Although he had struck Terumi Mei head-on, she was airborne at the time and couldn't brace herself. As a result, while the impact was solid, it lacked the force needed to be lethal. Asahi wasn't confident he was able to kill her with a single blow.
As soon as he landed, he immediately gave chase, sprinting in the direction Mei had been sent flying.
*Whoosh!*
A black shadow flickered across his vision. A Kirigakure ninja wielding a kunai appeared before him, blocking his path.
From the corner of his eye, Asahi caught a glimpse of two figures rushing to Mei's side, helping her up.
"How are you?" one of them asked with concern.
"Cough, cough… I'm fine." Mei muttered, clearly suppressing the pain surging through her body.
Asahi chuckled coldly. "Wow, a ninja raised in the Blood Mist actually showing concern for a comrade? Now that's something I didn't expect."
"Not all Kirigakure ninja are cold-blooded animals!" the one in front of him snapped back angrily.
"You've lost your Kekkei Genkai wielder." Asahi sneered, eyes scanning the trio. "What else have you got?"
"Tch! Why don't you come over here and find out?" Mei replied defiantly, trying to straighten her back despite the pain.
"Provoking me won't change anything." Asahi said flatly.
"Hmph! You were so fearless a moment ago. What, getting scared now?" Mei said, eyes narrowing.
"I wonder how long you can keep up that act." muttered another Kirigakure ninja.
Although the kick hadn't been fatal, Asahi was confident in its impact. Mei might have survived, but there was no doubt she was severely injured. Her defiant posture was nothing more than a bluff meant to intimidate him.
Still, Asahi wasn't so naive. He was certain there were other Kirigakure ninja lying in wait—hidden in the surrounding terrain. If he rushed forward recklessly, he'd likely walk right into an ambush.
Now, it was a battle of patience—who would crack first?
Fortunately for Asahi, patience was one of his strong suits. He wasn't afraid to waste time. After all, with his mobility, he could escape at any moment. There was no urgency. On the contrary, he found it amusing to toy with the situation.
But if he could kill them all here—especially Mei, a rare wielder of two Kekkei Genkais—the hatred Kirigakure held for him would intensify dramatically.
The battlefield had shifted into a strange standoff. Mei was injured, and Asahi stood alone against several Kirigakure ninja. Neither side moved, but the tension between them was electric.
Asahi could leave whenever he wanted. But for the Kirigakure ninja, it wasn't so simple.
If he chose to pursue them, someone on their side would have to stay behind to cover the retreat. And without a specialized escape technique, that rear guard's survival rate would be less than zero.
In their current situation—having to flee with an injured comrade—they'd be forced to sacrifice someone. And even then, there was no guarantee Asahi wouldn't continue his pursuit.
Asahi narrowed his eyes. "So tell me… have there always been this many Kirigakure ninja lurking around lately? Or did you all show up just to hunt me?"
"Hmph! Did you really think Kirigakure would let you walk free after what you did?" one of them growled.
'So the Third Hokage's plan was working, then.'
If Kirigakure had truly begun tracking his movements, it meant they were acting out of vengeance—particularly for the Three-Tails incident.
The question was: how many ninja had they dispatched to hunt him?
If it was only a few elite teams, it wouldn't be a threat at all. But if the Third Hokage's prediction was accurate, then Kirigakure wouldn't take any chances. They'd send many shinobi to encircle both him and any nearby Konoha ninja.
If that happened—if a group of Konoha shinobi were caught in the crossfire—it would complicate things. Asahi wouldn't be able to abandon them easily.
After all, during the Three-Tails incident, he'd rushed to Kirigakure "in a fit of rage" to release the beast after discovering they were planning to seal it into Nohara Rin and weaponize her against Konoha.
That act had left an indelible impression: that Asahi valued his comrades and his village deeply.
If Kirigakure understood this, they'd leverage it. Surround him while he's with other Konoha ninja—force him to choose between escape and sacrifice.
Asahi exhaled slowly, voice cool and composed. "I'm not here to debate right and wrong about the Three-Tails. I just want to know—how much are you Kirigakure bastards willing to pay to kill me?"
"Are you afraid?" one of them taunted.
"You wish." Asahi laughed. "I just want to know how many corpses Kirigakure is prepared to leave behind."
"If I were you, I'd stay locked away in Konoha." the Kirigakure ninja snapped. "You'd be safe there."
"That's exactly why you're not me." Asahi replied sharply. "Unlike you cowards, I'm not afraid. Even if your entire village came after me, you'd still fail."
"Tch. All that bluster, and still you don't have the guts to charge."
Asahi didn't respond. Instead, he observed. The Kirigakure ninja had let nothing slip—but his instincts told him the Third Hokage's strategy might truly be bearing fruit.
Once this encounter ended, he could dig up more intel on Kirigakure's movements. If it turned out they had mobilized in large numbers, he'd return to Konoha and report to the Hokage personally.
Truthfully, Asahi was growing tired of constant battle. He'd achieved more than his share of battlefield merit. These days, he was more interested in quietly researching how to fuse Hashirama cells.
He exhaled through his nose. "Funny." he muttered. "I never thought I'd see soft-hearted shinobi in the Blood Mist. Terumi Mei… You used to be the most sentimental one in that hellhole. What's the matter now? Quiet because you can't stand up anymore?"
As he spoke, Asahi smoothly pulled out two kunai from his pouch. One in each hand, he shifted into a relaxed but ready stance. His gaze was sharp, unblinking—ready to strike the moment someone flinched.
His movements didn't go unnoticed. The Kirigakure ninja stiffened instantly, raising their weapons, tension rising like a coiled spring.
Asahi knew the truth well: the core of a ninja's existence was deception.
And after spending more than a decade in this world, he could see through most illusions. Still, he couldn't gauge the exact condition of Mei. She looked injured—but how badly?
Was she really on the verge of collapse, or was it an act to lure him in?
Though he was powerful, Asahi didn't fear the Kirigakure ninja in front of him. What he did fear… was Mei's Kekkei Genkai.
Whether it was Lava-style or Vapour-style, getting hit would mean instant, devastating injury. No matter how skilled he was, there was no walking away unscathed from that kind of damage.
The standoff dragged on.
Ten minutes had passed, and the deadlock remained. Both sides remained alert, their muscles taut. Fatigue started to creep in—but in truth, the longer this dragged on, the more advantageous it became for Asahi.
Without a medical-nin, Mei's wounds would only worsen with time.
He smirked coldly, voice steady and unrelenting. "A prodigious kunoichi with two Kekkei Genkais… Tell me, how long do you think you can keep standing?"
*****
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