Chunin Exams arena.
Looking down from above, the marble fighting stage at the center was already riddled with countless holes and battered beyond recognition after intense clashes of Ninjutsu between the two combatants.
Thankfully, Heiyan had stepped in to reinforce the barrier surrounding the arena. Otherwise, if the shockwaves had reached the stands, they would have certainly caused massive casualties.
And the massive commotion had only been caused by two children barely more than toddlers.
[Gluttonous Shark!]
Kisame Hoshigaki roared loudly, forming more than twenty hand seals at top speed before unleashing his ultimate technique.
It was a chakra shark measuring ten meters long that surged forth from behind him, opening its blood-red maw wide and charging toward Mei Terumi.
But Mei Terumi showed no fear whatsoever. After completing her own set of hand seals, she opened her mouth and spat out a huge wave of green acidic liquid like a waterfall, directly splashing onto the giant shark.
Hissing... hissing...
The acid attack quickly corroded multiple holes into Kisame's shark, destroying its internal chakra structure and destabilizing it completely.
It collapsed.
"You're finished, shark guy!"
Seeing this, Mei Terumi shouted excitedly as she prepared to chase forward and strike Kisame himself directly.
"I forfeit."
Kisame's expression changed instantly as he hurriedly yelled out while waving urgently at the examiners outside the ring, rushing off the platform before Mei could react.
Though he was an honest fellow, he wasn't stupid enough to stubbornly refuse to back down.
"Hmph, what a shame."
Mei let out a soft snort, then proudly looked around, enjoying the cheers and applause from the audience.
Today's matches had temporarily concluded, and the satisfied spectators now began leaving the venue one after another.
Inside the rest room.
Among the Genin taking the exams, some were joyful while others looked gloomy; who'd advanced and who'd lost could be clearly seen just from their facial expressions.
Among everyone present, unquestionably the happiest person was Mei Terumi.
Singing to herself, she started packing her things. She was heading to the mountaintop villa to find Pakura — the latter had promised her a big dinner tonight if she made it through.
Just then,
"Cough cough."
A cough echoed from the doorway—the chief examiner had arrived. He made a gesture signaling for the youths to remain silent.
Then, the examiner respectfully stepped aside and bowed deeply toward someone in the doorway:
"Please come in, sir."
Under everyone's curious and expectant gazes, Heiyan, dressed in robes adorned with tomoe patterns, walked in.
After entering, Heiyan let his gaze sweep across the crowd, nodded at the young shinobi briefly, offering them several encouraging words that left them extremely excited.
Finally, his gaze landed on Mei Terumi. Waving gently toward her, he said:
"Come with me. There's a task for you."
Me?
Upon hearing this, Mei's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. Snapping out of it, she immediately slung her backpack and eagerly walked over to Heiyan.
As envious eyes followed, Heiyan led Mei Terumi away from there.
"Hey, shark guy, do you think Lord Heiyan will assign what kind of mission to Mei Terumi?"
"Could this be some kind of special apprentice test?"
Zabuza pressed an ice pack against his swollen face from the earlier fight. Curious but clearly envious, he turned to Kisame and asked.
"No idea."
Kisame shook his head indifferently, then after packing up his things, left alone.
In the office.
Mei Terumi was also curious—what kind of mission had Master Heiyan specifically selected her for?
Under her confused gaze, Heiyan snapped his fingers. The space beside him twisted slightly before a bizarrely shaped armor appeared out of nowhere in his hands.
"Wear it."
Without another word, Heiyan tossed the armor straight toward Mei Terumi.
"Eep!"
Letting out a startled cry, Mei hurriedly tried to catch the armor, but to her surprise, as it flew toward her, it acted as if alive and suddenly stuck itself onto her body.
Staring in shock, she didn't dare move a muscle, watching helplessly as the armor wrapped itself around her and merged seamlessly with her.
Huh?
As soon as she wore the armor like that, the first thing Mei felt was a massive rush of energy flooding through her body, making her feel instantly dozens, even hundreds of times stronger.
She felt something heavy on her back. Reaching behind to touch it, her hand met a cold, hard Kara. Furthermore, she noticed her skin had become aged and rough, and somehow, a cane had appeared in her hand.
What exactly have I turned into?
Panicking slightly, Mei hurried over to the mirror. The next second, she stood frozen solid.
In the mirror's reflection—stood the Turtle Immortal.
Yes, that very same Turtle Immortal from the Land of Water and Kiri who had saved them all, the one who brought her, Kisame, and Zabuza to Penglai.
"Your task is simple: quickly familiarize yourself with the armor's power, then take my place and pose as the Turtle Immortal to attend the inauguration ceremony as the new Hokage in Konoha."
