Chapter 66: Ice to Meet You: A Chilling Beatdown
"I'm not interested in your lingerie. If you really want to fight, then agree to help us broker an alliance with Kirigakure if you lose!"
Uchiha Kage didn't know what Terumi Mei was thinking. He'd already seen her naked, and she was still trying to tempt him with underwear?
"N-not interested?"
Not only had the quiet whisper been shouted out loud for everyone to hear, but she'd also been told "not interested" – a complete dismissal…
Especially coming from such a handsome young man, Terumi Mei was momentarily devastated.
"I-I see… a Little Kid pretending to be serious to hide his shyness?"
Yes, that had to be it. With her charm, how could any man "not" be moved?
"This "older sister" doesn't dislike shy Little Kids. They're more fun to tease. But what if "you" lose?"
It seemed like she'd been led by the nose since the beginning.
Terumi Mei decided to regain some initiative.
"You said it yourself: if I lose, you won't let Konoha ally with Kirigakure."
"That won't do. I wouldn't get any benefit at all…"
Terumi Mei thought that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Kirigakure would definitely ally with Konoha.
That meant she wouldn't get any reward if she won?
"In short, if you lose, you'll join Kirigakure!"
After thinking for a moment, Terumi Mei quickly came up with the demand she wanted most.
If this guy who had seen her naked could stay in Kirigakure and become her underling in the future, then she might be able to forgive him.
"Absolutely not! You inexplicable woman, if you want to bully my Disciple, you'll have to ask me first!"
Yuhi Kurenai was curious about what had happened between Uchiha Kage and this Kirigakure Female Ninja, but she couldn't tolerate this.
Her… Disciple? How could he be taken away by someone else?!
"That's right, Kage-san isn't merchandise! You can't use him as a bet!"
Hinata also spoke forcefully for once.
"Hmph, the strong possess everything of the defeated. That's the iron rule of the Ninja World. If you're not satisfied, come at me together. I'm not refusing."
Terumi Mei wasn't worried about losing.
The difference between a regular Jonin and an Elite Jonin like her was even greater than the difference between a Genin and a Jonin.
"You! Then I'll…"
Yuhi Kurenai drew a Kunai.
She thought this woman was a good person, but she was just another bad woman targeting her Disciple.
"Teacher, let me handle this. I, as your Disciple, am enough to deal with her. No need for you to get involved."
Terumi Mei's Ninjutsu had too wide a range. Uchiha Kage didn't want the recently recovered Yuhi Kurenai to get hurt again.
"Are you saying your Teacher would hold you back?"
Yuhi Kurenai pinched the soft flesh on her Disciple's waist, then whispered in his ear, imitating Terumi Mei's earlier action.
"Hmph, no matter what, you're not allowed to lose! I'll settle accounts with you after the fight!"
What's with the humiliation and the talk of clothes as gifts, Kage must have had something going on with this woman.
Yuhi Kurenai decided that "once" she drove Terumi Mei away, she would interrogate this troublesome Disciple.
"Don't worry, I won't disgrace you, Teacher."
Uchiha Kage had already figured out how to deal with Terumi Mei.
"Teacher…"
Seeing that Uchiha Kage was still going to fight that Kirigakure woman, Hinata glanced at Yuhi Kurenai with some resentment.
"Trust him. He's so strong. Don't worry."
Yuhi Kurenai patted Hinata's shoulder.
Then, she whispered playfully in her Female Disciple's ear, "If he really looks like he might lose, we'll just sneak back to Konoha and never come to Kirigakure again."
No mission was more important than her Disciple.
"Okay!"
Hearing that, Hinata nodded in relief.
"You… need to be more proactive in the future, you hear? Don't always make your Teacher help you…"
There were more and more wild women out there. If Hinata was still as passive as before, Uchiha Kage would be snatched away by another woman one day.
----
On Kirigakure's Ninja Training Grounds…
"Oh? A wise choice. You know you can't beat me, so you don't want your companions to suffer too."
What do you mean, he alone can deal with her?
Hmph, did he really think she had shown her true strength that day?
Today, she would let him see the price of angering her!
