Uchiha Raizen pondered for a moment, then finally let go, ending the kiss that had nearly suffocated them both — a kiss that was far from romantic.
But his arms still tightly wrapped around Mei Terumi's delicate body, not relaxing in the slightest, preventing her from forming hand seals again.
The Azure Dragon Curse Seal had granted him superhuman recovery, and in just this short moment, he had already regained some strength.
"Huff... Huff... Mmm... Ah~"
Mei Terumi gasped for air as if she were a drowning fish, her sharp chin resting weakly on Raizen's shoulder.
Her mature body was soft and warm, her slender waist so delicate it seemed boneless — easily held in one hand — and contrasted beautifully with her ample chest, like slender branches bearing ripe fruit.
"We don't have to be enemies," Uchiha Raizen said cautiously, choosing his words with care and using a gentle, harmless tone.
Mei felt warm breaths brushing against her delicate earlobe, sending shivers through her smooth, snow-like skin as if a subtle current passed over her.
She bit down lightly on her lower lip, which had gone dry from the friction — all moisture from before was gone.
So this... was what a real kiss between a man and a woman felt like?
It wasn't as powerful as her Lava or Boil Release techniques that could melt steel and stone...
But still, how should she put it... it was definitely intense.
A kiss like that could easily make a woman's heart melt in another kind of heat, couldn't it?
Of course, if it were just a bit sweeter... that would be even better.
"Hey, Mei Terumi, are you even listening?"
"Huh? What did you say?"
"You... this woman..."
Uchiha Raizen was speechless.
Even in a situation like this, the other side could still space out.
"I'm telling you, we don't necessarily have to be enemies," he said slowly.
"Although my sister stayed undercover in the Land of Water for a while, the intel she gathered was very limited. It won't make much of a difference. There's no need for you to keep holding onto it."
Terumi Mei snapped out of her love-struck thoughts.
When it came to her village or her country, she could always force herself to become calm and rational.
"How can I believe you?" she asked coldly. "You caused a huge mess in the Land of Water, forcing Lord Fourth Mizukage to fully transform into a Tailed Beast and even use a Tailed Beast Bomb. Now no one even knows if he's alive or dead."
"He's probably still alive. But whether he is or not doesn't matter," Raizen said calmly. "Because he was just a puppet—being controlled by someone else."
He could clearly feel Terumi Mei's delicate body stiffen in his arms.
Her tone changed drastically.
"What are you talking about?! The Fourth Mizukage is nearly a perfect Jinchūriki—how could he be a puppet?"
"The full explanation is complicated," Raizen replied. "But you know I'm from the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha's Sharingan genjutsu is powerful enough to control both the person and their Tailed Beast."
Upon hearing this, Terumi Mei fell silent.
She recalled how she herself had once been trapped by Uchiha Hikari's Sharingan genjutsu.
It had been incredibly hard to break free from—its control was terrifying.
If it weren't for Ao, she would've struggled for a long time to escape it on her own.
Even so, she still found it hard to believe that such genjutsu could turn someone as powerful as the Fourth Mizukage into a mere puppet.
"A normal three-tomoe Sharingan can't control someone like a nearly perfect Jinchūriki," Raizen continued. "But the Mangekyō Sharingan can. As one of Kirigakure's top elites, don't tell me you've never heard of the Mangekyō Sharingan's power?"
"Mangekyō Sharingan…" Terumi Mei repeated the name softly.
She had indeed seen records about the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Ao had even mentioned Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, whose abilities could permanently alter a person's will.
It was practically a dreamlike dōjutsu.
If the Fourth Mizukage had really encountered a Mangekyō Sharingan, then…
Mei Terumi suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
Some things she could never understand before... finally started to make sense now.
It was because he had been controlled.
That's why the Fourth Mizukage's personality changed so drastically.
That's why he led the Blood Mist policy to become even more brutal and terrifying.
It was because he had been controlled.
That's why he didn't care about the decline of Kirigakure.
That's why he went as far as to slaughter those powerful bloodline clans that were vital to the village.
So that's how it was!
After the shock came anger.
A boiling, uncontrollable rage!
Someone had toyed with the village she loved—Kirigakure—this far.
Just who was hiding behind all of this?
