"Are you serious? Do you really want to die! That technique is still just a half-finished product!"
Seeing the hand signals Ringo Yuriko was making, Ye's heart suddenly tightened.
"From the moment Teacher Mei's Great Explosive Water Colliding Wave was easily torn apart, you should have understood. In a normal fight, we don't have much chance of winning."
Ringo Yuriko's gaze was locked firmly on Amane, forcing herself not to look at Ye's increasingly pale face.
"If Teacher Mei agrees, I'll agree."
"..."
Ringo Yuriko immediately sent a secret signal forward.
The exchange ended there.
Amane keenly perceived the changes in the two's expressions, becoming increasingly curious about the content of their conversation.
She looked at the thick mist on the bridge not far away; it was certain that the battlefield over there had not ended yet either.
"What's wrong? Continue. We haven't shown our true skills yet, have we?"
As Amane spoke indifferently, her eyes looked directly at the somewhat pale Mei Terumī in front of her.
Her Wind Release just now wasn't simply to break the water waves, but was precisely aimed at the target.
Although Mei Terumī barely managed to avoid a direct hit, she was affected by the subsequent spreading damage.
At this moment, bright red blood was constantly dripping from her body.
The wound was on her leg. This meant that Mei Terumī's already limited mobility would be significantly weakened, making it harder to dodge Wind Release attacks known for their wide range and high lethality.
Moreover, Amane had just crushed Mei Terumī's Water Release from the front; the next strike could very well be a fatal end.
Mei Terumī herself knew this all too well.
At this moment, seeing the signal Ringo Yuriko gave her and hearing Amane's words, a certain decision formed in Mei Terumī's eyes.
Then she let out a light laugh and said, "A Wind Release Ninja of such strength is truly rare. But I have a question."
Amane remained silent, tacitly allowing her to continue.
"With your level of strength, you could have killed Zabuza and the others that day, right? Why didn't you do it? Is it because you were once an undercover agent in the Hidden Mist and can't let go of past bonds? Hibiki Tian Yin?"
Before Mei Terumī's words had even finished, Amane immediately felt the gaze from Ye behind her become as sharp as a blade!
"What are you talking about?"
Amane tilted her head slightly, appearing very confused.
Amane was confident in her current fighting style. As long as she didn't whip out the Adamantine Sealing Chains, the possibility of showing a weakness was zero.
So Amane was one hundred percent certain that Mei Terumī was just bluffing her.
And the root cause for her doing this lay with Ringo Yuriko!
[This troublesome Little Apple.]
Amane felt the gaze, which was no different from before Mei Terumī asked the question. She couldn't help but recall the conversation when Mei Terumī met up with them that day, sighing inwardly.
However, what puzzled Amane was this.
So many years have passed; why is Ringo Yuriko so obsessed with her?
The era of the Village of the Bloody Mist in the Hidden Mist had already ended; she should have had plenty of time and space to find new like-minded friends.
Amane really wanted to ask her about this point.
After all, looking at her memories, at most she had a resonance with Ringo Yuriko, and the time they spent together, all told, was only two or three months.
"Playing dumb? My dear disciple's intuition has always been sharp," Mei Terumī insisted.
Amane interrupted directly: "Even if you stall for time, your wound won't heal itself. Speaking of which, where is your other Bloodline Limit, 'Lava Release'? Perhaps that highly corrosive ability could weaken my Wind Release to the limit and let you escape?"
Clearly, this Konoha Anbu did not want to entangle with Mei Terumī on this issue any longer.
As for whether this was deliberately changing the subject or because she felt Mei Terumī's rhetoric was meaningless to her.
To be honest, Mei Terumī couldn't tell.
Her gaze subconsciously turned toward Ringo Yuriko behind Amane, who gave her a heavy nod.
Mei Terumī's beautiful face instantly tightened. After a moment's weighing, she made a choice:
"If we choose to retreat, will you pursue?"
This announced Mei Terumī's judgment.
The victory of this battle was decided.
Wind Release Ninjas were already rare in the Ninja World, and masters among them were even fewer.
However, once encountered, a Wind Release Ninja would ruthlessly make you understand why Wind Release is recognized as the representative of offensive power among the five Chakra natures.
Mei Terumī now had a deep understanding of this.
After her full-strength Great Explosive Water Colliding Wave was broken through and she was heavily injured by Amane; Ye's Genjutsu was broken; Ringo Yuriko's attack was reflected... the outcome of this battle was actually already over.
Yes, she did indeed still have Lava Release unused.
