Kotaro and the three Hozuki clan Chunins hid themselves in the bushes upon arriving at the battlefield, where Yukina was fighting two rogue Konoha shinobi.
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With Yukina
"SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH."
Kunai and shuriken flew at Yukina from both the front and the back, but she remained rooted in place.
"SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH."
When the kunai and shuriken struck Yukina, her body turned into water and reformed before the eyes of the two rogue shinobi.
The short rogue ninja then shunshined away from behind Yukina and appeared next to his comrade, saying, 'It seems our intelligence was correct, Kenzo. We should proceed with our strategy and finish her off."
Kenzo nodded and then instructed the short rogue ninja, 'Alright, be ready. I'll distract her while you prepare the battlefield according to our strategy, Aoki.'
Aoki nodded his head in acknowledgment of Kenzo's order, then shunshined away.
"PUFF."
After Aoki shunshined away in a white puff of smoke, Kenzo began performing a series of hand seals.
After finishing the hand seals, he pointed his right palm toward Yukina and murmured.
"Lightning Style: Blue lightning Waves."
"BZBZBZBZBZBZ."
"SHOOOOSH."
Multiple waves of blue lightning shot out from Kenzo's palm at incredible speed toward Yukina.
Yukina widened her eyes in surprise when she saw the blue lightning waves charging toward her and smiled as she gracefully dodged the incoming jutsu
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM."
As Yukina dodged the jutsu, the blue lightning waves scorched the ground upon impact.
"Interesting. I'm dealing with a lightning user—I need to be careful. Fuguki-sensei said that one of the weaknesses of my Hydrification Kekkei Genkai is lightning release."
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM."
Yukina gracefully flipped backward and sideways to dodge the blue lightning, with a smile on her face as she relished the battle.
Kenzo was confused when he saw Yukina smiling. He thought, "Why is she smiling? What is she up to?"
Suddenly Yukina stopped dodging; she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"BZBZBZBZBZBZ."
"SHOOOSH."
Another blue lightning wave raced toward Yukina at incredible speed, but this time, she didn't move—she stood her ground.
"AAAAAGGGHHH."
When the blue lightning waves struck Yukina, she let out a loud grunt of pain but remained standing in place with her eyes closed.
Kenzo stopped executing the Blue Lightning Waves Jutsu and looked at Yukina in confusion. Then he asked, 'Why didn't you dodge that jutsu? You were able to dodge it easily before.'
Yukina smirked upon hearing the question, then released a large amount of chakra from her tenketsu points and expelled the lightning chakra from her body.
She then looked at Kenzo, smiled, and answered his question by saying, 'I plan to use you to improve my Kenjutsu after this battle. You and your friend will die, and I will become a kunoichi that is capable of cutting through lightning with my katana.'
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With Kotaro
A chunin from the Hozuki clan looked at Kotaro and asked, 'Kotaro-san, shouldn't we go and back up Yukina now?'
Kotaro smiled, shook his head, and said, "No, didn't you hear Yukina just now? She's planning to use that guy to learn how to cut through lightning. We shouldn't interfere in this battle just yet."
"Also, neither Yukina nor her foes are taking this battle seriously yet. We should wait for the right opportunity."
"You three don't need to worry about Yukina. She voluntarily allowed herself to be struck by the lightning jutsu just now."
The three Chunins were surprised when they heard this, and one of them asked, 'Why did she want to get struck by that jutsu? Is she insane?'
Kotaro smirked upon hearing those words and said, "Well, if my guess is correct, she wants to understand the lightning element on a deeper level. That's why she voluntarily allowed herself to be struck by the lightning jutsu. Let's just watch this battle carefully for now—but we should also be prepared to intervene at any moment."
The three chunins nodded their heads when they heard Kotaro's instruction.
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On the opposite side of the bush.
A silver-furred dire wolf cub looked intently at Yukina; his golden eyes glowed with interest the more he watched her fight.
