"Chicken soup is here."
Terumi Mei carried a pot of chicken soup and put it on the table, noticing that no one had touched their chopsticks. "Eat, why aren't you eating?"
She pulled out a chair and sat down.
Linto, Momo-chan, Sasuke.
The Haku family of three.
Terumi Mei.
Seven people sat around the table, the atmosphere awkward.
"This is Teacher Zhao. He came to the village a week ago and teaches the children to read for free. Teacher Zhao has been helping with cooking for the past two days while Mom has been sick."
Haku introduced, hoping to ease the atmosphere in the house.
It didn't work.
Linto quietly watched Terumi Mei.
Friends who are often targeted know that often, facing danger, intuition can help us avoid many risks.
The first time Linto saw Terumi Mei, he knew she was definitely not an ordinary person.
But no one knew about him coming to Kirigakure except for Kambara Hayato.
Kambara had already escaped to Konoha for vacation. It made sense that killers and bounty hunters couldn't have come to Kirigakure to ambush him in advance.
Could it be... a coincidence?
Is she really just a teacher traveling around?
Terumi Mei kept a gentle smile, and curiosity flashed in her narrowed eyes.
"This is Linto?"
"He doesn't seem any different from other ninjas."
"So, can you dare to eat this meal? How will you test me?"
Terumi Mei guessed Linto's methods in her mind.
Whoosh--
Linto stood up in Terumi Mei's astonished gaze.
"Teacher, please come with me for a moment."
"Huh?"
Linto didn't wait for Terumi Mei to agree, and strode out of the room. A dazed Terumi Mei followed behind him, until they reached the snowy ground outside.
"You know me," Linto said.
There was no testing, no hidden verbal sparring. Linto's calm gaze was like a steamroller driving straight over, crushing all of Terumi Mei's designed scenarios, testing, and verbal traps.
"The tempo has been disrupted... no, it's been completely overturned. This guy really doesn't play by the rules."
Terumi Mei thought, shaking her head slightly, "I don't know you."
Linto nodded, didn't question her again, and took a step towards Terumi Mei.
The distance between the two shortened to two meters.
A drop of cold sweat appeared on Terumi Mei's forehead.
The information clearly stated that Linto's strongest attack radius was two meters. Once you stepped into it, it was like handing your life over to Linto.
She really wanted to retreat and create distance again.
But retreating would show that she knew Linto and was familiar with his information.
It would prove... that she was lying.
"I'll ask one more time, you know me, are you here to kill me?"
"I don't understand what you're talking about—"
Before the words finished.
Ora!
Star Platinum suddenly appeared, swinging a fist at Terumi Mei's chest.
"Madman!"
Terumi Mei cursed in her heart. She didn't understand where she had slipped up, but...
"Don't underestimate me!"
Yes, in her early twenties, the young Terumi Mei didn't mind being called "me" or anything like that, which was completely different from her at 30.
People can't even feel sympathy for their past selves.
Having been prepared for this, Terumi Mei instantly formed hand signs.
"Boil Release: Clever Mist Technique!"
A cloud of hot, scalding crimson mist spewed towards the attacking Star Platinum.
Terumi Mei possessed three Chakra attributes: Water, Fire, and Earth. Her bloodline limits were "Lava Release" and "Boil Release," making her the only ninja with two bloodline limits.
Boil Release: Clever Mist Technique combines the Fire and Water nature Chakra in the body, and spits out boiling, high-heat mist with freely adjustable acidity from the mouth.
It was like highly concentrated sulfuric acid vapor.
As soon as Star Platinum's fist touched the mist, it produced severe corrosion, and Linto's fist also showed slight burns.
Terumi Mei keenly noticed this.
New information.
Damage to the "Stand" will happen to Linto at the same time!
Scarlet mist rushed towards Linto. If Star Platinum wanted to attack Terumi Mei, it had to immerse its entire body in the hot, scalding acid mist, which was no different from courting death.
