[NTU] [ARC-07-JOUNIN] Chapter : 106 (Patreon)

"Don't waste time talking—I'll just kill him!"

Before Toshiro could respond, the white-haired Kaguya ninja, who had remained silent since his arrival, couldn't control his bloodlust any longer and charged at Toshiro. He showed no intention of coordinating with his teammates.

"Reckless fool!" Mei cursed under her breath, but she didn’t forget to warn him, "Be careful, his taijutsu is strong!"

The two allies she had summoned were a young prodigy from the Yuki Clan and a battle-hungry maniac from the Kaguya Clan. The Yuki clan member was cold and aloof, but manageable. The Kaguya clansmen, however, had no sense of teamwork and only cared about fighting. She often wondered if his brain had completely degenerated into bones.

"Boil Release: Boiling Blood Jutsu" Terumi activated her ninjutsu without hesitation, coordinating her attack with her impulsive ally. She called out, "Shimizu, I’m helping Kaito. Cover us!"

"Understood!" Shimizu, the Yuki clan member, responded tersely. She closely observed the battlefield, forming seals as she prepared her own jutsu.

Clang!

Toshiro blocked Kaito's bone weapon with his sword and narrowly dodged Terumi's punch. Underestimating her as merely a ninjutsu specialist would be a grave mistake. Her Boiling Blood jutsu had significantly enhanced her strength and speed, putting her taijutsu on par with, if not superior to, an average jounin.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Toshiro continuously parried Kaito's relentless attacks while keeping an eye out for Terumi's sneak assaults. Realizing he couldn't stay on the defensive, he decided to turn the tide.

"Genjutsu: Shiranui," he activated his Sharingan, casting a unique illusion on the frenzied Kaito, who had little defense. Despite the chaos of the battlefield, the genjutsu took hold through the refraction of water molecules in the air.

Kaito froze mid-attack, trapped in a mental space where his body, now a flat paper figure, stood on a massive stone suspended in the air. Flames began to engulf him, burning not just his body but also his spirit, causing excruciating pain.

His face was twisted in agony. "Damn it! This idiot!" Terumi Mei gritted her teeth. She couldn’t just abandon her ally, despite his recklessness. She attacked Toshiro to create an opening for Kaito.

"Ice release : Crystal mirror!" A thick ice crystal, more than a meter in thickness, appeared in front of Toshiro. Realizing its formidable defense, he refrained from slashing at it with his sword. The mirror was a powerful bloodline technique, not easily broken.

Terumi chased after him, her enhanced fist striking with great force because of her boiling blood technique. Toshiro deftly dodged, using his left hand to counter her punch, which, while powerful, still fell short of the might of true super strength, he had used.

He knocked her back and prepared to finish Kaito off. Without the Kaguya clan member's interference, dealing with the remaining opponents would be simpler.

To his surprise, Shimizu did not attempt to rescue Kaito. The brutal Blood Mist policy of Kirigakure had fostered a lack of camaraderie among its ninjas. Instead, Shimizu aimed a kunai at Toshiro's back.

"Too bad!" Toshiro blocked the attack with the ninja sword in his right hand. Shimizu, thwarted, retreated into her ice mirror, evading Toshiro's counterattack.

"Damn it!" Terumi Mei cursed as she saw Shimizu's indifference. Despite her anger, she understood that Kirigakure’s policies encouraged such behavior. Shimizu’s actions, though cold, were not wrong.

Perhaps embarrassed by Terumi Mei's scolding, Shimizu created another ice mirror beside Kaito. A white arm extended from it, grabbing Kaito by the neck and flinging him out of Toshiro's reach. The disdain in Shimizu’s gesture was clear as she dusted off her arm, as if to rid himself of Kaito's stupidity.

"Tsk! It’s convenient to have such supportive teammates," Toshiro mused as he continued to fight Mei. "Even such an idiotic guy can survive with his teammates’ help."

Despite her disdain for Kaito, Shimizu had saved him, preventing his pointless death at Toshiro’s hands.

"Oh! I didn't expect Konoha ninjas who uphold the 'Will of Fire' to feel this way. It's truly surprising."

