Today, Ringo Yuriko deeply experienced what it meant to be completely crushed by absolute strength.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!"
"Ice Release: Ice senbon!"
Amane waved her hand.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Roar!"
"Ice Release: Ice Thorns!"
Amane waved her hand.
No matter how she stimulated her cells to increase her speed, the Konoha Anbu before her simply waved her hand from where she stood, managing to block all of her and Haku's attacks. At the same time, her counterattacks surged back without a moment's pause!
The sheer scale was one thing, but even more terrifying was the horrific power, enough to instantly blow down a small patch of forest!
[What a strong Wind Release Ninja. Not only are we completely suppressed in long-range attrition, but we can't push forward in close combat at all.]
Hiding behind a tree, Ringo Yuriko kept her eyes fixed on Amane, who now seemed distant because they had been forced to retreat. While she pondered this, her gaze involuntarily shifted toward Haku nearby.
The latter immediately nodded, understanding her meaning.
This Wind Release Ninja's strength was truly formidable. Relying on his Bloodline Limit, he had already touched the threshold of a Jonin, yet he was powerless against this person.
But Ringo Yuriko was different; she was stronger than him.
However, the current predicament was that Wind Release naturally countered Lightning Release, and her prideful speed was being deathly suppressed by the large-scale attacks.
Therefore, at this moment, he had to take on the role of creating an opening.
Haku's hands began to form Hand Seals rapidly. The moment the seals were completed, his figure gradually faded under the sunlight until he vanished without a trace.
Immediately after, Ringo Yuriko's figure also disappeared from her spot.
[As I thought, this is the technique I helped Ye develop. A Physical Genjutsu utilizing the principle of light refraction.]
Amane sensed two Chakra signatures cautiously approaching. She feigned ignorance, but a hint of curiosity welled up inside her.
What exactly had happened in the Hidden Mist after she left?
Judging by the current situation, it was clear that Zabuza had become the guiding Jonin for these four.
After all, as far as Amane knew, both Ringo Yuriko and Chōjūrō were future members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Having Zabuza, a current member, lead them made perfect sense.
And Haku's presence here was understandable; anyone who had seen the original work knew his situation. To some extent, Haku and Kimimaro were highly similar, only Haku's devotion was toward Zabuza.
As she thought of this, the two had already closed in on Amane, but the Chakra belonging to Ringo Yuriko came to a halt.
Amane felt a bit puzzled, but recalling the time they spent together in the Hidden Mist Village...
Her intuition told her that even though she hadn't focused her full attention on the two, Ringo Yuriko had become wary!
[So, what are you going to do? Thrust at me from this distance?]
Amane felt a sense of anticipation. Currently, Naruto and Kakashi's lives were not in danger. Although she had previously lamented the fickleness of fate, she was now enjoying this long-overdue "greeting."
Constantly recalling the bits and pieces of her past in the Mist, Amane kept predicting Ringo Yuriko's possible actions.
Finally, just as Amane reached a conclusion, Ringo Yuriko did exactly as she expected.
She revealed herself openly and honorably, looking at her with a complex gaze from a distance of about thirty meters.
[That's right, that's the Ringo Yuriko I know. Sneaking around isn't your style; lightning should be upright and unstoppable.]
These thirty meters were Ringo Yuriko's challenge, and also a way to test her opponent!
The corner of Amane's mouth curled into a nearly imperceptible arc. As Ringo Yuriko wished, her gaze focused entirely on her, as if ignoring Haku, who was still lurking nearby.
[Damn it! Ringo Yuriko is doing it again! Can't she see how strong the opponent is?]
Haku's heart skipped a beat as he watched Ringo Yuriko step out proactively.
Although Ringo Yuriko often had strong opinions when they teamed up in the past, her extraordinary intuition always led to good results, so everyone just went along with it.
Could it be that Ringo Yuriko had sensed something this time as well?
Haku really couldn't bring himself to think that way.
In their brief exchange, the pressure Amane gave him was extremely intense, and the technical skill and power shown by her Wind Release suppression could only be described as terrifying!
However, in the next second, Haku realized Ringo Yuriko was right.
With a sharp "whoosh," Amane flicked a finger toward where he was hiding. A wind bullet, fast as lightning, hit its mark with precision, and the massive impact instantly sent him flying!
[So I was discovered long ago?]
The wind bullet was incredibly fast, and its aim was impeccable. Haku flew back toward Zabuza, crashing heavily and falling unconscious on the spot.
"Do you want to continue?" Amane's voice, having been processed, sounded raspy and low. "You are a team led by one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Killing you would cause a diplomatic incident and risk starting a war; it's too much trouble."
Faced with the question, Ringo Yuriko remained silent. The complex emotions in her eyes had faded, replaced only by the extreme focus of a battle stance.
In the next instant!
A long blade wreathed in lightning appeared before Amane's eyes like a ghost!
[This speed and the intensity of her lightning nature... she really is a bit stronger than Haku. Just how have you been training all these years?]
Amane found it hard to believe.
Without Hashirama cells, a young body simply couldn't withstand high-intensity extreme training.
This was one of the reasons why the Ninja Academy students usually didn't graduate until they were twelve.
And Ringo Yuriko didn't have a Bloodline Limit like Haku. How did she develop this kind of strength at her age?
Thinking of this, Amane tilted her head to dodge the lightning strike. Catching the tiny gap as Ringo Yuriko transitioned her moves, she grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward!
