength. That was arm wrestling. The Raikage won through clever chakra control, not raw power." Tsunade blinked, her expression shifting to surprise. 'Hmm, his observation skills have improved. He must've learned nullification too.' A also looked at Ren thoughtfully. 'The Blue Menace, his intelligence is highly surprising. He figured that out just by watching. Interesting.' Tsunade exhaled slowly, then turned toward A with a shrug. "Well. I won't make any excuses. You beat me fair and square. That's my loss." Amai brightened. "Then? You'll heal Karai?" Tsunade nodded. "Yeah. Lead the way." With that, the group, Tsunade, Shizune, Tonton, A, Amai, Ren and Kimura followed the Raikage's lead. Their path wound through cracked cobblestone streets until they reached a dilapidated compound, half-swallowed by time and neglect. Only one building still stood within, and even that had its upper floor wall broken, revealing old wooden beams and stone supports barely holding together. As soon as the group stepped into the room, their eyes landed on a man lying on a makeshift bed in the center. His torso was bare, and at first glance, everything looked still, until the eye caught it. A lump. A grotesque, bulging lump shaped unmistakably like a spider shifted on the man's chest. It expanded and contracted rhythmically, pulsing as though breathing. The man, Karai, opened his eyes slowly. They lit up barely when he saw the Raikage enter. "Karai, don't worry," Amai said, rushing to his side. "You'll get well soon. We've brought Lady Tsunade, the best healer in the world." Karai's gaze flicked toward the others in the room. His eyes landed on Tsunade and held there, a strange mix of relief and frustration flashing through them. Tsunade ignored the expression. She walked up calmly and crouched beside the bed, her hand glowing softly as she began examining Karai's chest. Minutes passed in silence, broken only by the quiet hum of chakra. She eventually stood up and turned to A. "I need you to explain exactly what happened that led to this. Without context, I can't recommend or begin proper treatment." A stayed quiet for a few seconds, then gave a curt nod and began recounting the events of their last mission, especially the encounter with the Nokizaru group and their use of exploding insects. Tsunade's brow furrowed. "The lump's structure matches the known behavior of Nokizaru insects. Once inside a host, they latch onto the chakra network and feed, growing larger. Eventually they explode." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "But the real concern isn't just the chakra drain. It's the size of the larva." She paused. Then, her gaze shifted to Ren. "Alright, brat. You can't hear the rest. Get out." Ren blinked once. Then his expression shifted just slightly, thoughtful. 'She must've figured A is infected too. She can't say it out loud with me here. Not bad. Rare to see someone heal the leader of the enemy like this in this world, she's a good healer, though the same can't be said if someone from the leaf knew this.' He shrugged and casually turned, "I'll deal with some bugs in the meantime." He leapt up, caught a fly between his fingers mid-air, then landed smoothly and walked out. "Let's go, Kimura." Kimura followed him without a word. Once the two were out of range, Tsunade spoke again, voice lower now as she explained that A's infected too. The larva's probably much smaller, which is why he hasn't felt anything yet. But it's there. Amai's face paled slightly. A and Karai from Kumo looked grim. A looked toward the door Ren had exited through, then gave a slow nod. "Thanks, Tsunade." He understood now why she'd sent Ren out. She might be keeping her word to heal them without conditions, but Ren might not be as agreeable. If something went wrong during the procedure and Ren made a move, things could spiral quickly. Tsunade waved a hand dismissively. "Don't thank me yet. I'd bet he's already guessed you're infected too." She rolled her shoulders slightly and stepped toward Karai. "Let's get started. He's in the most urgent condition." Karai tried to protest, weakly sitting up. "I'm fine, treat Lord Raikage-" "Quiet," A said firmly. "You're going first." He looked toward Tsunade and gave a tight smirk. "As payment for my surgery. I'll let your brat live today." Tsunade snorted. "Like you could do anything with me here. Shizune, prep the room." Shizune moved quickly, opening her pack and starting the setup. Despite the banter, Tsunade felt a flicker of relief. A's words, while arrogant, meant he had no intention of escalating. That made it easier to treat him later. Because while she was confident in her skills, she couldn't be sure about Ren surviving if A shifted his energy to deal with him first. The boy wasn't just a talented ninja anymore. She didn't know everything about him yet, but she was beginning to get an idea. A dangerous one. Her eyes shifted to the window, watching where Ren had gone. 