"Damn it!"
Watching Uchiha Haruki soar away through the skies, Terumi Mei's face twisted with frustration. Cursing under her breath, she immediately shouted, "Pursue him!"
Without hesitation, she took the lead and chased after him.
Seeing this, several Mist jonin glanced at one another before following close behind.
However, Haruki had the advantage of flight, gliding effortlessly through the air, while they were stuck running on the ground—dodging terrain, dealing with obstacles. Their speed simply couldn't compare.
By the time they finally arrived at the battlefield, they saw Haruki hovering in the sky, casting jutsu one after another, raining attacks down on the Mist shinobi below.
Although the Mist ninjas fought back, their counterattacks couldn't touch him. They were entirely on the defensive, and it didn't take long before the casualties became overwhelming.
Previously, Haruki had only struck briefly before relocating. He'd been trying to disrupt the Mist's momentum while avoiding counterattacks from Terumi Mei and her elite jonin.
But now—with those worries gone—his aerial dominance came into full effect.
With the Sharingan enhancing his vision, Haruki launched devastating attacks from above, inflicting major losses on the Mist forces.
Taking advantage of the chaos, nearby Konoha shinobi regrouped and began fighting back in coordinated units, resisting the Mist invasion more effectively.
Seeing that this area's defenses had stabilized, Haruki glanced over at Terumi Mei and the other Mist jonin rushing toward him.
He didn't hesitate.
Forming hand signs rapidly, he took a deep breath and released:
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
With a 2,000 chakra point expenditure, he summoned a raging tornado that swept across the battlefield like a natural disaster.
Even though Terumi Mei and the other jonin were powerful, they had no choice but to temporarily retreat in the face of such force.
Taking this chance, Haruki turned and flew to another battlefield, launching a fresh wave of attacks on the Mist forces gathered there.
You couldn't blame him for being ruthless.
There were just too many Mist shinobi in this assault. Their surprise attack had caught the outpost completely off guard. If Haruki didn't intervene, the defense would've collapsed long ago.
This wasn't the time to cling to old-school ideals like "jonin versus jonin." That would be a joke.
And since the Mist had already broken the unspoken rules by having their elite target mid- and low-level Konoha shinobi, Haruki figured: fine, mutual destruction it is.
After all, Mist had more troops than Konoha. Even if they took the base, what good would it do them if all their frontline soldiers were wiped out?
Fortunately, Terumi Mei and her squad didn't lose their heads. They didn't specifically go after Konoha's weaker ninjas. Instead, they remained focused on chasing Haruki.
But because of Haruki's flight ability, he still maintained a massive edge.
His exceptional mobility allowed him to evade pursuit while continuing to dart between battle zones, repeatedly striking Mist formations and leaving chaos in his wake.
However—
When you walk by the river often, you're bound to get your shoes wet eventually.
As his attacks increased in number, the lack of flexibility in his Wind Release: Wings of Wind began to show.
And that's when Terumi Mei made her move.
With lightning speed, she formed hand signs and opened her mouth, spitting out a highly corrosive fluid.
Haruki recognized the jutsu immediately—
Lava Release: Melting Monster Technique.
She possessed two kekkei genkai—Boil Release and Lava Release. He'd experienced both during their first encounter.
Reacting instantly, Haruki flapped his chakra wings and retreated from the corrosive liquid.
But just as he did, several kunai whizzed toward him.
Oddly enough, only two were aimed directly at him. The others were wildly off course.
At first, Haruki suspected some hidden strategy—but as he analyzed the angles with his Sharingan, his pupils narrowed.
Those kunai weren't random. They were aimed at the spots he was most likely to dodge into.
Clearly, they had already studied the limitations of his flight jutsu. This maneuver was just a test.
Haruki tilted his head, narrowly dodging the two kunai, and muttered inwardly, "Can't underestimate anyone…"
Sure, mastering a flight technique had given him an enormous advantage.
But Terumi Mei and her team were far from amateurs. Their battlefield experience was formidable. They had already identified the weakness—or rather, the blind spots—of Wings of Wind.
And sure enough, things escalated quickly.
Right as he finished that thought, two Mist ANBU simultaneously cast:
Water Release: Rain Severing Technique!
A barrage of rain droplets, like needles, began shooting toward him.
Upon closer inspection, it was clear the droplets were targeting his chakra wings.
This was a coordinated, targeted strike.
To maintain flight, Haruki had to spend extra chakra just to keep the jutsu active.
But that was only the beginning.
As he prepared to fly out of range of the technique, a storm of kunai and shuriken came flying from below.
This time, it wasn't the elite jonin—it was the mid- and low-level Mist shinobi.
At some point, Terumi Mei had silently gathered them into formation and coordinated a surprise strike.
Haruki's Sharingan spun rapidly, tracking every incoming weapon.
He moved at once, dodging and weaving between the deadly projectiles, climbing higher into the air—
But Terumi Mei's plan wouldn't let him escape so easily.
Just as he rose skyward, two whips of flowing water shot toward him like vipers, snaring his ankles.
He felt a pulling force and turned his head—
Two Mist ANBU held the other ends of the whips.
Water Release: Water Whip?
Haruki recognized the secret Kirigakure technique immediately.
Seeing him glance their way, the two ANBU averted their gazes and yanked forcefully, trying to pull him down.
But Haruki wasn't going down without a fight.
He formed his right hand into a blade, coating it in chakra, and slashed downward—
The whip on his right ankle snapped instantly.
Another swing, and the second whip was severed as well.
This was no ordinary jutsu.
It was a medical ninjutsu: Chakra Scalpel.
Though Haruki had learned it some time ago, he'd never actually used it in battle.
Now that he had—it proved highly effective.
"As they say: it never hurts to learn more," Haruki mused. "The old wisdom wasn't wrong."
Freed from the bindings, he felt a surge of clarity.
Without Chakra Scalpel, he might've escaped eventually, but not nearly as effortlessly.
The experience solidified Haruki's resolve—
He needed to keep expanding his arsenal.