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39
"Ahhh!"
Sakura's scream pierced through the quiet of the night.
She had only come to call Naruto and Sasuke for dinner, but what she saw froze her blood—
Both of her teammates were being lifted off the ground by the throat… by a stranger!
"Sasuke!"
Naruto, clutching the hand strangling his neck, stared in panic at Sasuke, who was being held against another tree.
No… if this keeps up, Sasuke is going to die again.
This time—it's my turn to save him!
Fueled by rage, a red chakra exploded from within Naruto's body, instantly wrapping around him in a fiery cloak.
"This chakra…!?"
The moment the hand grasping Naruto's neck touched the red cloak, it began to burn.
POOF!
The clone instantly vanished in a puff of white smoke.
Freed, Naruto dropped from the tree, but using the branches like a beast, he flipped midair and charged toward the real enemy with wild fury.
"Let go of Sasuke!!"
"This brat… could he be…?"
The Jinchuriki of Konoha!?
Feeling that heart-chilling chakra rush toward him, Ao immediately knocked Sasuke unconscious and grabbed him before darting away.
"Kakashi-sensei, he took Sasuke!"
The noise woke Kakashi and Yugao inside the house. As they rushed out, Sakura desperately pointed toward the enemy ninja fleeing across the treetops with Sasuke.
"A Mist ninja…"
Kakashi's face was pale as he leaned on his crutches.
"Don't tell me Zabuza had more allies?"
"I'll go after him!"
Without waiting, Yugao dashed into the forest, but she gave Naruto a sharp glance as well.
A Jinchuriki going berserk like this… will he be okay?
"Sakura, stay here. Be careful."
Kakashi gritted his teeth. Even in this weak state, he couldn't sit still.
Not just Sasuke—Naruto's state was just as worrying.
He had to move.
———
Hearing the chaos outside, Terumi Mei slipped silently into the house.
She knew her partner Ao had already lured away most of the Konoha forces.
"Asleep?"
But when she entered the target's room, she found a boy curled up under the blankets, fast asleep.
"So defenseless? Guess I'll make this quick…"
Pulling out a kunai from her sleeve, she walked quietly to the bedside, then stabbed down at his neck.
*Thunk!*
There was no blood—only the dull resistance of stabbing wood.
POOF!
The body on the bed vanished into smoke. A log.
"A substitution?!"
Terumi Mei's eyes narrowed—too late.
A blade was now resting coldly against the back of her neck.
"A Mist ninja, huh? What's your goal?"
Uchiha Ying stood behind her, kunai pressed to her throat.
She smelled faintly of perfume, her auburn hair damp from the humidity. Even in the dim moonlight, her curves were... very visible.
"Little boy, do you really have to ask?"
Despite the blade on her neck, Mei didn't seem scared in the slightest.
"Hand over Zabuza's corpse. Or the Mist won't let your village go."
"So that really *was* your goal…"
Ying had sensed someone trailing them for days now. That's why he had made sure to keep the corpse with him tonight.
What he hadn't expected… was that *she* would come personally. The woman who would one day become the Fifth Mizukage.
"Hand it over now, or—"
Her body turned to water and vanished.
Water Clone?!
Mei reappeared behind him, pressing her kunai to his back.
"I'll kill you, you know."
Sweet voice, deadly aura.
Ying's body tensed.
"She's fast…"
"Give me the scroll. Now."
Her blade pushed into his back, voice like ice.
"Unless you kill me, you're not getting it."
"Aren't you brave… wait—!"
She stabbed, but his body melted into a puddle.
Water Clone?!
He can use it too?
Before she could react, wind pressure slammed into her.
*BAM!*
Mei's body was sent flying, crashing through the wooden wall and slamming onto the grass outside.
"Blocked it with her arm, huh…"
Ying narrowed his eyes. She had taken the hit better than expected.
"Ying?! Is that… is she an enemy?!"
Sakura, who had been watching anxiously from outside, was shocked to see a strange woman crash out of the house.
Seeing Ying emerge, she quickly pulled out her kunai.
Mei spotted the opening instantly.
"Tsk. No sense of romance at all. You really hit me that hard, little boy? But…"
I don't have time for this.
Ao can't hold them off forever. I need to act fast before the others return.
With a blur of motion, Mei appeared behind Sakura, locking her arm and placing a kunai to her throat.
"Hand over the scroll, or the girl dies!"
"Ying… s-sorry…"
Sakura wanted to resist—but her strength was too small compared to the woman behind her.