'Why does he remind me of you, Sayaka?' ~~~ Once Ren and Kimura stepped out into the compound, Kimura looked up and asked quietly, "Should we report this to the village?" He wasn't being disloyal, just honest. From a purely strategic standpoint, what Tsunade was doing wasn't ideal. Healing a potential enemy was not something the village would typically overlook. And for someone like Kimura who'd grown up under the words of Hiruzen, Danzo, and Yoru this felt wrong. But he followed Ren now so he couldn't act on his own. Ren hummed in thought, casually fiddling the fly in his hand. "Even if the village knew, they couldn't and wouldn't do anything to her. First of all, if they tried punishing her and ended up pushing her away, they'd lose a Kage-level combatant and the best healer in the world. Second, she's the last Senju. She's allowed to be unruly now and then and besides, she's not healing the Raikage. She's just patching up a jonin who could be killed later if needed." He didn't mention that Tsunade was likely treating A as well. Kimura wouldn't understand, hell, 90% of people wouldn't. On the surface, it was an incredibly stupid decision. But even if Tsunade hadn't stepped in, the poison in A's body wasn't critical, someone of his caliber could suppress it long enough to return to the Hidden Cloud. Kimura nodded slowly, accepting the logic. They walked in silence for a while, until Ren's mind wandered. 'So, is she really hemophobic? Or was it, like in all those fanfics, just a convenient excuse to get out of the village?' Soon they reached the outer wall of the compound. Ren halted, pressed his back to the stone, and peeked out. "Boo." The five figures crouched behind the wall jumped in alarm. They hadn't sensed anyone approach. That meant whoever had found them was dangerous. All five instantly shifted into combat readiness, their bodies moving with practiced coordination. Ren stared at them calmly. These were the ones responsible, the Nokizaru Group, the culprits behind the poisoning of the Raikage. Each of them wore sashes shaped like monkey tails. Their faces were painted, and their clothes were split in design striped on one side, solid color on the other. Ren pointed lazily to each one. "Red. Blue. Yellow. Purple. Green. So, who sent this?" He opened his hand and revealed the now crushed fly. The group stiffened. Purple turned and snapped, "Red, you said your insects were watching the room." Red's face darkened. "I thought it was just a disconnect. The fly was still alive, so I didn't cut the link. I don't understand how he broke our connection." Ren smiled lightly. "You tried to replicate the Aburame's technique, but you're not them. My friend's one of the best with insects so of course yours wouldn't fool me." Purple kept his calm and gave a sharp order. "Retreat. We don't fight in the open." His body immediately melted into a puddle of water and began sliding away. Yellow's body dropped into a shadow, which connected with Blue's. A moment later, Blue vanished from sight. Green ignited, his body bursting into flames as he began retreating. Red tried to break apart into a swarm of insects, but before he could disperse fully, Ren's hand clamped around his neck. Ren's voice was calm, almost pleasant. "You've got some impressive techniques. From different villages, too. Could you be so kind and share them with me?" Then, without pause, he twisted Red's neck sharply and let the lifeless body drop to the ground. "RED!" It was Green who shouted first, his voice cracking with fury. The remaining four members of the Nokizaru Group suddenly reappeared, their bodies emerging from smoke, flame, and shadow alike as they looked down at their fallen comrade. They weren't blood brothers, not technically. But they had lived and bled together for years. Fought, escaped, survived, always as one unit and now, Red was gone. For a brief moment, they were frozen in place. Just staring. Then their expressions hardened. "Kill this brat!" Purple roared, and in an instant, they vanished again but this time not to retreat, but to strike. They melted into their elements, slipping into hiding. Not running. This time, they were hunting. Ren rolled his neck slowly. A faint crack popped out from the side. He didn't even glance around as he spoke with a smile. "Kimura. Don't let anyone interrupt, I'm going to perfect that today." ~~~~~ {As I said, the focus isn't on Tsunade and Raikage but the Nokizaru group, and even among them, I eliminated the bug guy first so now all we are left with is the interesting ones.} {If you want, you can support me on pat-reon} { h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n } {You know what else} {200 Stones = Extra Chapter} {STONES!!!!}