So… what should he do next?
From their brief exchange earlier, Ruichi had already made a rough judgment: Mei Terumi's current strength was somewhere between a standard jōnin and an elite jōnin.
If he fought with everything he had, Ruichi was about eighty percent confident he could drive her back—or even kill her.
But he had absolutely no intention of doing that.
Setting aside the fact that she was once his teacher, even if he won, he would either be gravely injured… or die together with her.
The signal flare has already gone up. Konoha's reinforcements should be on the way. I just need to stall for time and then find a chance to slip away.
"Uh… big sister," Ruichi raised both hands, trying to talk his way out, "I'm just a passing cook. How about you pretend I don't exist?"
He added sincerely, "My ramen is really good. Want me to treat you to a bowl?"
"A cook?"
Mei Terumi laughed out loud.
"Are Konoha genin all this funny these days? I really like sweet-talking brats like you."
Before the last word even fell—
Her red lips parted slightly.
"Lava Release: Lava Monster Technique!"
Corrosive lava sprayed toward Ruichi like a high-pressure jet.
"Tch—no sportsmanship at all. Ambushing an old man pushing fifty."
Chakra surged into his legs as Ruichi used the Body Flicker Technique, vanishing from where he stood.
Sssss—
The lava struck the ground behind him, instantly melting the earth and forming a huge bubbling crater, white steam billowing upward.
"Fast reaction," Mei Terumi said calmly, her hands already forming seals at lightning speed.
Since her Lava Release had missed, she switched immediately to an area-of-effect attack.
"Water Release: Water Jet!"
Dozens of compressed water bullets shot out, sealing off all of Ruichi's escape routes.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The fireball instantly vaporized the incoming water bullets and flew straight toward Mei Terumi. She dodged effortlessly—
And Ruichi was nowhere to be seen.
A faint tremor came from beneath her feet.
Before Mei Terumi could even process it, she leapt into the air. The next instant, a pair of hands burst from the ground, grabbing at the spot where she had just been.
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"
Tch… figures it wouldn't work.
Missing his opening strike, Ruichi sank back into the earth once more.
"Playing whack-a-mole?" Mei Terumi smirked. "Then try this."
"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique."
A dense, acidic mist poured from her mouth, flooding into the underground tunnel.
"Awooooo—!"
An explosive tag was hurled up from the ground. The explosion blasted the mist apart, and under the cover of smoke and debris, Ruichi sprang out.
Just that brief contact had already corroded his clothes and left painful burns on his skin.
"Water Release: Cold Water Bath."
Ruichi washed himself down while stripping off his outer robe, headscarf, and goggles—everything contaminated by the acidic mist.
Swish—
A water whip cut through the smoke and lashed toward him. Ruichi instinctively raised his arm to block—
Only for the whip to coil tightly around it.
"You—"
Seeing Ruichi's face and his snow-white hair, Mei Terumi froze, a strange sense of déjà vu washing over her.
"Lightning Release: Earth Walk."
Ruichi grabbed the water whip with his free hand. Lightning burst from his palm, racing straight toward Mei Terumi along the water.
"Not good!"
She severed the water whip instantly—but her arm still went numb from the residual lightning.
"Heh. Now it's one-on-one."
Ruichi glanced at the burned patches on his skin. Nothing serious.
"As you can see, you won't be taking me down anytime soon. And Konoha's reinforcements are already on their way."
He smiled lazily.
"How about we both back off and go our separate ways?"
Mei Terumi stared at him.
The killing intent in her eyes faded, replaced by disbelief—and a faint tremor running through her body.
A door in her memory slammed open.
Eight years ago, in Kirigakure.
A boy who always followed behind her, shouting—
"Teacher! Teach me that jutsu!"
Born into the Kaguya Clan, yet hating combat, obsessed instead with learning ninjutsu.
A child with mastery over all five chakra natures—clearly a prodigy—yet whose greatest talent was finding ways to slack off.
A student who vanished seven years ago, whom she had long believed died amid the chaos of war.
"That white hair…"
Mei Terumi's voice trembled.
"That chakra with all five natures…"
She stepped forward, her footsteps echoing clearly in the silent forest.
"And those bones… hard enough to block a water whip without injury…"
She stopped three meters in front of Ruichi.
Taking a deep breath, mist welled up in her emerald eyes—an emotion thicker than any concealment technique.
"Little one… you've grown up."
Ruichi sighed inwardly.
So I was recognized after all.
No point pretending anymore.
He scratched the back of his head, revealing that same lazy, familiar smile.
Exactly the same as eight years ago.
"Mei Terumi-sensei, it's been a long time. You've only gotten more beautiful and charming."
Looking at the boy now taller than her shoulders, Mei Terumi felt countless emotions surge up—only to collapse into a complicated sigh.
"You little brat… you're actually still alive. And in just a few years, your smooth-talking has improved a lot."
She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, an unconscious gesture that could steal any man's breath.
"You disappeared without a word back then… and now you're standing against me."
Her voice dropped.
"Tell me—should I take you back… or just melt you right here?"
Ruichi chuckled dryly at the dangerous yet alluring woman before him.
"Uh… is there a third option? Like, maybe you treat me to dinner and we catch up?"
Mei Terumi obviously wasn't going to have dinner with him—but she also no longer wanted to fight.
Setting aside their relationship, in that exchange just now, she hadn't held back.
And Ruichi—forget using the Kaguya clan's Corpse Bone Pulse—hadn't even used a single lethal move.
There was no way she could defeat him before Konoha's reinforcements arrived. At best, she could only stall him for her own allies.
Slowly, she suppressed her killing intent, crossed her arms, and studied him with those emerald eyes, as if trying to see through her former student.
"There's something I want to ask you."
She paused.
"Why did you run away?"
"Because I didn't want to die," Ruichi replied calmly.
"Would you really have died in Kirigakure?" Mei Terumi stepped closer, her tone urgent.
"Back then, the Kaguya clan was the village's main combat force! If you'd shown your talent, I— even the Mizukage—would have personally trained you!"
Ruichi looked at her as if she were hopelessly naïve.
"Sensei… you're twenty-two now, right? How can you still be this innocent?"
Mei Terumi felt her temple twitch. Her fist tightened.
"Those lunatics in the Kaguya clan—muscles, bones, and battle is all they ever cared about. They were bound to kill themselves sooner or later. If I stayed, should I have just died with them?"
He picked at his ear, visibly disgusted.
"I haven't heard anything from the clan in ages. Why don't you tell me—how's the Kaguya clan doing in Kirigakure now?"
"How many are still alive?"
Mei Terumi fell silent.
After a long while, she let out a weary sigh.
At that moment, she no longer looked like an elite jōnin who dominated the borders—but like a young woman powerless before the village's grim reality.
"Four years ago… the Fourth Mizukage reinstated the Blood Mist policy."
"Two years ago, Zabuza Momochi joined forces with several bloodline clans to stage a coup. After it failed, he defected with a group of followers."
She paused, then looked up at Ruichi, pity flickering in her eyes.
"And the Kaguya clan…"
"They also took part in that chaos."
"…They fought to the very last."