With Tsunade and others joining, the previously battered Leaf ninjas quickly regained their combat capabilities. Although the Slug Technique could only perform simple healing and couldn't handle complex medical procedures, it was enough to save lives in battle.
In later generations, Tsunade would use this very technique to save most of the Leaf ninjas from the god-like Pain, showcasing her prowess as the strongest medical ninja. While the current Tsunade might not have the immense chakra reserves she would later possess with the Yin Seal, her mental state was even stronger than her future self, who had been decadent for many years and had only been reinvigorated for three.
Not only that, Tsunade took a deep breath and once again performed the Summoning Technique, calling forth a giant slug. The Great Slug Sage's body was enormous, and even if Tsunade used all her chakra, it would be impossible to summon it entirely—and even if she did, she would likely be too weak to maintain the summoning jutsu.
However, even a partial summoning of the slug was no smaller in size than summoning beasts like Gamabunta or Manda. Tsunade and the other medical ninjas leaped onto the slug's body, shouting, "Everyone, get on quickly!"
The Leaf ninjas immediately understood Tsunade's intention: she planned to use the slug's massive body as a temporary fortress. The defensive fortifications they had previously built were largely destroyed, and a temporary fortress at this moment would alleviate some of the pressure on everyone.
The slug's enormous body blocked the Sand ninjas, and the Leaf ninjas on top had a high vantage point to launch attacks downwards. Even if the Sand ninjas wanted to go around, it would be very troublesome, forcing them to confront it head-on.
The slug's body had a unique advantage: it was very soft and could almost nullify physical attacks by splitting. After splitting, the slug would often spit out corrosive acid, disrupting the Sand ninjas. Coupled with the attacks from the Leaf ninjas on its back, the Sand ninjas' advance immediately halted.
"Damn it!" Chiyo's son, Ryu, cursed unwillingly, glaring fiercely at Tsunade on the slug. He hadn't expected the medical ninjas in the Hidden Leaf Village to possess such a high-level summoning beast, and also such incredible medical techniques. In some ways, she might even be stronger than his mother.
At this moment, he suddenly realized that perhaps the blonde woman was the medical ninja who had deciphered his mother's poisons. He looked closely and found Tsunade's face somewhat familiar. He seemed to have seen this girl during the joint Chunin Exams, where she was cheering for Sakumo Hatake and Heizo Hattori.
Could this girl be an old acquaintance of Sakumo Hatake and Heizo Hattori? Ryu speculated in his heart. Thinking of this, he felt a wave of disgust. During the joint Chunin Exams, he and Sakumo Hatake had developed a grudge. Although Sakumo Hatake had held back, he only felt a brief moment of gratitude before casting it aside.
Later, in the Land of Grass, the two sides clashed more than once, and their animosity deepened. He could say that he intensely disliked Sakumo Hatake, and now encountering a woman who might be connected to him, he transferred his anger and began to dislike her as well.
However, no matter how much he disliked it, the situation remained before him and could not be changed by his feelings alone. He took a deep breath and ordered all Sand ninjas to unleash powerful Wind Release jutsu simultaneously. Due to the heavy rain in the Land of Rain, strong winds often blew, which, to some extent, greatly boosted the power of Wind Release.
The slug's body was instantly split apart. The slug's method of nullifying physical attacks relied on splitting itself and reorganizing cells, not simply ignoring attacks with its body. In a narrow space, this wouldn't be much, but on this wide battlefield, large-scale splitting made it very easy to be isolated.
Therefore, as the slug's body split, the pressure brought by the massive creature sharply decreased, and the Leaf ninjas also lost some of their advantage.
Tsunade couldn't help but admire the enemy's decisive action. If they hadn't found a way, over time, it would definitely turn into a war of attrition, which would be very disadvantageous for the Sand's surprise attack force.
Tsunade stood on one of the split slugs, letting out a soft breath, feeling the chakra depletion, and quietly clicked her tongue: "As expected, the pressure on one person is still a bit much. Luckily, I brought others."
