The night air, thick with the scent of spent gunpowder and fresh blood, hummed with a tense silence after the colossal impact that flattened the last patrol group. For Alex, it was a sound he barely registered through the roaring in his ears. His vision swam, blurring the chaotic scene before him, a sickening haze over the mangled pirates. This fight, from the initial ambush to the brutal encounter with the Vice-Captain, had pushed him to his absolute limit. He felt like he was teetering on the edge of consciousness, every muscle screaming, his body threatening to give out completely.
He was vaguely aware of a towering, golden-haired figure, her presence a heavy anchor in the swirling chaos. He tried to focus, to make sense of the last few moments, but the world kept tilting.
Olvia, despite her own injuries—a gash on her leg, a heavily bruised arm—was far more lucid. She watched the newly arrived woman with a mixture of awe and caution. "You're... effective," she rasped, a grudging respect in her voice.
[YOU HAVE GAINED A LEVEL!]
[TSUNADE HAS GAINED A LEVEL!]
[NEW ABILITY GAINED: SHARED CHAKRA (Tier 0 - Incipient)]
Alex, his vision still swimming, vaguely heard Olvia's voice, then another, gruff female voice respond. He tried to focus, to understand who the new presence was, but his mind refused to cooperate. He had been so focused on the immediate, desperate struggle, on surviving the Vice-Captain, that the act of summoning, the surge of power, had been a blur. He didn't even truly know that Tsunade had been summoned.
Tsunade merely grunted, her eyes scanning the brutal scene, her gaze lingering for a fleeting moment on Alex's battered form, a flicker of something ancient and painful in her weary eyes. This boy... Nawaki. The thought was a jarring intrusion, a reminder of the life she'd left behind, a life she still mourned. She pushed it down. Her clothes were pristine, defying the carnage, but her posture suggested a deep, internal drain, flexing her hands, testing her new limits. "But these foul creatures will learn what pain truly is." She glanced towards the main barracks, the sounds of retching and coughing growing louder.
Olvia: "The poison is working."
"That was my frog," Alex managed, a weak, proud grin spreading across his bruised face, though he was still unclear on the new combatant's identity. "He's useful, after all."
Tsunade knelt beside Alex, her movements stiff, but her touch surprisingly gentle as she examined his injuries. Her brow furrowed. "I can't… not yet," she murmured, more to herself than to him. "My strength is not what it should be. But I can staunch the bleeding." She tore a strip of cloth from a fallen pirate's uniform and, with practiced hands, fashioned a makeshift bandage for Alex's ribs and forehead, relying purely on her ingrained medical knowledge rather than any chakra-based healing. She then moved to Olvia, quickly doing the same for her leg and arm. "Rest will be your true healer for now."
"Indeed," Olvia conceded. "The main group inside is weakened. Now is our chance. The Captain will likely be in the largest room."
Despite her injuries, Olvia pushed herself to her feet, leaning heavily on her gun. "I'll provide support. Try to pick off anyone trying to escape or flanking. Alex, stick with... with her. She's your strongest asset."
Tsunade simply nodded, already moving with surprising speed towards the barracks entrance. Alex, grabbing another cutlass from a fallen pirate, hurried to keep pace, his newly acquired Sword Proficiency giving him a faint confidence he hadn't possessed moments ago.
They burst into the main hall. The scene was pure chaos. Twenty pirates, once reveling, were now doubled over, clutching their stomachs, their faces green. Vomit stained the wooden floor, mixing with spilled ale. Some lay shivering, others groaned, their weapons dropped. The sheer stench was overwhelming.
"Disgusting," Tsunade growled, her voice laced with contempt.
She didn't wait. With a roar that seemed to shake the very foundations of the building, Tsunade launched herself into the thick of them. Even in her weakened state, her strength was monstrous. Her fists, imbued with a fraction of her formidable chakra, became wrecking balls. A single punch sent three pirates flying through a wall, their bodies leaving craters in the planks. Another backhand sent two more tumbling, bones audibly cracking. She moved with ruthless efficiency, clearing a path through the sick and disoriented bodies, aiming for the back of the hall where a slightly larger, untouched pirate, presumably the Captain, was trying to rally his men.
Alex, empowered by Tsunade's sheer, raw presence, joined the fray. His sword, light and responsive in his hand thanks to his Sword Proficiency, found its mark. He focused on the most debilitated pirates, those too sick to even raise their weapons properly. A quick slash to a neck, a swift thrust to the heart – he worked his way through the ranks, his initial hesitation replaced by a cold, calculating resolve. This was a necessity. He would not be helpless again. A subtle surge of that new Chakra flowed with each swing.
From the doorway, Olvia, wincing with every movement, raised her handgun. Bang! Bang! Two pirates, trying to crawl away or retrieve dropped weapons, fell with precise shots. She acted as their grim guardian, ensuring no one escaped and no one flanked their powerful, golden-haired ally.