The entire movement was fluid and too fast to track. Amane was absolutely certain that Ringo Yuriko wouldn't be able to react.
For this grab, she had quietly dispelled the Wind Release Chakra protection around her wrist, making contact with her real flesh while instantly activating the power of her Sage Body.
Ringo Yuriko only felt a slight, imperceptible pain on her wrist, as if something had bitten her. She quickly broke free and continued her attack.
However, this time, Amane waved her hand, and a violent gale blasted her away! In an instant, Ringo Yuriko was covered in countless fine cutting wounds, her clothes quickly soaked through with blood.
If Amane's mask were removed at this moment, one would see that her expression was grim, appearing somewhat angry.
"Damn it! Even Ringo Yuriko!"
Zabuza, taking in the development of the battlefield, immediately judged that they had no chance of winning.
The newcomer was an expert at least on par with Sharingan Kakashi!
Damn it! Just now he had thought that because the Land of Waves was too poor, they had intentionally reported a low-level mission, leading Kakashi to bring three rookies along.
Looking at it now, it seemed they were the ones who had been played!
"Retreat!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately used a wide swing of his blade to force back Kakashi, then instantly went to Haku's side, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and activated the Body Flicker Technique!
During this process, Zabuza kept an eye on Kakashi and the mysterious Anbu. However, both of them remained still, with no intention of stopping them.
Zabuza was stunned for a moment but immediately understood. They probably didn't want to take things to the extreme and cause diplomatic issues.
After all, anyone could see that the team he led was unusual. If they suffered losses, the Hidden Mist would not let the matter rest.
At the same time, they were likely worried about a desperate counterattack. Judging by the person on the other side who had a Sharingan like Kakashi, their team was also out of the ordinary.
This also made Zabuza certain that this Konoha Anbu wasn't strong enough to surpass Kakashi; she wasn't confident in keeping them all here!
Thinking of this, Zabuza couldn't help but feel lucky that Chōjūrō's strike hadn't actually killed that Young Lady, otherwise... As expected, Kakashi and Amane watched as Zabuza's group successfully retreated.
Zabuza was mostly fine; Chōjūrō had been beaten badly by Naruto and Sasuke but was not crippled; although Ringo Yuriko was covered in blood, her wounds were all superficial; in comparison, Haku's injuries were the most severe.
Inside the defense Barrier set up by Amane, the regrouped Team 7 reviewed the battle, all feeling fortunate.
Before Amane appeared, each of them had felt a real threat of death, but fortunately, they had made it through.
"Sakura, are you sure you're okay?" Kakashi asked with concern.
"Yes, thanks to this... um..."
Sakura looked at Amane. Speaking of which, everything had happened so fast that they hadn't had time to ask for Amane's name yet; they only knew she was some Konoha Anbu.
"Kyu."
The raspy voice spoke again. Amane leaned silently against a nearby large tree.
Upon checking the area where Sakura had been stabbed, aside from two holes in the front and back of her clothes, no trace of injury could be seen, which couldn't help but amaze Kakashi.
One had to know that Sakura hadn't suffered a light injury. For this Anbu named Kyu to be able to heal it in such a short time proved that she was a top-tier expert in Medical Ninjutsu as well!
When did Konoha's Anbu get such a person? How had he never heard of her?
"Kyu? What a strange name!" Naruto leaned in from the side, looking at Amane curiously. "Also, why do you always wear a mask?"
"Because I am Anbu. Full name: Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai. Members carry out missions that cannot be made public, so we must never reveal our names or faces during a mission. Members address each other by code names."
Amane explained what the Anbu was, which served as a bit of a lesson for the rookie Ninjas.
At the same time, she looked through her mask at her older brother, whom she had seen on screen in her past life but had never met in this one.
Hmm... how to put it?
He looks like an idiot.
That was Amane's first impression.
Because she could tell at a glance that Naruto was definitely the type who was incredibly easy to get information out of—the kind of person Anbu members liked most.
Additionally, a strange feeling welled up in her heart.
There was a sense of peace and a natural familiarity, and how else to describe it?
Right!
She wanted to tease him!
"So cool!"
Naruto spoke bluntly. After all, at this age, he probably sensed a dark charm in the work of the Anbu from Amane's objective description.
Beneath the mask, the corner of Amane's mouth curled into a subtle arc, and she subconsciously mimicked Naruto's slightly lighthearted tone as she responded:
"Do you know what it means to be unseen? Even if it's an innocent old person, a child, a woman... as long as the order is given..."
She lowered her voice slightly while raising her index finger, slowly drawing it across her throat.
Sakura's face instantly turned pale.
Naruto, however, didn't seem scared at all. Instead, he mimicked Amane's tone and actions from just now, whether because he firmly believed she wouldn't do such a thing or because he just took it as a joke.
"Alright," Kakashi spoke up at the right time, interrupting this conversation with its subtle atmosphere.
"Everyone has just been through a fierce battle; rest well here first. Naruto, don't go asking about Anbu matters casually. The Anbu's secrecy protocols are extremely strict, to say the least."
After he finished, his gaze turned to Amane, giving her a look that said, "Let's talk privately."
Amane naturally understood and nodded silently in agreement.
So, the two of them each made an excuse and went outside.
Kakashi lowered his voice and asked straight to the point:
"Kyu, would it be convenient to ask..." His tone carried an inquiry and a hint of subtle gravity.
"Are you that man's subordinate?"
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