Since Kaito had been rescued by Shimizu, Mei took the opportunity to chat, hoping to relax her tired body. Her opponent's taijutsu was tough to handle, especially with his strength and the ninja sword he wielded. Every swing demanded her utmost attention.

"Of course, I have teammates too. It's just a pity they aren't here!"

This time, only Shisui accompanied him to the Bear Country camp. Their primary mission was to protect the clan's future, so they didn't join him. Orochimaru, his boss, showcased his shrewd tendencies by not assigning him any teammates, leaving him to operate alone.

Boasting on such a life-or-death battlefield was foolish. To make matters worse, while trying to remain hidden, he unexpectedly encountered Terumi Mei, who had also concealed herself, but with the intent of finding a target for a fatal strike.

"Well! It seems your guy is quite impatient!" Noticing the white mist rising from the ninja sword, Toshiro, initially planning to take it easy, had to respond to the attack.

Along with the cold mist on the sword, the ground beneath Toshiro's feet began to emit a large amount of frigid fog.

"Are you trying to use the temperature to restrict my movement? So naive~"

Feeling the biting cold in his hands and the icy ground, Toshiro laughed, observing the scene with his Sharingan.

"Uchiha Flame Whip"

As his chakra surged, intense flames ignited on his ninja sword. With a sweep of his arm, a long flame whip nearly 20 meters long and a meter in diameter emerged from the sword. It was as if Toshiro held a flaming snake, dancing in the air, ready to strike.

The bright firelight and the roaring sound overshadowed the noise of air friction.

"This guy is really something else. No wonder Terumi summoned us to deal with him!"

Watching the flaming snake coil, blocking all her attack angles and nullifying his speed-restraining ninjutsu, Shimizu finally understood why Terumi, a genius known for mastering both Boil Release and Lava Release, had summoned her and Kaito.

"Now it's my turn. If you're not careful, you could die~"

With a wave of his arm, the flaming whip, guided by Toshiro's fine chakra control, lunged at Kaguya Kaito, who had just escaped the illusion. Despite being hit by Toshiro's 'Genjutsu: Shiranui,' Kaito had quickly regained mobility, a testament to his resilience or beastly instincts.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu"

Before Toshiro could attack, a water dragon of similar size rose from Kaito's side, blocking the assault.

"It's not that easy!"

Unlike other ninjutsu, which are finalized after activation, Toshiro's Flame Whip could continuously alter its power based on chakra input.

"Go around!"

Following Toshiro's movements, the flame whip expanded, growing from 20 meters to nearly 40 meters. It twisted like a hunting python, aiming to wrap Kaito completely. Even the hard bones of Kaguya's corpse veins wouldn't withstand the python's scorching heat.

"Lava Release: Lava River"

Seeing her companion in danger, Mei mobilized her chakra, creating a large-scale lava river rushing towards Toshiro, forcing him to cease his attack and let the flame snake dissipate.

Despite its power, the Flame Whip required focused control. Any distraction could make the flames uncontrollable.

He lamented the difficulty of developing new ninjutsu.

"Kaito, guard against close attacks. Shimizu and I will use ninjutsu!"

Terumi Mei, not naive enough to believe a single large-scale ninjutsu could defeat Toshiro, regrouped with her companions, planning to overwhelm him with their combined strength.

"Let's begin, Shimizu."

After signaling her companions, Terumi began forming seals. With two ninjutsu specialists, they had the upper hand.

"Lava Release: Lava Tsunami"

Using the lava river, Terumi Mei created a tsunami with higher waves, attacking Toshiro. Shimizu, the Yuki clan member, wasn't idle either.

"Water Release: Shigure"

"Ice Release: Thousand Needles of Death"

Shimizu created a small rainfall, transforming raindrops into crystal-clear ice cones, launching them at Toshiro. Though individually weak, the sheer number of ice cones made them formidable. Combined with the large-scale ninjutsu, Toshiro had to deal with them carefully.

Looking at the magma flowing across the ground and the ice and snow thorns descending from the sky, Toshiro felt a wave of helplessness. He had just intended to take it easy on the battlefield, but unfortunately, he encountered Terumi Mei.

