Second Meeting with Yugito Nii

"Miss Yugito Nii, as far as I am aware, the Cloud Village is a place that prizes strength above all else, is it not?"

Shimizu drew closer with every step.

Yugito Nii sat on the ground, her hands forming seals as she rapidly released a scorching, mouse-shaped fireball that split into a swarm of blue flames, hurtling toward Shimizu.

Shimizu did not even bother to dodge, letting the blue fire strike his body.

The mental world was a contest of spirit—a battle of Yin Release.

The power of the Sharingan was the ultimate manifestation of Yin Release; with his current ocular prowess alone, Shimizu could simply ignore the ninjutsu Yugito Nii unleashed.

"You... you..."

She watched as the terrifying flames slammed into Shimizu, yet failed to leave so much as a single mark.

Even her greatest reliance as a Jinchuriki—the Tailed Beast—had been suppressed by Shimizu's genjutsu.

At this moment, she was completely devoid of any means to harm him.

The panic finally flickered across Yugito Nii's typically composed, mature face. She leaned back, nearly toppling over into the water.

Her slender palms sank into the water, paddling frantically as she tried to put some distance between herself and Shimizu.

Splash...

"No, don't... don't come any closer..."

Yugito Nii retreated in a flurry of disarray. Her brownish-yellow braids, bound in white bandages, had been soaked by the water during her retreat, coming undone.

They fanned out like a blooming flower, now glistening with pitiful droplets of dew.

"So, does the winner have the right to dictate everything?"

Shimizu crouched down, his index finger tracing the line of Yugito Nii's soft chin as he tilted her heroic face upward.

Yugito Nii possessed neither the gentle temperament of Hinata nor the savage nature of Sakura Haruno.

What she had was a perfectly