Chapter 96 – Armament Haki vs. Monster Strength Tsunade
From a distance, even Tsunade was momentarily stunned—but she quickly snapped out of it and stormed over to Kazane.
She grabbed his hand and inspected it to check for injuries. When she found it completely unharmed, she immediately rewarded him with a loving little punch!
Kazane had already been confused when Jiraiya suddenly stopped attacking mid-fight. Now Tsunade had come rushing in, examined his hand, and then socked him one.
Kazane was even more baffled.
What just happened?
Why were both of them reacting like this?
"How is that even possible?! Brat, you just stopped my Rasengan with your bare hand! That's an A-rank jutsu!"
Having snapped out of his own daze, Jiraiya stared at Kazane in disbelief.
"Huh? You mean Orochimaru-sensei never told you guys? I awakened a special kekkei genkai. I call it Armament Haki. When I activate it, my body becomes tougher than steel."
Kazane finally understood why they looked so shocked.
He'd grown too used to clashing head-on with the Third Raikage—trading blow for blow—that he'd forgotten most shinobi in the world favored high offense but had poor defense.
So when Jiraiya and Tsunade saw him catch an A-rank Rasengan with his hand, it was only natural that they'd be stunned.
To prove he wasn't bluffing, Kazane gave them a quick demonstration of his Armament Haki.
He coated his hand in it, and sure enough, it became visibly darker, thicker, and stronger.
Then, drawing the Kusanagi Sword from his waist, Kazane lightly slashed at his other hand. Sparks flew like metal grinding on metal.
"There's a kekkei genkai like this?"
Jiraiya and Tsunade were both floored. But the evidence was right in front of them—Kazane's blackened hand was still glowing with residual sparks.
They had no choice but to believe it.
As they stood there in awe, they couldn't help but marvel at the endless mysteries of the shinobi world—and commit this fearsome kekkei genkai to memory.
Because this kind of ability was terrifying. For most shinobi, it was a direct counter.
With a body as hard as steel, and without specific countermeasures like sealing techniques or highly specialized jutsu, Kazane was virtually immune to anything below S-rank.
In other words, unless someone had developed their ninjutsu or taijutsu to an extreme degree, Kazane could probably just stand there and tank most attacks without breaking a sweat.
"Uncle Jiraiya, our spar's not over yet. Come on. I'm done holding back."
Up to this point, Kazane hadn't even taken a single step in their fight. He hadn't broken a sweat.
This wasn't what he had in mind when he said he wanted to get some exercise. He wanted a real battle, something intense—this wasn't even a warm-up!
"…I-I suddenly remembered I've got something urgent to take care of. You go train by yourself, brat."
Jiraiya's mouth twitched slightly before he responded with a helpless sigh.
Honestly, when Kazane had come looking for him today, Jiraiya had been excited. He had just recovered from his injuries and was also looking for a worthy sparring partner.
But he wanted an evenly matched battle—not this one-sided simulation! Yes, simulation! That's what this was!
All he'd done was throw out jutsu while Kazane stood there playing around. His chakra was already half gone, and Kazane hadn't even moved.
It reminded him of his fight against the Third Raikage—same thing.
He'd thrown everything he had, and the Raikage just tanked it. Took every hit and dared him to throw more. Jiraiya had been furious, but he couldn't do anything—he just couldn't win.
And the Raikage's counterattacks? Just one solid hit and Jiraiya was down.
This wasn't how ninja battles were supposed to go!
A shinobi fight should be fast-paced—you throw a shuriken, I deflect; I cast a jutsu, you dodge. We're assassins, not brawlers!
I didn't train all these jutsu just to be your massage therapist!
To be fair, Jiraiya was confident that his Sage Art: Goemon or an Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan could probably break through Kazane's Armament Haki.
But there was no need for that—it was just a spar.
He'd never use Sage Mode against a fellow Leaf shinobi. That power was reserved only for protecting his comrades.
"Fine. Guess I'll train by myself then. Uncle Jiraiya, you're no fun."
Kazane didn't even bother asking Tsunade to step in—despite knowing she was just as powerful, if not more.
Because during his hospital stay, he'd fully realized one thing:
Never offend a medic.
Especially not a strong medic.
After all, no one can avoid getting injured someday. And when that day comes, you'll really regret crossing the person in charge of patching you up.
Just because he'd argued with Tsunade once, Shizune had been "accidentally" messing up every bandage change afterward. And Kazane had definitely noticed all those tiny "mistakes."
But he was helpless back then—strapped to a bed, unable to move. What could he do?
Since he couldn't fight back, he just silently endured it.
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Kazane might have backed off, Tsunade had other plans.
As a taijutsu-type ninja, she loved opponents who could take a hit—and Kazane was practically built to be her perfect punching bag.
Fighting someone like Jiraiya, who constantly danced around and dodged everything, just wasn't satisfying.
And if she ever did land a solid hit, he'd spit blood or end up seriously hurt. Back when she wasn't plagued by hemophobia, that wouldn't have been an issue—just patch him up afterward.
After all, Tsunade was one of the greatest medical ninja in the world.
But these days? Even a drop of blood could trigger her phobia and end the battle right there.
Kazane's bloodline limit, though… In Tsunade's eyes, he was a walking sandbag sent from heaven.
To outsiders, Tsunade looked like a stunning, elegant woman. But if you peeled back that image, you'd find a violent soul lurking within.
That's why Sakura inherited Tsunade's monstrous strength… while Shizune only inherited her medical ninjutsu. Because Sakura had that same fiery spirit hidden under the surface. Shizune? Pure fluff inside and out.
"Kazane, how about we fight instead? Sparring with Jiraiya is just boring."
Tsunade's words had barely left her mouth when her fist came flying straight at him.
After all, she'd finally found a perfect sandbag—she wasn't about to let him escape!
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