[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki: Once I make it onto a ranking and receive my reward, I'll break free immediately. All of you just wait.]
[Sage of Six Paths: Mother! I think you should stop this pointless resistance. You've already seen your future outcome—you just get sealed again.]
Inside the Moon.
Kaguya's eyes suddenly lit up as she recalled the arm-wrestling bet between Tsunade and Mei.
"So I can just copy them, can't I? What if I directly challenge that unfilial brat, the Sage, to a one-on-one fight?"
Just thinking about it filled her with excitement.
[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki @ Sage of Six Paths: How about we place a bet too?]
[Sage of Six Paths: At present, gambling is… not good. I refuse.]
The Sage wasn't stupid—he knew if Kaguya suddenly wanted a wager, there had to be a trap.
[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki: What, are you afraid? You're supposed to be the legendary Sage of Six Paths everyone talks about.]
[Sage of Six Paths: …Say what the bet is first.]
Hearing that, the Sage realized if he refused outright, he'd lose face.
But he also knew Kaguya was up to something, so he didn't agree immediately.
Back in the lunar core, Kaguya saw that he'd taken the bait and was delighted. She spoke up in the chat:
[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki: Simple—just you and me, one-on-one. If I lose, I'll obediently stay in the center of the moon and stop thinking about escaping. If I win, you let me out immediately and publicly admit you're an unfilial son. How about it?]
A one-on-one fight? The Sage sneered.
[Sage of Six Paths: Mother, I'm not stupid. I absolutely refuse.]
[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki: So you are scared?]
[Sage of Six Paths: This isn't about fear. This affects the entire ninja world. I won't agree.]
[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki: So you're not just unfilial, you're a coward too.]
Seeing that the Sage wouldn't take the bait, Kaguya was helpless.
Her original plan had been perfect:
If the Sage agreed, the chat might set up a special arena for them, just like it did for Tsunade and Mei's arm-wrestling match.
If she won, then even if the Sage wanted to go back on his word and refuse to free her, the scroll would probably force her release.
Unfortunately—
Not only did the Sage not fall for it, the scroll likewise remained silent.
"It seems I still have to rely on Black Zetsu's plan."
"But now that Black Zetsu is alive again, and Madara has obtained a Revive Coin and is about to be resurrected, there's a good chance I won't be able to rely on him either."
"In that case, I have to wait until I get ranked and receive a reward. But what if there isn't a ranking related to me? Wouldn't that mean I'll never break free?"
"No… there must be a ranking related to me. And if it is, I'll obviously be number one!"
"For example… a Motherly Love Ranking?"
"I only ate the God Tree's fruit for the sake of my children. Isn't it fair I rank first on a Motherly Love list?"
"Or maybe…"
As Kaguya happily fantasized about what rankings she might dominate—
In the chat, Tsunade and Mei had started arguing again.
[Tsunade @ Not-as-Good-as-Tsunade Childish Brat]
[Not-as-Good-as-Tsunade Childish Brat: Old woman, will you ever drop it?]
[Tsunade: Childish brat! You lost—that's the fact. If I'd lost and my name got changed to "Pretending-to-be-young old woman," you'd be tagging me nonstop.]
Mei thought about it.
…Yeah, she totally would.
Of course, she couldn't admit that.
[Not-as-Good-as-Tsunade Childish Brat: I'm not that childish.]
[Tsunade: Sure you're not. You've been clinging to every excuse to pick a fight with me, you little brat.]
[Not-as-Good-as-Tsunade Childish Brat: Old woman, don't get cocky. Your footage already exposed plenty about you.]
[Tsunade: Exposed what, exactly?]
[Not-as-Good-as-Tsunade Childish Brat: Let's see—gambling addict, drunk, hemophobic, and the most important part—pretending to be young when you're actually an old lady.]
[Not-as-Good-as-Tsunade Childish Brat: Ugh, in our arm-wrestling match I should have had a guaranteed win!]
[Tsunade: You beating me? You serious?]
[Not-as-Good-as-Tsunade Childish Brat: You're scared of blood! I should've just used a single drop of blood and I'd have you on your knees. I got careless…]
[Fourth Raikage A: Hahahaha! Why didn't I think of that just now?! @ Tsunade, come on, you said I only won with cheating. Let's rematch. This time I'll use one drop of blood and show you how I win!]
