Chapter 25: Teacher Mei Terumi, Long Time No See
'So... what should I do next?"
From their brief exchange just now, Haruko had roughly confirmed that Mei Terumi's current strength was around the level of a Jonin to an Elite Jonin.
Although Haruko was eighty percent certain he could repel or even kill her if he fought with his life on the line, he had no intention of doing so.
Setting aside the fact that she was once his teacher, even if he could defeat her, he would certainly be heavily injured or even end up dying with her.
'The signal flare has been sent, so reinforcements should be on their way. I'll try to stall for time and then find an opportunity to escape."
"Um... Big Sister, I'm just a passing chef. Could you just pretend I don't exist?"
Haruko raised his hands, attempting to "influence" her with words. "The ramen I make is delicious. How about I treat you to a bowl?"
"A chef?"
Mei Terumi laughed so hard she trembled. "Are all Konoha Genin these days this humorous? Big sister here loves eating sweet-talking brats like you the most."
Before her voice even faded, her red lips parted slightly.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!" Corrosive acid sprayed toward Haruko like a high-pressure water gun, aiming right for his head.
'Hey, this woman has no martial ethics, sneak-attacking a nearly fifty-year-old comrade like me."
Concentrating Chakra in his legs, Haruko used the Body Flicker Technique to vanish from the spot.
Sizzle—
The acid landed where Haruko had been standing, instantly corroding the ground into a bubbling pit with billowing white smoke.
"You dodge quite fast." Her hands formed seals as fast as afterimages. Since the Lava Release was dodged, she would use an area-of-effect attack. "Water Release: Water Hail."
She scattered water bullets like buckshot from her hands, sealing off all of Haruko's room to maneuver.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
The fireball easily evaporated the incoming water bullets and flew straight toward Mei Terumi. She dodged it with ease, but Haruko was nowhere to be found behind it.
A slight vibration came from beneath her feet. Before her conscious mind could react, Mei Terumi had already leaped into the air. A moment later, a pair of hands burst from the earth, grabbing at the spot where she had just been.
"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique."
'Tsk, as expected, it didn't work."
Failing the strike, Haruko dove back into the soil.
"Playing whack-a-mole? Then how about this. Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique."
A cloud of mist exhaled from Mei Terumi's mouth, pouring into the hole in the ground.
"Ow ow oh ho ho!"
An exploding tag was tossed from the ground. The blast dispersed the acid mist, and under the cover of the dust, Haruko leaped out from the earth.
Even with just slight contact, his clothes were corroded and damaged, and there were faint burns on his skin.
"Water Release: Cold Shower."
Haruko rinsed his body with cold water while discarding his acid-contaminated outer coat, headband, and goggles.
Shua—
A water whip swept through the dust. Haruko instinctively raised his arm to block it, but the water whip wrapped around his arm.
"You..."
Seeing Haruko's face and white hair, Mei Terumi felt a sense of deja vu and froze for a split second.
"Lightning Release: Ground Run."
Haruko grabbed the water whip with his other hand, releasing Lightning Release from both hands, which traveled straight toward Mei Terumi along the whip.
"Not good!"
Mei Terumi immediately severed the water whip, but one of her arms was still numbed by the electricity.
"Hehe, now it's one-one."
Haruko touched the burned areas; they weren't serious.
"As you can see, you won't be able to take me down in a short time, and my reinforcements are on their way. How about we both just head home?"
She stared intently at Haruko. The killing intent in her eyes receded, replaced by an unbelievable shock and... a slightly trembling body.
The gates of memory were suddenly forced open.
Eight years ago, Hidden Mist Village.
That kid who always followed behind her, shouting, "Teacher, I want to learn that."
Clearly a brat from the Kaguya Clan, yet he hated fighting and instead wanted to learn Ninjutsu.
A child who possessed all five attributes and was clearly gifted, yet only liked researching how to use Ninjutsu in various ways to be lazy.
The student who mysteriously disappeared seven years ago, whom she once thought had died amidst the chaotic troops.
"That white hair..."
Mei Terumi's voice trembled slightly.
"That Chakra with all five attributes..."
She stepped forward, her footsteps sounding exceptionally clear in the silent forest.
"And those hard bones that could take a hit from a water whip without injury..."
She didn't stop until she was three meters in front of Haruko.
Mei Terumi took a deep breath. Her emerald eyes welled up with a layer of mist, an emotion far more intense than the surrounding Hidden Mist Technique.
"Little one, you've grown up."
Haruko sighed inwardly.
'I was recognized after all."
Since it had come to this, there was no point in pretending anymore.
He scratched his head and revealed a heartfelt, lazy smile.
It was exactly the same as eight years ago.
"Teacher Mei Terumi, long time no see. You've also become increasingly beautiful and moving."
Looking at the youth before her who had already grown taller than her shoulder, the thousands of words in Mei Terumi's heart eventually turned into a complex sigh.
"You bastard brat... you're actually still alive. After not seeing you for a few years, your silver-tongued skills have certainly improved."
She lightly brushed the long hair by her ear, a charming gesture enough to make any man's heart race.
"Leaving without saying goodbye back then, and now standing on the opposite side of me..."
Mei Terumi's voice suddenly dropped. "Tell me, should I capture you and take you back, or should I just 'melt' you right here?"
Haruko looked at this dangerous yet charming woman and gave a dry laugh.
"Um... can there be a third option? Like, how about you treat me to dinner and we catch up?"
Naturally, Mei Terumi wouldn't have dinner with Haruko, but she didn't want to fight anymore either.
Setting aside their relationship, based on their exchange just now, although she hadn't fought with her life on the line, she hadn't held back either.
Yet Haruko hadn't even used his Shikotsumyaku, let alone a single killing move.
It was impossible for her to take Haruko down before Konoha's reinforcements arrived. The only thing she could do was help her teammates by stalling him here.
She slowly retracted her killing intent and crossed her arms. Her emerald eyes locked onto Haruko, as if trying to see through her former student.
"I do have something I want to ask you... why did you run?"
"Because I didn't want to die," Haruko answered matter-of-factly.
"You would definitely die in the Hidden Mist?" Mei Terumi took a step forward, her tone somewhat urgent. "Back then, the Kaguya Clan was still a pillar of the Village's combat power! As long as you were willing to show your talent, I... even the Mizukage would have focused on cultivating you!"
Haruko's face slumped as he looked at her like she was a fool.
"Teacher, you're twenty-two this year, right? Why are you still so naive?"
The veins on Mei Terumi's temple throbbed; she felt her fists tightening.
"That bunch of lunatics from the Kaguya Clan, whose heads are filled with nothing but muscle and bone, were bound to play themselves to death sooner or later. If I didn't run, was I supposed to stay and be buried with them?"
Haruko picked his ear with a look of disdain. "It's been quite a while since I've received any news about the clan. Why don't you tell me, how is the Kaguya Clan doing in the Hidden Mist now? How many people are still alive?"
Mei Terumi fell silent.
After a long time, she let out a dejected sigh.
At this moment, she was no longer the Elite Jonin deterring the border, but just an ambitious youth feeling powerless about the Village's current state.
"Four years ago... the Fourth Lord restarted the Blood Mist policy."
"Two years ago, Zabuza joined forces with several Bloodline Limit clans to launch a coup. After it failed, he defected with some people."
She paused and looked up at Haruko, a hint of pity in her eyes. "And the Kaguya Clan... also participated in that upheaval, fighting until the very last person..."
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