https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-304-A-Sword-Drawn-for-Protection/12558375/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-306-No-Mourning-for-Obito-the-Green-Beast-Might-Guy-Arrives-at-the-Battlefield/12558377/
Chapter 305: No Time to Mourn Zabuza, the Future Mizukage, Mei Terumi, Arrives at the Battlefield
Chapter 305: No Time to Mourn Zabuza, the Future Mizukage, Mei Terumi, Arrives at the Battlefield
Upon sensing Kakashi's approach, Hei Ze hastily leaped up and knocked Yahiko Lin back several steps, hoping to evade Kakashi's attack.
However, a fully powered Kakashi was incredibly fast. With the addition of his surprise attack, Hei Ze's hasty dodge was futile.
The sharp blade of Kakashi's weapon grazed Hei Ze's left arm, leaving a long, narrow wound.
"Damn it! I'm so useless; I was defeated so quickly," Hei Ze cursed, clutching his injured arm.
He had held the upper hand just moments ago, but now, with his wounded arm, he wasn't sure he could defeat Yahiko Lin even if Kakashi left immediately.
"Do you care more about yourself than your teammates? It's truly a tragedy to be partnered with you," Kakashi frowned upon hearing Hei Ze's words.
"Don't joke around," Hei Ze retorted with a cold laugh. "I'm injured because of you, and you expect me to say something nice to him?" He was trying to stall for time while binding his wound with a bandage.
But Kakashi didn't fall for it. He continued his verbal assault while also pressing on with physical strikes, immediately charging at Hei Ze again.
Whoosh!
Kakashi, utilizing the Lightning Breath to its fullest, was far quicker than Hei Ze. Hei Ze attempted to stab Kakashi with his short blade, only to find that Kakashi had suddenly vanished from his front.
Bang!
Kakashi, appearing from the side, delivered a spinning kick that sent Hei Ze flying backward, causing him to drop the short blade from his right hand.
Boom!
The large tree that Hei Ze collided with shook violently, its leaves rustling incessantly.
"Instead of disparaging others, focus on improving yourself. Those who constantly blame their teammates will never find reliable partners," Kakashi said coldly.
Although this was their first meeting, the ninja from Kirigakure had already left a very negative impression on Kakashi. For the first time, he felt a strong desire to crush their beliefs.
"Hahaha! I admit that you are stronger than me, and your team is superior to ours. You are all genius ninjas, but that's all there is to it," Hei Ze struggled to his feet and forced a mocking smile. "It wasn't your naive idea that defeated me, but your strength."
He was extremely resentful about being beaten by a younger ninja who spouted naive ideals, so he intended to refute everything Kakashi said.
Having lost in terms of strength, he sought to belittle Kakashi verbally.
Kakashi, with a calm expression, began walking towards Hei Ze. After his previous experience, his beliefs would not be shaken easily.
Although he didn't intend to kill, Kakashi would incapacitate his opponent. As for how they survived in this deadly forest filled with venomous insects and fierce beasts afterward, that was none of Kakashi's concern.
"It seems I have arrived at an inopportune time," a strange female voice suddenly spoke up.
Kakashi immediately halted and cautiously scanned his surroundings. He spotted a red-haired young woman approaching from the east, with two boys wrapped in bandages following close behind.
Kakashi sighed inwardly. His greatest fear had come to pass, as another ninja team had arrived.
The reason he had carefully planned his battle with Zabuza, aiming to defeat him with minimal effort, was to avoid precisely this situation.
The towering plume of black smoke was far too conspicuous, and the sounds of their ninjutsu and taijutsu clashes would undoubtedly attract other teams.
Upon noticing the Kirigakure forehead protector on Mei Terumi's head, Kakashi's heart sank even further. He could only hope that their opponents weren't too powerful.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Kakashi swiftly threw two kunai, piercing Hei Ze's thighs and causing him to collapse to the ground as he was already unsteady on his feet.
After arriving at the battlefield, Mei Terumi surveyed the scene. She noticed the remaining water traces on the ground, the severely injured Nara Yukimi and others resting against a tree, and Zabuza and Hei Ze lying on the ground. She also witnessed the intense battle between Deidara and Kisame Hoshigaki.
Undoubtedly, a major battle involving three teams had taken place here.
From the looks of it, Mei Terumi's Kirigakure team seemed to have been fighting two other teams and was on the verge of defeat.
"You ganged up on our Kirigakure team? How despicable," Mei Terumi's teammate commented, sharing similar thoughts.
"Mei Terumi, what should we do now?" Her teammate looked to her for guidance.
Although their relationship was usually lukewarm, Mei Terumi was the strongest among them, so in the jounin instructor's absence, she was the de facto leader.
Mei Terumi remained silent, her face contemplative.
"The purpose of this battle is to obtain the scrolls," Kakashi said calmly after a moment's thought. "What scrolls do you lack? Whether it's the Scroll of Heaven or the Scroll of Earth, we can provide them and ensure you pass the exam."
He wanted to avoid this fight. The battle between his team and Kisame's team was almost over, but with the arrival of this new Kirigakure team, Kakashi couldn't predict the outcome.
Based on Zabuza and Hei Ze's performance, Kakashi guessed that the overall atmosphere in Kirigakure fostered a weak sense of camaraderie among its ninjas, and most of them prioritized their self-interest. Thus, he devised this strategy.
