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That evening, Midorima received a letter from the selection tournament committee. Tearing it open, he pulled out a slip of paper—the matchups for the entire second round.
Midorima immediately spotted his name and scanned his opponent's name: Ringo Ameyuri.
"…Huh?"
His eyes rolled back slightly, and for a long moment, he couldn't muster a single word.
Honestly, Ringo Ameyuri didn't appear much in the Naruto manga. She only had a brief cameo during the latter half when Kabuto Yakushi used the Edo Tensei jutsu. She was said to be a genius in Lightning Release, and she died fairly young—apparently from illness.
Then again, could anyone who became one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist not be a genius?
After pondering for a while, Midorima eventually let out a sigh of resignation.
The final round of the selection tournament would narrow six participants down to three. Among those with the strength to become one of the Seven Swordsmen were already Zabuza Momochi, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Ringo Ameyuri—and now, Mei Terumī was also competing for a spot.
If Midorima wanted to secure a position for himself, unless he had unbelievably good luck, he would inevitably have to face one of these four.
Better to fight a tough opponent now than later. As long as the final round is easier, it's fine.
Then again, if he ended up facing Kisame again in the last round, he'd probably feel like vomiting from sheer frustration.
Just as Midorima was about to put away the letter, a knock came at the door. He started to stand up but then noticed the Third Mizukage slurping noodles nearby. He immediately patted the man's shoulder, signaling for him to hide.
"Remember—no noise unless I say so."
The Third's eyes widened.
"And definitely don't come out!" Midorima added.
The Third puffed out his cheeks in displeasure.
But Midorima had no time to care. He shoved the Third into a side room before finally opening the door—only to find Mei Terumī and Akimoto Ruri standing outside.
The two girls averted their eyes from each other, the atmosphere between them oddly tense.
Regardless, they were both guests, so Midorima had no choice but to invite them in.
"What's up?" he asked.
Mei glanced at Ruri, and when the latter stayed silent, she spoke first:
"You've seen the matchups?"
"Yeah," Midorima nodded.
"Your first match is against Ringo Ameyuri," Mei said.
Midorima scratched his head. "I noticed. But there's nothing I can do about it. My total match time was mid-tier, so I was bound to face one of the top contenders sooner or later."
After his initial mental struggle, Midorima had already come to terms with it.
Sure, the first round would be tough, but the second would be much easier.
"I'm sorry… If I hadn't dragged out our match so long…" Ruri's expression darkened with regret.
"Why apologize? In a competition, everyone's an opponent. The first thing you should think about is how to defeat them. Apologizing is disrespectful—to both yourself and your rival." Midorima didn't accept her apology, but his gaze flickered toward the space behind the two girls.
The Third is still locked in the room… Who knows when he might crawl out?
"Anyway, why did you two come here?"
He needed to find a way to send them home quickly.
This is bad…
"Of course there's a reason. Wait—no, the point is, your next opponent is Ringo Ameyuri. Why aren't you panicking? She's a recognized Lightning Release genius!" Mei slammed the table.
"Would panicking help?" Midorima asked.
"Of course it would! You could research her abilities, her signature jutsu… You can't just go into a match against a ninja on your level completely blind, can you?" Mei pressed.
"…Fair point," Midorima conceded.
After all, the manga hadn't given much detail about Ringo Ameyuri. Gathering intel wouldn't hurt.
"Alright, your turn," Mei said, nudging Ruri.
"Eh? You were talking so passionately, I thought you were going to explain?" Midorima blinked.
"I don't use Lightning Release. Can't help you there," Mei shrugged.
Just as Midorima was about to tease her, he noticed the door behind them creaking open slightly—a hand slipped out, pushing an empty bowl into view.
Old man, do you really have to move around so much?!
Midorima was starting to sweat.
"What was that noise?"
Mei began to turn her head, but Midorima quickly redirected the conversation:
"Uh—how's your mother doing?" he asked Ruri.
"She can walk now… She's mentioned you several times, actually. She said she'd like to invite you over for dinner someday." Ruri smiled.
Mei's eyes instantly sharpened as she shot Ruri a suspicious glance—suddenly questioning whether bringing her along had been a mistake.
"That's good. She should keep taking the medicine for at least another week. After that, I'll check on her recovery and adjust the treatment plan."
"Really?!" Ruri's face lit up. "My mother will be so happy."
Mei's eyes widened further. Her fingers crept under the table, finding Midorima's calf, and pinched hard.
"OW!"
Midorima yanked his leg back. At the same time, the door across the room cracked open—the Third poked his head out, looking utterly confused.
Get back in!
Midorima glared. The Third reluctantly shut the door again.
"What's wrong?" Ruri asked, concerned.
"Are you okay?" Mei chimed in, not to be outdone.
Midorima stared at Mei, teeth gritted, forcing a strained smile.
"Fine. Just a leg cramp."
Ruri nodded sympathetically. "That happens sometimes if you're not careful."
"So… what's Ringo Ameyuri like?" Midorima swatted Mei's hand away under the table, focusing on Ruri.
"She's a decent person, but her Lightning Release is truly unmatched in our age group." Ruri's expression turned serious. "She's different from me—from most ninja, really. Take me, for example. I specialize in Lightning Release, but most of my techniques are supplementary, tied to my sword. I rarely use them for direct attacks. But she's different. Whether it's through her sword or pure ninjutsu, she excels at everything. When it comes to Lightning Release, she's a complete prodigy."
Hearing this, Midorima understood the situation better.
Ninjutsu attack ranges could be classified as long, mid, or close. Long and mid-range techniques involved throwing jutsu from a distance, where accuracy was a concern. Close-range techniques were trickier—since the user had to be near the opponent, they often had to contend with direct counterattacks, meaning solid taijutsu skills were a must.
For example, Kakashi's Chidori required high speed to close the gap and strike the enemy. If the user couldn't keep up, the technique would whiff entirely.
Then there were techniques that enveloped the user's body—like Ruri's Lightning Dash, or the Lightning Armor used by the Third and Fourth Raikage. These were meant for close-quarters combat.
But not every ninja mastered all aspects of their elemental affinity.
Ruri excelled in close-range Lightning Release, which complemented her swordplay. Ringo Ameyuri, however, was proficient in everything—which also implied her taijutsu was formidable.