"Senjutsu: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Mei used the same trick again, once more unleashing powerful Sage Chakra and using Senjutsu: Water Dragon Bullet to suppress Kusa. Within this limited space, this kind of large-scale Ninjutsu was simply too useful, and the Water Dragon Bullet could also create a battlefield advantageous to her.
The facts were just as she had expected. Facing the gigantic water dragon charging toward him once again, Kusa seemed to feel that it was difficult to evade, so he raised his fist to meet it head-on. His fist, emitting a strange black light, collided with the gigantic dragon's head.
Boom!!!
A tremendous explosion rang out. The enormous impact produced by the collision shattered the arena, sending dust flying and yellow mist filling the sky.
Mei felt the impact, which was far greater than before, and felt that something was wrong. She narrowed her eyes and looked toward Kusa, instantly becoming greatly shocked.
She saw that Kusa, covered in black tattoos and exuding a strange aura, had actually smashed her Senjutsu: Water Dragon Bullet apart with one punch, without suffering the slightest injury himself.
"You've got to be kidding me. Can this level of power really be obtained so easily?" The Fourth Raikage could not help but frown when he saw this scene.
As the Raikage, he naturally knew more than most people. Precisely because he knew so much, he was even more shocked by this scene.
Not long ago, he had merely been a wandering ninja who could only bully ordinary people, yet his current strength was enough to make even the Raikage wary.
"I wonder what kind of price must be paid to obtain such an improvement." Onoki sighed. He believed that such power could not possibly come without a price.
"I just don't know how many such existences those outsiders can create."
Onoki believed that this ability was enough to destroy the entire shinobi world. As long as the reward was high enough, even if the price was death, there would still be a large number of people willing to make the exchange.
"There is naturally a price. In fact, their power comes from a core inside their bodies, and every time they use their power, they consume their life force." Nagasawa spoke up and explained.
At his current level, there was much he could see. He could sense that Kusa and the others all possessed a core emitting a power with an aura similar to that of the Divine Tree.
"No matter how many of these cores they have, it doesn't matter, because this place will become their grave." Nagasawa said calmly.
The reason he had allowed the Otsutsuki to run wild was simply because he was worried that their abilities were strange and that they might ultimately escape. That would be troublesome.
But since they had dared to come openly to the competition venue, they could forget about leaving.
"Is the barrier over there complete?" Minato asked.
"Basically. Only some minor details remain." Nagasawa nodded.
Kusa's punch had not only shocked several Kage, but had also silenced the three commentators with a single punch.
Kotetsu Hagane especially felt as though he had been slapped in the face. He had just said that Kusa's only chance of victory was to stall for time, and Kusa had immediately smashed apart Senjutsu with one punch.
The people watching the livestream also felt that what they were seeing was somewhat unreal.
"I got up too fast. I should go back to sleep. I actually saw someone smash Senjutsu apart with one punch."
"Is this guy cheating? He was just being forced into the ground, and now he smashed it apart with one punch."
"Are we going to have another upset...?"
Kusa, who had smashed the Water Dragon Bullet apart with one punch, did not rush to attack. Instead, he walked toward Mei step by step.
"Didn't expect this, did you? You're going to be defeated by an unknown nobody like me." Kusa smiled. The black tattoos on his face made his smile look both strange and ferocious.
"There is always someone stronger beyond the heavens and beyond people. Your strength is indeed very strong, but the battle isn't over yet." Mei tried to distract Kusa with words and then look for an opportunity to attack.
But Kusa's senses were extraordinarily sharp at this moment. All of Mei's Senjutsu Water Release attacks were shattered by him one after another, and he retaliated each time. After going back and forth several times, Mei had also suffered quite a few injuries and looked somewhat battered.
"Contestant Kusa's strength is unexpectedly powerful. Things are difficult for contestant Mei." Kotetsu Hagane continued commentating.
At this moment, Kusa felt that his life had reached its climax.
This was the Flower of the Mist, the ninja with the greatest hope of becoming Mizukage, Mei, who possessed both strength and beauty.
In the past, let alone defeating her, Kusa had never even dared to imagine speaking to Mei. They were simply people from completely different worlds.
'I'll use my foot to defeat her later. The sensation of her feet should be pretty good.' Kusa thought with malicious amusement.
But just when Kusa thought victory was already within his grasp, Mei launched her final counterattack.
"Senjutsu: Heavenly Weeping!"
The pools of water scattered throughout the arena suddenly transformed into slender, sharp water needles, rapidly shooting toward Kusa.
Kusa's keen senses instantly detected the incoming water needles, but the water needles coming from all directions were like an impenetrable net. No matter how he dodged, he would still have to endure some of the water needles.
Splurt! Splurt!
The sharp water needles easily pierced Kusa's body. Blood flowers continuously bloomed, and Kusa instantly looked as though he had been pierced by ten thousand arrows. His body was covered in tiny bloody holes, and by the time he fell to the ground, he had already become a bloody mess.
"Huff, huff." Mei gasped heavily, her towering breasts rising and falling with each heavy breath.
She had not expected that a mere Kusa would be able to force so much out of her. This was a Senjutsu she had painstakingly trained for an entire year in preparation for surpassing her previous record.
Kotetsu Hagane felt somewhat awkward. What was going on? Why was it that every time he explained who had the advantage, the situation immediately reversed?
"Contestant Mei is indeed worthy of being a renowned powerhouse of the shinobi world. On the surface, she appeared to be at a disadvantage, but in reality, she had secretly prepared a killing move. Everything was within her grasp." Kotetsu Hagane could only praise Mei to ease his embarrassment.
Just when everyone thought the victory would be announced and the Medical Ninja would carry Kusa away for treatment, Kusa moved and quickly stood up.
The black tattoos on his body emitted a strange faint glow, while the flesh around Kusa's wounds continuously wriggled and rapidly healed.
Having nearly suffered a reversal, Kusa no longer dared to act arrogantly. While Mei had yet to react, he instantly flashed in front of her and threw a punch.
Mei, unable to dodge in time, was instantly sent flying by the punch and slammed heavily into the ground.
Kotetsu Hagane: ...
You're all in on this joke, aren't you?
"Kusa wins!"
Although Mei's fighting spirit remained strong, she was ultimately no match for Kusa, who was burning his life force, and lost the match.
"Can you stop letting Kotetsu Hagane commentate our Hidden Mist matches? This guy is a little too strange." Because of Kotetsu Hagane's outstanding performance, the Hidden Mist spectators expressed their appreciation by saying: You commentated very well. Don't do it next time.
"I'm from the Hidden Cloud Village. I suggest you praise the Hidden Cloud heavily next time you commentate."
"Cunning Hidden Stone ninja, I can hear your calculations all the way from the Hidden Cloud Village."
"I think I understand now. This time at the Martial Arts Tournament, we have to bet against the obvious choice. Bet against them and you can buy a villa by the sea. The famous ninjas are actually the ones who can't do it."
The consecutive upsets in two battles made the atmosphere somewhat strange. The only reason the first battle had not allowed Ryuichi Tachikawa to enter his full-power state was because of Kakuzu's strength. Otherwise, even the spectators should have noticed that something was wrong.
"Itachi, do you think you can do it?" Shisui asked Itachi beside him with a smile. Itachi would be fighting in the next match.
As one of the few people who knew the truth, Shisui knew that Itachi's opponent was also a ninja who had received an Otsutsuki enhancement.
"I can do it!"