Terumi Mei vs. Namikaze Minato

Upon hearing Uesugi Shinji's words, Ao furrowed his brows slightly.

He did not disagree with Uesugi Shinji's analysis, but he did not believe that Uesugi Shinji could help Terumi Mei hold off Namikaze Minato; in fact, he feared a worse scenario where Uesugi Shinji himself would be pinned down by Namikaze Minato.

"Are you certain?" Ao asked in a deep voice.

Uesugi Shinji replied, "Fifty percent."

A flash of brilliance crossed Ao's eyes; a fifty percent chance already exceeded his expectations. If there was no exaggeration in that claim, then the other man's strength was far greater than he had originally imagined, likely not inferior to Terumi Mei herself.

"Then I leave it to you," Ao said with a serious tone.

Uesugi Shinji nodded and quickly assigned tasks to his subordinates: "Kisame, Rin, Mangetsu, coordinate with the main force to surround and kill the enemy. Be careful."

Before the words had even faded, Uesugi Shinji vanished from the spot using the Body Flicker Technique.

Upon receiving the order, Hozuki Mangetsu and Kisame both grinned, revealing rows of serrated, inhuman teeth. Both had been itching for a fight, and now they finally had the chance.

"I just happened to see that Konoha ninja who escaped from my hands during the last mission; it's time to settle things with him. As an excellent ninja, one should always finish what they start!" Kisame said with a laugh.

Beside him, the much shorter Hozuki Mangetsu kept his eyes locked on Kakashi, who was locked in fierce combat with Kirigakure ninjas on the battlefield, a look of intense interest on his face.

"I've found a pretty good opponent myself!" Hozuki Mangetsu said slowly.

As for Rin, she gave a light huff: "Take care of myself? Who needs him to worry!"

After saying this, Rin did not wait for Kisame or Hozuki Mangetsu, darting out first as a dark shadow. Possessing the Shadow Release Kekkei Genkai, she was most adept at fishing in troubled waters during such chaotic melees.

"Kisame-senpai, is Rin-senpai always this difficult?" Hozuki Mangetsu asked, turning his head.

Kisame patted Hozuki Mangetsu on the shoulder and said, "Never speak ill of her behind her back; no one knows if she's hiding nearby, eavesdropping. If you get targeted by her... sigh."

At this moment, the smile that Kisame usually wore year-round appeared a bit stiff, as if he were recalling an unpleasant memory.

On the battlefield of the Forest Fortress valley, the clash between Namikaze Minato and Terumi Mei was undoubtedly the most eye-catching. A golden light darted freely across the battlefield, followed closely by a red figure.

Everyone could see that Namikaze Minato held the absolute initiative between the two. He almost completely ignored the relentless Terumi Mei, using the Flying Thunder God to constantly shift his position and kill other, weaker Kirigakure ninjas.

In front of Namikaze Minato, there was no difference between ordinary jonin, chunin, and genin. As long as his opponent's reflexes were insufficient to cope with his extreme speed, what awaited them was a crushing, dimensional-reduction strike, capable of taking their lives within two moves.

It was precisely because of Namikaze Minato's presence that the Konoha side could barely stabilize the situation and stand on equal footing with the dominant Kirigakure forces.

"Yellow Flash, do you not even have the courage to face a woman in battle?"

Terumi Mei relied on the Body Flicker Technique to barely keep up with Namikaze Minato, watching helplessly as he took out two more of her subordinates. The anger in her heart could no longer be suppressed, and she resorted to the kind of provocation she usually disdained, hoping to force him to turn and fight her.

Namikaze Minato's expression remained calm, not at all like someone engaged in a fierce battle. He ignored Terumi Mei's provocation entirely, only using his peripheral vision to track her movements.

Noticing Namikaze Minato's gaze, Terumi Mei felt a chill in her heart. She knew that this opponent, in terms of both personal strength and intellect, was far beyond the ordinary—the most terrifying opponent she had ever encountered.

Namikaze Minato actually wanted to engage Terumi Mei in conversation to probe the ultimate goal of Kirigakure's interception. However, the situation on the battlefield was too critical; he had to race against time and could not afford a moment's pause.

After using the Body Flicker Technique to dodge Terumi Mei's pursuit and killing a Kirigakure ninja in passing, Namikaze Minato threw six Flying Thunder God kunai in different directions, clearly preparing to put distance between himself and Terumi Mei once more.

Nearby Kirigakure ninjas felt a chill upon noticing Namikaze Minato's movements, especially those who saw the Flying Thunder God kunai flying toward them; they quickly shifted positions to avoid being instantly killed by the teleporting Namikaze Minato.

"Damn it!"

For the first time, Terumi Mei felt so powerless. Her skills had nowhere to be unleashed, and she could only watch helplessly as her opponent slipped away from her again.

However, just then, she noticed Namikaze Minato's movements suddenly stall. The figure that should have vanished from the spot stopped, as if his attempt to use the Flying Thunder God had failed.

Terumi Mei naturally would not let this opportunity slip, and she quickly thrust her kunai toward Namikaze Minato's back. The distance between them was already very close, and under normal circumstances, a ninja would have no time to defend, yet Namikaze Minato turned with incredible speed and used his own kunai to parry Terumi Mei's attack.

Terumi Mei's strike failed, so she used the momentum to turn and kicked her long right leg directly at him. Namikaze Minato immediately raised his arms in a cross to block.

With a loud bang, his body was sent flying, showing just how astonishing the power of Terumi Mei's kick was.

At the very moment Terumi Mei and Namikaze Minato clashed, the six Flying Thunder God kunai that had been flying through the air suddenly erupted with many sharp ice spikes, like blooming flowers, before falling straight to the ground.

It turned out that the reason Namikaze Minato had failed to use the Flying Thunder God was that someone had used ninjutsu to preemptively target his kunai. If he had teleported to the location of any of those kunai, he would have been turned into a sieve by the ice spikes erupted from that Ice Release technique!

Terumi Mei also realized this. As for who was using Ice Release to help her seal Namikaze Minato's movements, the answer was obvious.

After eating dust behind Namikaze Minato for so long, Terumi Mei had finally seized the initiative in the battle for the first time.

After kicking him away, she naturally would not let him distance himself again. She used the Body Flicker Technique to chase after him, simultaneously forming hand seals to prepare a close-range ninjutsu.

"Boil Release: Aerosol Blade."

After completing the seals, Terumi Mei parted her red lips, and a thin, white stream of air sprayed out, aimed directly at Namikaze Minato not far ahead.

This white stream was extremely fast and possessed great penetrating power. Even more dangerous was that the stream was composed entirely of acidic mist from the Boil Release, possessing extreme corrosiveness.

If a person were hit by this white stream, they would not only be pierced through, but the wound would be corroded by the acid, which would then spread to the surrounding body; it would take only a few minutes to corrode the entire body away!