The three of them gave chase, hot on Kiyosuke’s heels. With a sudden dive, Kiyosuke plunged into the water.
Terumī i leapt in right after him, followed closely by Hōzuki Genzuki and Kaguya Taketori. But not long after, all three of them ca bursting back out.
Splash!
A massive snake suddenly surged out of the water, its jaws wide open, ready to swallow them whole. i quickly ford hand seals.
"Lava Style: Lava Monster Jutsu!"
With a flick of her red lips, she spewed a stream of sticky, highly corrosive acid that instantly lted through the snake’s gaping maw. The beast collapsed on the riverbank, blood spilling out and dyeing the water crimson.
"That scared the hell out of ! Why the hell was there a snake that huge in the water?" Genzuki gasped, patting his chest.
"Must’ve been a summoning jutsu," i answered.
The river wasn’t deep—there was no way a snake that big could’ve been hiding in there without being noticed.
It could only be a summoning.
Taketori asked, "Did that guy get away?"
"I’ll check," said Genzuki, diving underwater. But after a mont, he ca back up, empty-handed.
"No sign of him."
i frowned. "Orders from the top were to bring that guy back alive. Let’s split up and search. The mont anyone finds him, fire a signal flare. Got it?"
"Yes!"
The three split off, heading in different directions to continue the search.
...
Over ten minutes later, the snake’s corpse—already cold and stiff—suddenly twitched.
A blade pierced through its belly, slicing it open. Kiyosuke crawled out, covered in sticky remnants from the beast’s innards.
Sahada was gone—it had already been summoned back by the Mist. But Kiyosuke, anticipating this, had made Sahada siphon the chakra from the snake’s stomach to refill his own depleted reserves.
He felt great now—sharp, alert, fully recovered.
Looking down at the snake’s corpse, he grinned smugly.
"Good thing I had the foresight to hide in this guy’s gut."
The mont he hit the water, he summoned the snake and dove straight into its belly. So when i and the others saw the snake open its jaws, it wasn’t trying to eat them—it had just swallowed him.
Dead or alive, the snake would’ve allowed him to escape unnoticed.
If they didn’t kill it, it could just slither away without raising suspicion. If they did kill it, they’d focus on finding him elsewhere, never guessing he’d been inside it the whole ti.
"Genius," Kiyosuke muttered, grinning.
Just as he was basking in his brilliance, a rustle in the grass caught his ear.
Terumī i had doubled back and was now standing just a few paces away. Their eyes t, and the air froze in awkward silence.
Kiyosuke: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
i: ∑(O_O;)
"...Why’d you co back?" he asked.
i answered reflexively, "Just had a feeling you couldn’t have gotten that far. Thought I’d check."
I’ll admit it was a gamble... but I guess I got lucky!
"..." Kiyosuke blinked.
What the hell? Did I just lose to a wild hunch?
"You’ve got insane luck," he muttered.
Then he took a deep breath and said sincerely, "You’re going to be a great kunoichi one day. So... goodbye."
With that, he stepped back and bolted across the river’s surface.
i reacted quickly, firing a signal flare into the sky before chasing after him.
Kiyosuke picked up speed—there was no ti to think about fighting back. His opponent was Terumī i, the future Fifth Mizukage, soone with two kekkei genkai and serious talent. Even at her age, she wasn’t soone to take lightly.
"Hey! A girl shouldn’t chase a guy this hard! People might get the wrong idea, you know!"
He dodged a Water Style jutsu, then fired back with a burst of fla bullets.
Sparks rained down in a wide spray, forcing i to duck behind a tree.
"I’m just following orders," she said coolly. "You’re a mission target—nothing personal."
"Is that so? Still, with a face like yours, it’s easy to start imagining things."
"Face like mine..." i’s cheeks flushed slightly. "That kind of stuff..."
"You’re really shy, huh? Haha! Sha, though—you’re so pretty, but destined to be single for life. What a waste." Kiyosuke shook his head in mock pity. He rembered clearly—Terumī i would grow up to be a drop-dead gorgeous bombshell... and yet remain single forever.
i: (▼皿▼#)
"I’m gonna kill you."
She stepped out with a sweet smile—one laced with murderous intent.
"Kill you."
"..." Kiyosuke swallowed hard.
Whoa, that struck a nerve.
She’s what—barely a teen? Already this touchy about that stuff?
"Sorry," he said quickly. "Let’s pretend I never said that. It’s getting dark—I should really be heading ho for dinner. See ya! Bye-bye then!"
He turned tail and ran like hell.
"Stop right there! Water Style: Water Wave Palm!"
She thrust out her hand, sending a surge of water crashing into him and knocking him through the air.
"OW—!"
His whole body scread in pain, but there was no ti to complain. He scrambled to his feet just as i arrived, kunai in hand, the blade glowing with a thin film of water.
Clang!
Kiyosuke drew his own kunai and t her head-on. The two of them clashed fiercely, neither able to gain the upper hand.
"Damn, she’s good!"
Her taijutsu was tight—no openings he could exploit.
As expected of the future Mizukage...
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
A few snakes shot toward her, startling i into retreat. She sliced through their heads with a kunai, putting so distance between them.
"Looks like you’re one of the strongest from Konoha’s new generation," she said.
"Probably."
Aside from Kakashi, no one else had given him much trouble.
"Strong guys are kind of appealing. Your na?"
"Asakawa Kiyosuke."
"I’m Terumī i. You probably already knew that, but... I’ll say it anyway."
"Oh yeah? In that case—round two!"
"Fla Bullet!"
i started forming hand seals, but Kiyosuke’s attack didn’t need them—it ca too fast. She was forced to duck behind a tree again.
"That’s enough chasing, alright? If this keeps up, I’ll start thinking you’re into ."
Instead of getting mad, i actually sounded... wistful.
"You’re not bad," she said. "Too bad we’re not from the sa village."
"What, if we were, you’d date ?"
Kiyosuke perked up, laughing.
This girl was kinda fun.
"No. You’d just be in the consideration pool," i said casually. "But yeah, you’re pretty handso."
She was a sucker for looks—and Kiyosuke wasn’t bad on the eyes.
"Please, everyone in Konoha knows how good-looking I am. Anyway, I’m done chatting. If I keep this up, I really won’t get away. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
He created a clone, which imdiately charged at i.
BOOM!
...
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Pls Drop so Power Stones
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