At that moment, Heiyan's calm voice explained the details of Mei's mission.
"W-What?"
Mei couldn't process the words at first—she thought she must've misheard. Her mouth fell open, stunned like a wooden chicken.
Master Heiyan wanted her to impersonate the Turtle Immortal? And represent Kiri by attending an important event in Konoha? This is way too... hard for me!
After all, she was merely a five-year-old child.
"I..."
Mei faltered, her lips trembling as doubt clouded her expression.
"You scared?" Heiyan looked at her and smiled.
"It seems I'm asking too much of you. If you don't want to do it, there's absolutely no problem. After all, this is an SSS-rank mission."
"I-I'll do it!"
When Heiyan said that, Mei's heart raced. Without thinking, she blurted out desperately.
Obviously, she had fallen right into Heiyan's provocation technique.
"Good. Courageous. That's more like the Mei Terumi I believe in most."
Heiyan nodded approvingly, then began guiding her on how to embody the role:
"Remember, the Turtle Immortal is an image of a reclusive master. Just maintain an aloof, mysterious demeanor and speak as little as possible—you won't give anything away."
"You have three days to get familiar with everything. After that, you'll head to Kiri. We need to deceive those in Kiri before proceeding to Konoha.
Understood?"
"Yeah! Leave it to me, Master Heiyan. I'll definitely accomplish this mission!"
Mei Terumi clenched her fists tightly and nodded firmly, ready to take on the challenge.
"Let's go eat first."
Heiyan walked over, helped her remove her armor, then patted her red hair affectionately before leading her back to the mountaintop villa for dinner together with Pakura and Yurou.
Three days later.
At the beach, Immortal Turtle stood on the sand, leaning on his cane.
Suddenly, he tapped the ground lightly with his staff, causing a thick chill to spread from beneath his feet. The cold energy transformed into an ice bridge extending out onto the sea's surface.
The Immortal stepped onto the bridge and walked deeper into the ocean. Finally, he lifted off the icy path and hovered above the water.
Fwoosh!
With a mere flick of his finger, an area of the sea below rapidly froze solid, forming a massive block of ice.
"Waah, I'm just too amazing!"
Overcome with excitement, the old Immortal Turtle couldn't help but raise his hand dramatically. Despite being an elderly man with wrinkles, his movements, tone, and expressions were like those of a five- or six-year-old girl—a jarring contrast.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Heiyan appeared beside the Immortal Turtle.
"Already forgot your current identity?" He asked casually, as if reminding her.
Mei immediately covered her mouth, realizing she'd made another mistake.
But it wasn't entirely her fault—this living armor granted immense power. She felt like she'd suddenly ascended to the peak of the shinobi world, so she got carried away when overcome by excitement.
In fact, the armor Heiyan gave Mei wasn't just the ordinary Three-Tails living armor—it had been infused with his [Six Paths Senjutsu] powers, effectively becoming one of his high-level Shadow Clones.
If Mei could fully adapt to this armor, she'd become powerful enough to crush any opponent below the Six Paths Tier.
"The inauguration ceremony as the new Hokage is about to begin. Kiri has already prepared; they're waiting for *you*—the Immortal—to appear. So, leave this afternoon for Kirigakure."
Seeing that Mei was nearly ready, Heiyan issued these instructions.
"What about you?"
Mei instinctively asked.
"I will act alone, observing covertly. If necessary, I'll contact you or even appear directly by your side."
That's how Heiyan explained it.
Actually, he had inscribed his [Flying Thunder God formula] onto the armor along with parasitic spores for sensing, meaning he could monitor Mei anytime, anywhere.
Even if she made a big mistake, Heiyan could arrive at the scene instantly.
After Mei set off, Heiyan returned to his office, where he arranged upcoming village affairs and gave instructions to Yurou, Pakura, and others.
He told them he was going to Konoha to attend the inauguration ceremony as the new Hokage and should return safely soon, urging them not to worry about him.
Before leaving, Heiyan finally paid a visit to Shikkotsu Forest.
He made his way up along the branch-laden path of the God Tree, finally arriving at the familiar wooden cabin nestled above.
Since Tsunade's last departure from Penglai, she had never returned, as though she had entirely abandoned Heiyan and severed all ties with him.
Heiyan knew that Tsunade was merely sulking at him.
She stubbornly clung to her pride, determined to prove that her vision for unifying the shinobi world was the only rightful path.
The fiercely determined Tsunade sought Heiyan's recognition and would not return to Penglai until she had proven herself.
But Heiyan would no longer tolerate her childish tantrums.
This time, he would handle their "emotional crisis" in a domineering and unreasonable manner.
[Creak.]
Heiyan left the cabin, closed the door behind him, then pushed aside the thick foliage and gazed toward the distant north.
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