An Unexpected Encounter

"Strange! What kind of Kekkei Genkai is this?"

Her own killing move had been blocked by such a bizarre method, and Mei Terumi frowned slightly.

"This seems to be Explosion Release, but not entirely."

As she muttered to herself, her hands did not stop moving. She was just about to unleash a second Kekkei Genkai.

But at that moment, she discovered that the world before her eyes had suddenly twisted. The trees vanished, and she found herself in a dim, eerie space.

"What masterful genjutsu. I didn't even see where the caster was before I was caught in it. Other than Body Flicker Shisui of the Uchiha clan, it can't be anyone else."

"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!!"

She exhaled boiling, highly acidic mist.

The illusion around her was instantly vaporized, and she broke free from Shisui's genjutsu.

"Lightning Flash, Shisui, we'll leave it at that for today. You're welcome to visit my Land of Water another day."

The woman leaped across several trees and swiftly disappeared into the forest.

"How did you end up facing that woman?"

Shisui Uchiha still looked shaken.

"Isn't it obvious? She must have been tailing that group all along. Because she showed up, aside from the Jonin I took out, the other six Chunin all took the chance to escape."

Long Ye answered irritably.

Shisui Uchiha gave him a faintly amused glance and did not press the matter further.

After more than half a year of working together, the two had come to understand each other very well.

Shisui knew Long Ye's methods inside and out. He knew that if Long Ye had truly wanted to wipe them all out, it would have been impossible for all six of them to escape. At least half would have been left behind.

Long Ye ignored his expression and asked instead, "What about your side?"

"I eliminated them all. Not one survived. In that regard, I'm clearly better than you." Shisui smiled.

Long Ye did not argue.

When it came to exterminating enemies without mercy, Shisui was indeed more ruthless than him.

But ultimately, that was because Long Ye did not feel as strong a sense of belonging to Konoha.

The war between the two nations did not stir the same hatred in him that it did in Konoha's people.

"This Mei Terumi is no simple opponent. She possesses both Lava Release and Boil Release. Even Minato Namikaze, Konoha's strongest Jonin, would have almost no chance of defeating her without using Flying Thunder God."

Afraid that Long Ye did not understand how formidable she was, Shisui explained every detail.

Long Ye nodded. "That woman is indeed powerful. Though she's an Elite Jonin, her strength is absolutely at the Near-Kage Level. Even if the two of us joined forces, we couldn't keep her here."

He sighed inwardly.

Kekkei Genkai were not cabbages one could find everywhere.

In the more than half year he had spent fighting in the Shinobi World war, aside from Hunt's Explosion Release, Mei Terumi was only the second person he had encountered with one.

He had originally planned to seize her Kekkei Genkai for himself, but she was simply too strong. She alternated between two Kekkei Genkai, and no one dared face her head-on.

Shisui nodded in deep agreement, his eyes grave. "Just now, she used Boil Release to break my genjutsu with ease. Truly impressive!"

Long Ye knew full well how terrifying Shisui's genjutsu was.

After half a year of wartime experience, Shisui's Sharingan had evolved from two tomoe half a year ago into Three Tomoe. His genjutsu had improved by leaps and bounds.

"Our mission isn't over yet. Let's go. The supply convoy should be arriving soon. We'll continue scouting ahead..."

Long Ye and Shisui's mission this time was to escort supply teams passing through the area, ensuring that they reached the front lines safely and provided thousands of fighting ninja with the necessities for survival.

Over the next half day,

the two encountered another ambush squad from Iwagakure.

Logically speaking, the war on this front was between Konoha and the Mist Ninja, with nothing to do with Iwagakure. But that was precisely where their cunning lay.

At the same time, Konoha and Iwagakure were also locked in a fierce war on another front, where Iwagakure was at a disadvantage.

By suddenly making this move and cutting off Konoha's supplies here, they would inevitably inflict enormous losses on Konoha.

Then, as expected, Konoha would have to redeploy forces from elsewhere, greatly easing Iwagakure's burden.

The war at the front was fierce, but undercurrents also surged in the rear.

Every side wanted to stab the other in the back and create an opportunity to win its own war.

This Iwagakure force was a squad of ten, led by an Elite Jonin.

Long Ye and Shisui went into action and crushed them in a single battle. The only Jonin fled into the distance with severe injuries.

At night.

Divine Tree Forest.

More than thirty people escorted over a dozen carts of supplies as they moved cautiously through the woods.

"Everyone, push through in one go. We'll rest after reaching our destination. The journey has been peaceful so far, but until we arrive, we must not let our guard down."

The leading Jonin reminded them from time to time.

People in the rear whispered among themselves:

"Before taking this mission, I was mentally prepared for a near-death experience. But who would have thought it would be this peaceful? It feels a little unnatural."

"Maybe this mission was kept secret, and the other hostile factions never got the intelligence."

The group continued onward, whispering quietly among themselves.

"Rin, you've been distracted these past few days. Is something troubling you?"

Kakashi was the deputy captain of this escort mission. Since taking up the mission, he had never made a mistake and had even driven back an enemy Jonin, so he had quickly been entrusted with greater responsibility.

At this moment, he silently dropped to the rear and approached a girl.

Rin looked up at him and said,

"Before we set out, I heard Long Ye say that he was also carrying out a very important mission. You know as well as I do that important often means dangerous. I wonder if he completed it safely!"

"Don't worry! He's no longer the same person he was half a year ago. Ordinary Jonin are no match for him, and his teammate is Body Flicker Shisui. With those two together..."

Kakashi's words stalled as he recalled the remarkable achievements of the two that he had heard about over the past few months.

Longing appeared in his eyes.

Because his strength had yet to receive full recognition, he was rarely assigned proactive missions. Most of the work he did was logistical support.

"Haha! Rin, you're worrying too much. Long Ye is now known throughout the Shinobi World as Konoha Lightning. I heard through the grapevine that unless it's a Near-Kage Level ninja like Minato-sensei, no one can defeat those two."

The person who stepped forward to join the conversation was none other than Obito Uchiha.

Just as the three finished speaking, a commotion suddenly broke out within the convoy.

"Something's ahead! Everyone, stay alert!"

Then, directly ahead, a blue flash streaked through the night sky with a crackling current, hurtling toward them in an instant.