Chapter 159: You're Awake?!

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The air was thick with the scent of ozone and the clanging sound of metal against metal, punctuated by the desperate shouts of battle. 

Tsunade, Vivi, Mikita, Robin, and Marianne were locked in a fierce struggle against a horde of robot monsters towering twice their size; they weren’t as big as the one that was in the ‘Boss Room’ but they were endless in number. They seemed to spawn from the very shadows of the city, swarming around the girls and aiming for their death. 

Their once-pristine armors were now marred with scuffs and dents, evidence of the relentless onslaught they faced against the girls. Yet, they felt no pain, each of them fought with the ferocity of a cornered beast, while fatigue hung heavy on the girls’ shoulders, their movements growing slower, more deliberate.

“Tsunade, dodge-”

– Boom!

Vivi tried to warn Tsunade, but an explosive punch from one of the robots interrupted her and sent her flying.

Tsunade, despite the warning, turned her head to look at Vivi in worry. That was a mistake as three robots fired beams from their chest in her direction.

Amid the chaos, a small figure lay motionless on the ground nearby. Karoo, the usually spirited duck, was now a heartbreaking sight, its body twitching feebly, with feathers burnt as she lay on the verge of death. She had received a terrible blow while trying to protect Robin, and now her well-being was uncertain. 

Mikita glanced toward Karoo, her eyes flashing with a mix of fear and frustrating determination. She turned her attention back to the robots, dodging an attack and then counter-attacking a punch weighing ten tons.

“Krr… Error… Kill…” The robots, with their cold, gleaming exteriors and relentless precision, seemed impervious to fear or fatigue as they fought back with no issue.

Tsunade had tried using bursts of Conqueror’s Haki before, but the robots did not have any will to shut down. So she could only fight manually, against the entire army, her fists glowing with a fiery aura, landing blow after blow, but for every robot they felled, it seemed two more took its place. 

Robin, her face set in a mask of concentration, summoned giant limbs that sprouted from the ground and walls, grasping at their adversaries in an attempt to turn the tide. 

They had faced countless of these robots before in the last two years, having to come to this city regularly to look for rations, canned food, and other necessities. But this trip was the most dangerous so far; they were physically weak, hungry, and fighting for days by now. 

It was not looking good—and as they were thinking this, Robin received a terrible blow on her side as she puked blood and fell to the ground.

“What is this shithole?!” Tsunade growled as, for a moment, her Conqueror’s Haki let out a roar of destruction that sent all the robots flying backward.

That did not last long, however. The robots crawled back at her, at everyone else, as the girls now had to focus on protecting Robin’s body too. Vivi, wielding her dual nunchucks with graceful lethality, danced through the mechanical giants, her strikes a blur. Yet, the relentless tide of their enemies threatened to overwhelm even her skilled bladesmanship.

Marianne’s form flickered between human and demonic fox, unleashing volleys of chakra-infused attacks, explosions blooming amidst the ranks of their foes. But for all their valiant efforts were worth, the mechanical monstrosities advanced without a stop, their movements synchronized and unyielding.

The situation was dire. With each passing moment, their defenses grew thinner, their attacks less effective. The air was filled with the sound of their labored breathing, the whir of robotic limbs, and the occasional pained cry. They were warriors, yes, but even warriors have their limits.

“Girls, gather here…” Tsunade panted heavily as she stood over Robin and Karoo’s bodies. Vivi, Mikita, and Marianne gathered as commanded, their backs against one another, as the four of them faced the four directions. But the robots were approaching them in a circle, their red eyes gleaming with the intent of death, and the core in their chest shining orange.

‘Perhaps two more minutes,’ Tsunade realized as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes with vigor; even if it was two minutes, she’d give it her all. ‘At least Nami is gone… she’ll keep Shira safe. I hope… No, she will, I’m sure.’

Then, she roared and leaped at the closest enemy. Her fist vibrated against the air as soft flickers of black lightning coated around it, and she punched a robot in the chest. It exploded, and a wave of sheer power slammed into it—the direction of the punch was cleared in a singular line, all robots flatted against one another.

Tsunade grinned, “Hah! That was- augh!” her celebration ended as a robot slammed a metal blade into her side, making her growl and turn to her. She tried to focus her strength, but the last attack ate up too much of her energy.

The girls around her were busy in their own fights, they couldn’t send help. Tsunade growled as she glared into the robot, even as her heart accepted the incoming result.

It was then, just as despair began to take root, a dozen blurs of motion appeared on the horizon. Flying figures, moving with purpose and power, cut through the air. 

“No way…” a sense of hope filled their hearts as Hashirama stopped in the air, with Nami on his arms, while his clones leaped downwards with swirling miniature suns on their hands.

[Chakra Suns Bombardment]

They drew upon their rejuvenated chakra, their hands glowing with a swirling mass of energy over them as they knew the hot Rasengans with a cry that echoed through the battlefield. They launched at the robot monsters one after another; multiple of them reaching for the one that loomed over Tsunade, its mechanical arms raised for a killing blow.

Then, they slammed Rasengan into the robots with enraged roars. The impact was cataclysmic. The Rasengan collided with the robot, and for a moment, time seemed to slow. The energy exploded upon contact, tearing through metal and circuits with ruthless efficiency. 

Explosions continued, a series of deafening sounds that spread across the underground city. The clones grabbed the girls, as well as Karoo, and flew up to avoid getting caught into the explosion. 

“Hey girls, I am not too late, am I?- Uh, it's fine since nobody's dead.”

Tsunade, Vivi, Mikita, and Marianne looked at Hashirama in shock and disbelief. "You're… you're awake," they managed to mutter, their voice a whisper of relief.

“Oh my god, you're awake!” Vivi was a lot louder though, as she hugged him tightly and kissed him on the cheek.

“But where did you get this much chakra from?!” Tsunade wondered out loud even as she grinned at his face.

Underneath them, the explosions slowly came to a stop. When the smoke and light cleared, nothing remained of the robots but a dozen smoldering craters.

Silence fell over the battlefield, broken only by the heavy breathing of the weary fighters. The remaining parts of the robots laid motionless on the ground, while new ones kept coming out of the shadows. 

“W-we can talk later,” Tsunade quickly said. “Firstly, we need to leave this place. Let's return to the base, we can't risk our lives by letting more enemies come.” 

“Shira, fly away!” Vivi said, and he nodded 

“Alright, alright,” Hashirama offered a weary smile, his gaze sweeping over them, taking in their battered state one last time, before he and the clones turned around and left.

Karoo stirred on the arms of one of the clones, and Hashirama frowned seeing how injured she was. That maddened him.

The moment was brief, a fleeting second of respite in the eye of the storm, that he wanted to tear incoming robots apart. But recovery was of utmost priority now. The girls’ spirits lifted by his presence, and he shouldn't take a chance with that.

The robots, recovering in number from their momentary lapse, turned to the sky and pointed their weapons at the flying Hashirama, who with his clones flapped their wings and blasted towards where they came from.

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