But in this outdoor environment, the corrosiveness of Lava Release was much the same as Boil Release.
Since the Boil Release at the opening failed to pose a threat to Amane, Lava Release would likewise be ineffective.
And the reason that made Mei Terumī even more afraid to use it was that Amane's Wind Release could frontally crush her near full-strength Water Release impact.
If she used Lava Release, it was very possible that Amane would use it against her instead.
The danger would be too great then.
"Teacher Mei...!" Ringo Yuriko cried out.
But Amane's voice rang out a step faster: "No. You must stay here and continue fighting."
This sentence made Mei Terumī raise an eyebrow in surprise: "I thought you didn't want to take things to the extreme."
"Rest assured, this is to try for the best outcome."
[Kakashi's plan has only just begun after all.]
Amane thought to herself.
However, this answer made the clouds of doubt in Mei Terumī's heart grow thicker. Yet before she could ask further, Amane, who had been standing still, moved her hands again!
A violent gale exploded outward with Amane as the center!
Mei Terumī only had time to cast one layer of Water Encampment Wall for defense, but that terrifying storm instantly swept up the large amount of water she had released, surging back toward her like a backlash!
This proved how wise it was for Mei Terumī not to use Lava Release. Otherwise, she would probably be melted by her own technique right now.
Even Mei Terumī was in such a sorry state; one could imagine the situation of Ye and Ringo Yuriko.
Ye didn't even have time to activate Ice Release for defense; she and Ringo Yuriko could only rely on the Chakra adhering to their feet to barely avoid being blown away by the gale, yet they could not move an inch!
"She's deliberately exhausting our Chakra!"
Ringo Yuriko's voice reached Ye's ears. Judging by her tone, she must have been shouting with all her might, but under the influence of the storm, Ye could only barely hear what her companion beside her was saying.
Looking toward the center of the storm at the figure whose hands maintained the hand seal to continuously generate the gale to suppress them, the words Mei Terumī just said flashed through Ye's mind.
Is she really Hibiki Tian Yin?
Needless to say, this must be Ringo Yuriko's feeling. The only person who could make her feel a sense of familiarity was that white-haired girl from her past memories.
Ye looked to the side and saw Ringo Yuriko thrusting her blades deep into the ground, attempting to move upstream against the storm.
Ye saw a burning obsession in her eyes.
[Yuriko... since you are so persistent, I'm willing to believe you. After all, that was our promise from the past.]
Having made a decision, Ye silently sensed her remaining Chakra and nodded slightly. Then, she reached out and quickly tapped several times on Ringo Yuriko's back.
Ringo Yuriko was startled for a moment, then a gentle smile appeared on her face, though her eyes became even more rock-solid. She began to focus her Chakra with all her might, regardless of the consequences.
At the same time, Ye's Hand Seals were already complete.
Ice Release: Crystal Ice Mirrors!
The storm stopped abruptly. Several huge ice mirrors suddenly rose from the ground around Amane, surrounding her and temporarily blocking the wind.
[Why respond like this?]
Looking at those ice mirrors that shattered in an instant under the impact of the wind pressure, Amane was puzzled.
The fragments after the ice mirrors exploded would have great killing power; wasn't this shooting oneself in the foot?
"Ice Release: Ice Mist Technique! Teacher Mei!"
"Damn... are you two really trying to die?! Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique!"
Just at the moment the ice mirrors were completely shattered by Amane, the ice mist and water mist intertwined and spread, actually completing their fusion before the storm could scatter them again!
[This is? if it were just ice mist, it should be an attack targeting respiration, which could be considered a high-spec version of the Hiding in Mist Technique. But why specifically fuse it with basic water mist?]
Amane felt a sense of vigilance, but her curiosity had been piqued.
Because they should know that as long as wind was still wrapped around her body, this kind of technique shouldn't be able to get close to her.
But they still used it, proving this was just the prelude to some even more lethal technique!
Just as Amane expected.
The moment the ice mist and water mist mixed, Ringo Yuriko, who had been waiting for her chance, moved!
In an instant!
In the area shrouded by the mist, a dazzling blue light suddenly exploded!
The intense light was blinding. Immediately following, the blue light vanished without a trace. Along with it, that patch of mixed ice and water mist also dissipated.
The surrounding visibility instantly became incredibly clear, as if everything just now was only an illusion.
However, the hairs on Amane's body stood up in an instant!
She figured out what this move was!
And her Wind Release Chakra Mode could not block this move!
BOOM—!!!
Amidst the deafening explosion, a huge mushroom cloud, carrying a destructive shockwave, soared into the sky!
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