Tsunade's original purpose in bringing other medical ninjas was to alleviate her own pressure. They could provide her with chakra to maintain the slug's existence and healing, and also help quickly handle situations where general healing was ineffective. With the protection of the slug's body and other combat personnel, the other medical ninjas could perform quick treatments.
Suddenly, large amounts of colorful smoke exploded on the battlefield. That was the Sand ninja squad's poison gas. Although it was somewhat weakened by the environment of the Land of Rain, at close range and for a short duration, it could still exert considerable power.
Tsunade also caught a whiff; it was nothing to her, but her expression was solemn because this poison had a different composition than previous ones, and the antidote she had developed earlier wouldn't be very effective. The enemy probably didn't know that her antidote could also neutralize subsequent new poisons; this poison was clearly reformulated with that in mind.
If the exposure of the medical camp's location was understandable, then what was the deal with this? Was it also because intelligence was scouted by the enemy? Although the village's intelligence protection made it impossible to prevent all leaks, combined with the exposure of the medical camp's location, Tsunade felt that things were not so simple.
Although the combat personnel had taken Tsunade's antidote and had some resistance, the effects of this poison were indeed quite strong, making them feel uncomfortable. If the slug hadn't wrapped them in its body in time, a large portion of them might have been wiped out by the enemy.
However, Tsunade wasn't complacent after developing the antidote. She had considered the possibility that the enemy might, by chance, develop something her antidote couldn't counter. She had been researching these days, and while she didn't have a complete antidote for this specific poison, she had indeed developed resistant medications.
At this moment, Tsunade once again felt her foresight in bringing some high-level medical ninjas. They had all participated in her research and knew how to alleviate the effects. If she were alone, she might have collapsed on the battlefield.
"You all know what to do, right!" Tsunade shouted. She believed everyone else must have heard her. Although the slug's body was split into individual parts, its complexity was actually better than when there was only one, and it had helped many people escape danger more than once.
Just as Tsunade had spoken, she heard something cut through the air. She quickly dodged, and a sharp ninja tool severed some of her hair. Immediately after, a barrage of attacks rained down on her slug. Using the slug's splitting ability and the elasticity of its soft body, Tsunade dodged all of them, but her body landed on the ground.
"They're targeting me already, huh? Well, powerful medical ninjas should be eliminated first." Tsunade looked up to see Sand ninjas surrounding her, and couldn't help but sneer, clenching her fists tightly.
Although Tsunade's medical skills were very high, the Sand ninjas generally held a prejudice that medical ninjas weren't very strong. When they saw Tsunade leave the troublesome summoning beast and land on the ground, Ryu in the distance immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He thought Tsunade was finished.
If Tsunade knew Ryu's thoughts, she would surely slap him hard. Don't take common assumptions as absolute; there will always be some unconventional people, and she, Tsunade, was that unconventional one among medical ninjas. Her teammates included Sakumo Hatake, who had extremely strong frontal combat ability, and Heizo Hattori, who excelled at surprise attacks. What kind of tactics hadn't she seen?
The Sand ninjas in front lunged forward. Tsunade stomped her foot fiercely on the ground, and with excellent chakra control, a wall of earth immediately exploded from the ground. The enemy hadn't expected such a physical Earth Release Wall and directly crashed into it. While others were shocked by Tsunade's strength, Tsunade acted again.
Tsunade kicked the earth wall with force. As the wall disintegrated, she used the momentum to charge towards the others. The exploding fragments carried immense impact, piercing the body of a Sand ninja who was momentarily stunned after missing his attack, and sending him flying.
Tsunade, who had already charged out, arrived in front of the others. The opponent recovered and instinctively swung a ninja tool, which Tsunade directly grabbed by the arm, forcefully crushing his bones. The opponent couldn't help but scream in agony.