The cub sat quietly, watching the battle; neither Kotaro nor the Hozuki clan chunins noticed him, even though he was not far from them.
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With Yukina
Yukina kept smiling at Kenzo, who narrowed his eyes at her. He then said, 'You want to cut through my lightning jutsu with your katana? Don't make me laugh—it's impossible, girl.'
Yukina gave Kenzo a bright smile and said, 'I'll let you hit me with your lightning jutsu three more times, handsome. After the third try, I'll cut through it. Do you dare to give it a try?'
Kenzo's eyebrows twitched when he heard this, and he began forming hand seals for a lightning ninjutsu. But before he could finish his hand seal sequence, Aoki suddenly shunshined next to him and said, 'The seals are set. Should I activate them now?'"
Kenzo didn't reply to Aoki. A wave of blue lightning shot out from his palm and struck Yukina again, but she remained standing with her eyes closed.
Yukina grunted in pain again, yet she stubbornly remained standing in her spot with her eyes closed.
Kenzo scowled at the sight and commanded Aoki, 'Activate the seals. We'll finish her off with our cooperative ninjutsu.'
Aoki smirked at Kenzo's words, nodded, and began weaving a series of hand seals, ending with the ram seal.
He then yelled loudly.
"Sealing Arts: Spider Web Paralyzing Seal."
From all directions, sealing runes surged toward Yukina, weaving into the shape of a spiderweb.
"This is bad. I don't even want to imagine what will happen if I'm captured by those sealing runes," Yukina said to herself.
Yukina's lower half transformed into water, and she shot into the air like a missile, allowing her to evade the sealing trap Aoki had set.
Kenzo smirked when he saw this and said to Aoki, 'Let's finish her off, Aoki.'
Aoki smiled and nodded his head to Kenzo.
Both of them then began executing a series of hand seals simultaneously, in perfect synchronization.
As soon as they completed the hand seals, Aoki unleashed a massive water dragon from his mouth, while blue lightning sparks crackled around Kenzo's body.
In the next moment, a large dragon made of blue lightning formed out of thin air, and Aoki and Kenzo yelled in unison.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu."
"Lightning Style: Blue Lightning Dragon Jutsu."
The two dragons then began to merge, transforming into one massive dragon made of water and lightning.
"Cooperation Ninjutsu: Great Water-Lightning Dragon Jutsu."
"SWISH."
The dragon then shot toward Yukina in the air like a missile and bit down hard on her torso.
"CRACK."
"AAAAGGGHHHH."
"COUGH."
Yukina coughed up blood as her ribs broke, the dragon's fangs sank deep into her flesh, and her clothes were reduced to ashes.
Yukina was helpless as the dragon slammed her hard into the ground.
"BAAM."
"BOOM."
"COUGH."
After being slammed hard into the ground by the dragon, Yukina coughed up blood once more.
Blue lightning sparks surrounded her naked body; she was completely paralyzed from being hit by the ninjutsu.
Yet her eyes stayed shut, and a wide, lunatic grin stretched across her face.
Yukina began releasing a large amount of chakra from her tenketsu points, trying to expel all the lightning chakra from her body.
When Aoki and Kenzo arrived in front of Yukina, Kenzo drew his kunai and said, 'It's impressive that you're still alive after being hit by our cooperative ninjutsu, but now the time has come for you to die. Farewell.'
"SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH."
However, before Kenzo could strike Yukina with his kunai, numerous kunai and shuriken flew out of the bushes at incredible speed toward Aoki and Kenzo.
Aoki and Kenzo quickly shunshined away, dodging the incoming kunai and shuriken.
Kotaro and his team suddenly emerged from their hiding spot with a shunshin and appeared in front of Yukina.
Yukina's eyebrows twitched when she saw Kotaro and his team interfering in her battle, and she slowly began to stand up with difficulty.
Yukina saw that she was bleeding profusely from her stomach, but she ignored the injury.
