A Fierce Battle

On the battlefield, where white mist filled the air, the screams of ninjas shrouded in acidic fog rang out briefly before quickly fading into deathly silence.

On the other side, in the area ravaged by the Lava Release dragon, the highly corrosive liquid solidified into hard, grayish-white rocks after melting several ninjas.

In an instant, two deadly situations were created on the battlefield!

The rebels suffered heavy casualties and finally realized what was happening.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Driven by Chakra, the air transformed into a raging storm; in an instant, a Hayate gale arose, howling and whipping up countless water droplets and pebbles, sweeping away and dispersing the acid mist that permeated the field!

It was that Wind Release ninja who attacked her earlier. Sakura Haruno's eyes narrowed slightly as she realized what was happening. The only ninja on the Elder's side who could unleash the power of a high-level Wind Release Wind Release Ninjutsu from a low-level one was that person.

"It's been cracked..." Mei Terumi coldly. The weakness of mist-type Ninjutsu is that it's not suitable for use in open areas. "But the reaction was too late!"

The Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique completed its task and finally dissipated; on the other side, the giant dragon formed by the Lava Release also became teetering on the brink of collapse under the enemy's siege.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!" "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Under the siege of more than a dozen water dragons and earth dragons, the Lava Release dragon began to stagger and could no longer pursue the rebels as freely as before.

Aww--!

The earth-shaking roars, the sounds of Ninjutsu clashing, and the sounds of destruction rose and fell in waves!

Three giant dragons, each different in color, size, and attribute, tangled together, tearing and biting relentlessly. The Lava Release Dragon, with its highly corrosive fangs and claws and a size far exceeding that of the other dragons, clearly had the advantage. Under Mei Terumi's control, a single slap or a bite could destroy an Earth Dragon or a Water Dragon. However, the effect of "many ants can kill an elephant" gradually began to appear: the Water Dragon was constantly diluting the concentration of the Lava Release's slime, while the Earth Dragon was gradually suppressing the Lava Dragon's advance!

The dragon's body gradually shrank, and after a moment, it finally let out a mournful cry and turned into a solidified gray-white stone that scattered on the ground.

After two rounds of Mei Terumi's Ninjutsu abuse, the rebels finally broke through her Ninjutsu.

However, the price paid was dozens of ninjas lying on the ground, or melted and corroded until their bodies were nowhere to be found.

Many more ninjas were only slightly affected by these two moves, and their skin was corroded, torn open, or even their limbs were mutilated!

After the Ninjutsu subsided, the battlefield was a mess. Muddy sewage mixed with soil and rocks flowed on the ground, turning the training ground into an unsightly gray-brown and dark red. The mottled filth and murky water made the pink-haired girl frown.

The elder's figure reappeared from the water, his face solemn and filled with murderous intent as he stared at Mei Terumi Sakura Haruno.

On the battlefield, the ninjas on the Elder's side stood on the ground, looking somewhat disheveled, their numbers reduced by half. Opposite them, Sakura Haruno and Mei Terumi stood proudly on the shoulders of the towering ice giant, confronting them.

The sun was already quite bright at the end of May, but when it shone on the field, it didn't bring any heat at all.

A tense, murderous aura permeated the entire battlefield, and both sides remained silent for a moment.

"As expected of the Mizukage, the power of Lava Release and Boil Release is indeed astonishing..." The Grand Elder glanced at the stark white skeleton in the mud not far away, its flesh corroded away, and said coldly, "However, we already know how to deal with your Ninjutsu!"

Mei Terumi looked down at the Grand Elder, showing no reaction; however, the girl beside her let out a sneer.

"Hmph! Your so-called 'deal' isn't some stupid method of slowly wearing each other down with Ninjutsu, is it?!" Sakura sneered. "And don't you find it disgusting to crawl out of such murky water? Or are you ninjas used to standing in filth?"

The elder turned his gaze to Sakura, ignoring her provocation, and calmly said, "A clumsy method is a good method if it works. We still have many people; you can't outlast us in a Chakra war!"

"Furthermore, the ninjas of the Mist Ninja are already accustomed to living in dark and filthy environments," he said.

Mei Terumi parted her crimson lips slightly and said calmly, "No one can get used to living in darkness and filth. More than ten years in the Bloody Mist Village pushed everyone to their limit, which is why we overthrew the Fourth Mizukage's bloody rule and ended the dark Blood Mist Era. That's why we are implementing a new policy of openness and peace."

Her gaze was icy as she looked at the Grand Elder, narrowing her eyes as she concluded, "And you believe that Mist Ninja must be accustomed to bloodshed and cruelty. This is our fundamental disagreement, and the root cause of this battle."

The Grand Elder merely chuckled dismissively.

"This isn't about bloodshed and cruelty, it's a tradition of the Mist Ninja... Soft-hearted, hypocritical ninjas like you who pretend to be friendly and helpful will only bring about your own destruction!"

Tradition? How many ugly things are done in the name of tradition! Sakura Haruno sneered. Such bad practices are most likely to occur in closed-off countries and regions. For example, in her previous life on Earth, hundreds of millions of women in Africa and other places were cruelly subjected to female genital mutilation.

