Underwater × Mei Terumi

"What's going on? Why are you the only one here?"

Suddenly, a voice rang out from beneath the water, drifting and elusive, making it impossible to discern its gender.

"Did you run into someone you couldn't defeat? That's not right. The Sannin and Minato Namikaze are all away on missions."

The spies had naturally calculated the strength of Konoha; they only dared to expose themselves so brazenly to transmit intelligence because they knew the powerhouses capable of suppressing them instantly were away.

"Could it be..."

"Yes, I ran into the Black Demon of Konoha."

The pot-bellied ninja gave a bitter, lingering smile; he truly never wanted to face such a monster again. The feeling of being completely powerless was not pleasant.

He was, of course, the Mist Ninja spy who had escaped. In the blink of an eye, he had disguised himself as a portly merchant and come to this hot spring inn to meet his contact.

"That is truly unfortunate. Isn't it said that guy usually stays in his clan's compound to train and rarely comes out?"

Although the voice from beneath the hot spring remained elusive and gender-neutral, it now carried a hint of sympathy.

"Indeed, even if I were to encounter that guy, I wouldn't have much of a chance of winning."

"However, it's a good thing you escaped. Where is the intelligence scroll?"

"The intelligence is... uh... uh..."

The spy ninja suddenly acted as if his throat had been constricted, unable to speak.

"I see. It seems my reputation still carries some deterrent power."

Nara Dan appeared behind the spy ninja, his hand reaching back to grip the spy's spine.

The excruciating pain of his nervous system being torn apart made the corners of his mouth stretch wide as he let out muffled whimpers, yet he could not move a muscle.

"But I am more curious about something else."

"Snap!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he crushed the hard spine in his hand. Nara Dan looked toward the bottom of the hot spring.

"Who are you?"

But the only answer was the surface of the hot spring, steaming with heat.

Nara Dan sighed, his eyes burning as he stared at the rising steam, as if trying to pierce through the water's surface.

"Since you aren't willing to talk..."

"I'll just have to investigate for myself."

Just as Nara Dan focused his energy, preparing to flip the entire hot spring over, "Hm?!"

Nara Dan suddenly felt that the temperature of this hot spring was unusual.

One had to realize that even ordinary Fire Style only felt like warm water to him, let alone regular hot water; under his iron-clad body, it was almost the same as cold water.

Yet, the steam from this hot spring actually made him feel a stinging heat!

Nara Dan's eyes narrowed as he looked into the hot spring.

"Bang!"

Sure enough, the hot spring suddenly exploded, sending hot water splashing everywhere as a graceful figure suddenly appeared, forming hand seals.

The woman was dressed in a tight-fitting ninja outfit that outlined her curvaceous and sexy figure.

Her long, dark reddish-brown hair was styled like a tall pine tree, adding to her sexy and charming allure.

Looking up, a lock of the Mist Ninja's beautiful hair fell to cover one eye, while the other exposed emerald-green eye was bright and deep, revealing a hint of determination amidst her allure.

"Boil Release! Skilled Mist Technique!"

In an instant, under a surge of Chakra, the surrounding steam rose and gathered toward the spot where Nara Dan was standing.

"So it's you..."

Nara Dan looked with interest at the future Fifth Mizukage, who was still far from reaching her full potential.

Although her strength had not yet reached the level of a Kage, in terms of figure and appearance, she was already a fully ripened fruit.

"Treating me to tea the moment we meet?"

"Then I'll return the favor with a cup!"

"Hiss!"

Nara Dan controlled his lungs to expand to their limit, and like a whale inhaling water, a visible vortex formed in the air.

The immense suction force swallowed all of Mei Terumi's Skilled Mist Technique.

"Pfft!"

The massive volume of gas was compressed within Nara Dan's body, and a powerful arrow of air shot straight toward Mei Terumi.

"This guy really is a monster."

Mei Terumi's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief. Although she had heard the reputation of Nara Dan as a Black Demon who was impervious to blades and spears, seeing him swallow her ninjutsu whole still left her incredibly shocked; it completely defied the law that ninjas were high-damage but fragile glass cannons.

However, Mei Terumi was worthy of being the future Fifth Mizukage. She reacted with lightning speed, quickly forming hand seals.

"Lava Release, Corrosive Melting Technique!"

Seeing this, Nara Dan did not retreat but instead surged forward, his massive body lunging ahead and shattering the floor of the hot spring inn.

If it were the Mei Terumi of ten years later, Nara Dan would certainly have been wary—that was the "kiss of death" capable of melting even a Susanoo—but right now, "You're still too green!"

The viscous Kekkei Genkai formed by Earth Style and Fire Style blocked the air column spat out by Nara Dan, but the massive shockwave that followed completely shattered the scorching Lava Release.

"Even the Lava Release..."

Before Mei Terumi could react, a biting wind from his fist brought her thoughts to a halt.

A violent storm of power swirled around Mei Terumi, making her skin sting. The afterimages formed by his fists and kicks nearly submerged her entirely.

Even though she prided herself on having excellent Taijutsu for a Jonin, facing such an unreasonable humanoid monster, she could only fall into a state of desperate evasion.

The brutal power vented inside the hot spring inn, leaving several load-bearing walls teetering on the brink of collapse.

The scene, resembling a large-scale demolition machine at work, left the supporting Konoha Ninja standing by in a daze, barely daring to step forward, let alone intervene in the battle.

"Lord Nara is still as exaggerated as ever."

"He's not that far off from Lady Tsunade, is he?"

Regardless of how the surrounding Konoha Ninja stood by or praised the valor of Nara Dan, the one under the most pressure was Mei Terumi, who was weathering the storm.

"Damn it. Long-range ninjutsu is completely useless."

"I can't even pin him down; I'm just being forced into close quarters."

"And he's a monster in melee combat."

"I don't even have a chance to use the Substitution Technique."

The reason was simple: not all ninjas could form hand seals with one hand or perform jutsu without seals.

In fact, such ninjas were the favored children of heaven, a tiny minority.

For the vast majority of ninjas, even techniques like the Substitution Technique or Body Flicker Technique required hand seals to be activated.

But once you face an opponent whose speed and strength far exceed your own, if you are forced into close-quarters combat, you effectively have no time to form seals.

Otherwise, Nara Dan would never have built his illustrious reputation as the Black Demon out there.

Beneath her mask, Mei Terumi gritted her teeth. Her emerald eyes darted around, barely able to track where the attacks were coming from, and she could only rely on years of ninja instinct to dodge the rain of blows.

Even so, Mei Terumi was still being grazed by the powerful wind of Nara Dan's fists, which tore her clothes and cut her skin.

Finally, amidst the high-intensity evasion, the stamina of a female ninja was ultimately limited. She faltered for a split second, but that was enough to invite a lethal strike.

"Bang!"

Although she had tried her best to turn her body, Nara Dan's iron-like fist still grazed Mei Terumi's shoulder. Almost instantly, a wave of intense pain surged through her.