Escaping Danger!

During the lull between Mei Terumi's battle with Star Shadow, Long Ye was deep in thought.

After Star Shadow, the Peacock created by Chakra using all of his chakra had such strong defensive capabilities that ordinary attack methods were almost impossible to use.

Sudden!

It was as if Inazuma had struck his mind.

In that instant, Star Shadow dodged Mei Terumi's Lava Release and rushed in front of the two, his giant Peacock claws reaching down to grab at their heads.

"Water Dragon Bullet quickly!"

The Long Ye was filled with urgent cries.

Mei Terumi thought that Long Ye had him use the Water Dragon Bullet so that, like at the beginning, he could block the opponent and then use the burst of air to create distance again.

Moreover, the Peacock driven by Star Shadow had already arrived above their heads, leaving them with no other choice but to use the Water Dragon Bullet.

She had just finished performing the hand seal.

At the Long Ye made her move.

Mei Terumi spat out a water dragon, Long Ye took the opportunity to imbue the newly formed water dragon with her own high-intensity electric current, enough to cause a person to be in shock.

Long Ye's move was inspired by the combination Ninjutsu "Lightning Water Dragon Bullet".

This Ninjutsu was originally created by the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, but it truly shone when Mei Terumi the Fifth Mizukage, used it in conjunction with the Fourth Raikage.

The power of the Lightning Water Dragon Bullet is enough to penetrate super armor, and when enhanced with Lightning Release, it has an even stronger paralyzing effect.

The electric current of Long Ye is not Lightning Release in the conventional sense, so even he could not predict the extent of the power of this combination of forces.

Seeing that it was the Water Dragon Bullet Art again, Star Shadow had already made up her mind that this time she would not give the two a chance to escape. She urged the Peacock to meet the attack head-on without dodging or avoiding it.

The water dragon, containing a super-strong electric current, crashed head-on into the Peacock that was pouncing down on it.

Boom!!

A deafening explosion.

The rain poured down relentlessly.

The water dragon dispersed into a curtain of water, and the Peacock's two claws disappeared without a trace, leaving a terrifying hole in its abdomen.

In contrast, Star Shadow, standing on the Peacock's back, froze, her eyes wide open, her face filled with horror.

His entire body was filled with surging electric current, and his body was visibly paralyzed.

The combined power of the two finally broke through the Peacock Body's defenses, transferring the electric current to Star Shadow's body.

This person was already covered in wounds, and then suffered an electric shock all over his body, as if he had been burned, with wisps of black smoke rising from his body.

Because his body was paralyzed by the electric current and he could no longer control his Chakra, the Peacock scattered in the sky, and his body turned black, falling straight down like a burning stick.

Star Shadow, the leader of the Hoshigakure, disappeared into the billowing poisonous gas of Hell Valley, and no one knows whether he is alive or dead since.

The Long Ye were overjoyed and breathed a sigh of relief.

After several brushes with death, he finally escaped the deadly trap.

"This Star Shadow... could he really be dead?"

Mei Terumi looked at the old man disappearing into the yellow poisonous gas below and asked somewhat uncertainly.

"Hell Valley is shrouded in dense poison, and its exact depth is unknown. If it is deep enough, this person, in a state of paralysis, would be unable to use Chakra to protect themselves and would die from the fall alone, not to mention the poisonous gas that could send their soul to heaven with just a single breath."

Long Ye flapped its wings and flew, it spoke leisurely.

Mei Terumi smiled broadly, "I never imagined that the combination of your Lightning Release and my Water Release would be so powerful, almost several times the combined power of the two."

Long Ye nodded. "This Ninjutsu was created by the Third Hokage. The fact that we were able to combine it perfectly on our first attempt was beyond my expectations."

Mei Terumi, unaware of the existence of this Ninjutsu in Konoha, was extremely excited upon hearing it.

"Although the crisis has been averted, this Hell Valley is ultimately not a benevolent place. We should hurry and fly to the other side to leave the Land of Bears."

Holding the woman in his arms, Long Ye accelerated forward.

With her Mei Terumi turned her attention to the awkward position the two were in.

Long Ye wrapped his arm around her waist, their bodies in direct contact, while she draped her arms around his neck, her breath brushing against his cheek.

His cheeks burned, and he lowered his head to hide his unease.

The Hell Grand Rift was ten miles wide. Just before Long Ye ran out of Chakra, they finally saw the shore, and the two breathed a sigh of relief.

The two landed on the edge of the ravine, regaining the feeling of having their feet firmly on the ground.

On the other side of the rift valley lies an endless expanse of rocky terrain.

As you look out to the horizon, the vast ocean is faintly visible. Standing here, you can even catch a glimpse of the Land of Water and the scattered islands.

Unbeknownst to Long Ye, the complex emotions and inner turmoil hidden in Mei Terumi were palpable.

Now that the two are out of danger, Mei Terumi is inevitably facing a crisis. She also thinks of the second mission the Mizukage gave her on this trip: to eliminate Long Ye.

If before, he was unwilling but had no choice but to comply, after experiencing this life-or-death situation, especially since Long Ye never abandoned her from beginning to end, even in the most dangerous moment, he chose to take her with him to escape.

At this moment, another emotion arose in her heart: resistance. Resistance to the task made her not only unwilling to carry it out, but also unwilling to even think about it.

"Hey! What are you thinking about?"

Seeing her lost in thought, Long Ye reached out and brushed aside the brown hair covering one of her eyes.

This somewhat frivolous act caused Mei Terumi's blood to rush to her head, and her neck turned slightly red.

"Oh, right!"

Long Ye reached behind her waist and drew the Lightning Blade.

Mei Terumi instinctively reached out to take it, but Long Ye didn't hand it to her.

"I'll take this Lightning Blade for now!"

"What!"

Mei Terumi was startled.

The sword was his main mission this time, and if he lost one of the twin swords, he could no longer be called the Lightning Blade, one of the Seven Ninja Swords.

"Don't misunderstand! The sword belongs to Kirigakure, and it will naturally be returned to you, but not now."

"Why?" Mei Terumi frowned slightly.

"You should know how unreliable the Mizukage of Kirigakure is. I did this work for you for free, but it wasn't for nothing; the purpose was to facilitate negotiations between our two countries..."

"If the negotiations go smoothly, and you don't back out within six months, I will send this Lightning Blade to Kirigakure intact."

Mei Terumi understood immediately upon hearing this.

Long Ye was clearly worried that Kirigakure would betray them after using them, and in the end, the sword would be brought back, but the negotiations would not be reached. This would undoubtedly be a waste of effort without any reward.

Of course, she didn't know that Long Ye had her own selfish motives for doing this.

The Lightning Blade significantly boosted his strength; with it, the power of his electric current was increased by at least 30%.

Because of the perfect synergy between the Lightning Blade and his power, his strength could even approach the level of a "Quasi-Kage," which played a crucial role in his survival during the Third Shinobi World War.