The Captain, a burly brute with a scarred face, finally managed to clear his throat of vomit and roar a challenge. He was stronger than his men, clearly less affected by the frog's poison, though his movements were still sluggish. He brandished a heavy axe, swinging it in wide, dangerous arcs.
"You'll pay for this, bimbo!" he bellowed at Tsunade.
Tsunade met him head-on. The Captain swung his axe, a powerful blow, but Tsunade merely caught it with a contemptuous grip, her fingers digging into the steel. With a twist, she ripped it from his grasp, snapping the handle like a twig. The Captain's eyes widened in terror.
"You deserve no mercy." Tsunade declared, her voice devoid of emotion, her face a mask of cold fury.
With a single, devastating punch, she sent him flying through the roof of the barracks, a dark silhouette against the moonlit sky, before he splashed into the distant ocean. The building shook, and silence descended once more, broken only by the groans of the dying and the splash of the Captain's demise. Victory.
The immediate aftermath was gruesome. Alex, breathing heavily, his vision still wavering slightly, surveyed the carnage. The hall was a ruin, bodies strewn everywhere. He felt a strange mix of exhilaration and sickness. He had killed. Many times over. But he was alive. And others, innocent people, had been avenged. He swayed, feeling himself nearing his limit.
"Search the place," Olvia ordered, her voice weak but steady, as she leaned against a splintered wall. "Find anything useful. Maps, supplies, Beli. Anything."
"We need to find the others," Olvia stated, her voice weak but steady, as she leaned against a splintered wall, her gaze sweeping the various shacks and hidden corners of the camp.
They began a systematic search of the camp. Alex, despite his injuries, moved with newfound determination, his eyes scanning for any sign of captivity. Tsunade, though still weakened, moved with brutal efficiency, tearing down flimsy barricades and kicking open locked doors.
They found them. In various states of despair and abuse. Some were locked in cramped, filthy cages, others tied in dimly lit rooms. There were men, women, and even children. A few were clearly "untainted," huddled in fear, but many more bore the horrific marks of their captivity, their faces bruised, their clothes torn. Among them were the "tainted" women, their eyes hollow, their bodies fragile.
Tsunade, meanwhile, had found the source of the earlier moans. She emerged from a side room, a young woman, badly beaten but alive. Tsunade's face was unreadable. Her eyes fell on other dead bodies, her expression hardening.
"She will live," Tsunade stated, her voice tight, as she quickly re-bandaged the survivor's worst wounds using spare clothes, again, purely physical first aid. "This is all I can do for now. My Chakra... it is too thin for true healing. I require replenishment." She then looked at Olvia's bleeding leg and Alex's pale face. "You both require proper rest. My capabilities are severely limited."
He felt the drain himself. His body ached, but the euphoria of survival and victory was potent. He had faced true monsters and emerged. And now, he had two powerful, albeit damaged, allies.
With the pirates dead and the immediate threat gone, the urgency to flee had dissipated. The rising sun cast long shadows over the ravaged camp, illuminating the grim reality and the small, desperate hope they now offered. They wouldn't leave these villagers to die. They would stay, heal, and consolidate their victory.
"It seems we have a new companion, then," Olvia murmured, looking at Tsunade with a curious, calculating gaze. "One who could change everything." As Alex looked around the ransacked camp, a thought, strange and potent, sparked in his mind. The dead pirates. Perhaps their forms held a new kind of power.
Updated Character Stat Sheets
Here are the updated stats for Alex and Tsunade after the events of Chapter 3:
Alex (Host)Level: 3
Strength: (Increased from Level Up)
Agility: (Increased from Level Up)
Mana Capacity: (Base + any allocated points)
Chakra: Incipient (Very Low)
Summon Capacity: (Base value)
Skills:
Sword Proficiency (Basic)
Shared Chakra (Tier 0 - Incipient): Gained a minute portion of Tsunade's Chakra when she was summoned, too little for Ninjutsu.
Active Summons:
Robust Rat: (Still active, stats improved from previous allocations)
Frog: (Active, specialized for contamination/diversion)
Deceased Summons (from Chapter 2):
Common House Rat (1)
Common House Rat (2)
Small Green Bat
Tiny Scorpion
Brick Golem
Tsunade (Summon - Great Beast of Myth)
Level: 3 (Syncs with Alex's summoning prowess)
Power Status: Severely Weakened (Due to insufficient Mana/catalyst for full summoning and continued sustain)
Chakra Capacity: High (Currently weakened)
Strength: Monstrous (Even weakened, her physical output is immense, a fraction of her true power)
Speed: High (Even weakened)
Durability: High (Even weakened)
Abilities (Currently Suppressed/Limited):
Medical Ninjutsu (requires significant Chakra)
Creation Rebirth Technique (requires Hundred Seal, currently inactive)
Strength of a Hundred Seal (Empty)
Current Limitations: Cannot perform complex Ninjutsu or large-scale healing. Relies on raw physical power and basic medical knowledge. Requires substantial replenishment (Mana or an equivalent) to regain full capabilities.