"Ugh!"

Tsunade groaned in pain, lost her balance in mid-air, and tumbled downward. But her left hand still held desperately to the chakra barrier that was on the verge of collapsing. This brief obstruction had bought her the most critical of moments.

As Tsunade's body tumbled through the air, her falling trajectory just happened to intersect with the falling boulder where Kisame was standing.

"I've got you!"

Tsunade roared with all her strength, her intact left hand grabbing desperately for Kisame's ankle. Her goal was not to kill, but to make contact, to get closer.

Alarm bells screamed in Kisame's heart. He subconsciously tried to pull away, to dodge, but the huge rock under his feet was falling rapidly, giving him nowhere to gain leverage. What shocked him even more was that he saw Tsunade's blood-stained mouth curl once again into that cold, crazy, heart-stopping smile.

"Don't… don't come near me!"

Kisame roared and swung Samehada violently, trying to chop the "beast" that was rushing toward him into pieces. But the two were too close. Tsunade's hand was like a leech attached to his bones, grabbing his ankle with incredible precision. The huge downward force of her fall was transmitted instantly.

BOOM!

The two of them were swept along by the huge falling rocks, plummeting rapidly toward the bottomless abyss below, with debris raining down all around them.

"You… let me go!" Kisame was shocked and furious. He poured chakra into his other foot, intending to kick Tsunade hard in the face. But in reality, it was his left foot, the one controlled by Tsunade, that moved.

Oh no! That technique again!

Kisame was almost in despair. He understood that Tsunade had used her nerve-disrupting technique on him once more.

"Go to hell, you damn shark!"

Tsunade used the last dregs of her strength, her arms trapping Kisame as she bisected him with an extremely terrifying force.

"Arrrgh!"

Kisame's painful howls echoed throughout the valley.

"Give it here!"

Not wanting to give Kisame a chance to recover, Tsunade kicked Samehada out of his hand and into the air, then caught it steadily in her own. Watching the two halves of Kisame's body fall rapidly, Tsunade leaped along the rocks to a tree trunk and said, her face devoid of expression, "Monster of the Hidden Mist, I admit you're strong. But I am one of the Sannin. It is no dishonor for you to die at my hands."

After she had done all this, it felt as if all the strength in her body had been drained away. With a look of all-consuming, cold relief on her face, she looked down at Kisame's face, which was twisted with fear and despair.

"Without your blade, your own healing power will not be enough to restore a body that has been cut in two."

"Just be buried here forever!"

The storm gradually subsided. The collapse of the canyon seemed to be nearing its end, leaving only the sporadic sound of falling rocks and the sound of rain washing over the ruins.

I don't know how long it took, but above the canyon, on a relatively flat corner of the ruins filled with huge rubble, Tsunade moved her fingers with difficulty. The cold rain splashed on her face, a slight, stinging stimulation. She felt as if all the bones in her body were falling apart, and every inch of her muscles groaned in pain. Her right arm had completely lost all feeling, and an excruciating pain radiated from her left arm and shoulder. Her chest felt so heavy that she could hardly breathe.

She struggled to open her heavy eyelids, but her vision was blurry. She could only see the gray sky and the falling rain. For original chapters go to Nove1Fire.net

"He… I really am getting old. That was not an easy win."