Terumi Mei naturally had made complete preparations to come and find Linto.
Using Ninjutsu to blast from a medium to long distance was too inefficient. Apart from Jinchuriki, few ninjas could afford that level of consumption. Once there was a gap in the firepower coverage, it would be easy for Linto to seize the opportunity to get close and counterattack.
Terumi Mei's method of dealing with Linto was to seal off all paths for Linto to approach within a medium to short range. Once Linto stepped in, it would cause continuous trauma, which was...
Damage over Time.
Since Linto wanted to fight, she would return the favor—
"So I took action."
The Fourth Mizukage's mission to Terumi Mei was to kill Linto, but she didn't intend to carry out this order, or rather, she didn't intend to act before truly understanding the man in front of her.
Terumi Mei really wanted to know what kind of person Linto was to do the "stupid thing" of revealing the truth about the human trafficking in the Land of Water and killing one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in the street.
This was key.
More important than the Fourth Mizukage's order.
"But..."
She looked at Linto, who was being forced back constantly, and felt slightly disappointed inside.
Was this all he had?
Once he lost the advantage of information and was targeted, he would fall into a passive position.
Such a person couldn't be called a strong person.
"Hiss—"
The sound of a blower interrupting Terumi Mei's thoughts.
The giant Stand turned around, its back to the scarlet mist. It was like a bottomless pit, inhaling the surrounding air. The snow-covered leaves of the trees were swaying, the snow on the ground was rolling, and even Terumi Mei felt a slight suffocation.
What... was it doing?
Just as the hot acid mist was about to touch Star Platinum's back, it turned around, its chest bulging high, aiming at the direction of the mist, and exhaled air.
The raging wind actually made rolling thunder, blowing away the sweeping scarlet mist.
"What kind of Ninjutsu is this? Wind Release?!"
"No, I didn't see it forming hand seals, could it be some kind of bloodline limit?"
Even if Terumi Mei racked her brains, she couldn't imagine that such a brutal and fierce wind was just the air that Star Platinum exhaled with all its might.
Crap!
The Boil Release: Clever Mist Technique was blown away by force, didn't that mean there was no obstacle ahead?
Terumi Mei drew a long whip from her waist and was about to swing it when a roar appeared in her ears.
"Ora!"
Her soul trembled.
Only by truly facing Star Platinum at close range, shrouded in its cold gaze, could one understand what a kind of pressure this was!
The falling fist was like a meteor falling from the sky, covering all of Terumi Mei's field of vision.
"Earth Release: Hardening Technique!"
A layer of metal-like luster flashed on Terumi Mei's body. It was too close, she didn't have time to use Substitute, she could only use Ninjutsu to withstand this blow head-on. She didn't believe she couldn't take even one punch—
Thud!
Terumi Mei flew out rotating, breaking four or five trees before stopping. She spat out a mouthful of blood. She didn't stop for a moment, and was about to get up and counterattack, but her vision went black.
Star Platinum had attacked again, arriving right in front of her.
So fast!
Didn't they say its attack radius was only two meters?
Terumi Mei saw Linto standing behind Star Platinum and understood that the "Stand's" attack radius was indeed two meters, but the speed of the "axis" of this radius was too fast!
Linto, who had practiced Ripple breathing, could no longer be regarded as an ordinary Stand user.
Seeing Star Platinum's fist about to fall again, Terumi Mei quickly raised her hand:
"Stop! I won't fight anymore, let's talk!"
Linto looked down at her, pondered for a moment, and silently withdrew Star Platinum.
Terumi Mei breathed a sigh of relief, and Linto gave her bang bang two punches in the face, stunning her. Hermit Purple activated, entangling Terumi Mei's hands and feet.
Terumi Mei, who came back to her senses, glared fiercely at Linto.
Linto remained unmoved.
You said you wouldn't fight anymore, so you wouldn't fight anymore?
He tugged at Hermit Purple, made sure it was tight, and sat down opposite Terumi Mei.
"Now we can talk."
---
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