Chapter 27: Unexpected Guardian
Inside the sixth floor of the tower.
“The matter is basically decided. Compared to Danzo, I trust the Tsuchikage more.”
Gaara’s expression was calm, making no effort to hide his distrust of Danzo.
“Same opinion.”
Terumi Mei also spoke up. Danzo’s reputation was truly too poor.
“This…”
The Tsuchikage, Onoki of the Two Scales, hesitated. The four great ninja villages had already formed an alliance, including Danzo, but he didn’t really want to take on the position of alliance leader.
“I also support the Tsuchikage taking this position.”
Danzo suddenly spoke, surprising the others. They couldn’t help but wonder what scheme he was plotting now.
“Very well.”
The Tsuchikage sighed and glanced at Deidara. Given the current situation, becoming the leader of the Four Ninja Village Alliance was definitely not a good thing. But there was no other choice. If the Raikage hadn’t died, he would have been the most suitable.
“We need to report the matters from the Five Kage Summit to the various daimyo as soon as possible. We’ll discuss the rest in detail after the ninja village alliance is formed. Also, we need to negotiate with the Cloud Hidden Village. They must elect a new Kage quickly.”
The Tsuchikage had essentially issued his first command, one that would cause no disagreement.
With that, the Five Kage Summit concluded. The four Kages and their respective guards swiftly left the tower, moving at great speed.
Terumi Mei walked across the snow, looking somewhat worried. The Mist Hidden Village hadn’t yet stabilized, and now this incident had occurred in the ninja world.
Behind Terumi Mei were two people: a bespectacled youth and a masked man.
“So, do you regret that decision back then?”
Terumi Mei turned her head to look at the masked man behind her.
“No. I was too blindly loyal to the Fourth Mizukage. Setting aside personal views, after you became Mizukage, the village did stabilize. It may not be prosperous, but at least no one goes hungry.”
The masked man’s voice was low.
“That person will definitely come. You used him back then. Given his temper, he won’t let it go easily.”
Although the masked man was Terumi Mei’s guard, his attitude toward her didn’t seem particularly warm.
“Isn’t that why you’re here?”
Terumi Mei’s lips curled into a somewhat seductive smile. The masked man remained silent, while the bespectacled youth beside him blushed. His name was Chojuro, the only surviving member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and the wielder of the twin swords, Hiramekarei.
As Terumi Mei’s group raced across the snow, a crow silently flew overhead.
Soon, the three entered a forest. The trees weren’t too dense, and each canopy was laden with white snow.
“Mizukage-sama.”
The masked man suddenly spoke.
“I know.”
Terumi Mei signaled for him not to continue.
Caw, caw, caw…
The crow in the sky dove down, landing on a branch ahead of Terumi Mei’s group.
“Here they come!”
The masked man immediately stepped in front of Terumi Mei, his gaze fixed ahead.
Thud, thud, thud…
The ground began to tremble. With a crack, a tree in the distance was snapped in half.
Boom!
Wood chips and snow flew everywhere. A nearly three-meter-tall minotaur, with two horns on its head and bulging muscles, charged toward Terumi Mei’s group. It was Amu, the unstoppable Amu.
Amu’s eyes were bloodshot, as if pumped full of stimulants, and two streams of white vapor shot from its nostrils.
“Chojuro!”
The masked man shouted.
“Y-yes!”
The young Chojuro seemed nervous, a boy lacking confidence. He gripped the handles of the ninja sword Hiramekarei with both hands.
“Hiramekarei, release!”
Though Hiramekarei was two swords, they were connected. Once the bandages were undone, the ninja sword was no longer a blade but a strangely shaped warhammer.
Chojuro held the two handles of Hiramekarei and charged straight at Amu.
Amu didn’t stop its charge. It lowered its head, aiming its horns at Chojuro.
The two sides closed in quickly. Chojuro leaped into the air, swinging Hiramekarei down at Amu.
Boom!
A thunderous roar echoed through the forest, shaking snow from the trees.
At the point of impact between Amu and Chojuro, a wave of snow surged outward like a tide, forming a thick cloud of snow dust. Nearby, Terumi Mei and the masked man both raised their arms to shield their faces, staring intently into the snow cloud.
