Chapter 12: The Fierce Battle Begins
Seeing the familiar long brown hair, as well as the beautiful and delicate face, and the slim figure, Uchiha Yuma realized he had encountered an old acquaintance—Terumi Mei.
But who could explain why these people were so relaxed... Crossing paths with Namikaze Minato ahead? Was this some kind of test?
Absolutely, it seemed like it.
Yuma couldn't help but complain inwardly—this was a consistent pattern. Kakashi tested Naruto, and Sasuke appeared to have learned a lot from Minato.
"Brother... how dare you get distracted while fighting with me?" Terumi Mei leaped into the air, noticing Yuma in a trance, seemingly lost in thought. She sneered and quickly formed seals with her hands.
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, and Dragon!
"Then let my 'hot kiss' help you focus!" she said, her lips puffing out.
[Lava Style: The Art of Melting Monsters]
A stream of highly corrosive, viscous liquid shot out of her mouth. It transformed into a terrifying torrent, rushing toward Yuma!
This Bloodline Limit, which combined Water and Earth-style Chakra, could dissolve anything in its path. It had even melted Sasuke's Susanoo before.
Yuma knew better than to underestimate it.
Sparks began to ignite across his body, and illusory flames lit up around him.
Tear-!
Yuma dodged the Lava Style technique with incredible speed.
Clang!
His Ninja sword was unsheathed, glowing with fiery intensity.
[Uchiha Style: Four-Directions Slash]
A cold light, imbued with powerful flames, thrust forward like an arrow.
"What's going on?!" Terumi Mei's eyes widened in disbelief at the thrust that was about to strike her face. How could it be this fast?
However, as one of Kirigakure's top geniuses, she was no amateur. Even without anything to support her in the air, she managed to twist her waist and narrowly dodged the fatal thrust.
Her hands were not idle either. She quickly formed more seals, understanding that if she didn't act quickly, survival itself would be at risk.
[Boil Style: The Art of Skillful Mist]
The strong acidic gas that could dissolve anything was sprayed out of her mouth.
The acidic gas spread rapidly, threatening to envelop Yuma entirely.
"Tsk! Troublesome woman!" Yuma muttered under his breath. Seeing the threat, he abandoned his previous attack and decided to counter.
The Boil Style was indeed powerful—its gaseous form could dissolve even Susanoo, so he had to be cautious.
But that wouldn't stop him.
Uchiha-style Ninjutsu was a gorgeous technique, combining Body Flicker, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Clone Jutsu, and swordsmanship.
Having already used everything except the Clone Jutsu, Yuma decided to deploy it now.
Below Terumi Mei, two whistling sounds echoed as a speeding clone of Yuma rushed toward her.
"Since the Boil Style makes you untouchable, the clone will play its part," Yuma thought.
The Shadow Clone raised its flaming Ninja sword and slashed at Terumi Mei.
But to Yuma surprise, the flaming sword melted as soon as it touched the mist created by the Boil Style.
Yuma clone grimaced and launched itself into the attack with even more intensity!
"Damn it! You can still do this!" Terumi Mei gritted her teeth as she scrambled to protect her vital points.
With a loud bang, she was knocked back, flying several meters.
However, something unexpected happened when the Shadow Clone collided with Terumi Mei.
A bright light flashed—a mix of purple and green colors filled the air.
Without a second thought, Yuma commanded: "The system extracts the darkest purple entry!"
[Lava Style (Purple)]: Composed of Earth and Water Style Chakra, this technique creates a highly corrosive viscous liquid that can be manipulated through Ninjutsu.
Lava Style? Not bad!
While it's highly maneuverable, it's also extremely destructive.
That destructive power was evident during the Fourth Ninja War in the original timeline.
But Yuma didn't have the ability to change the properties of Earth and Water Chakra... Would the entries installed in the system work directly?
He didn't dwell on it for long.
Faced with Terumi Mei's defeat in a few short rounds, Kirigakure was in disbelief.
Qing, who was still fighting with the white-haired boy ahead of him, caught sight of the scene and was immediately shocked.
"This is impossible! Mei is the owner of a Double Bloodline Limit, a true genius!"
"He actually knocked her away in just a few rounds? This Uchiha... is no ordinary person!"
Obito's pupils narrowed. If anyone knew what was going on, it was him.
That technique was Uchiha-style Ninjutsu, a move only the elite could use with such finesse.
"Why does it feel like the gap between me and Yuma is widening?" Obito thought bitterly, looking at his opponent unwillingly. "Damn it! If I can't even surpass you, when will my Hokage dream ever come true?"
In an instant, Obito steeled himself and increased the flow of Chakra, pushing forward with more intensity.
The battle with his opponent escalated quickly.
During the earlier assessment, Kakashi had almost concluded that Yuma strength had reached near his own, especially after awakening his Sharingan.
He regarded Yuma's victory as inevitable.
Kakashi smiled confidently at Qing. "I don't know what gave you the courage to face the Sharingan of the Three Tomoe alone."
"Yeah… Escape one-on-one, fight two-on-one, and three-on-one can work in your favor..." Qing's expression soured. "Damn it! We forgot this basic rule!"
After thinking for a moment, he immediately issued orders to his subordinates:
"You hold off the three brats, and I'll rescue Mei!"
"Yes! Master Qing!"
A few Kirigakure ninja moved to engage Kakashi.
Seeing this, Qing ran toward Terumi Mei.
But Loquat Juzo and the others were still lying in ambush ahead.
For Terumi Mei, who had already become a Jōnin at such a young age and was the owner of a Double Bloodline Limit, they didn't look down on her in the slightest.
After all, Kirigakure was a village born from a bloodbath!
Each graduated ninja had climbed out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, not to mention someone as famous as Mei.
Loquat Juzo's voice rang out from the mist: "Let's do it!"
[Water Style: The Art of Kirigakure]
Thick fog enveloped the area, and from within, Loquat Juzo's voice echoed ominously:
"Whether it's the 'Yellow Flash' or that Uchiha brat, you will all fall today... As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, I am here..."
"To eradicate all of you!"
His confidence was unwavering, as if the outcome was already decided before the battle even began.
Upon hearing this, Minato's frown deepened. His original plan had been to test a few of his disciples, but the fog ninja—lying in ambush near the water stains on the road—had proven to be so ineffective, getting defeated in just a few rounds.
They had even divided their forces to rescue the female ninja.
This shifted the balance in Kakashi's favor.
Minato thought to himself, Should I continue letting them test Yuma?
Yuma's voice rang out through the mist, filled with contempt:
"It's so annoying! This is really troublesome!"
"Why don't we just start fighting and finish it already? Enough with the nonsense!"
Yuma quickly formed seals with his hands. Chakra began to surge around his body.