Tsunade was consumed by an all-encompassing rage.
Shen Mo, observing the battle from his discreet vantage point high above, was, conversely, filled with satisfaction. As anticipated, Orochimaru was fundamentally overmatched against the Tsunade empowered by the Jars. His only viable leverage was the dreaded Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei)—a technique that bypassed the need for the caster to possess superior power.
Standing before Tsunade were the resurrected figures of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju—her beloved grandfather and grand-uncle.
Their faces were covered in the ashen, crack-like markings of the resurrected. Though their eyes were open, the whites were dark, devoid of life. This was the horrific, pallid appearance of souls bound by the Edo Tensei.
Shen Mo wanted to experiment with this particular Ninjutsu later, but for now, he simply settled into a more comfortable position to watch the drama unfold.
Orochimaru's cruel smile widened at Tsunade's display of anguish.
"Don't be so upset, Princess Tsunade," his low voice dripped with satisfaction. "They are your family, after all. Don't you want a chance to see them again?"
As he spoke, he deftly positioned two kunai, affixed with control talismans, behind the heads of the resurrected Kage. He clearly intended to suppress their self-awareness, using them as mere puppets.
Tsunade stared at the two familiar faces, her anger warring with a heartbreaking sorrow. Grandfather...
Now!
Orochimaru violently waved his hand, and the two expressionless, puppet-like corpses charged Tsunade, simultaneously launching their kunai.
Shen Mo, seizing the moment, closed his observation window, vanished from his room, and instantly reappeared high above the battlefield in the forest. He needed to conduct some immediate research.
On the ground, Tsunade's overwhelming anger was being neutralized by her deep affection for the two Edo Tensei. She adopted a defensive stance, unable to bring herself to aggressively attack her resurrected loved ones.
"What is the matter, Princess Tsunade?" Orochimaru's voice shook with mocking laughter. "Are you reluctant to strike? For all your new strength, you are still the same sentimental fool you always were!"
Tsunade ignored the taunt, her mind racing for a solution. Edo Tensei bodies were persistent; killing the caster would not immediately stop the resurrected, unless the caster voluntarily released the Jutsu. The puppets would continue their painful, undying existence.
"Hateful!"
With a roar of pure frustration, Tsunade finally put her full power behind the cross, delivering a devastating blow directly to the First Hokage. Hashirama's chest cavity was instantly ripped open, the wood-like structure of the resurrected body shattered.
This blow demonstrated the sheer magnitude of Tsunade's augmented strength.
However, the current iteration of the Impure World Reincarnation was far from perfect; it failed to unlock the true, legendary power of the two Hokage. Their strength, speed, and combat proficiency were vastly inferior to their living counterparts.
But even as his body crumbled, a swirling cloud of dust and particles began to rapidly coalesce in the air, instantly filling and repairing the massive damage.
"This..." Tsunade watched, a grim look on her face. "...Immortality!"
The terrifying combination of undying resilience and unlimited Chakra was the defining horror of the Edo Tensei.
Shen Mo, observing the rapid regeneration, decided it was the perfect time to run a custom diagnostic scan.
"Whether it is infinite Chakra or the self-repairing body, it is all energy borrowed from the world and the technique itself," Shen Mo observed, reviewing the findings with disappointment. "As expected, this power is not inherent to the soul itself, and therefore cannot be converted or leveraged for trading points."
It was akin to a customer pointing to the ground beneath their feet and offering the entire landscape as payment. While Shen Mo could, theoretically, claim everything in the land through system rules, the "land" itself was not an asset he could legally own for trade credit.
No eternal glitch for easy trading points, then. Shen Mo sighed internally, dismissing the fleeting notion.
"Orochimaru!"
Tsunade swung the cross, accelerating her movement to an overwhelming blur, charging directly at the rogue Sannin.
"Cancel the Jutsu! Or I will kill you!"
Capturing Orochimaru and forcing him to release the technique was the only immediate solution.
Orochimaru merely laughed, a sound full of malicious glee.
"Princess Tsunade, you are indeed powerful now, but have you forgotten your grand-uncle's legendary abilities?"
As he spoke, the Second Hokage appeared instantly before him, his hands forming seals at blinding speed.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
A torrential flood of water erupted from Tobirama's mouth like a crashing waterfall. The wall instantly enveloped Orochimaru, swirling rapidly into a complete, 360-degree defensive sphere.
Tobirama immediately began constructing the second and third layers of the aqueous shield.
"Truly incredible!" Orochimaru's delighted shout echoed from within the cascade. "I have never seen such a swift Water Barrier! As expected of the Second Hokage—not only is the number of seals reduced, but the defensive strength is magnified!"
"Damn it!" Tsunade gritted her teeth.
With the Edo Tensei body providing infinite Chakra reserves, the Second Hokage could maintain this high-level defense indefinitely.
I have no choice but to push past my limits!
Tsunade swiftly drew a long, fine silver needle and plunged it directly into her chest. She then followed with two more needles, inserting them into specific points in her brain.
This was the incomplete Nine Rounds Acupuncture Technique, obtained from a Tier Two Jar, designed to activate a patient's hidden potential. Now, used on herself, she felt a powerful, exciting surge of energy rise within her body.
A tide of power! Each wave stronger than the last!
Tsunade raised the cross, channeling the divine energy into it, activating the Judgment skill once more. The cross glowed with blinding holy light.
"BREAK!"
She roared, her arm muscles bulging, and she slammed the cross with her entire being into the relentlessly rotating wall of water.
The impact caused a massive cloud of white mist and vapor.
First layer, shattered!
Then the second layer, and then the third!
With a final, thunderous roar of rushing water and a pained crack in the air, Tsunade's attack tore straight through the immensely powerful Ninjutsu.
"How is this possible!" Orochimaru shrieked in disbelief.
This was an enhanced, unlimited-Chakra defense deployed by a Kage-level master.
But his astonishment was brief. The cross in Tsunade's hand, still radiating holy light and immense wind pressure, struck Tobirama Senju, sending the Second Hokage flying with a single, devastating blow. She then continued her relentless march toward Orochimaru!