Whoosh~
A figure flew out of the snow cloud. It was Amu, having lost in a contest of strength against Chojuro.
Amu rolled a few times on the ground, shook its dazed head, and stood up. It was truly thick-skinned and tough.
Inside the snow cloud, Chojuro stood still, his legs buried deep in the snow. Though he had repelled Amu, his arms holding the sword were trembling.
“Lava Release: Lava Melting Technique.”
Terumi Mei formed a triangular hand seal, tilted her head back slightly, and spat out a stream of magma.
A torrent of fiery red magma surged toward Amu.
“ROAR!!”
Amu bellowed, clenched its fists, and charged forward, head down, directly into the magma. The magma instantly engulfed it. Amu was an ice-type, not too afraid of fire attacks, so it dared to withstand the magma.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~
The magma scorched Amu’s flesh, but it glared with its bull-like eyes, pushing forward through the magma. A thick smell of burning spread.
Seeing this, Terumi Mei’s pupils contracted sharply as she continued spewing magma. She was in the middle of casting a technique and couldn’t move.
Just as everyone thought Amu would either reach Terumi Mei or be burned to ashes, Amu scooped up a handful of magma with its already charred, bone-exposed hand and hurled it with all its might at Chojuro.
Before the magma could hit Chojuro, Terumi Mei abruptly stopped her technique and lunged to the side.
Whoosh~
A sharp whistling sound pierced the air.
With a crack, a bullet buried itself in the snow, exploding the snow within three meters.
Whoosh~
Another bullet followed, locking onto the diving Terumi Mei, aiming straight for her head.
“Lava Release…”
Mid-air, Terumi Mei was about to use a defensive technique when the masked man appeared in front of her.
With a splat, liquid splattered as the bullet hit the masked man.
The liquid wasn’t blood but water—water infused with chakra, its resistance magnified hundreds of times.
The bullet scraped against the chakra-infused water, slowing significantly. Terumi Mei turned her head, dodging the bullet.
The upper half of the masked man’s body was shattered. The water stains on the surrounding snow surged, gradually converging toward him. Soon, he reformed into his original shape.
“Hiramekarei!”
A shout came from Chojuro, who was still fighting Amu. Black smoke rose from his arms and face, clearly burned by the magma.
Chojuro swung his ninja sword hammer at Amu. Anyone else would have dodged, but Amu spread its arms and directly hugged the hammer.
Boom!
Snow erupted around Amu’s ankles. Hugging the hammer, Amu was pushed back a distance but managed to block Chojuro’s heavy blow. Its face, severely burned by the magma, broke into a grin. Combined with its exposed facial bones, teeth, and bloodshot eyes, it looked terrifying.
Chojuro’s eye twitched. He immediately realized this thing was no ordinary summon. If it were, it would have returned to the summoning realm with injuries like these. Few summons were so loyal to their ninja.
Chojuro glanced at Mizukage Terumi Mei and made a silent decision: he would not let this terrifying thing get near her. So, without hesitation, he used his sword hammer to push Amu away.
Amu didn’t resist. Its feet plowed through the snow as it let Chojuro push it far away. This was exactly what Su Xiao had ordered: hold Chojuro back.
Soon, Chojuro pushed Amu a great distance, leaving two furrows and a mess of footprints in the snow.
The bullets stopped coming at Terumi Mei. Her breathing was slightly ragged, not from exhaustion but from the sudden and fierce assault.
Whoosh~
A figure wielding a long blade moved through the forest. Soon, it stopped near Terumi Mei, about ten meters away.
Before Terumi Mei could speak, the masked man stepped forward and removed the mask he wore as a Mist Hidden Anbu.
“Long time no see, Bai Ye.”
The masked man smiled as he spoke, revealing two rows of sharp shark-like teeth.
Seeing the masked man’s face, Su Xiao was taken aback, then realized something.
“I didn’t expect you to be loyal to Terumi Mei. Is it because she spared your life?”
Su Xiao recognized this masked man. They were barely acquaintances.
“Well, fate is unpredictable. This is clearly not the time for catching up. If you want to kill Terumi Mei, you’ll have to get through me first. She’s a decent Mizukage.”
The masked man tossed aside his mask. A cold wind blew, stirring his white short hair.
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