[Jiraiya @ Tsunade: This might be a little unfair, but I want an arm-wrestling match too. If I lose, I'll never chase you again. If you lose, you accept my confession, how about it?]
[Tsunade: You trying to get yourself killed, Jiraiya?]
[Not-as-Good-as-Tsunade Childish Brat: Old woman, I'm sure your footage will expose even more dirt on you later. I'll be waiting. Hahaha!]
[Tsunade: Then you can keep waiting. This is only ninth place. If you want to see my footage, you're going to be waiting a long time.]
Clearly, Tsunade assumed she'd rank very high.
But just then—
The giant scroll above Konoha flared with golden light again.
In the Five Kage ranking section, a new name appeared.
Everyone quickly looked up.
[Five Kage Comprehensive Ranking – No. 8 (tied): Fifth Hokage, Senju Tsunade!]
[One of the legendary "Sannin" who shook the ninja world with her feats in the Second Great Ninja War, Tsunade once stood at the peak of the ninja world alongside Jiraiya and Orochimaru as a mere mortal.]
[With extraordinary healing ability, monstrous regenerative power, medical ninjutsu revered even by the strongest ninja, unrivaled monstrous strength, terrifying burst power, and formidable taijutsu. Her summon, Katsuyu, is virtually immune to physical attacks and provides chakra regeneration.]
[She passed down her advanced medical ninjutsu to Shizune and Sakura, influencing future generations.]
[Reward: Awakened Operation Fruit (Ope Ope no Mi). After consuming it, the user can create a hemispherical or spherical "ROOM" domain and freely cut and rearrange anything inside. Exclusive jutsu include:]
ROOM · Slaughterhouse
Single-handedly conjure a hemispherical or spherical sealed space. Condense an energy "laser" along the blade, then slash at people or objects. Anything struck can be sliced into multiple pieces and recombined at will. Those cut apart within the ROOM do not die or bleed and remain alive. The user can also perform spatial swaps or teleports on objects within the ROOM (ignoring walls).
ROOM · Command
Create a hemispherical ROOM and, with an upward flick of the fingers, seize control of designated objects.
ROOM · Transplant
Within a hemispherical ROOM, stab and extract a target's "soul/heart," then swap it with another extracted heart or soul, causing bodies and minds to be scrambled and exchanged.
(TN: The source repeated "ROOM·移植" twice; combined here as one consistent "ROOM · Transplant.")
ROOM · Scan
Within the ROOM, condense an energy blade and instantly move multiple targets at once, teleporting selected objects to different locations.
Cardiac Shock
Release high-frequency electrical shocks into a target's heart region, damaging organs and causing paralysis or even cardiac arrest.
Injection Shot
Take a mid-guard kendo stance and aim the blade at the enemy. The ability creates a crosshair-like reticle at the tip; once it locks onto a vital area, the user "fires," launching a powerful precision attack.
Scalpel
From a distance, extract an enemy's heart out of their body. The heart, along with the muscle tissue around it, is drawn out and sealed in an ice cube, while a diamond-shaped hole appears in the victim's chest. The target does not die, but collapses temporarily from the heart being removed. The heart remains alive.
Can also create a small spherical ROOM around the hands to non-invasively extract bullets or foreign objects from inside the body.
High-Frequency Scalpel
The incision made by this variant is totally different from normal cuts. For several minutes, no technique or ability can recombine the severed parts.
Gamma Knife
A green blade of surgical energy forms around the hand. It slices the enemy's body with no external wounds while severing internal organs and muscles, dealing massive damage.
Blade of Death
Charge the sword with Operation Fruit energy, then spin the blade at high speed before slashing. The damage is devastating.
Perpetual Youth Surgery
If used by someone with sufficient talent, the Operation Fruit can grant another person "eternal life." Once this surgery is performed, the user of the fruit dies.
...
Seeing Tsunade's name appear as the new entry—
Both Tsunade and Mei froze.
Tsunade was genuinely stunned.
She… was tied for eighth?
Her ranking was that low?
Not even above the Third Hokage, who literally risked his life just to seal away Orochimaru's arms, one of her fellow Sannin?
And though Tsunade was Hiruzen's student—
She stood there in a daze.
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