Chapter 138: Being a Teacher Is Exhausting
"Hmph~"
As the smoke dispersed, Ichikishimahime looked at the three children standing side by side. Her expression had turned ice-cold.
They had shown no respect for the Sage.
They had even insulted the Sage Arts.
"You deserve to die!"
The next moment, Ichikishimahime's black eyes transformed into yellow, vertical pupils. Black markings appeared around her eyes, while several patches of snake scales emerged on her cheeks.
When her tongue split into a snake's forked tongue as well, thick veins immediately bulged around Hana's eyes.
"Byakugan!"
Gulp.
She stared at the chakra surging through Ichikishimahime's body and swallowed with difficulty.
"This is troublesome."
Yūgao frowned. After estimating how long it would take Asuka to reach them from the village, she said,
"Sensei will be here in three minutes."
"Three minutes?"
Ichikishimahime raised an eyebrow and sneered.
"You think you can last half a minute against me?"
"But—"
Before she could finish, Ichikishimahime suddenly vanished from her original position.
Hana's pupils contracted sharply.
"Be careful! My Byakugan can't see her!"
The next instant, the hairs on the back of Hana's neck stood on end.
She brought her fingers together into a palm without hesitation and swung backward.
Thump!
The moment she realized her palm had struck nothing, her right foot stepped on a branch. Her body immediately flew diagonally to the left.
"I can fly too."
Ichikishimahime suddenly appeared beside her.
She waved at the Hyūga girl before wearing a playful expression and gently patting Hana on the neck with her right hand.
BOOM!
Hana's body shot downward like a cannonball.
Her head slammed into the ground, creating a deep crater.
Flying stones grazed Iruka's cheek, causing his entire body to stiffen.
Too strong.
The other party had merely given Hana a light pat, yet it seemed as though she had suffered a devastating attack.
Is this the power of Sage Arts?
"Iruka, behind you!"
At Yūgao's warning, Iruka froze.
He slowly turned around.
When he saw Ichikishimahime smiling at him, his lips twitched slightly as he remembered his teacher's instructions.
When facing an enemy you cannot defeat, and you cannot launch an effective counterattack in a short period of time, you absolutely must not lose your fighting spirit.
"Child, are you so frightened that you can't move?"
Ichikishimahime looked at the motionless Iruka and shook her head excitedly.
"Humans…"
The next moment, she noticed that the chakra inside the human boy's body wasn't fluctuating abnormally.
Yet his cheeks suddenly puffed up like those of a toad.
What kind of jutsu is this?
"Ptooey!"
???
When a spray of saliva flew toward her, Ichikishimahime's expression darkened.
She kicked Iruka in the stomach and flashed to the side, looking disgusted.
"Disgusting. You actually spat at me."
"Leaf Style: Falling Moon Night!"
Yūgao shot into the air, gripping her sword with both hands.
She swung the blade, leaving behind an afterimage resembling a full moon.
Ichikishimahime merely shook her head.
"Too weak. I'm not interested."
Whoosh!
She sidestepped the sword strike, placed one hand on Yūgao's shoulder, and halted her momentum.
Then she chuckled.
"You smell nice."
She took several deep breaths, savoring the scent emanating from the human body before closing her eyes in apparent enjoyment.
???
Before Yūgao could break free, the little girl's neck suddenly stretched.
Her mouth opened wide, revealing four sharp fangs that glinted coldly in the air.
Whoosh!
Yūgao watched the head hurtling toward her amid a violent gust of wind.
She struggled again, her right hand gripping an explosive tag so tightly that sweat slowly soaked through it.
32.
Thump!
A dull impact echoed.
Ichikishimahime realized that all four of her fangs had sunk deeply into the girl's flesh.
Instinctively, she ran her forked tongue twice across the fresh human neck.
But the sweetness she had imagined never came.
Instead—
Why does it taste so salty? And why is there a faint smell of urine?
???
Ichikishimahime smacked her lips before opening her eyes and lowering her gaze.
She saw the large hand resting against Yūgao's neck.
Her mind went completely blank.
Then she hurriedly released her bite.
