"Water Release: Water Whip!"
A rope made of Water Release chakra suddenly shot toward Uchiha Matsuri, five meters away. Before he could react, the Water Whip bound him tightly from head to toe.
Watching Uchiha Matsuri struggle against the Water Whip, Yoru Mizuzuki smiled wickedly. "Little boy, don't bother struggling. No one I've tied up with my Water Whip has ever escaped."
"Damn it."
"Hee hee hee. Little boy, I'll give you one last chance. Join us." Yoru Mizuzuki lifted Uchiha Matsuri's chin with her finger.
"Pah! You ugly hag, I'll never join you," Uchiha Matsuri flatly refused.
"You'll regret that!" Yoru Mizuzuki slapped Uchiha Matsuri across the face. Bound tightly by the Water Whip, he could only take the blow.
A few minutes later, the left side of Uchiha Matsuri's face had swollen and turned completely red. Yoru Mizuzuki stopped once she had finished teaching him a lesson.
"Now, it's time to keep my promise." Yoru Mizuzuki pulled a kunai from her pocket with her right hand.
"What... what are you going to do?" Uchiha Matsuri suddenly sensed that something was wrong.
With a "shing," a gash appeared on Uchiha Matsuri's face, and he—
"Ah!" he cried out.
"Miss, please don't cut me anymore. I know I was wrong," Uchiha Matsuri begged, dropping to his knees.
"You only realize that now? Too late! That's what you get for calling me an ugly hag. I'll turn you into a real monster!" Yoru Mizuzuki said viciously.
After dozens of cuts, Uchiha Matsuri's once-handsome face was completely disfigured.
Looking at Uchiha Matsuri's ruined face, Yoru Mizuzuki immediately felt much better.
However, a few seconds later, Yoru Mizuzuki suddenly furrowed her brow.
"Something's not right," Yoru Mizuzuki thought, confused. "Why do I keep feeling like something is wrong?"
"How could all of this have been so easy?"
After staring for several seconds at the weeping Uchiha Matsuri beside her, Yoru Mizuzuki suddenly understood. "So that's it."
"I must have been under his genjutsu for a while now. The binding, the begging—it was all an illusion," Yoru Mizuzuki said with a self-mocking smile.
Without hesitation, Yoru Mizuzuki held the kunai and stabbed toward herself.
Poof!
The scene before her changed rapidly. The kneeling, weeping "Uchiha Matsuri" gradually disappeared, replaced by Uchiha Matsuri, kunai in hand, about to reach her.
"Not good!"
Yoru Mizuzuki hurriedly used Water Release, driving back Uchiha Matsuri's sudden attack.
After being forced back, Uchiha Matsuri didn't lose heart. Instead, he gave her a knowing smile.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I didn't think you'd be so vicious," Uchiha Matsuri sneered.
The genjutsu Uchiha Matsuri had cast on Yoru Mizuzuki had followed the desires of its victim. As the one who had cast it, Uchiha Matsuri had watched the whole scene unfold from an all-knowing perspective.
"You were messing with me?" Yoru Mizuzuki glared furiously at Uchiha Matsuri's smug face.
"You're the first person who's managed to realize you were under my genjutsu," Uchiha Matsuri praised her without reservation.
"Damn it!" Furious and humiliated, Yoru Mizuzuki attacked Uchiha Matsuri without holding back.
"Water Style: Water Torrential Rain!"
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Yoru Mizuzuki and Uchiha Matsuri used their techniques at the same time.
The Earth Dragon Bullet collided with Water Torrential Rain, and the two forces instantly crumbled.
Yoru Mizuzuki glared angrily at Uchiha Matsuri and declared, "Since I can't beat you with ordinary methods, I'll show you my true strength!"
"Your true strength?" Uchiha Matsuri asked, puzzled.
During the half hour or so he had spent fighting Uchiha Matsuri, Yoru Mizuzuki hadn't used her full strength. She had been saving it so that, after defeating him, she could fend off attacks from the other forces in the forest.
But dreams were beautiful, while reality was cruel. Since ordinary methods couldn't defeat Uchiha Matsuri, Yoru Mizuzuki had no choice but to use her trump card.
As she spoke, Yoru Mizuzuki began rapidly forming hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A gigantic column of water, hundreds of meters tall, suddenly rose from the lake nearby. Gradually, it took the shape of a dragon and surged toward Uchiha Matsuri.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow City Wall!"
Uchiha Matsuri immediately used Earth Flow City Wall to block the Water Dragon Bullet. (Among the chakra natures, Earth Release countered Water Release.)
However, Uchiha Matsuri never expected the Water Dragon Bullet to smash through the Earth Flow City Wall in an instant. The enormous shock wave struck him in the chest, making him feel as though his internal organs were about to be torn apart.
At the same time, the Water Dragon Bullet sent Uchiha Matsuri flying hundreds of meters before he crashed heavily to the ground.
Cough, cough.
Uchiha Matsuri spat out a mouthful of blood.
"What powerful Water Release," Uchiha Matsuri said with difficulty, clutching his chest. "Even Earth Release, which counters Water Release, was taken out in an instant."
Seeing Uchiha Matsuri sent flying by the Water Dragon Bullet Technique, Yoru Mizuzuki smiled proudly, then glanced over the battlefield.
Several dozen meters away, Jiraiya, in Sage Mode, was locked in a fierce fight with three men wielding broadswords. To the right of the carriage, Kiba Inuzuka was being suppressed at every turn in his fight against the Mist Ninja, gradually falling behind.
On the left side of the carriage, the powerful Narishige Sawa was being thoroughly suppressed by Minato Namikaze, his body covered in wounds.
"What a good-for-nothing. He can't even beat a Genin," Yoru Mizuzuki sneered at Narishige Sawa's battered appearance.
Although Yoru Mizuzuki and Narishige Sawa didn't get along and were famous rivals within the Six-Man Squad, they were still teammates who had shared life and death, hardships and danger. So Yoru Mizuzuki ran over to help him.
Seeing Yoru Mizuzuki arrive as reinforcements, Minato Namikaze couldn't help furrowing his brow.
"Why is she over here? What about Matsuri? Could it be..." Minato Namikaze couldn't help worrying for Uchiha Matsuri.
"Idiot! You can't even beat a Genin. You're about to disgrace the entire Six-Man Squad," Yoru Mizuzuki mocked Narishige Sawa, whose body was covered in wounds.
"Hmph. You think you're so great? You won't be laughing in a moment!" Narishige Sawa said defiantly.
"Hahaha, Narishige Sawa, watch closely. I'll show you how I teach this kid a lesson." Yoru Mizuzuki's eyes instantly turned cold.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Yoru Mizuzuki used the same technique again. The dragon-shaped column of water circled through the air and charged toward Minato Namikaze, who stood motionless on the ground.
"I did it!" Just as the Water Dragon Bullet was about to hit Minato Namikaze, Yoru Mizuzuki was so excited she nearly shouted.
Before you continue