She shot a fearless look at Kotaro and his team and said. 'Stay out of it—you're ruining my fun."
Upon hearing this, Kotaro burst into laughter. 'Hahaha! Alright, we'll stay out of this battle—but we'll step in if you're about to die. Do we have a deal, girl?'"
The chunins widened their eyes upon hearing this. A skinny-looking chunin turned to Kotaro and said anxiously to him, 'Kotaro-san, this is unwise. Yukina is heavily injured.'
Kotaro just smirked and told the chunin, 'Don't worry; I'll take full responsibility if Yukina dies here.'
After hearing Kotaro's words, the chunins stepped back as Yukina slowly unsheathed her katana and, despite her injuries, walked toward Kenzo and Aoki with difficulty.
Kenzo scoffed as he saw Yukina walking toward him and Aoki. "You're a fool," he sneered. "You had the advantage when your reinforcements arrived, yet you chose to face us alone. You don't deserve to be called a kunoichi—or even a ninja."
When Yukina heard this, she burst into laughter—a chilling sound that sent shivers down the spines of everyone on the battlefield, except for Kotaro.
"HAHAHAHA! Where's the fun in that, you idiot? A true shinobi — a true warrior — lives for battles where death lurks at every turn! It's only when your life hangs by a thread in a life and death battle that you truly feel alive!"
"You've lost all the respect I had for you as a fellow shinobi. You chose the easy path—now it's time I finish this."
Kenzo narrowed his eyes as he heard this, watching intently as Yukina began removing the weights strapped around her arms and legs.
Aoki scoffed at the sight and said, 'How arrogant of you. Do you really think removing a few pounds of weights will help you defeat us? You're truly delusional, girl.'
Yukina smiled at Aoki without saying a word, silently contemplating the opportunity to test her newly developed kenjutsu techniques.
Kenzo gave Yukina no time to collect herself; he immediately began weaving a rapid series of hand seals.
After he finished executing the hand seals, he yelled.
"Lightning Style: electrifying Binding Chains."
"BZBZBZBZBZBZ."
"SWISH."
A chain of blue lightning shot from Kenzo's palm, crackling through the air at incredible speed toward Yukina.
Yukina smirked when she saw the blue lightning chain flying towards her and said, 'It's time to put it to the test."
Yukina then raised her katana above her head and, with her eyes closed, swung it down at the blue lightning chains while murmuring softly.
"Lightning Cutter Sword."
"SWISH."
Yukina first sliced the blue lightning chain vertically with her katana, then began to swing it with elegant, swift motions, steadily cutting the chain into smaller pieces as she advanced toward Kenzo, a bloodthirsty smirk spreading across her face.
Kotaro was momentarily stunned by the sight, but after regaining his composure, he burst into laughter, leaving everyone watching the battle in shock.
"HAHAHAHA, this little girl is really insane; she actually did it."
The three Chunin widened their eyes as they watched Yukina slice through the blue lightning chain. The thin Chunin from the Hozuki clan then muttered to himself, 'This girl is insane... I'd better stay on her good side.'
When Yukina stood in front of Kenzo, she thrust her katana forward with immense momentum, aiming to stab him in the heart.
"Waterfall Exploding Stab."
"BOOM."
The torso area around Kenzo's heart exploded—only for his body to disperse into a crackling lightning clone, stunning Yukina.
"BZBZBZBZBZ."
"AAAAGHHHHH."
Yukina's body went rigid as paralysis gripped her again—but this time, her vision began to blur, the world around her dissolving into smears of light and shadow.
"Damn it… I've lost too much blood, and now I'm paralyzed," Yukina muttered to herself.
Suddenly, Kenzo burst out of the ground behind Yukina, his kunai crackling with lightning—aimed straight for her spine, ready to end her life.
With great effort, Yukina turned her head and saw the kunai in Kenzo's hand, crackling with lightning chakra.