"Urgh… Ugh…"
The little girl crouched to the side, repeatedly dry-heaving.
Asuka shook the blood from his palm before looking at the equally bewildered Yūgao.
His voice was filled with emotion.
"Ever since you joined the Medical Department, I, your teacher, have barely been able to eat or sleep properly. I'm always staring at my communication scrolls, terrified that I'll miss a message and let you accidentally kill someone with your medical ninjutsu."
"Even if your message arrives while I'm in the bathroom, I have to stop whatever I'm doing and rush over immediately."
He sighed deeply.
"Please graduate soon. Your teacher is really tired these days."
Hearing this, Yūgao stuffed the unused explosive tag back into her pocket.
She looked at the still-dry-heaving Ichikishimahime, then at Asuka, who was patting her on the head.
After hesitating for a moment, she asked,
"Sensei, is that…?"
"Exactly what you think."
Asuka nodded.
He shook the remaining blood from his hand and sighed again.
"I usually wash my hands with soap, but who would bring soap along while watching the Chūnin Exams?"
Yūgao's expression immediately darkened.
She slapped Asuka's hand away in disgust.
After briefly explaining Ichikishimahime's background, she jumped down to the ground and began treating Hana and Iruka.
Asuka watched Yūgao's departing figure for a moment before turning toward the little girl who was still dry-heaving.
His gaze then swept over the two other Hoshinin lying on the ground.
"Sage Arts, snakes… Are you from Ryūchi Cave?"
Ichikishimahime clutched her neck and glared resentfully at Asuka before immediately starting to dry-heave again.
Asuka scratched his head in disappointment.
"I originally planned to exchange an S-rank jutsu for your levitation technique, but it looks like my ninjutsu exchange program has fallen through."
Ichikishimahime finally stood up.
She spat several times onto the ground before running her forked tongue over her hand.
Then she coldly asked,
"You want to exchange ninjutsu with me?"
"Yes!"
"Keep dreaming."
The moment she finished speaking, Ichikishimahime vanished from her original position again.
Invisibility?
Asuka raised an eyebrow.
What a terrifying ability.
According to Yūgao, even Hana's Byakugan couldn't detect her presence.
Actually, I've never insulted the Hyūga clan.
They're simply incapable of winning anything.
Asuka's black eyes turned red.
Strange, intricate patterns began spinning rapidly within them.
"Ōkuninushi!"
A hemispherical, deep-blue space began expanding outward from Asuka.
As the master of this dark-blue domain, he could perceive every living and nonliving entity within its boundaries.
The next instant, Asuka shifted his body slightly to the right.
Then, with lightning speed, he thrust out his right hand and grabbed the air in front of him.
"You snakes really like sticking this thing out."
Ichikishimahime's vertical pupils contracted violently.
She stared at the forked tongue in Asuka's hand, her mind instantly filling with confusion and fury.
How did he see through my invisibility?
Then Asuka suddenly pulled out another forked tongue.
His other hand caught it as well.
His arm muscles bulged as he swung both tongues through the air like whips.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The violent wind tore every remaining green leaf from the surrounding trees.
Asuka secretly glanced at the two people standing on the ground.
Those two are probably from Ryūchi Cave as well, right?
"You… have… my…"
Hearing the little girl's faint muttering from above, Asuka looked up in confusion.
"Don't tell me you came here to avenge Manda after I chopped him into pieces?"
Hearing this, Ichikishimahime realized that her tongue had already gone numb.
She grabbed Asuka's arms with both hands while desperately winking at her companions below.
"No… It's not…"
Who would believe that?
Asuka released her.
Then he used the Body Flicker Technique and instantly appeared beside the remaining two Hoshinin.
"Tell me. Why did you come to Konoha?"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sound of trees collapsing rang out one after another.
The two Hoshinin didn't even spare a glance at Ichikishimahime, who had been sent flying.
Their eyes remained fixed on Asuka.
Their expressions were solemn.
"We are envoys from Ryūchi Cave."
"This time, under the orders of the White Snake Sage, we have come to Konoha to meet you."