Lava Release versus Explosion Release

Long Ye was still distracted when he suddenly sensed something. He jerked his head up.

Whoosh!!

Amid a howl as something tore through the air, a massive water dragon, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, plunged from the sky toward him.

"Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Long Ye recognized the jutsu. It was not even considered a high-level technique.

But the Water Dragon Bullet Art before him had surpassed the limits of his understanding of the technique.

The water dragon created by the Water Dragon Bullet Art that he had seen before was worlds apart from the one before him—like the difference between a snake and a dragon. When it pounced over his head, he felt a shiver of impending death.

He clenched his fist. Azure lightning surged around it as he punched toward the sky.

His fist met the water dragon head-on.

BOOM!!!

A violent explosion thundered across the sky.

The lifelike giant water dragon shattered into water that filled the sky.

"Which Jonin from Kirigakure are you?"

Long Ye used Explosion Release to blow apart the water dragon and immediately called out his question.

As the water scattered, a figure appeared in the sky.

Before Long Ye could make out her appearance, her second killing move descended upon him.

"Lava Fist!!"

With a woman's sharp cry, her right hand transformed into a massive fist made of lava and slammed down from the sky.

"This is..."

Seeing her technique, Long Ye formed a guess about her identity.

But before he could say anything, the lava capable of melting everything had already reached the top of his head.

He did not dare be careless. He unleashed Explosion Release with all his strength, infusing it with an extremely high-voltage current. His entire fist transformed into the sinister head of a giant hound.

"BOOM!!!"

Another earth-shaking explosion rang out.

The solidified lava fist followed in the footsteps of the fire dragon, shattered by the terrifying explosive force. Scalding lava sprayed in every direction, filling the sky.

Although he had broken through her attack, the tremendous force of her punch still sent Long Ye skidding backward. Both his feet sank deep into the soil, leaving a ditch behind him.

His opponent, meanwhile, flipped through the air several times before landing in a crouch on a horizontally growing branch of a great tree, steadying herself.

"As expected of Konoha Lightning Flash, who made a name for himself throughout the Shinobi World. Your combat strength truly is extraordinary."

The woman straightened, revealing her curvaceous and alluring figure.

Only then did Long Ye get a clear look at her.

She had emerald-green eyes and long, curly brown hair. Her right eye was covered by her hair, adding a mysterious charm that ordinary women lacked.

"Mei Terumi!!"

Long Ye muttered under his breath.

More precisely, he had already guessed her identity the moment he saw her use Lava Release.

At this time, Mei Terumi was still a Jonin of Kirigakure. Like Minato Namikaze, she had yet to inherit the position of Kage.

"You're quite a capable man. If our two countries weren't at war, perhaps we might have had a romantic encounter."

Her voice was gentle and carried a hint of bewitchment, making it hard to imagine that the person she was addressing was the very man she had tried to kill moments ago.

As she spoke, her gaze flicked aside and landed on several terrified-looking youths.

"Why haven't you six run yet? Are you planning to enjoy the outcome of my battle with him?"

Prompted by her words, the six newly promoted Chunin from Kirigakure finally came to their senses.

"Thank you for saving us, Lady Mei Terumi. Let's go..."

After one of them spoke, all six leaped onto a great tree. After several jumps, they vanished into the depths of the forest.

Long Ye acted as though he had not seen them and had no intention of giving chase.

First, whether those few Chunin lived or died would not affect the larger situation.

Second, he still possessed some compassion. Killing people who had no ability to resist him would inevitably create a psychological burden.

But after more than half a year of war, he had already become a qualified shinobi. Thus, if Mei Terumi had not appeared, he would have attacked despite his reluctance, because war itself was cruel.

But now that this woman had suddenly appeared, she had given him a reason to let them go.

Mei Terumi had initially been on full guard, but when she saw that he had not stopped the group from escaping, a trace of surprise appeared in her expression. Then a smile reached the corners of her lips.

"Kirigakure lacks outstanding men like you—men with principles. According to the information I received, you came from outside and later joined Konoha..."

"So what?"

Long Ye gave him a teasing smile.

Since he had decided to let them go, he would not pursue them. Seeing that this woman was in no hurry to attack and instead wanted to talk, he was willing to exchange a few words with her.

Mei Terumi looked at Long Ye with an appreciative gaze.

"If I may be blunt, you have no future if you remain in Konoha. If you're willing, I can recommend you for admission into Kirigakure."

"Oh?" Long Ye smiled faintly.

"What benefits would joining Kirigakure offer me?"

Seeing that there was hope of recruiting him, Mei Terumi's spirits rose.

"What benefits do you want? You can name anything. At the very least, I can guarantee that what you receive will be ten times, even a hundred times, what Konoha can offer..."

Long Ye teased, "As for benefits, I think you're pretty good yourself!"

As he spoke, he unabashedly looked her up and down, wearing an appraising expression.

Mei Terumi's smile froze, and her gaze turned cold. "Hehehe... You mean you want me?"

Long Ye nodded shamelessly. "That's right. What do you think? A word of advice: once you miss your chance with me, you'll remain single for the rest of your life."

Mei Terumi was still smiling, but the coldness in her eyes had already turned into killing intent. "Of course. But before that, you'll have to survive me."

Her voice abruptly turned cold on the latter half of the sentence.

Mei Terumi had realized that Long Ye had been teasing her from beginning to end. There was clearly no chance of recruiting him into Kirigakure.

With no room left for reconciliation, she stopped wasting words and attacked directly.

"Lava Monster Technique!"

She spewed lava from her mouth. It was sticky and intensely corrosive, capable of melting everything and then solidifying anything. It surged toward Long Ye like a covering tide.

"This woman's techniques are no joke. No wonder she ascended to the throne of Fifth Mizukage after the Third Shinobi World War ended. She absolutely has Near-Kage Level strength."

Long Ye was deeply alarmed when he saw her Lava Release killing move.

He used Lightning Flash to retreat at high speed while simultaneously counterattacking with a killing move formed by combining Explosion Release with an extremely high-voltage current.

A flying hound formed from crackling lightning shot from Long Ye's hand, trailing a streak of light as it slammed into the onrushing curtain of lava.

"BOOM!!!"

The explosive force of Explosion Release, reinforced by the high-voltage current, gave the attack terrifying power that surpassed the simple sum of the two.

The lava tide that surged forward like a flood was blasted into the sky, spraying wildly in every direction.

The lava's intense corrosiveness turned large swaths of trees within a hundred meters into charred husks. When the wind blew, they immediately crumbled into ash and scattered away.