Chapter 304: No Time to Mourn Zabuza; Future Mizukage Mei Arrives

The Ninja Academy teacher, I get stronger just by teaching, Volume 222: There wasn't a single moment to mourn Zabuza; the next future Mizukage to arrive on the battlefield, Mei Terumi, noticed Kakashi approaching, and Heize quickly burst into action to knock Rin Nohara back several steps in an attempt to dodge Kakashi's attack.

But Kakashi, going all out, was extremely fast; with the boost from his surprise attack, there was no way Heize could evade while flustered.

The sharp blade slashed across Heize's left arm, leaving a long, narrow bloody gash.

"Damn, beaten this quickly—such a waste." Heize clutched his arm and cursed.

Originally, the situation here was very favorable for him, but now with his arm injured, even if Kakashi left immediately, he might not be able to defeat Rin Nohara.

"You hold your teammates to higher standards than yourself? It's a pity to be your teammate." Kakashi frowned upon hearing Heize's words.

"What are you talking about? I got hurt because of him—do you expect me to say something nice about him?" Heize sneered, trying to stall with words while using a bandage to bind the wound.

But Kakashi wasn't fooled; he continued to berate him while also pressing the physical assault, charging forward again at once.

Swoosh!

Kakashi, using the full power of Lightning Breathing, was far faster than Heize. Heize thrust a short blade at Kakashi, only to find Kakashi's figure vanish instantly from in front of him.

Bang!

Appearing at the side, Kakashi delivered a direct spinning kick that sent Heize flying backward, even causing the short blade in his right hand to slip from his grip and fall.

Boom!

The large tree struck by the backward-flying Heize trembled violently, shaking several times as leaves rustled continuously.

"Instead of slandering others, improve yourself. Those who only blame their teammates will never gain reliable comrades." Kakashi said coldly.

Although it was their first meeting, the Mist Village had left a very poor impression on Kakashi; it was the first time he felt a strong urge to crush an opponent's beliefs.

"Haha, I admit your strength surpasses mine, and your team is stronger than ours. You're all genius ninja, but that's it. What beat me wasn't your naive ideals—it was your power." Heize struggled to stand, forcing a mocking smile as he replied.

Being defeated by a younger ninja spouting such naive words made Heize very unwilling, so no matter what Kakashi said, he would argue back.

Since he had already lost in strength, he would fiercely belittle the opponent with words.

Kakashi walked calmly toward Heize; after that experience, his convictions would not be easily shaken.

Although he didn't plan to kill, Kakashi would render his opponent unable to move. As for how they would survive in this Forest of Death full of poisonous insects and fierce beasts afterward—that was not Kakashi's concern.

"Looks like I've come at a bad time." A unfamiliar female voice suddenly spoke.

Kakashi immediately stopped and cautiously scanned the surroundings, spotting a young girl with long red hair approaching from the east, followed by two boys whose faces were wrapped in bandages.

Kakashi sighed inwardly. His greatest fear had come true—another new ninja team had arrived.

The reason he had fought Zabuza step by step, expending minimal stamina to defeat him, was precisely to prevent this kind of situation.

Because the towering black smoke was too conspicuous, plus the sounds of their ninjutsu clashes and taijutsu battles, it was only natural that some teams would be drawn here.

When Kakashi saw the Mist Village forehead protector on Mei Terumi's head, his heart sank further; he only hoped the opponent's strength wouldn't be too great.

Whizz! Whizz!

Kakashi immediately flung two kunai, piercing Heize's thighs and causing the already unsteady Heize to collapse to the ground.

After approaching the battlefield, Mei Terumi surveyed the scene: she saw the residual water on the ground, Nara Yanshui and the others resting by the trees with serious injuries, the fallen Zabuza and Heize, and the intense battle between Obito and Kisame.

Without a doubt, a major battle had erupted here, involving three teams.

It seemed to Mei Terumi that her Mist Village team was fighting one against two, and they were on the verge of losing.

"Joining forces against us from the Mist Village? How despicable." Mei Terumi's teammates had roughly the same thought as she did.

"Mei Terumi, what should we do?" A teammate looked at Mei Terumi.

Although they usually had average relations, Mei Terumi was the strongest, so in the absence of the supervising jonin, she acted as captain.

Mei Terumi didn't speak; a contemplative expression appeared on her face.

"This fight is about seizing scrolls. Whatever scroll you're missing—Heaven or Earth—we can provide it to help you pass the exam." Kakashi thought for a moment and spoke calmly.

He wanted to avoid this battle. They were already nearly finished with Kisame's team, but if another Mist team joined, Kakashi couldn't guarantee the outcome.

Based on the behavior of Zabuza and Heize, Kakashi guessed that due to the overall atmosphere of the Mist Village, ninja had weak bonds with comrades, and most prioritized personal gain. So he came up with this plan.

Although in reality they only had the Heaven scroll, he remembered that Kisame's team had the Earth scroll. By rounding up, they could be considered as also having the Earth scroll.

