Kamishiro Hagoromo naturally noticed the indescribable look Kakashi was shooting him. Was there something wrong with what he just said?
Hm? What was with that look?
"Look, how about we trade? I'll handle the eyebrow-less kid, and you take the lady in front of me? She might not look like much, but she's probably stronger than the guy you're fighting," he explained.
"I know."
Kakashi felt helpless. It wasn't like he was complaining. He was already heading straight for Zabuza anyway.
According to Konoha's intel, this kunoichi supposedly possessed a Kekkei Genkai, so it was best to let his teammate deal with her.
Deep down, Zabuza really wanted to kill the masked boy first. At this point, it had nothing to do with strength or threat levels.
First of all, the guy had violently dismembered his newly acquired Kubikiribocho... Looking at its miserable state, who knew how long it would take for the blade to fix.
Second, constantly being called eyebrow-less made Zabuza annoyed.
He pushed his forehead protector up a bit, revealing his... eyebrows.
He actually had eyebrows, okay? He just carefully hid them away to prevent accidental friendly fire during combat. It was completely different from Biwa Juzo.
It was exactly to prevent himself from ending up like Juzo that he took such preventative measures. He never expected to be slandered like this.
The face under that guy's mask was the one that truly had no eyebrows, right?
So this was clearly just jealousy.
Between the two Hidden Mist ninjas, Zabuza wasn't the only one having a moment. Having recovered her wits, Terumi Mei was also furious.
Lady this, Lady that. Were they really close enough for that?
More importantly, was she even that old?
Age-wise, he and the kunoichi were roughly the same, which was easy enough to tell. As for his choice of address, it was either purely because his mental image of the Mizukage was that of an older figure, or he was just trying to piss her off. Emotional ninjas were prone to leaving openings.
After using the Substitution Jutsu to evade the attack, Mei was currently standing on the roof of an old house. From this angle, she had a bird's-eye view of the battlefield. Looking at the boy still standing in front of that wall, and thinking about the sneak attack she had just suffered, coupled with his tone and that nickname...
"Zabuza, I can handle this guy by myself."
She finally spoke. She instructed her partner first, and by the time she finished the second half of her sentence, she had already turned her attention back to her target.
Her face carried a mix of solemnity, anger, a touch of hatred, and... an entire handprint.
Hagoromo actually burst out laughing. It wasn't that he was being unprofessional in this kind of situation, but rather that she just looked too comical.
This would probably be a memory she wouldn't be able to erase for the rest of her life.
That laughter caused the girl, who had just managed to suppress her temper, to explode all over again. She was an ultra-rare double Kekkei Genkai ninja. What were the consequences of pissing her off?
Either way, Kamishiro Hagoromo immediately turned around and ran.
Because the hand signs his opponent was weaving were already complete, and they looked a little familiar to him.
A violent wave of water erupted behind him. The rapidly surging current easily tore through the long-abandoned houses.
Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!
An area-of-effect ninjutsu of this magnitude, capable of creating a small lake, couldn't possibly target just one person. Naturally, Kakashi and Zabuza, who were in the middle of their fight, were swept up in it as well.
In short, everyone was going with the flow now.
Without even looking back, he waved his hand, his wild Lightning Style instantly slicing through the obstacles in front of him.
But even a straight-line dash made it difficult to escape the attack range of a ninjutsu like Exploding Water Colliding Wave in time!
The water surged around from both sides, about to merge and completely submerge him!
He stepped sideways, pushing off the ground to kick off the wall in front of him. With a smooth flip, he landed on a roof, then leapt forward. Focusing chakra to the soles of his feet, he stepped onto the rushing waves and began to surf the current.
But behind him, Terumi Mei was also skimming across the water's surface, launching an attack!
He had already sensed her. He held the hilt of the Kubikiribocho with his left hand and braced the lower part of the blade with his right arm.
Clang!
Using the broad blade as a narrow shield, he blocked her thrusting kunai.
But by the time he turned around, the kunoichi had already disengaged upon contact.
Clearly, she understood exactly what kind of technique the Lightning Style on his body was. Direct physical combat offered her no advantage.
However, she had only retreated a few mere steps.
At this distance, she was practically face-to-face with him.
Her long auburn hair covered her right eye.
Her green eye carried a cold glint.
Her nostrils flared slightly.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
He was in no mood to admire her face. It wasn't strange that she didn't make a sound.
it's impossible to talk while you're busy spitting something out.
Lava Style: Melting Apparition Technique!
A highly corrosive ninjutsu spewed from that pretty mouth. This thick, viscous substance was absolutely not aesthetically pleasing. The Melting Apparition Technique was never the type of jutsu to aim for flashy visuals.
But it was incredibly powerful. It carried potent corrosive properties and gave off a faintly pungent smell.
This was a technique capable of melting even a Susanoo. A body of flesh and blood couldn't block it, and he could not afford to let that stuff touch him.
His Lightning Style faded, and he used Water Style to intercept it.
Water Style: Water Formation Wall!
The water-rich environment obviously provided some convenience for him, so this time, he didn't even need to spit; a water wall rose directly from beneath his feet, blocking his front.
With the barrier in place, the mixing of the bodily... liquid(kinda?) produced by the male and female ninjas led him to guess that the Lava Style would be diluted. But surprisingly, this stuff wasn't soluble in water at all.
A constant sizzling sound echoed out as the Water Formation Wall dissolved after holding out for a mere second.
However, that split second was enough. He took the opportunity to put some distance between himself and his opponent, while simultaneously completing his next jutsu.
Like a whale inhaling the sea, the water spiraled from the ground up, wrapping around his arm before being condensed, compressed, and finally thrown.
Water Style: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade!
The water javelin aimed straight at the kunoichi herself.
Her expression remained unchanged. While maintaining her Lava Style, she simply sidestepped to dodge the attack.
In her mind, a compressed ninjutsu like this needed to score a direct hit to be effective. A dodged ninjutsu? Meaningless.
But that wasn't the case. The Hard Whirlpool Water Blade was effective even without a precision hit. It was an area-of-effect ninjutsu. Just like a certain Wind Style Rasengan, it could explode after being thrown.
Instantly, a massive waterspout formed directly behind Terumi Mei. It completely disrupted the trajectory of the Melting Apparition Technique and swept the girl herself up into the air!
He slid to a halt.
The Water Style and the Lava Style mixed together, and the corrosion was still ongoing. Because of this destructive jutsu, the Hard Whirlpool Water Blade clearly failed to achieve its true intended power.
So here was the real question: would Terumi Mei be corroded by her own jutsu?
------------------------------------------
Stones are appreciated if you can spare any.
If you are enjoying the work, you can support it while reading advanced chapters ahead on Patreon!