On the other side, Mei Terumi sighed and closed her eyes slightly.

Stubborn people like that are one thing. The sad thing is, there are many Mist Ninja share the same mindset as the Elder. Even many neutral ninjas think it's the right thing to do!

Although they had all been harmed by this cruel system.

As victims, they don't think about stopping the harm; instead, they hope to inflict the pain they experienced on those who come after them, thus perpetuating a cycle of hatred and suffering...

As the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi had long been aware of this, and she had also long understood her mission: to break the tragic cycle of the Mist Ninja and prevent the next Bloody Mist Village era from recurring in the village.

The struggle between the Grand Elder and the other rebels and her faction has become a battle of beliefs! Both sides firmly believe that their beliefs are correct and that the Mist Ninja should proceed according to their ideas. No amount of words can change their minds.

Unable to persuade the opposing party verbally.

Therefore, the only option left is to destroy each other physically.

This is the only consensus reached by both sides after fighting like this!

Mei Terumi suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze now devoid of any emotion she once held for her opponent as a fellow Mist Ninja; it was nothing but icy coldness!

"It seems that, no matter what, we can only determine which side's choice was correct by fighting until one side is completely defeated!" The woman's voice was like the cold wind of the Arctic, icy and chilling, filled with murderous intent!

"Haven't we been doing this all along? You and I both know that after those underhanded tricks and useless plans failed, we were left with only one option: war!" the Grand Elder said coldly. "However, our chances of winning are greater..."

"Although you can still use powerful Ninjutsu, your bodies are still paralyzed, am I right? Your biggest weakness is your inability to move easily; you're just two targets on the shoulders of this giant ice giant... Your second weakness is that while your Lava Release and Boil Release attacks are very powerful, they are only so-so for defense!"

"This is your Achilles' heel. Once you've found it, we'll defeat you quickly!"

Upon arriving here, the Grand Elder seemed to have found the key to victory, and a smile appeared on his face.

Sakura Haruno shook her head.

As for their defense... even if you use the ice giant as a target, they'd still take half of it.

As for their inability to move, this does severely limit their abilities. Even ninjas with Ninjutsu skills can't stay in one place as turrets forever. The fact that they can move, dodge, and attack on the battlefield with the ice giant is only a slight way of compensating for this weakness.

However, it would be wishful thinking to assume they have a chance of winning based on this alone!

The two women exchanged a glance.

Their eyes revealed no fear whatsoever, but rather a burning desire to fight!

Sakura Haruno crossed her arms and calmly said, "Don't waste your breath on him. I'm going to take care of them completely!"

Mei Terumi nodded slightly and said, "Then let's begin... I also want to see your Ice Release!"

The Fifth Mizukage first Hand Seals and swiftly unleashed the Ninjutsu:

"Lava Release: Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"

A large amount of corrosive slime sprayed from her mouth, engulfing the heads of the ninjas below. Several ninjas who couldn't dodge in time were hit head-on by the acid and died instantly!

The Grand Elder shouted, "Don't panic! Use the same method as before to deal with her attacks!"

The ninja beside him had already Hand Seals the moment he spoke up, swiftly unleashing a counter-attack Ninjutsu to block the Fifth Mizukage's Lava Release.

"They're being suppressed." Mei Terumi glanced at the battlefield below and said calmly. The enemy's reaction was extremely fast. The powerful Lava Release dragon was already tightly entangled by a multitude of Ninjutsu, as if it were stuck in a quagmire, and its movements gradually slowed down!

Outnumbered, it was indeed going to be tough, Sakura Haruno thought to herself. This was the first time she had faced so many formidable enemies!

But... it's okay.

Having Mei Terumi's experience, Sakura had already figured out how to fight.

Mei Terumi glanced at the girl beside her. Sakura's overflowing Chakra was astonishing, indicating the incredible power of the Ninjutsu she was preparing!

Ice Release: Frost Ice Burial!

In an instant, without warning, the water flowing on the ground suddenly froze, solidifying into hard ice blocks.

Then, sharp, hard ice shards and blades suddenly emerged from the ice on the ground, fiercely and ruthlessly stabbing at the rebels!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh--

In the blink of an eye, endless ice blades, ice spears, ice pillars... accompanied by the sound of ice shards piercing the air, emerged from the surface of the ice, turning the entire land into a forest of ice.

The sudden change caught many enemies off guard, either not reacting or failing to dodge. Instead, they overestimated themselves and tried to fight against the Ice Release Forest, and unsurprisingly, they were pierced by the cold, some even penetrating their bodies, and died instantly!

When the ice finally stopped growing, the number of ninjas on the Elder's side had decreased significantly.

However, the remaining rebels were not so easy to deal with.

Having survived the two large-scale Ninjutsu attacks by Mei Terumi Sakura Haruno, the ninjas who survived, apart from a few who were always protected, were almost all quick-witted, agile, and quite powerful!

So.

Next is--

"Ice Release: Legion Ice Clone Technique!"

"Orochimaru was almost defeated by this move last time..." A cold smile appeared on the girl's face.

"I wonder if you could perform better!"

(First update! Guaranteed update 1/. The Mist Ninja storyline ends soon!)

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