The water dragons crashed against Kakashi's wall, but the real threat surged from the mist.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Whip!"
SNAP!
Multiple tendrils of highly compressed water lashed out. They moved faster than the dragons, cracking the air like gunshots.
Kiyohara dodged sideways, his movements fluid.
Through the thinning fog, he saw the attacker.
A young woman with long, reddish-brown hair and emerald eyes. Even in combat gear, she radiated a dangerous charm.
'Mei Terumī.'
The future Fifth Mizukage. The possessor of two Bloodline Limits: Lava and Boil.
"She's here too?" Kiyohara frowned.
This wasn't just a squad; it was an elite task force.
Kiyohara moved constantly.
He didn't engage directly. He threw shuriken. Lots of them.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
Mei batted them away with her water whips, looking bored.
"Hmph. Just shuriken?" Mei sighed.
She was disappointed.
'He's handsome, but useless. Just a sword swinger without range.'
She started weaving hand signs for a kill shot.
But before she could finish, Kiyohara stopped.
He flicked his fingers.
Twang.
The smell of ozone filled the air.
Fine, almost invisible copper wires tightened around the clearing.
Mei froze.
The shuriken she had deflected weren't random misses. They were anchors.
A net had formed around her.
"How?" Mei's eyes widened. "The geometry..."
To predict the deflection angles in zero visibility required a supercomputer brain. Or... extreme preparation.
Hiss.
A taut wire sliced a lock of her curly hair.
"Kakashi! Stay back!" Kiyohara shouted.
He clenched his fist.
The net contracted.
Ram. Snake. Tiger.
"Lightning Release: Wire Trap!"
ZBZRT!
Current surged through the copper web. Mei was trapped in a cage of electricity.
But Kiyohara wasn't done.
He slammed his palm on the ground.
"Lightning Release: Earth Flash!"
A snake of lightning raced through the mud toward her feet.
And finally, he inhaled.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
He blew a concentrated stream of wind into the lightning.
Wind feeds Fire, but it sharpens Lightning.
The electric current turned white-hot, vibrating at a frequency that could cut steel.
"Checkmate, Mist Ninja," Kiyohara smirked.
Mei's internal alarms screamed.
Above: Electrified net.
Below: Lightning snake.
Front: Wind pressure.
No escape.
"Damn it!"
The playfulness vanished from her emerald eyes.
She couldn't save chakra anymore.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
Gurgle.
Mei opened her mouth.
A viscous, acidic gray mud erupted like a geyser.
It wasn't magma; it was Corrosive Mud (Quicklime).
HISSSSSS!
The acid hit the copper wires.
The metal sizzled and dissolved instantly.
The lightning arc on the ground was smothered by the insulating sludge.
White, pungent steam filled the air.
Mei panted, clutching her shoulder.
The acid had blocked the worst of it, but the Wind-Enhanced Lightning had still punched through the vapor.
Her combat mesh was torn. A thin line of blood trickled down her pale arm.
"To force out my Bloodline Limit..." Mei glared at Kiyohara.
No more flirting. He was dangerous.
"Mei! Fall back!"
A shout cut through the steam.
Ao burst from the tree line.
He had been watching via crystal ball. Seeing his precious genius protege nearly killed by a Commoner Chunin terrified him.
He landed between Mei and Kiyohara, his single eye wide with stress.
"Ao!" Mei protested, wiping the blood from her arm. "I can still—"
"Quiet!" Ao barked. "He trapped you in three moves. Don't be arrogant."
Kiyohara swallowed a Soldier Pill, replenishing his chakra.
He looked at Ao.
The target had revealed himself.
'Finally,' Kiyohara thought, his grip tightening on his new sword.
'The boss is out of the dungeon.'
"If we kill the jammer," Kiyohara calculated, "My Hyūga allies come back online."
He glanced at Hyūga Ginka and Nobuhiko, who were struggling blindly in the mist.
If they got their vision back, this fight was over.
Ao was strong, but he wasn't taking on Kakashi + Kiyohara + Two Hyūga Jonin alone.
"When will the Dying Wish be fulfilled?"
Kiyohara smiled coldly.
"Today."
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