The heat is rising!
Bursts of scalding steam surged from Terumi Mei's body, white vapor curling around her form. The mist twisted into streaming coils, almost like ethereal ribbons circling an immortal figure.
Even in the original records of the Hidden Mist, such a sight had never been described.
Shigure's eyes widened in shock.
What kind of technique is this?
[Great Sage: Analysis — This is merely a transformation of chakra nature through Boil Release, not a ninjutsu.]
Hearing the Great Sage's explanation, Shigure frowned slightly.
A mere nature transformation… yet it nullified my Ice Release techniques.
Indeed, Boil Release and Ice Release were natural opposites. With her body wrapped in Boil Release chakra, Mei's energy would never freeze no matter how much Shigure suppressed the battlefield with cold.
It meant that, so long as her chakra flowed, he could never encase her in ice.
Terumi Mei rested one hand on her hip, her posture deliberately flaunting her confidence.
"It looks like I'll have to make you suffer a little, brat. Otherwise, you'll never agree to come back with me to the Hidden Mist Village."
Return… to the Mist Village?
The surrounding Konoha shinobi exchanged stunned glances.
The Mizukage wanted to kidnap Gekkō Shigure? Why? What reason could a Kage possibly have to abduct a genin from Konoha?
True, Shigure's talent was remarkable—worthy of attention—but to provoke Konoha over a single young ninja? It made no sense.
Confusion rippled through the Leaf shinobi ranks.
But before any of them could act, Mei's chakra flared violently once more.
Shigure stood calmly, frost spreading outward in waves from his feet. Even without directing it, the cold chakra radiating from his body thickened the frost until the earth itself began to freeze solid.
"Little Shigure," Mei teased, her voice sultry despite the battlefield tension. "Since you love the cold so much… let me melt your heart with a passionate kiss."
Shigure's expression twitched.
Seriously? She's saying things like that in the middle of a fight? What a shameless woman.
"Lava Release!"
Mei's hands moved swiftly, and a massive fireball of molten rock took shape before her.
Shigure stiffened in surprise. Lava?! She can use Lava Release too?!
[Great Sage: Analysis — The Mizukage wields two variations of nature transformation. Both are called Lava Release in common usage. One emphasizes corrosiveness, the other retains searing heat. Though classified differently in Mist tradition, they share the same elemental roots.]
A single nature release… with two destructive forms.
Worthy of being a shadow!
But Mei Terumi's technique right now was ferocious—far beyond what anyone had expected.
Shigure raised his hand and formed a seal instinctively. He preferred relying on seals; they always felt more decisive.
"Ice Release!" he called.
Because Mei had switched to molten techniques, Shigure had no choice but to respond with Ice Release ninjutsu. This wasn't his simple ice-and-snow shaping—this was a full, combined effort. He invoked Ice Release — Freezing Moment and Ice & Snow Manipulation together, squeezing every drop of power from his nature transformation.
Behind him, the ground shuddered. In the next heartbeat, jagged ice crystals shot up from the earth, knitting together into a single, gigantic shape. While the Konoha shinobi still stared at the sudden cold storm, a massive figure had already risen.
"Ice Release—One-horned White Whale!"
The enormous whale reared as if launching from the deep, a single horn aimed straight at Mei Terumi. Waves of frigid air rolled off its flank, carrying a spray of sparkling crystals that hovered like frost on the sea.
Mei's eyes gleamed. "You actually have even stronger moves! Worthy of the boy I chose. I wonder how strong you'll be when you grow up."
Boom!
Mei's lava sphere swelled and slammed into the white whale like a meteor. The whale flapped great icy fins; cold congealed into a storm of shards around it. The magma met the ice in a violent collision—searing heat against freezing cold.
An explosion tore through the arena. The shockwave swept outward and, within a fifty-meter radius, buildings were shredded. Walls collapsed under alternating blankets of frost and molten slag—freezing, melting, freezing again—until everything was stained with both ice and lava.
Shigure stood in the eddying storm, feeling heat and cold churn together on his skin. The clash of Ice Release and Lava/Boil Release was devastatingly even.
At the Chūnin Exam stands, Naruto craned his neck toward the rising smoke and saw flashes of ice and flying embers. "Shigure's fighting Mei! It's insane!"
Sasuke bristled, voice low and competitive: "Don't lose. The only one who can beat you is me."
On a nearby rooftop the Four Purple Flame Formation had already been deployed. Orochimaru watched the chaos, mildly amused. "I didn't think a little genin brat would give the Mizukage so much trouble."
Hiruzen, unsettled, shot back: "Orochimaru, what do you intend? Are you after Shigure?"
"…Of course not. My target is you."
Before Hiruzen could reply, a second, far more massive chakra wave burst over Konoha. The fluctuation alone had the force to level a large district. Sand and gravel whipped through the air on a hurricane of power.
A shape loomed to the north of the village—the very direction Gaara had been taken from. Hiruzen's face drained of color.
"No…!" he whispered.
"The Tailed Beasts—" someone began.
"Sensei, don't be distracted," Orochimaru snapped. "Focus, or you'll die."
Anbu shouted, "Hokage-sama, get down!"
A roar rolled across Konoha. Shigure turned his head and saw it for himself.
"That… that's Shukaku, the One-Tail!"
Across from him, Mei Terumi paused, following Shigure's gaze. "Ah—looks like the Sand Village is determined to destroy Konoha this time. The jinchūriki has been activated."
Shigure's jaw tightened. The One-Tail rampaging in the village meant catastrophe if it wasn't stopped. But for the moment, Mei held her position and looked at him with an unreadable smile.
"You want to stop the tailed beast?" Mei asked. "Shigure, you don't have time to fuss about that thing right now."
Shigure met her stare. He hadn't expected Shukaku to appear, but the appearance of the tailed beast had changed everything. With the beasts revealed, opportunities and dangers both multiplied.
"Let our fight end here," Shigure said.
Mei's smile deepened. "I won't stop—unless you agree to return to the Hidden Mist Village with me."
...
TN:
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