That bastard!
"I believe you now. You can let go of me," Mei said, trying to suppress her fury.
Uchiha Raizen released her and stepped back a few paces.
Mei's gaze turned cold.
The earlier tension and allure had completely vanished.
She asked icily, "Since it's the Mangekyō Sharingan, that means the person who controlled the Fourth Mizukage was also from the Uchiha clan—your own people. What is your relationship with him? If you don't explain that clearly, I still can't trust you fully."
Seeing that Mei's attitude was cold, but her mind remained sharp and logical, Uchiha Raizen felt somewhat relieved.
He couldn't help but admire her.
As expected of the Fifth Mizukage—the one who pulled Kirigakure out of the Blood Mist.
In a way, she was just like Tsunade—taking charge during the darkest of times.
A true heroine among shinobi.
Well... even their figures were equally bold and powerful.
Uchiha Raizen spoke, "You saw the battle just now—do I really need to explain our relationship?"
"Heh… we may both be Uchiha, but people are different."
"Some, once broken by tragedy, want to destroy the entire world."
"To them, it doesn't matter—whether it's their own clan, their teacher, or innocent children and elders… they can kill them all without the slightest hesitation."
Mei picked up on something.
"Them?" she asked sharply.
"There was only one person who controlled the Fourth Mizukage," Raizen replied.
"But within the Uchiha clan… there are more than a few of those twisted types."
Uchiha Raizen thought of Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Madara. After returning to the village, he couldn't afford to slack off like before.
It was time to seriously consider the future of the Uchiha clan.
Since Fugaku was incompetent, he would take the lead himself. Now, he had the confidence and strength to do so.
Terumi Mei lowered her head in thought for a moment. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly raised her hand and threw a kunai at Uchiha Raizen.
Raizen was startled for a second. Then his brow twitched as he activated the Azure Dragon Curse Mark.
Blue dragon scales quickly covered his body. A scarlet light flashed through his eyes as he activated the three-tomoe Sharingan.
Without a word, he turned and threw a punch.
Terumi Mei's kunai had also been aimed at his back.
The air distorted.
Obito's figure appeared.
Both the kunai and Raizen's punch passed through his body.
"Even if you've discovered the truth about the Blood Mist, so what? Today, both of you will die here."
His palm released a powerful suction, trying to pull Raizen into the other dimension.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
Terumi Mei spat out a stream of milky yellow acid, aiming it at Obito.
Obito turned intangible again and reappeared ten meters away, his brows furrowed.
"So, you're the one behind the Fourth Mizukage's manipulation?" Terumi Mei stepped beside Uchiha Raizen, her beautiful eyes filled with killing intent. "As I thought, it's the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"His Mangekyō Sharingan abilities are intangibility and absorption. The intangibility lasts five minutes. But when he absorbs something, his body becomes solid—that's his weakness," Uchiha Raizen explained briefly.
Obito's eyes darkened.
It surprised him that Uchiha Raizen knew his abilities so well.
On the other hand, he didn't understand this sudden troublesome guy, Uchiha Raizen, at all.
He could cover his whole body with dragon scales to transform into a beast, and even directly turn into a dragon.
He could quickly recover even from the explosion of the Tailed Beast Bomb, showing no sign of losing consciousness.
Such amazing defense, vitality, and recovery were too complete — almost like a hexagon ninja.
"With my Kamui ability known, facing both of them at once is very disadvantageous for me," Obito thought.
"But if I don't eliminate them here, Kirigakure will no longer be under control. The most important is that Uchiha Raizen might become even more troublesome in the future."
"So, what should I do then?"
Obito began to hesitate.
Although his body had been implanted with a large number of Hashirama cells, allowing him to use some Wood Release techniques and freely activate his Mangekyō Sharingan without the risk of blindness, he only had one Mangekyō Sharingan, so the power of his Kamui was ultimately limited.
In terms of strength, compared to the living Uchiha Madara, Obito was far weaker, which was why he had to rely on the Akatsuki's power.
Usually, Obito could use the strange ability of his right eye's Kamui for surprise attacks, but Uchiha Raizen had exposed all the weaknesses of his power, making his greatest advantage disappear.
Obito was weighing the pros and cons.
**********
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