Just like Kaoru and Akane, Mizuki was also mid-fight. Her opponents, the three chunins, weren’t particularly strong on their own, but together, they posed a serious threat. Numbers were a dangerous advantage in shinobi fights but Mizuki was facing an even bigger problem.
She needed to lure them further away, just enough distance to safely unleash Butterfly Inferno.
At the beginning of the fight, Mizuki, like her teammates, also tried to use the elent of surprise as she instantly attacked.
“Scorch Release: Scorch Balls”
Three orbs of superheated chakra materialized in the air. Before her opponents could even react, the Scorch Balls were already launched toward them, aid at all three simultaneously.
However, despite the elent of surprise the chunins managed to dodge them, but Mizuki had anticipated that.
Her body flickered as she reappeared behind one of them. She swung wakizashi in a clean, precise arc, aiming for her target’s back. The chunin barely reacted in ti as he twisted away just enough to avoid a fatal strike. Steel t steel as he brought up his kunai to deflect the blade, but the montary clash left him open.
Another Scorch Ball launched at him but it missed the target, hitting near his feet.
The wave of heat forced him to retreat as the ground beneath him blackened from the sheer intensity of the attack.
The other two chunin rushed in trying to help their friend. Maybe they realized the two of them would not be able to fight against Mizuki and needed to keep their teammate alive. Their coordination was not flawless, but it was good enough to make a difference when facing a single foe. One ca low, aiming a sweeping kick to break Mizuki’s balance, while the other slashed at her exposed side.
However…
Mizuki’s form blurred as she flickered backward and the kick passed through empty air. The sword strike also whistled harmlessly through the space she had occupied monts before.
Mizuki observed the three chunins carefully as she landed a few steps away from them.
‘They cover for each other well. Even when I isolate one, the other two force back.’
That was fine, she didn’t need to overwhelm them, just control the pace of the battle.
Without hesitation, she ford a seal. Chakra flared and two Scorch Clones materialized beside her. Their bodies were pulsing with unstable heat as the air around them distorted from the sheer temperature they radiated.
Her opponents hesitated and that was a mistake. Capitalizing on her opponents' hesitation Mizuki and her clones shot forward, moving as one.
The first chunin barely managed to deflect a clone’s attack before the second one got closer and its body ignited in a sudden burst of superheated energy. However, the chunin was saved by his teammates who had already covered him with quick, coordinated strikes sending the clone flying.
But Mizuki did not let up.
She appeared next to the chunin who had just been saved by his friends. However, his teammates were again ready to face Mizuki. Her wakizashi intercepted a kunai mid-thrust, twisting with minimal effort to redirect the attack before landing a sharp kick into the second chunin’s ribs. He grunted, stumbling back just as another Scorch Ball crashed near him, forcing him even further away.
The last chunin didn’t falter. He closed in as his blade cut fast aiming for any opening in Mizuki’s defenses. She feinted a step to the left to draw his strike and the mont he committed to the attack, she flickered to the right. Her palm was already in motion, connecting with his wrist before he could adjust, and in the sa breath, she twisted, using his own montum to hurl him backward.
The chunin barely recovered as another clone charged him.
The battle continued in a relentless exchange - slashes, flickers, bursts of fire-hot chakra. Mizuki weaved through their attacks masterfully and her clones kept them constantly pressured. But despite her speed and technique, she had not dealt any significant damage.
‘They’ve got really good teamwork, but I can’t shake this feeling that they are surprisingly weak. I should not be able to fight them head-on like this.’
Mizuki was strong, but she was not so strong to fight against the three chunin in close combat, especially since taijutsu was her weakness. Still, she needed to win this fight and It was ti to show them her real power.
With a final flicker, she disengaged, landing just a bit farther from the battlefield. The chunin hesitated, but she had proved herself too dangerous to ignore. Besides, they had no choice but to pursue.
Suddenly, Mizuki ca to a stop.
‘This should be far enough.’
She inhaled deeply as her chakra flared up. The air around her distorted and the temperature spiked. The three chunin slowed as they sensed sothing was wrong.
But it was already too late.
"Scorch Release: Butterfly Inferno."
Slowly, the battlefield began to change.
One by one, fiery, eerie butterflies manifested in the air. Their crimson glow flickered like embers in the night. The sight was almost srizing as the silvery moonlight complinted the crimson glow of butterflies.
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But the three chunin had no ti to admire it.
The mont Mizuki activated her technique, they understood that they had been lured into a trap. For all its haunting beauty, this technique was as deadly as it was srizing.
The butterflies multiplied as their numbers kept increasing and soon they drifted toward the Kiri chunin. They moved like real creatures. Their wings gently flapped as they floated through the air, but made no sound. There was no rustling, no humming - just eerie silence.
In reality, Mizuki’s signature technique was nothing but tons of tiny Scorch Balls shaped into butterflies. They had no will of their own. They existed only to follow the orders given at their creation - to orbit around Mizuki and collide with anything that entered their pathway. Anything except for Mizuki herself and the other butterflies.
The three chunin exchanged glances. There was a mix of confusion, fear and despair in their eyes. There was no opening. The butterflies were too many and charging in would be suicide. Yet, retreating wasn’t an option either, returning in failure and disobeying orders ant certain death at the hands of their own village.
They had no choice but to fight.
"Inoki, attack from below!" one of them shouted.
The chunin called Inoki imdiately ford a rapid set of hand seals. The ground beneath Mizuki trembled before a stone pillar shot upward, aiming to strike her from below.
But Mizuki was already gone.