After a bit of fighting, it would have been fine to part ways. However, this woman was relentless. If her tenacity wasn't enough, she also called for reinforcements, clearly an unfair advantage.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave"

"Earth Release: Weighted Rock jutsu."

Facing these dual attacks and the combined bloodline limits of multiple chakras, Toshiro couldn't just rely on a single fire jutsu. He had to use a significant amount of chakra to create a large-scale water release, both to counter the surging lava and to shield himself from the falling Senbon.

"Tsk! Using water release against Mist Ninja, I must be the only Konoha Ninja since the Second Hokage!"

As he activated this ninjutsu, Toshiro couldn't help but think of his clan's old adversary, the Second Hokage, whose mastery of water release had inspired this technique.

Boom!

Worried that his water release might not withstand Terumi Mei's lava tsunami, Toshiro also employed a large-scale weighted rock technique to amplify the impact of his water release exponentially.

His knowledge of the weighted rock technique came from his family's extensive archives and also watching Kitsuchi do it multiple times. In addition to bloodline techniques, they also held secret arts requiring special talents. With the insight of his Sharingan, ordinary ninjutsu had no secrets for him.

Sizzle!

As water and lava collided, a deafening sound erupted, followed by bursts of steam as the intense heat met the water. A massive cloud of white steam began to disperse from the point of contact.

Under the water, Toshiro felt the temperature rise slightly, confirming his suspicions. Although he had avoided the ice cones falling from the sky, the water's temperature would drop sharply after they fell into it. But the addition of lava solved this problem effectively.

"You actually blocked my attack with Water Release!"

Mei, surprised that Toshiro countered her attack with Water Release, wasn't deterred. Knowing he was hiding under the water, she decided to make him taste her true power.

However, she soon realized there was a conflict between her and Shimizu's ninjutsu. Her ice release neutralized her lava effectively, an unexpected outcome.

"Boiling Release: Acidic Mist"

Mei released a large amount of turquoise liquid, pungent and sour, onto the water's surface, turning it emerald green. She then addressed her companions, especially Kaito.

"Shimizu, Kaito, I'll go down and take a look first. You two, stay vigilant!"

As if worried Kaito might act impulsively, she explained, "This water is now filled with my boiling acid. Touch it at your own risk."

She dove into the water, confident in her underwater combat skills as a mist ninja.

Watching the green acid spread through the water, Toshiro felt a headache coming on.

"What a mistake. I didn't expect her boiling acid to work in water. This is troublesome!"

He realized he had been overconfident, facing the future Fifth Mizukage and her companions without using Sage Mode. This might end badly for him.

"But does she really think I can't handle her underwater?"

Seeing Terumi Mei in her blue fishtail dress and moving gracefully through the green acid, Toshiro had no time for appreciation.

"Water Release: Water Dragon..."

Just as Terumi Mei prepared to perform a water release ninjutsu for her attack, a flash of purple lightning interrupted her.

Underwater, starting from Toshiro, lightning spread in all directions.

"It's Lightning Release!"

Recognizing the ninjutsu, Terumi Mei quickly cast an earth-attribute technique to shield herself from the lightning.

"Can he really use all five elemental releases seamlessly? What a dangerous man!"

Wrapped in a self-created stone ball, Terumi Mei temporarily withstood the lightning but lost her vision, a dangerous situation underwater. Once the lightning ceased, she released the ninjutsu and emerged.

Before she could adjust to her surroundings, she sensed danger.

"Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu"

A spherical barrier enveloped her, cutting off her breath.

"Has he neutralized my acid?"

Through the water prison, Terumi Mei saw that her acid was neutralized. Despite the situation, she remained calm and even smiled at Toshiro, blowing him a kiss.

"Is it a clone?"

Toshiro suspected something was off. If Mei could be captured so easily, she wouldn't be the future Fifth Mizukage.

His suspicion proved correct. Maintaining the water prison, he turned his attention to the rock she had used to avoid the lightning.

It seemed she had used the rock and a clone in the water prison to escape his sight. What a cunning opponent~