This was a girl around ten years old. Her waist-length brownish hair and rare emerald green eyes gave Ryun a faint sense of familiarity.
Though young, she wore a Kirigakure forehead protector and a chunin flak jacket, clearly marking her as a prodigy.
However, Ryun currently had no interest in learning her name. His condescending gaze was filled with disdain, as if looking at an insignificant ant.
This extremely "insulting" look instantly ignited the girl's anger. Wherever Mei Terumī went, wasn't she the celebrated, heaven-favored genius? When had she ever been looked down upon so blatantly?
Yes, even though Ryun was merely standing there looking at her, Mei Terumī just knew he looked down on her from the bottom of his heart…
The Uchiha clan's characteristic "killing intent glare"—this kind of gaze always inexplicably inflicted psychological damage, even critical hits, on certain proud geniuses…
"You…"
Mei Terumī originally intended to shout a rebuke, but the moment she opened her mouth, a terrifying two-tailed blue cat not far away simultaneously opened its jaws.
A visible mass of chakra was rapidly gathering and compressing. This frightening sight instantly scared the words right back down her throat.
Ryun had no desire to hear what she had to say, nor did he show any pity for a fragrant jade. His opening move was a Tailed Beast Ball, clearly not intending to leave this talkative person alive, even though she was just a girl…
"Danger!!!"
Seeing the Tailed Beast Ball aimed directly at Mei Terumī, a jonin immediately hoisted her slender frame onto his shoulder and decisively fled.
Mei Terumī was Kirigakure's famous heaven-favored genius. It was no exaggeration to say she was the village's future. She could not die here due to a moment of impulse.
Although this jonin's Body Flicker technique was fast, it wasn't quick enough to escape the Sharingan's dynamic vision. The Tailed Beast Ball remained locked onto them, and Ryun precisely predicted their next landing point.
The compressed sphere of chakra energy grew rapidly in Mei Terumī's eyes. Her mind went blank; even her recently awakened two Kekkei Genkai were forgotten in her panic. Young and inexperienced, she simply had no ability to deal with such a lethal crisis!
"Water Style: Water Rising Wave!"
At the critical moment just before the Tailed Beast Ball hit them, Mei Terumī saw her Mizukage step forward, disregarding the danger to block the path in front of them.
As the Third Mizukage slammed his hands onto the ground, a thick pillar of water erupted from the earth, perfectly intercepting the Tailed Beast Ball at the last possible moment and launching it high into the sky.
"Timing, skill, power—all executed perfectly. Truly using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds…"
"As expected of a Kage!"
Watching the Third Mizukage skillfully neutralize the Tailed Beast Ball's attack, Ryun couldn't help but voice his admiration.
The method the Third Mizukage used, leveraging water style to deflect the ball, was somewhat similar to how Hashirama Senju used wood style to deflect the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball.
This Third Mizukage, who was rarely mentioned in the original records, was now demonstrating truly remarkable strength and sense of responsibility.
BOOM!!!
A tremendously violent explosion sounded from the sky. The terrifying shockwave destroyed many of Kirigakure's taller buildings. Fortunately, the explosion was pushed high enough by the water pillar, reducing the damage caused by this Tailed Beast Ball by over eighty percent.
"Attack!"
The moment the explosion subsided, the Third Mizukage let out a heaven-shaking roar and decisively charged at Ryun. He could not allow the enemy to continue raining destruction upon the village.
Following the Mizukage's order, all the ninja of Kirigakure swarmed like locusts towards the several terrifying giant beasts. A barrage of various ninjutsu poured down towards Ryun's location the next instant.
The Three-Tails, like a loyal guard dog, raised its thick tail to block all the incoming attacks for Ryun. The Two-Tails, leveraging its extreme speed, actively charged into the crowd.
The Black Dragon opened its mouth, gathering power for a Water Style Sage Art. With one blast, it not only wiped out over a hundred lives but also carved a thick, straight "path" through Kirigakure.
Having witnessed the terrifying power of the Tailed Beast Ball's explosion firsthand, and seeing the ferocious Black Dragon casually blast through the entire village with a single attack, Mei Terumī's body now trembled like a sieve. Immense fear welled up uncontrollably in her heart.
The battle raging in the distance was not something she could participate in now. She could only pray to the heavens not to be caught in the aftershocks of those giant beasts' attacks.
Whether it was the tailed beasts' Bijūdama or the Black Dragon's Sage Art blasts, being hit by any of these attacks meant instant death, a mere graze meant severe injury!
Facing the full assault of the Kirigakure forces, Ryun maintained an air of effortless ease. He had experienced this kind of battle too many times. Even without using the Mangekyō Sharingan's power for a short period, he could still fight without taking a single injury.
Mei Terumī couldn't understand, no matter how hard she thought. Clearly, that young man wasn't much older than her, yet the terrifying strength he displayed… had already reached a level she couldn't hope to match.
She, the heaven-favored genius famous throughout the Land of Water, was truly like an ant before that man…
Why could the gap between people be so absurdly vast???
It was laughable that she had dared to speak insolently to that man earlier. In this moment, Mei Terumī understood the meaning of "fools rush in where angels fear to tread." If the Third Mizukage hadn't saved her earlier, just that one Tailed Beast Ball hitting… would have left her without a trace of remains!
"Damn it, move! I am Mei Terumī! How can I be afraid? I need to help the village defeat the intruder!"
Mei Terumī gritted her silver teeth, trying to psych herself up, but her trembling legs refused to take a step forward.
For a girl her age, not turning and fleeing from the "battlefield of carnage" ahead was already remarkable enough, let alone facing that cold, decisive, terrifying God of Killing!
The sounds of battle in the distance shook the heavens and the earth. Mei Terumī, having finally overcome her fear with great difficulty, mustered all twelve parts of her courage, wanting to let out a roar to bolster her own spirit. But the terrifying scene that unfolded next made her blood run cold.
She saw a Kirigakure comrade roar, raising his katana high as he leaped towards that man. But before his blade could even reach its target, the ferocious Black Dragon let out a high, resounding dragon's cry towards him.
The terrifying sound wave, saturated with dense Senjutsu Chakra, instantly vibrated the mist ninja to death on the spot. His entire body exploded mid-air!
Mei Terumī knew that mist ninja. He was a powerful, respected jonin. She never imagined such a skilled expert could be killed by a single roar from a summoning beast…
The ferocity of this battle had far exceeded anything she could have imagined, leaving her feeling utterly lacking in confidence (sense of security), even with her two awakened Kekkei Genkai.
She dared not face the sharp edge of those monsters head-on. Because if any one of those giant beasts focused on her, the outcome awaiting Mei Terumī would likely only be death.
"This kind of battle is not something a mere chunin like me can participate in. I am just a girl. The heavy responsibility of protecting Kirigakure should be left to the adults…"
While silently comforting herself in her heart, Mei Terumī also did not forget to offer devout prayers for the adults.
"Mizukage-sama… you must win!"
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