The Zero Tails Jinchuriki #16

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Forest of Death, Konoha, Land of Fire

–Hiruzen “The Professor” Sarutobi–

He cursed internally, as he flicked the flame off his fingers and let it land between Kenta and Tsunade. He had expected Kenta to seek out Tsunade and was fully prepared for the fallout between them because he knew Tsunade and her pain would not allow anyone else other than Shizune to get any closer, but this?

This was not what he expected in his wildest dreams. Maybe Tsunade would come to blows with Kenta but that should have been a one off thing. Something that he could use to get Tsunade to make the transfer of power peaceful.

Using the guilt of his student in a way that benefited his overall political power over the village made him realise the depth to which he had sunk into the role of a Kage but he pushed through feeling scummy, for the sake of the village.

What he most certainly did not expect was for Kenta to go seeking out Tsunade for a spar, by his lonesome. Did he not know how strong the Sannin were? He had a firsthand idea of how strong each of his students were and despite Tsunade arguably being the weakest due to her mental state, it was an undeniable fact that even among S-class shinobi, she was one of the finest.

As long as her fear of blood was not triggered, she would wipe the floor with Kenta. He’d earlier made sure to stress upon both of them not to use any of their forbidden techniques so that should have helped a bit but even then, Tsunade was much stronger.

Kenta could not use the Zero Tails’ chakra. Tsunade could not use Creation Rebirth, the one thing that made her an absolute nightmare to fight, even for Perfect Jinchurikis. Sage Mode was something that should help Kenta bridge the gap but as far as he was aware, from Jiraiya’s and Minato’s reports, Sage Mode only helped amplify what was already present.

In Jiraiya’s case, he was plenty strong even without Sage Mode, which is why becoming a Sage helped him a lot because he was already in the upper echelons of power. He had very little hopes from Kenta’s Sage Mode helping him match Tsunade in raw physical power.

He looked around himself and cursed Kenta once more. All of this could have been avoided if only the Sage did not intentionally gather an audience for the spar. He could not do anything right now, only let things play out. 

He squinted as the second the flame snuffed itself out by hitting the ground, both Kenta and Tsunade shot forward, fists cocked back, in an apparent attempt at direct confrontation. His eyes widened in surprise by Kenta’s strategy, and then they disappeared into his hairline when it seemed as if they were equally matched.

Even if Tsunade was holding back, the match should not have been equal. His brows furrowed as Kenta purposefully goaded Tsunade, and she, in her rage, shot forward, with strength very close to her peak, probably intending on smashing Kenta into the forest.

He leaned forward, ready to interrupt, noticing Jiraiya doing the same when his eyes caught Kenta stilling completely. He caught the tail end of markings appearing on his face before Tsunade’s punch connected, throwing a bunch of dust in the air.

His gaze snapped to the side, looking at the two Doujutsu users standing side by side, their respective Doujutsu active. Hiashi looked surprised for some reason.

Choosing not to ask them, he instead looked downward, and to his surprise, the calm and collected voice of Kenta rang out of the clearing, sounding nothing like he expected.

With a grunt, that was from Tsunade, the dust cleared, revealing Kenta and Tsunade locked in place, with a crater all around them. Tsunade’s face was set in a snarl while Kenta looked impassive, with clear markings on his face.

There were clear gasps within the clearing, all the shinobi no doubt realising what those markings meant since every one of them looked at Jiraiya later on, who in turn was looking at Kenta with an intense look in his eyes.

“Remarkable,” Jiraiya whispered, probably because of the way  Kenta’s Sage Mode worked, allowing instant access for a shorter overall time span. Perfect for a shinobi to hit hard and fast, before returning but the worst in case a battle of attrition was needed.

The two Doujutsu users traded looks before shutting down their eyes, the strain of looking at Nature Energy by their eyes well documented in their respective clan records.

One moment, they were all locked together in combat; the next, both of them jumped back, with Tsunade looking at Kenta with a troubled look on her face.

