Before leaving, Mei Terumi made sure to lower the concentration of the acidic mist lingering in the arena, preventing it from harming the first-year students in the audience.
Several proctors swiftly deployed a barrier to shield the students.
Don't get the wrong idea—they weren't doing this out of concern for the children's lives.
It was for the sake of Kirigakure. They couldn't afford to let this batch of budding shinobi wither away here.
If they were going to die, it would be six years later, during the graduation exam—only after the real shinobi had been filtered out would the remaining dregs be allowed to perish.
As the acidic mist dissipated, the figures of two students were revealed.
Or rather, what was left of them could hardly be called "figures."
Describing them as two grotesque, blackened lumps of melted clay would be more accurate.
...
In the original timeline, Mei Terumi had only demonstrated her Boil Release once—during the Five Kage Summit, when she fought Uchiha Sasuke.
Back then, her acidic mist was strong enough to corrode even the skeletal form of Sasuke's Susanoo.
Though the Mei Terumi of today was far from the Fifth Mizukage she would become, these two students' flesh and blood were nowhere near as resilient as the Susanoo's defense!
Hiss...
Witnessing the grisly aftermath, the trio of Yagura Karatachi, Onime Kaede, and Hozuki Mangetsu sucked in a sharp breath.
Their reaction was already far more composed than that of an average seven-year-old.
All around them, some students vomited on the spot, while others rolled their eyes back and fainted from sheer terror.
"Terrifying... Absolutely terrifying."
Hozuki Mangetsu clutched Yagura's sleeve, dramatically shivering in mock fear.
"One day, I'll die too. But when that happens, I have to make sure I go out in style! There's no way I'll die like that!"
"..."
Having lived more than twenty years in an era of peace, Yagura still felt queasy looking at this gruesome sight. He averted his gaze.
However, thanks to Mangetsu's antics, he managed to recover slightly.
Onime Kaede's face was pale. "Let's leave. We can still walk on our own."
"Can we?"
"Mm." Kaede nodded lightly. "The teachers are probably too busy to care about us right now."
Yagura glanced around and spotted their homeroom teacher, Yamamura Osamu, alongside other shinobi, dealing—less than gently—with the many students who weren't taking it well.
"Let's go."
Worst case, all three of them were from prestigious clans. Skipping class was a minor offense. Osamu wouldn't make a fuss over it.
...
As they walked, Yagura was uncharacteristically silent, processing what he had just witnessed and trying to reconcile it with his evolving worldview as a shinobi.
It wasn't his first time seeing death.
At four years old, he had already been forced to take a life with a kunai.
Onime Kaede looked just as uneasy.
In contrast, Hozuki Mangetsu seemed the least affected.
Even after leaving the duel grounds, he continued rambling energetically.
"Honestly, those two were just idiots. They didn't even bother gathering intel before the fight—what kind of shinobi does that? And they were Mei Terumi's teammates for two years!"
"If you have an Earth Release affinity, of course you'll use Earth Release. What's so surprising about that? They hesitated, Mei took advantage of it, and that was the end."
"That guy from the Kizuki clan got blocked by an Earth-Style Wall and couldn't follow up. Without him absorbing the acidic mist, the Kaguya kid got melted."
"And Mei's chakra reserves... insane. She's only nine, but she has way more chakra than her teammates. Boil Release versus Dark Release—it just came down to who ran out of chakra first."
...
Yagura glanced at Kaede, his expression questioning.
Kaede understood and shook his head slightly.
Mangetsu wasn't this carefree because of his personality. It was because he had grown used to seeing people die.
That was a heavy thought to digest.
Yagura took a moment before asking, "Mangetsu, if you had to fight Mei Terumi, could you make it out alive?"
"Me? Against her?"
Mangetsu frowned, seriously considering the question. Then, his face fell, as if spelling out the words absolutely not.
"If it were a direct fight, I'd end up a pile of melted sludge. Worse than jelly. Too disgusting."
Yagura chuckled. "What about against Lightning Release?"
"Lightning Release is way worse."
Mangetsu crossed his arms and answered instantly. "Not everyone has Boil Release or Lava Release. But Lightning Release? Anyone can have it."
Yagura, a Lightning Release user himself, flashed a very friendly smile at that remark.
"But if it were a real battle..."
Mangetsu suddenly grinned, revealing sharp teeth. "I'd have a 90% chance of killing her."
Yagura froze.
Mangetsu turned away, clearly enjoying the dumbfounded look on Yagura's face. He hummed a tune, smugly satisfied.
Yagura wanted to press further, but Kaede interrupted. "Where to next?"
By now, they had already left the duel grounds and were approaching the village.
Yagura wasn't ready to part ways with his friends just yet. He rubbed his stomach.
"Are you guys hungry?"
"Not really."
"How about ramen? My treat."
Nothing strengthens friendship like a bowl of ramen.
If one bowl isn't enough, two should do the trick!
Kaede agreed. "I'm in."
"Ah, sorry, sorry." Mangetsu raised both hands in mock apology, smiling. "The old man at home wants to see me. I'll have to pass this time. You guys enjoy. I'll treat you next time."
Yagura glanced at him and nodded. "Alright. Next time, it's your treat."
"Of course!"
...
As Yagura and Kaede walked off, Mangetsu sighed, waving them goodbye.
Honestly, what would this team do without him?
"Hey, you can come out now."
His tone changed entirely as he addressed the shadow lurking behind him in the alleyway.
He wasn't one for politeness toward someone who had been tailing them since they left the duel grounds.
If the stalker had shown the slightest hostility, Mangetsu wouldn't have hesitated to keep Yagura and Kaede around for a good old-fashioned group beatdown.
"Heh... Not bad, Hozuki Mangetsu."
A figure stepped out of the darkness, their upper body still shrouded in shadow.
Mangetsu easily made out their features—slightly taller than him, dark-skinned, lean build...
None of that mattered.
What mattered was that he had no idea who this guy was.
"And you are?" Mangetsu narrowed his eyes. "Why are you following us?"
The stranger grinned, baring sharp teeth. One hand rested on the hilt of a blade strapped to his back.
"The name's Momochi Zabuza. Remember it well—because I'm the one sending you to hell."
"..."
Never heard of him.
But he looked like trouble.
Mangetsu immediately tensed. He had learned his lesson from Yagura—never take an unknown opponent lightly.
Especially one this confident.
"Don't tell me... another Lightning Release user? Is Kirigakure just crawling with them now?"
Knowing his clan's weakness was one thing.
Using Lightning Release was another.
But someone who both knew the Hozuki clan's weakness and wielded Lightning Release?
Now that was terrifying.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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