Looking at the young man who had walked out alone to confront her, Terumi Mei had already decided that she would make him taste the humiliation she had suffered that day.
She would melt all his clothes off later and see what kind of expression he would make…
Hehehe.
Thinking about the handsome young man being naked later, Terumi Mei couldn't help but giggle.
"Always the loser; I'll give you credit for persistence."
Was there something wrong with this woman? She was smiling so… "creepily", even before the fight started…
It was a little creepy.
Uchiha Kage couldn't help but shrink back a bit.
"You! That's because you and that pink-haired little girl used despicable and shameless tricks. That's why I…"
Uchiha Kage's words, "always the loser," instantly pulled Terumi Mei back to reality from her fantasy.
At the same time, it completely ignited the anger and shame that had been hidden in her heart.
"Enough nonsense! This time, you'll savor my passionate Ninjutsu!"
Earth Release: Earth Pillar Technique!
First, she raised the ground beneath her feet. Then, Terumi Mei fearlessly used her most powerful large-scale attack Ninjutsu against the young man in front of her.
Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!
"Fighting against me, who possesses two Kekkei Genkai, you have no chance of winning!"
Spewing out a large amount of viscous and highly corrosive acid from her mouth, Terumi Mei said smugly as she watched the young man about to be surrounded and enveloped by her acid.
However, why wasn't this guy dodging her Ninjutsu attack? Was it a Shadow Clone?
"Kekkei Genkai? I actually have them too."
And three of them, at that.
Sharingan, Transparency Release, and the Ice Release he was about to use, obtained from Haku.
Ice Release: Freezing Blizzard Technique!
Although it was almost sunset, the afterglow of the setting sun still filled everyone with warmth.
But soon, all this warmth was covered by the icy aura emanating from Uchiha Kage's hand.
As a whirlwind of cold air swept across, the lava-like liquid that was flowing and covering the entire Training Grounds, corroding the earth, was instantly covered with a layer of transparent ice crystals and could no longer move.
"Ice Release? Isn't that…"
Wasn't that Kirigakure's Kekkei Genkai? But during the Blood Mist Policy, the Village… should have exterminated them all.
How could this Uchiha youth possibly have this Kekkei Genkai?
Seeing that her Lava Release had been easily neutralized by the other party's Ice Release, Terumi Mei was both surprised and angry.
This Kid was hiding his strength from her last time too?
"Hmph, you can freeze the lava, but can you freeze my Boil Release?"
Boil Release: Clever Mist Technique!
By fusing Fire Release Chakra and Water Release Chakra, she created a boiling acidic mist.
Terumi Mei first confirmed the direction of the wind before launching this Ninjutsu at Uchiha Kage, who was standing on the ice.
"My passionate heat cannot be frozen!"
"Then I'll just trap it."
Ice Release: Ice Prison Technique!
Also a large-scale Ninjutsu, but this time released by Uchiha Kage.
Rumble!
Thick ice walls rose from the ground around Terumi Mei and him, enclosing both of them in this bright ice crystal prison.
It also surrounded the high-temperature acid mist spewed from Terumi Mei's mouth.
Buzz…
The acid mist corroded the thick ice walls while being sublimated into ice and snow by the cold air on the ice walls. The two canceled each other out.
"You, you want me to…"
What a lecherous little Kid!
But this time was different from last time. Terumi Mei, who could adjust the concentration of the acid mist at any time, was not afraid of her Boil Release hurting herself.
As long as she was careful, her clothes wouldn't be dissolved like last time in order to escape the trap…
"Hmph, foolish. Did you think I would make the same mistake as last time? On the contrary, you stupidly locked yourself in as well. Let's see how I dissolve your clothes and flesh!"
While Terumi Mei was talking tough, she increased the output of her Boil Release: Clever Mist Technique.
When the acid mist filled the ice prison, it would be her victory!
"Unfortunately, I can't be trapped by ice. With my Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, I can move freely in the ice."
As Uchiha Kage spoke, he reached out to the ice wall beside him.
Then, his body seemed to merge with the ice wall, and he appeared inside the ice layer.
Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!
"So, before your Boil Release corrodes my Ice Release, you can only let me do as I please."
In an instant, Uchiha Kage's figure appeared on every ice wall of the ice prison.
And each figure had a Remote Attack Ninjutsu like Shuriken prepared in their hands.
Unlike Haku, who relied on speed, he, with his massive Chakra, now had Shadow Clone entities appearing in the ice crystals.
In other words, the attacks Terumi Mei was about to suffer were all physical attacks!
"Impossible, I won't be…"
Watching the young man in the ice prison walk out so easily and appear in every ice wall, Terumi Mei was completely flustered.
She was just thinking foolishly that as long as she filled the acid mist, the other party would beg for mercy.
She didn't expect "she'd" be the clown. Also, how could his Ice Prison Technique trap himself…
Damn it!
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
Unable to sit still and wait for death, Terumi Mei immediately launched her best Water Release attack on the walls of the ice prison.
Boom…
However, the Water Dragon Bullet was frozen into an ice sculpture by the snow in the air the second before it hit the ice layer.
It shattered into pieces of ice on the ground.
"It's useless. Even if you can open a gap, I'll quickly fill it in."
With Uchiha Kage's Chakra blessing, the thickness and solidity of the ice wall were far higher than when Haku himself used it.
Not to mention that he could freeze the enemy's Ninjutsu in advance.
"Are you ready? My attack is coming soon."
Every Uchiha Kage in the ice crystals was speaking, and the overwhelming voices from all directions gave Terumi Mei enormous pressure.
"You…"
Before she could finish speaking, Terumi Mei suffered a Shuriken attack from all directions.
"Don't underestimate me, you bastard!"
Clang clang clang!
While using a Kunai to block the flying Shuriken, Terumi Mei had no choice but to continue using the Clever Mist Technique to dissolve all the Shuriken that she couldn't block as they fell to the ground.
"A good response, but it seems costly?"
Although her Ninjutsu was strong, Terumi Mei's Body Art didn't seem to have fallen behind much.
She was able to avoid being injured even once under so many Shuriken attacks.
But looking at the Female Ninja starting to pant, Uchiha Kage still shook his head.
Although she was the Future Mizukage, it looked like this was her limit.
----
"Kage-san is too amazing…"
Hinata's initial worries didn't even last a second before being dispelled by Uchiha Kage's Ice Release.
He was suppressing that Kirigakure Female Ninja the entire time.
"This guy can always come up with something new."
Fire Release, Rasengan, Illusionary Technique, Lightning Release, and now Ice Release…
Every time he fought, Uchiha Kage used different Ninjutsu.
Yuhi Kurenai was a little numb from watching.
Was there any Ninjutsu that her genius Disciple didn't know?
"But we should get used to it. This guy isn't normal. Stop worrying about him."
"Teacher…"
Hinata didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Kage-san was very powerful, but you couldn't use "abnormal" to describe him.
"Teacher, something bad might have happened in Kirigakure. My bugs…"
Just as Yuhi Kurenai and Hinata were watching Uchiha Kage deal with Terumi Mei in the ice prison with a relaxed mood, Shino, who didn't know when he had appeared nearby, suddenly looked at the bugs in his hand with a drastic change in expression.
"The bugs are afraid. This is the first time I've encountered this situation."
Buzz buzz…
The small black bugs on Shino's index finger were shrinking their wings, prostrating on the ground, seemingly fearing something terrible.
----
Inside the ice prison…
"Don't plan to surrender? I think you can only hold on for two more rounds at most."
As long as she couldn't break through this ice prison, no matter how Terumi Mei struggled, it would be useless.
"Surrender? Even if I die, I can't submit to you, you Little Kid!"
Had he even calculated her stamina?
How could this Little Kid have such unfathomable strength?
Terumi Mei also knew that her limit was only to avoid two more waves of the previous attack, and then she would be at his mercy due to exhaustion.
But as soon as she thought that she had said those big words and that she was the one who took the initiative to come to him, Terumi Mei didn't want to lose no matter what.