“Sage Mode, huh?” Tsunade remarked, stretching a bit in place, kind of later for that now. “No matter,” She said as she advanced forward, this time using hand seals for Ninjutsu, “I’ve dealt with a Sage plenty of times,”

[ Water Release: Water Fang Bullet ]

Concentrated bullets of water shot forward at Kenta, who similarly did his own hand signs, hands flashing blue before…

[ Water Release: Water Fang Bullet ]

His eyebrows rose in surprise, as their respective jutsu cancelled each other. “He’s using the extra sensory perception granted by Sage Mode to cancel her jutsu,” Jiraiya remarked nearby, fully confused on the fight below him.

He would not fault Jiraiya for that. It was very rare to see a Sage fight in combat, especially since the only one who was not a hermit and hidden was Jiraoiya himself and also because most Sages finished the fights as soon as they started.

Tsunade, seeing her ninjutsu did not work, got into close quarters once more. Kenta, clearly welcoming it, rushed forward as well. It was a whirlwind of punches, kicks, blocks and even headbutting once that Kenta deflected with an open palm, as they all watched the only two remaining members of the Senju clan duke it out in the Forest of Death.

So, it came as no surprise to him to see the Daimyo being escorted here, with his own entourage of Samurai, and the Twelve Guards. He had left orders behind to stall as much as possible but when faced with a determined Daimyo, there were very few forces on their planet who could stop them, not without risking the village anyway.

“Hinokami-dono, you need not have bothered,” He turned around and jumped in front of the Daimyo or more accurately, the Samurai carrying the Daimyo’s seat.

The Daimyo, troublesome and sharp as he was, immediately caught on to his intentions, “No need to bother about me, Hokage-dono. I just heard there was a fight between two remarkable shinobi and came to watch. I assume there won’t be a problem?”

He winced at the resounding shockwave that almost hit the Daimyo, as he had to raise an Earth Wall in front of the man’s entourage with a single seal, his mastery over the basic jutsu long since surpassing the need for full hand seal sequencing.

Alas, he could not really admire his own Ninjutsu mastery as he flashed the Daimoy a strained smile, “As you can see, Hinokami-dono, the fight is getting heated up and we haven’t made any of the usual preparations for an esteemed person such as you to see such intense combat. I would be the biggest sinner of Konoha if anything were to happen to you on my watch.”

The Daimyo just waved all of his worries, “Oh, I trust you with my life, Hokage-dono. I am assured in your capability to protect not just me but everyone here from any fallout that might occur. After all, this is just a spar, correct?”

Oh, this crafty bastard. Now, if something were to happen to either him or his entourage, things would be blamed on him, putting into question not just his Chakra prowess but also his overall authority, his hold over his shinobi forces.

Inwardly cursing, he smiled at the man before moving to the side, hands moving in ANBU code as multiple of his most elite came forward to create a makeshift chakra barrier to protect the Daimyo from the shockwaves coming from the fight.

He really hoped that those two, in their fight, did not raze down part of the Forest of Death.

Though, even he was surprised, head snapping to the fight, momentarily forgetting the Daimyo as clear, surprised laughter rang out of the clearing.

A feminine laughter.

He had never expected to remain alive for long enough to hear Tsunade laugh so clearly, so openly without any bitterness or resentment tainting it.

It brought back memories of Tsunade laughing and weaving through blows that would shatter steel, his eyes nearly tearing up at that, as that memory was now overlaid with Tsunade laughing and clashing with Kenta on equal terms.

Even if that was because of Sage Mode, that was mighty impressive.

The Daimyo sure seemed to think so.

“You really kept him hidden for so long, Hiruzen?” The seriousness of the conversation making the man forgo the honorifics, “A shinobi on par with the Sannin. How ruthless. This just makes me glad I agreed to everything. Konoha is in good hands. Ruthless hands but good hands.”

He smiled at the man but obviously, things could not be good for long, as he sensed Danzo arrive at the scene.