Large patches of pale, soft flesh lay motionless on the ground like melted wax.
This was the discarded tissue of the Slug Sage. It looked weak and defenseless, but in truth, it was nearly impervious to blades, fists, or kicks.
At the center of it all, a purple, jelly-like mass quivered faintly—then stilled.
Its breath faded.
Dead—but not quite.
Every divided body of the Slug Sage was still one entity. This was only a single part of her, and though it had died, so too did Maki's swarm of insects with it.
Deprived of flesh and chakra, unable to reproduce or feed, the insects turned to stone where they lay.
When Tsunade had summoned her, the Slug Sage hadn't anticipated such a vicious attack.
How long had it been since she'd last been injured?
She remembered vaguely. It had been... a very long time.
"Little Tsunade, be careful," the Slug Sage's voice echoed. "Against this kind of attack, the larger your body, the more you'll suffer. I've done all I can."
Tiny slugs began to gather across the scattered white flesh, all turning their twitching antennae toward Maki.
They were afraid. Maki could smell it.
The Slug Sage had minimized her presence, shrinking to avoid being taken out all at once—to avoid more devastating losses.
She had saved herself by discarding her poisoned tissue—like a gecko dropping its tail. Brutal. Crude. Effective.
A tough slug, that one.
Maki liked slugs—just not the monstrous kind. She preferred soft, pretty sea slugs.
Tsunade rose from the fallen slugs, glaring toward Maki with gritted teeth.
To be forced to this point…
"To be forced this far! The Slug Sage—defeated so easily?!"
A Senju ANBU stared in disbelief. As someone from the Senju Clan, he knew all too well the power of the Slug Sage.
Invincible. That was the word.
She may not have overwhelming offensive power, but her regenerative and defensive capabilities made her nearly untouchable.
"It's not over," another said, voice low. "The princess still has the upper hand. Lord Slug hasn't left the battlefield."
His words felt hollow. Even he wasn't sure anymore.
Uzumaki Mito remained silent, eyes calm as she watched the two young combatants from afar.
Yes… It was only with a worthy opponent that one could grow.
What would happen next?
---
Elsewhere, the scene was viewed through different eyes—ones with crimson irises and the fan-shaped emblem of the Uchiha.
"That bug girl has the upper hand. Tsunade-hime doesn't have any effective way to counter her poison."
"But… was that last jutsu even real? It didn't look like an actual seal."
"No, you saw correctly. It was just for show. She was bluffing."
The speaker folded his arms, impressed.
"Amazing."
"But odd, isn't it? She has ranged jutsu, poison-based techniques. Why risk close combat? Her taijutsu is impressive, but still—"
"Chakra," someone answered. "How old do you think she is? She's not Tsunade of the Senju or Uzumaki clans. She doesn't have the massive reserves to waste."
"Right. The Aburame aren't exactly known for chakra abundance. But… I remember—on the battlefield, their chakra reserves can be extraordinary."
An older ninja, a war veteran, spoke thoughtfully.
"Tsunade-hime made a mistake summoning that slug."
"Why?"
"Because that slug runs on her chakra."
"What?!"
Yes—standard chakra, at least. Not senjutsu chakra.
Maki wasn't running on empty yet, but she couldn't afford to waste chakra either.
And the Slug Sage's slime was tricky—Wind Release alone wouldn't be enough to get past it.
Now, the real threat approached.
The ground shivered as countless smaller slugs rose, locking onto Maki.
They weren't spraying acid in wide arcs anymore.
This was different.
These slugs aimed individually—targeting her like a swarm of trained snipers.
There were no wide gaps to dodge through now.
This was precision. Death.
To anyone watching… survival seemed impossible.
The Slug Sage felt threatened—and grew serious.
But Maki had expected this.
She drove her sword into the ground and raised her hands in silence.
"Careful, little girl. You may die," came the gentle warning from the Slug Sage.
And then—acid burst forth.
Lines of corrosive slime shot out like arrows, a fan-shaped barrage of death.
It wasn't just a single direction. The sky above, the ground below—every angle was covered.
Though the Slug Sage had lived for thousands of years and didn't fully understand the mechanics behind this strange jutsu, she knew its effect:
A perfect web of death.
In that same moment, Maki formed hand seals.
And then—she spat out fire into the wind.
"Fire Release?!"
A classic counter to acid. Vaporize it before it touches you.
But...
"Maki can use Fire Release?" someone exclaimed.
"No…" whispered Uzumaki Mito. "That's not Fire Release at all. That's her third insect."
"Third…?!" gasped a red-eyed fire-style user nearby.
They were right.
It wasn't ninjutsu—it was a secret technique.
Insect Art: Vacuum Crimson Swarm.
What looked like flames were actually crimson insects, swarming within a vortex of compressed wind. They danced like fire, radiating intense heat.
These weren't ordinary insects. Unlike the fragile microbes used in most insect-based techniques, these were evolved for direct combat—flame-bodied insects, made to endure elemental warfare.
Even the highly corrosive acid couldn't withstand their searing heat. Before it could melt through their shell, it evaporated away.
Not quite plasma. Not quite fire.
But deadlier than both.
The first massive insect swarm—a living fireball—tore through the air and shot straight toward Tsunade.
But Maki wasn't finished.
She exhaled again. And again. Six times in rapid succession—each burst sent flaming insect swarms in every direction ahead of her.
Her chakra plummeted.
The cost wasn't small—these weren't simple bugs. They were being launched with Wind Release's Vacuum Bullet technique. A single release was draining enough. Six was devastating.
Still, she pressed forward.
The larger the target, the bigger the swarm required to engulf it.
The Slug Sage's earlier form had been huge—too big for even flame-bodied insects to stick to without dying in her mucus.
But now? She was smaller. The size difference made all the difference.
And when the insects were divided into smaller targets, they became exponentially more effective.
Divide and conquer.
A flawless execution of tactics.
"Beautiful!" shouted the Third Hokage, biting down on his cigarette filter. He could already see the end.
Unlike the Uchiha's traditional Great Fireball Technique—which rarely hit anything—Maki's Vacuum Crimson Swarms never missed.
The first one forced Tsunade into retreat.
But the remaining six insect swarms cleared a path—incinerating the field of slugs in bursts of heat and wind.
Burned corpses littered the earth in their wake.
When the last wave of wind exploded outward, the insects reversed course and resumed their assault—seeking and burning any remaining slugs.
"They track?" gasped a red-eyed observer. "A fireball that tracks?!"
Only Fire Style veterans knew just how impossible that was. And how terrifying.
Tsunade looked back—her eyes wide.
She saw the fiery swarm closing in—and behind it, Maki, gasping for air but still standing.
Grandma Mito… I don't know how to deal with this! This isn't in any book!
The next moment, the insects crashed into Tsunade.
Just like their first, unpleasant meeting.
Silence.
Had it ended?
Maki panted hard, her fingers clenched around the hilt of her sword.
Her eyes didn't leave the swarm.
It's coming… That sense of danger…
Something wasn't over yet.
_________________
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