"Didn't anyone teach you, girl? A ninja's duty comes first. Comrades are expendable."
Ying stared at Mei, voice cold.
"Do you think using her will threaten me? Naive."
"What a heartless boy. With a face like that, I didn't expect it."
Indeed—compared to a mission, a genin's life was nothing.
But the way he showed zero hesitation…
He wasn't like any young ninja she'd met.
"Thanks for the compliment."
Ying began forming hand seals—completely ignoring Sakura's life.
"That jutsu—Water Dragon Bullet?"
Mei's eyes widened slightly.
A high-level jutsu? At his age?
But why so many hand signs…?
Ying noticed her gaze. What could he do? That bastard Zabuza made this jutsu way too long.
"Girl, listen to me—stay away from heartless men like him."
Thinking Ying truly didn't care, Mei reluctantly tossed Sakura aside and focused on preparing to defend.
"You're so generous."
POOF.
Sakura turned into a puff of smoke—revealing herself as *Ying in disguise*!
"What?!"
Transformation?! When did he—!?
She tried to retreat—but too late.
"Sakura! Now!"
The real Sakura emerged from the grass, pulling the hidden trap wires tight.
*Zzzzt…*
Dozens of steel threads instantly wrapped around Mei's body.
POOF!
Ying's body vanished too—another clone.
The threads closed in perfectly, leaving no room to escape.
"You sneaky brat!"
Explosive tags dangled from the wires. Mei struggled furiously, teeth clenched.
Ying had planned the trap from the moment she entered.
"A ninja must predict the enemy," he said coldly. "You lost."
His eyes scanned her body—those thin wires had only made her curves more pronounced.
"You'll regret this, brat!"
Mei roared. To fall for a trap—laid by a boy so much younger?
What a humiliation!
"You've pissed off your big sis now!"
Boil Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu!
A clone of Mei suddenly erupted from underground, unleashing a thick acid mist that corroded everything in its path.
Ying detonated the tags immediately—but it was too late.
"The acid even melted the tags?!"
He stared as the wires snapped and the seals dissolved into useless sludge.
"Die, Konoha brat!"
Boil Release: Melting Apparition Jutsu!
Molten acid spewed from Mei's mouth like a tsunami.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Good thing I never stopped the hand signs—
Ying unleashed his jutsu just in time to collide with the acid, water crashing into sludge.
But the water lost.
"Ying!?"
Sakura froze in terror as the acid rolled forward, burning the earth and trees.
"She's strong. Watch out."
The acidic mist had crept close. Ying grabbed Sakura and leapt back just in time.
"Can you walk on water?"
She nodded quickly. "I just learned… but I can manage."
They landed on the lake's surface.
"Not bad for a Konoha brat. You even used water to dilute my acid. Smart."
Mei wiped her mouth, her heaving chest finally calming after all that fury.
"But fighting a Mist ninja… *on water*?"
She smirked.
Did he not know Mist shinobi specialized in water-style?
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
She only used six hand signs—but her water dragon was *massive*, echoing with a real dragon's roar.
"Before we fight—can you, uh, put on some clothes first?"
Ying raised an eyebrow.
Her Boil Release had melted her outfit. All that was left were shredded rags clinging to her body—barely enough to cover anything.
Each step caused… everything to shake and bounce.
Thanks to the moonlight and the water's reflection—Ying could see way, *way* too much.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
Though she always acted confident and mature, Mei's heart was still that of a pure girl.
Now, realizing she was *nearly naked* in front of a teenage boy—she completely broke.
"You only just noticed? Didn't your thighs feel cold when you walked?"
Ying didn't even look away. He just twisted the knife in deeper.
"Go to hell, you perverted brat!!"
Furious beyond words, Mei launched her jutsu in a rage and turned to flee toward the forest, both arms covering herself.
Damn it! I got caught in a trap, and now this little punk *saw everything*!
If it was just a peek, maybe she could've laughed it off…
But this was *everything*.
I'll never get married at this rate—aaaahhhh!!
She tore through the trees like a madwoman.
"Here, take this. Think of it as thanks for not killing 'Sakura.'"
Ying tossed a full-body c
loak after her—still warm from his own shoulders.
"SCREW YOU!!"
Mei batted it aside in fury—
…but once she realized he wasn't pursuing, she hesitated.
Grumbling under her breath, she picked up the cloak and wrapped it around herself.
"That damn brat… next time, I'm gonna kill you."
If I never get married, it's all *his* fault!
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