"That sounds like a good idea. What we're missing is the Earth Scroll." Terumi Mei pressed her right hand against her chin, looking somewhat tempted.

Terumi Mei's team had been unlucky; from the start of the exam until now, this was the first time they had encountered another ninja team, so they had come straight over upon seeing the black smoke.

"We have an Earth Scroll, too. If you help us defeat these guys, we'll give you whatever scrolls you want." Kurosawa, seeing Terumi Mei's eager attitude, immediately spoke up. If new reinforcements joined, the situation would be reversed.

"We're all Kirigakure ninja. You should know which side is more trustworthy."

Terumi Mei glanced at the Kirigakure ninja, then at the Konoha ninja.

In her heart, she naturally favored Kurosawa, a ninja from the same village, but his words annoyed her—it felt like he was giving her orders.

When she clearly saw Obito's face, Terumi Mei, who had been hesitant a moment before, immediately made her decision. She would avenge her strawberry ice cream.

"Defeat all these Konoha ninja." Terumi Mei gave the order to her two teammates, then charged toward Obito.

"Please go fight the others. I will defeat this guy alone!" After reaching the vicinity of the two, Terumi Mei didn't attack but instead told Kisame to leave.

Kisame burst with tremendous force to push Obito back and looked at Terumi Mei with some confusion.

To be fair, he had been a ninja for a while, but this was the first time he had seen someone actively create a one-on-one environment.

"If you don't leave, I won't make a move." Terumi Mei crossed her arms and said.

She only wanted to use her own strength to avenge the strawberry ice cream.

Although he found it a bit strange, Kisame didn't want to give up this hard-won ally.

"I hope your strength matches your confidence. This guy is no pushover." Leaving these words behind, Kisame rushed toward Kakashi.

"You're the Kirigakure who bought dessert that day." Obito saw Terumi Mei's waist-length red hair and recalled their encounter that day.

"What 'buying dessert'? I was gathering intelligence." Terumi Mei corrected. She hadn't bought anything right away; she had only gone to buy ice cream after finishing her intelligence collection.

"What intelligence could a dessert shop have? Is it that they have desserts that Kirigakure doesn't?" Obito was somewhat puzzled.

"Of course..." Terumi Mei instinctively started to name a few desserts Kirigakure didn't have, but she quickly realized this was no time for casual chat. "Anyway, I was gathering intelligence that day. Although I don't really want to bully someone who looks as dumb as you, I must avenge the strawberry ice cream."

"Ridiculous. You're the dumb one." Obito thought this red-haired Kirigakure ninja was a bit neurotic.

With that, the two moved simultaneously, engaging in taijutsu combat.

Terumi Mei's taijutsu was not weak, but she was up against Obito, who had both the Breathing Technique and the Sharingan. His superior insight allowed him to easily see through Terumi Mei's attacks, while his greater strength and speed let him counterattack powerfully while deflecting her moves.

In less than half a minute, Terumi Mei was at a disadvantage. Obito seized an opportunity and punched her in the stomach, sending her stumbling back five or six steps.

"This guy's taijutsu is strong. Is that eye the legendary Sharingan?" Terumi Mei retreated rapidly, forming hand seals, ready to use her best ninjutsu against her enemy.

Swish! Swish!

Obito threw four shuriken to pin down Terumi Mei's position, then immediately pursued.

Since Terumi Mei's taijutsu was inferior to his, he would chase her down with taijutsu.

"Boil Release: Skillful Mist Technique!"

A thick white mist continuously spewed from Terumi Mei's mouth, surging toward the approaching Obito.

Having seen Kirigakure ninja use the Hidden Mist Technique, Obito didn't pay much attention to the white mist Terumi Mei spat out. But when he saw the shuriken that entered the mist corroded and damaged, he realized something was wrong and immediately used Soru to create distance.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

As he retreated, Obito also gathered chakra and began using ninjutsu. He concentrated chakra in his throat and spewed out a massive amount of flame, forming a huge fireball that hurtled toward the thick mist.

However, to Obito's surprise, his Great Fireball was directly swallowed by the thick mist. Although Terumi Mei's white mist had diminished somewhat, it was undoubtedly stronger compared to the Great Fireball that vanished completely.

"This one's ninjutsu is strong," Obito judged in his mind.

This was truly bad news for Obito. If Terumi Mei's ninjutsu had been on the same level as her taijutsu, he could have defeated her within two minutes. But now it was difficult.

It wasn't that Obito's current chakra and stamina could only last two minutes, but that Kakashi and Rin were in trouble.

From the corner of his Sharingan, Obito could clearly see Kakashi getting beaten.

One Kirigakure ninja was dragging Rin away, while another was ganging up on Kakashi alongside Kisame.

"I have no choice but to go all out." Obito took a deep breath, gathered a large amount of chakra, and pushed the Flame Breathing Technique to its utmost limit.

He was going to use the strongest Fire Release he could currently perform: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.

I have a cold and feel awful, so my writing is very slow. Today, I'll only post one chapter. We'll see if I'm better tomorrow—if so, I'll make up for it then.