At this point, Tsunade swung the man like a throwing weapon, sending all the nearby Sand ninjas flying. Even those who were merely hit felt their blood churn and their bones feel as if they were broken. The Sand ninja who directly bore Tsunade's immense strength immediately passed out, with an unknown number of bones broken in his body.
In a short time, Tsunade swept away the Sand ninjas surrounding her. Although some were not killed, Tsunade wasn't there to eliminate opponents. After eliminating the immediate danger, she turned and leaped, returning to the regrouped slug.
Before ascending, Tsunade glanced in Ryu's direction, making the latter feel as if he was being mocked. In reality, Tsunade was indeed laughing at him. She could tell that this red-haired young man was the leader of the Sand ninja squad. She wanted to show him clearly that she was not some medical ninja who could be easily manipulated.
Ryu indeed hadn't expected Tsunade's strength to be so formidable, completely unlike a typical medical ninja. Come to think of it, his mother Chiyo, while primarily a combat ninja, could also be considered a medical ninja, one of those medical ninjas who could fight.
"This is bad. That troublesome medical ninja isn't so easy to deal with," Ryu muttered, wiping the rain from his face, his expression grim. He looked at the many slugs before him and felt a massive headache. His puppets weren't very effective against such large, soft summoning beasts, and with the slugs' protection, dealing with the others wasn't easy either.
"Hey, hey, do you find this troublesome? Then you'd better run away soon, otherwise, once our people surround you, you won't be able to leave." Tsunade, from atop the slug, amplified her voice with chakra, spreading it across the entire battlefield so everyone could hear clearly.
Ryu believed what Tsunade said was true. If they couldn't take this place quickly, and the Leaf ninjas noticed, his squad would definitely be trapped. However, Ryu was unwilling to just leave, especially since Tsunade's voice sounded somewhat mocking.
"Not willing to run away?" Tsunade saw that the Sand ninjas' attacks hadn't stopped and couldn't help but click her tongue. She actually didn't want to continue fighting the Sand ninjas. While they had some advantages, they weren't significant, and dragging it out could result in a mutual defeat, a choice she clearly wouldn't make.
In the following time, the Sand ninjas' attacks rapidly intensified, clearly intending to quickly take this place. Even with the convenience of the slug's body, Tsunade felt that continuing like this would incur a greater cost. While it wouldn't lead to a loss, the outcome might truly be one she didn't desire.
The Sand ninjas also hadn't anticipated that with the aid of the medical ninjas, the Leaf ninjas, who were numerically inferior, would be so resilient. Faced with such a significant advantage, they had managed to hold out without retreating, and the Sand ninjas had also paid a considerable price.
"Can the role of a medical ninja be this powerful?" Ryu panted, recovering some stamina, and stared at Tsunade's figure as he spoke.
"What should we do? If this continues, we might really be surrounded by the Leaf ninjas," his wife, Chizuru, said worriedly from the side.
"Don't worry, it won't be that quick. If no signal is given at the agreed time, it means there's a problem with the operation. Mother and the others will help block them. The main force of the Hidden Leaf Village won't arrive so quickly; we still have time," Ryu said.
"Even so, looking at the current situation, taking them down won't be easy. Even if we win, we might not have the strength to pursue the people from the medical camp," Chizuru said.
Ryu frowned slightly. This was his main concern: paying a price to take the current position but failing to achieve the intended goal. That would make the cost very uneconomical. But—
"If we can eliminate that woman, the blow to the medical camp will also be immense," Ryu said. "Even if we don't wipe out everyone in the medical camp, just eliminating these people wouldn't be without Harvest."
"I understand," Chizuru nodded. She also felt Ryu had a point. Tsunade's medical abilities were surely among the best in the Hidden Leaf Village, perhaps even the most crucial. Even eliminating her would strike a blow to the Leaf Village's medical system.
Just as they were about to resume their actions, Chizuru's gaze, by chance, suddenly noticed something unusual. Her pupils abruptly constricted, and she quickly pushed Ryu aside. A cry of "Run!" didn't even have time to escape her lips before it was replaced by a scream of pain.