She had tested their close-range abilities earlier and had confird they posed no significant threat to her unless she made a mistake. She wouldn't give them that chance. Instead of evading backward, she leapt toward them, closing the distance.
The chunin’s eyes widened as they realized this was far worse than her standing where she was before.
Now, the butterflies would also get closer to them as tiny scorch insects accelerated to catch up with Mizuki.
Their retreat was cut off as well. Three Scorch Balls were already flying toward the space behind them, sealing their only escape route.
They were trapped, cornered by Mizuki and they saw no way out.
i was also engaged in battle. However, unlike them, her opponent was no match for her.
There was a clear difference in their levels and it showed. The jonin before her had only one goal, to survive. He wasn’t fighting to win. He was fighting to escape. Every move he made was either an attempt to evade, block, or parry her relentless attacks. And all this ti, i had been chasing him down.
When Kaoru, Mizuki, and Akane flickered away to engage their own targets, i followed suit. But unlike them, she delayed her movent just slightly. She wanted to ensure that nothing unexpected would happen, and more importantly, she needed to confirm that her clones would be able to deal with the elite chunin they were facing.
Once she was certain everything was under control, she turned her attention back to the jonin only to find him gone.
Her gaze imdiately flicked toward Kaoru’s position. He was locked in a fierce battle, but what caught i’s attention wasn’t the fight itself. It was the clone.
Kaoru’s clone was sneaking through the battlefield and quietly leading the children to safety.
i’s lips curled slightly.
‘He’s matured. I didn’t even need to give him that order. I was actually planning to do that myself.’
Her mont of acknowledgnt was brief. She imdiately refocused and flickered toward the last place she had seen the jonin who had vanished.
But not far enough.
i caught up with him before he could escape as she cut off his path.
The mont she made her first move and attacked the camp with the Lava Do technique, the jonin had already understood his reality - defeating i was impossible. Even if he tead up with his mysterious ally, there was no guarantee they would win.
And even that small sliver of hope shattered completely when Kaoru’s needle pierced his hand.
The jonin’s eyes widened in disbelief as he cursed internally.
‘Even if that kid’s attack was just luck… even if he kills him now… it won’t change anything.’
The damage was done. Against i Terumi, he was already useless.
The mont i unleashed Lava Release, her identity was no longer in question. Kekkei Genkai were public knowledge. Everyone knew that the Terumi Clan possessed both Boil Release and Lava Release. It was the very reason they were feared and targeted by Kiri. The jonin’s mind reached only one logical conclusion.
If he wanted to survive, he had to run, but i was faster.
She caught up instantly, her fists already coated in a layer of molten heat as she engaged him head-on.
The jonin was cursing the day he ca on this mission.
‘Why were we even sent here?’
It was clear from the beginning that they wouldn’t be able to stand against Takimura’s forces if they attacked. His squad consisted of rookies and shinobi who had never faced real combat. They were nobodies, those without clan backing, those who had only ever been assigned low-risk guard missions.
Kirigakure, or more precisely Yagura, was sending more and more shinobi like them to their deaths.
At first, no one questioned it. It was an old practice, a way to dispose of traitors and those who harbored rebellious thoughts. But the casualties were rising. The missions were becoming more absurd. And now, even the families of the fallen were beginning to whisper.
So voiced their displeasure openly, while others concealed their resentnt in silence. The loyalty of Kirigakure’s shinobi was slowly crumbling as more of them began to question the missions they were sent on.
The jonin flickered away as he desperately tried to escape. He no longer cared about the mission or the village that had sent him to die. He hoped i would see that he had no intention of harming anyone from Takimura and would let him go.
"I swear I'll run and never co back. Just let go!" he pleaded.
i did not let up.
"I will spare your life, but you will have to co with to Takimura," she shouted as she flickered forward and launched a powerful kick.
The jonin gritted his teeth. He knew exactly what that ant. Even if he surrendered, they would torture him for information and kill him once he had nothing left to give. He had run out of options. Then he realized his mistake.
‘I should have taken a hostage. I could have grabbed one of the kids and used them as leverage. Damn it.’
But it was too late.
His hands blurred through a rapid sequence of seals as he poured his remaining chakra into his next jutsu.
"Water Release: Crushing Wave."
A surge of water burst forward and tore through the battlefield. Trees cracked as the force of the current uprooted them. The flood surged ahead, swallowing the ground and creating distance between him and i. He thought he had earned himself a chance to escape.
But i countered instantly.
A thick wall of molten rock erupted from the ground and swallowed the wave in a cloud of sizzling steam. The water lost its power as it evaporated on impact, leaving only charred earth behind.
The jonin's eyes darted through the mist as he searched for an escape. Before he could move, i flickered through the dissipating steam and attacked again.
"Lava Release: Lava Shot."
Molten projectiles shot from her lips and burned through the air. The jonin dodged each one, but his movent cost him ti. The mont his feet touched the ground, i was already beside him.
Her leg arced toward his waist. He barely managed to block with his own, but the force of the impact sent him flying backward as he had already lost his footing.
Then he saw her.
The second i stood in his path, waiting for him to fall right into her trap.
‘A clone?!’
Panic shot through him as he realized he had no way to stop himself mid-air. His body was exposed, and he had nowhere to escape.
The clone flickered toward him. Her body glowed red-hot as heat radiated from her form.
‘She’s going to explode.’
The jonin reacted on instinct. He threw a kunai toward a tree and yanked the wire attached to it, pulling himself sideways in a last-ditch effort to escape.
But the clone was too close... Soon the heat swallowed him as the clone exploded.
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