Especially when she thought about how she had been seen naked by him last time, and this time she was almost…
Although she had handled it very well just now, Terumi Mei also noticed that her clothes still had a little bit of dissolving on them.
If this continued, the situation from last time would be repeated!
She had to find a way to break his Ice Release as soon as possible…
Water Release couldn't be used, and Lava Release and Boil Release couldn't break this ice prison. The only means she could use was…
Terumi Mei looked at the ground beneath her feet.
Although this move was very out of character for her beautiful image, if she didn't find a way to escape this ice prison, then there would be no chance to turn the tables.
She would dig a tunnel. As long as she could win against this guy, anything was fine!
Earth Release: Earth Flow Submersion!
However, just as Terumi Mei was planning to use Earth Release to dig a tunnel in the ground to escape this thick ice prison, the entire earth suddenly trembled, causing a chill to run down her spine.
And Uchiha Kage, who was shooting at her from inside the ice layer, also seemed to have noticed something. He took the initiative to dissipate the ice walls, and the ice prison.
"What's wrong? You're not planning to let me go on purpose…"
Jumping out of the ice prison and finally breathing in the fresh air, Terumi Mei breathed a sigh of relief. But as soon as she thought that the other party had let her go on purpose, she quickly rushed towards Uchiha Kage with an angry face.
She didn't need him to let her win!
Since Ninjutsu didn't work, she would defeat this hateful guy with Body Art!
"Wait, look at the Village over there."
Dodging the Kunai that Terumi Mei stabbed at him, Uchiha Kage grabbed the Female Ninja's wrist and looked towards the center of Kirigakure Street.
There, a Chakra-condensed sphere was falling rapidly!
Until—
Boom.
A deafening explosion suddenly rang out, and a fierce and unparalleled shock wave engulfed all the surrounding buildings in the center of the Village.
Uchiha Kage and Terumi Mei finally understood the name of that Chakra sphere—Tailed Beast Ball!
Someone was using Tailed Beasts to attack the Village?!
----
"Lord Genshi, our Konoha's sincerity is already sufficient. Does Kirigakure really not plan to consider an alliance?"
Inside the Mizukage Building, Hyuga Hiashi was still patiently discussing the alliance with the Kirigakure Elders.
"Don't be so anxious. Our Kirigakure has just ended the Blood Mist Policy. We haven't had any contact with the outside world, and we don't know what the current Konoha and the Ninja World are like. A hasty alliance might provoke the hostility of other Shinobi Village…"
But the more he looked at Hyuga Hiashi's anxious performance, the more relieved Genshi felt.
However, just as the Kirigakure Elders were comfortably talking with Hyuga Hiashi, the Konoha representative, a Kirigakure Ninja rushed in.
"Lord Genshi, Elder Lords! Mizukage… Lord Yagura has died in the Cell, and the Three-Tails… is also missing…"
Boom!
Just as the messenger's voice fell, a deafening explosion was heard before his words could even finish.
Even a large Chakra sphere fell not far from the Mizukage Building.
"Lie down quickly!"
Having experienced the Nine-Tails Disturbance, Hyuga Hiashi issued a reminder with experience. Before the other Kirigakure Elders could react, he had already laid down under the Conference Room table with his two Hyuga guards.
Bang!
Soon, the shock wave generated by the Tailed Beast Ball exploding at close range shattered all the windows of the Mizukage Building. The entire building was shaking in the Vortex of the explosion and seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.
"Lord Genshi!"
"Quick, quickly rescue the Elders and order everyone in the Village to go to the underground shelter!"
Because of his age and having experienced the Tailed Beasts attacking the Village, Genshi also realized what was happening.
Looking at the Conference Room that was instantly filled with clutter and blood, he quickly issued orders to the Kirigakure guards who were still alive outside.
"Yes!"
"Also, quickly gather Terumi Mei and the Jonin squad, contact the Sealing Team, and prepare to seal the Tailed Beasts!"
Although he didn't know who released the Tailed Beasts, in order to prevent the recovering Village from suffering huge losses again, he could only consider resealing the Tailed Beasts for now.
They must not allow the Tailed Beasts to wreak havoc in the Village!