Leaving the underground facility, Yujin and Tsunade didn't have to wait long for their opponent's arrival.
Wearing a lightning armor, his speed was so great that many inexperienced ninjas wouldn't even notice his movement, but his opponents didn't let it go unnoticed.
"Stay where you are, Raikage!"
With Tsunade's shout, the Raikage finally stopped dozens of meters away from the two, temporarily releasing his lightning armor. He analyzed Tsunade and Yujin for a moment, and then, very quickly, looked at the underground entrance, where there was a large number of ninjas hidden, ready to fight at any moment.
"You must be the Senju princess... Do you think you can stop me?"
The Third Raikage, known as the most powerful Raikage in history, didn't seem worried. Thanks to his strategy of freeing Gyuki, he has the advantage. The ninjas protecting the ritual site didn't have the ability to stop him.
"The question isn't whether I can or not, but that this is something I have to do."
Yujin carefully observed the Third Raikage, and noticed one thing immediately.
While it seemed he was casually conversing with Tsunade, he was actually having several thoughts internally; he seemed to be plotting something.
"Haha, I suppose so. I guess I'll take care of you before going down and ending the ritual."
With a cold smile, the Raikage again covered himself with his lightning armor, and charged at Tsunade, who even expecting it, was still surprised by the speed.
'He's too fast.'
She thought while narrowly dodging the Raikage's punch, who observed Tsunade's movement as if he already expected the dodge.
Jumping back and creating distance, Tsunade made some hand gestures, and hit the ground with her hand.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a large cloud of smoke, a huge white slug tens of meters tall appeared on the battlefield, surprising Yujin.
"Tsunade-sama, your orders."
Without taking her eyes off the Raikage, Tsunade gave her chakra to the slug, and said in a firm voice.
"Katsuyu, protect the entrance to the ritual site."
"Alright."
Katsuyu, the giant slug, crawled to the indicated location, and her body slowly sank into the entrance, leaving only a part outside, as if she wanted to use her body as a shield so that no one could enter.
The Raikage doesn't seem to react much to Tsunade's actions, and simply chose to attack her again. His speed was so fast that even for Tsunade it was difficult to react, causing cold sweat to run down her forehead.
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Meanwhile, Yujin silently observed the Raikage's movement, memorizing each movement, getting used to his speed. He could see that Tsunade wouldn't last long if he didn't go help.
In response to the Raikage's speed, Tsunade began to hit the ground, creating obstacles in the way to decrease, even if just a little, his speed.
With a punch to the ground, a crater formed on the ground, and entire rocks rose up, hindering the Raikage's path, who had to go around the rocks.
"How long do you think you can do this?"
Before Tsunade could react, the Raikage pointed three fingers in front of himself, and pierced all the rocks in his way, surprising Tsunade who didn't know the technique.
Unfortunately, she couldn't dodge, since she had just broken the ground to create obstacles.
Tsunade could feel the Chakra approaching rapidly, and knew that if the attack hit, her head would be pierced, killing her instantly.
Even in this life or death moment, however, there was no panic in her expression, and she moved her body as if she wanted to punch the Raikage after having her head pierced.
When it was centimeters away from her head, suddenly, a hand appeared behind Tsunade.
The hand deftly redirected the Raikage's arm, deflecting and preventing the blow from hitting Tsunade, also breaking his posture. It was at this moment that the punch Tsunade had prepared hit the Raikage's chest squarely, who took the blow with only his lightning armor.
Like a bullet, the Raikage flew backwards at a frightening speed, surprising the Leaf Village ninjas who were nearby watching the fight.
The Raikage's body hit several trees, breaking them in half, hit the ground, making his body bounce, throwing him upwards, to finally fall to the ground, opening a hole with a deafening thud.
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A few minutes ago, Yujin was discussing the battle strategy with Tsunade.
"Yujin, I want you to just observe the battle initially, for you to get used to how the Raikage fights. I explained everything I know to you, but it's not much. So I want you to analyze him, and choose the best moment to intervene when you feel confident."
Yujin frowned upon hearing this, and commented after a quick thought.
"Will you be able to hold him? You told me he's absurdly fast, and that one of your weaknesses is your speed."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes upon hearing this, calculated for a moment, and responded confidently.
"Maybe if the fight is prolonged... But at first, I can stay alive. During this time, analyze the Raikage, and intervene when you deem necessary. I trust your judgment."
Yujin nodded, and then looked into Tsunade's eyes. When he saw her sharp gaze, he commented.
"You know the objective of this battle, right? It's not to defeat the Raikage, but to prevent him from disrupting the ritual."
Tsunade seemed not to understand why Yujin was saying something so obvious, but before she could question him, he continued.
"If you focus too much on fighting him, he can use his superior speed to enter the ritual. He doesn't need to make much effort to disrupt the ritual, after all. As long as he manages to get in there, and starts fighting, the ritual will be impacted."
Upon hearing Tsunade's words, the mouth that was open about to say something, closed. She gently frowned, and thought silently, before speaking.
"That's true... We need to protect the entrance. I have an idea, leave it to me."
More at ease after seeing that Tsunade understood his intentions, he continued.
"Then I'll stay away for a while, and wait for an opportunity."
The two looked into each other's eyes and could feel the confidence they have in each other.
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Tsunade observed her fist for a moment, and commented to Yujin.
"I hit him squarely, thanks to you. I doubt it's enough to defeat him, but he must have suffered some damage. The Third Raikage's lightning armor is known to have a very powerful defense, but my punch isn't weak."
Yujin observed the trail of destruction left by the Raikage's body. He was truly surprised by Tsunade's explosive strength. It was the first time in his life that he sees such a powerful woman.
The punches capable of opening craters in the ground was already something, but the punch she gave the Raikage was a level above. She put everything into the blow, and achieved the feat of isolating the Raikage's two-meter body hundreds of meters away.
Saying that her punch "isn't weak" is an understatement.