Although they only had the Scroll of Heaven on them, Kakashi recalled that Kisame's team possessed the Scroll of Earth, so they could technically offer both.
"We have the Earth Scroll too. If you help us defeat these guys, we'll give you whatever scroll you want afterward." Hei Ze saw that Mei Terumi was about to take action and quickly spoke up, hoping that the addition of new allies would turn the tide of the battle.
"As fellow Kirigakure ninjas, you should know which side is more trustworthy."
Mei Terumi glanced at the Kirigakure ninjas and then at the Konoha ninjas.
While she naturally leaned towards her fellow Kirigakure ninja, Hei Ze's words rubbed her the wrong way, as if he were ordering her around.
When she got a good look at Tobito's face, Mei Terumi, who had been hesitant, immediately made a decision—she would avenge her strawberry ice cream.
"Take down those Konoha ninjas." Mei Terumi ordered her two teammates before rushing towards Tobito.
"Please go and fight someone else. I want to defeat this one myself!" Mei Terumi didn't attack when she reached Tobito and instead asked Kisame to leave.
Kisame, bursting with strength, punched Tobito, knocking him back, and looked at Mei Terumi with a confused expression.
To be honest, he had been a ninja for quite some time, and this was the first time he'd seen someone proactively create a one-on-one battle scenario.
"If you don't leave, I won't fight." Mei Terumi folded her arms across her chest.
She only wanted to use her own strength to avenge her strawberry ice cream.
Although he found it a bit odd, Kisame didn't want to give up this hard-won ally.
"I hope your strength matches your confidence, as this guy isn't weak." With that, Kisame turned and rushed towards Kakashi.
"You're the Kirigakure ninja I met the other day when I was buying sweets." Tobito recognized Mei Terumi by her waist-length red hair, recalling their chance encounter.
"What do you mean buying sweets? I was gathering intelligence." Mei Terumi corrected him. She hadn't bought the ice cream immediately; she'd done it after finishing her intelligence-gathering mission.
"What kind of intelligence can you gather at a sweets shop? Is there a dessert there that Kirigakure doesn't have?" Tobito was perplexed.
"Of course...there are..." Mei Terumi was about to list a few desserts that Kirigakure didn't have, but she quickly realized this wasn't the time for small talk. "Anyway, I was gathering intelligence that day. Although I don't really want to bully someone who looks as silly as you, I must avenge my strawberry ice cream."
"That's absurd. You're the silly one." Tobito thought this red-haired Kirigakure ninja was a bit neurotic.
With that, the two of them attacked simultaneously, engaging in a taijutsu battle.
Mei Terumi wasn't weak in taijutsu, but she was up against Tobito, who possessed the breathing technique and the Sharingan. Tobito's enhanced perception allowed him to easily see through Mei Terumi's attacks, and his superior strength and speed enabled him to counter her moves while launching powerful retaliations.
In less than half a minute, Mei Terumi found herself at a disadvantage. Tobito seized an opportunity and punched her in the abdomen, causing her to stumble backward several steps.
"This guy's taijutsu is so strong. Is that eye the legendary Sharingan?" Mei Terumi quickly retreated, forming hand seals to prepare for using her most proficient ninjutsu.
Swoosh! Tobito shot out four shuriken to seal off Mei Terumi's escape routes and then immediately gave chase.
Since Mei Terumi's taijutsu wasn't as good as his, he decided to use taijutsu to keep pressing her.
"Boil Release: Clever Mist Technique!"
Thick white mist continuously poured from Mei Terumi's mouth, rushing towards Tobito.
Having witnessed the Kirigakure ninjas use the Kirigakure no Jutsu before, Tobito didn't pay much attention to the white mist that Mei Terumi exhaled. But when he saw the shuriken he'd thrown into the mist start to corrode and deteriorate, he realized something was wrong. Tobito quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to create some distance.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Tobito, who was retreating, also began to gather chakra and used ninjutsu. He gathered chakra in his throat and exhaled a massive amount of fire, forming a huge fireball that rushed towards the mist.
However, something Tobito didn't expect happened—his Great Fireball was directly swallowed by the mist. Although Mei Terumi's white mist diminished a bit, compared to the Great Fireball that had disappeared without a trace, it was undoubtedly the stronger technique.
"This guy's ninjutsu is strong." Tobito made a mental judgment.
This wasn't good news for Tobito. If Mei Terumi's ninjutsu and taijutsu were on par, he would have been confident in defeating her within two minutes. But now, things were more challenging.
It wasn't that Tobito's current chakra and stamina could only last for two minutes; it was because Kakashi and Yahiko Lin were in trouble.
Tobito's Sharingan peripheral vision could clearly see Kakashi getting beaten up.
One Kirigakure ninja dragged Yahiko Lin, while the other Kirigakure ninja joined forces with Hei Ze to surround Kakashi.
"I'll have to take a risk." Tobito took a deep breath, gathering a large amount of chakra, and then pushed his Fire Breath technique to its limit.
He was about to use the strongest Fire Release technique he could muster—the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
I'm feeling under the weather, so it's slow going. I'll only do one chapter today, and we'll see if I feel better tomorrow to make up for it.
(End of Chapter)
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