"This battle was fun… I want more. I want to fight stronger shinobi. And I want to sleep with men — to feel them inside me, like in my past life. I haven't even been with a single man yet… I can't die now," Yukina thought reluctantly to herself.
"SWISH."
"SQUASH."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a razor-sharp flying slash of compressed wind shot through the air at incredible speed—beheading Kenzo in an instant.
Kenzo's head flew through the air as a geyser of blood erupted from his severed neck, painting the battlefield in crimson.
Aoki stood frozen, eyes wide with shock, as he watched Kenzo get killed right before him.
Kotaro stepped forward, his katana now shimmering with wind chakra. He narrowed his eyes at the enemy ahead, then spoke firmly to his team, "Amegetsu, tend to Yukina. Stabilize her injuries."
He then turned slightly, his blade humming with power. "Bagetsu, Cangetsu — you're with me. Let's finish this bastard quickly."
The trio nodded in agreement and they shunshined away together.
At that moment, Rangetsu, Zabuza, and the two other chunins from the Hozuki clan arrived on the battlefield.
Rangetsu narrowed his eyes in anger at the sight of Yukina's condition. He then turned to the plain-looking chunin and said, 'Dangetsu, do what you can to stabilize her injuries.'
Dangetsu's eyes widened upon hearing this. He turned to Rangetsu and said "Rangetsu, I only know the basics of medical jutsu... I've never actually treated anyone before.'
"You're our best option right now," Rangetsu said, narrowing his eyes at Dangetsu. "I'm not asking you to heal her—just stabilize her condition."
With a heavy sigh, Dangetsu nodded and shunshined toward Yukina.
Rangetsu then turned to Zabuza and the last remaining member of his team, saying, 'Alright, let's regroup with Kotaro's team.'
Zabuza and the Chunin nodded, and then they shunshin toward Kotaro.
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With Kotaro
Kotaro's team swiftly surrounded Aoki, forming a tight semi-circle, cutting off any chance of escape. The tension in the air grew heavy as each of them locked eyes on Aoki, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
Kotaro charged at Aoki head-on, his katana gleaming with wind chakra as he launched a relentless assault.
"SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH."
Aoki struggled to dodge Kotaro's relentless katana strikes, the blade dancing toward him with wild, unpredictable movements, while the two other Chunin pressed in from behind, leaving him no room to breathe.
Aoki cursed under his breath as Kotaro's katana sliced shallow wounds across his body. He tried to dodge the strikes, but the wind chakra coating the blade made even glancing blows cut deep.
Suddenly, Rangetsu appeared at Aoki's right side. Without hesitation, his right arm morphed into a blade of water, which he thrust straight toward Aoki's neck.
"Aoki cursed and bent backward, narrowly dodging the water blade—only for a muscular Hozuki clan chunin to materialize behind him, a kunai gleaming in his hand."
Aoki's eyes widened in shock when he saw the muscular Chunin appear behind him. He opened his mouth to shout in fury—but before he could utter a word, the Chunin's kunai slashed across his throat, silencing him forever.
Aoki began to make a gurgling sound as he clutched his throat, trying to stop the bleeding—but before he could react further, Kotaro thrust his wind chakra-coated katana straight into his heart.
"PU."
The light in Aoki's eyes faded rapidly. Kotaro then pulled his katana free, and Aoki's lifeless body collapsed to the ground.
Zabuza stared in shock at the aftermath of the battle, thinking, "Unbelievable... they took him down so quickly and with such precision. I have a long way to go—I need to train harder if I ever want to reach that level in the future."
"Rangetsu turned to his comrades and said, 'We need to check on Yukina. Bagetsu, the corpse is yours—after all, you were the one who slit his throat.'"
Bagetsu smirked and nodded his head; he then started sealing Aoki's corpse in the corpse storage scroll.
After Bagetsu sealed Aoki's corpse inside the corpse storage scroll, all the Hidden Mist shinobi present shunshined toward Yukina's location.
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