Chapter 99: Teaming up with Mei Terumī
Hanakawa heard the screams and immediately got up, put on his clothes, and rushed out.
He had just opened the door when he saw Tsunade and Sakumo Hatake standing in the hallway.
A moment later, a loud rumbling sound echoed from the distance as a tall earth wall was erected.
Hanakawa subconsciously glanced at it, suddenly feeling a sense of déjà vu, like a zombie apocalypse.
"We are going to see the Shrine Maiden."
Kitsuchi stepped forward, his voice grave.
As for his two teammates, they had already gone to join the battle.
"Right now, a group of puppets is besieging the Shrine Maiden's Temple, but they are immortal. They can regenerate from any injury."
The sound of wind whistling cut through the air, and Ao appeared before the group, bringing back information from outside.
"Let's go."
Tsunade was decisive and quickly headed towards the temple.
The others followed closely behind.
"I can sense its location. It's about a thousand meters to the west."
Shrine Maiden Miroku was already waiting. Seeing them, she got straight to the point.
"It must be trying to use the Undead Army to exhaust us," Ao said, frowning.
"That's right."
Miroku stood up, her face calm. "We can't just sit here and wait. Use me as bait and lure it to the Land of Swamps to be sealed."
She had long foreseen this day and was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Her only worry was for her daughter, Shion.
But fortunately, she had entrusted her to a trustworthy guard, Ashisuke.
In the original story, he eventually sacrificed his life to protect Shion.
"Then we'll split up."
Kitsuchi's voice was low and firm. "One group will hold off the Undead Army, and another will escort the Shrine Maiden and suppress it."
"How should we split?"
Ao looked at Tsunade and Sakumo Hatake.
Although the Five Great Villages were rivals, they were in a state of cooperation, so the most respected shinobi should give the orders.
Everyone present was a jonin, but they couldn't compare to Tsunade and Sakumo Hatake.
"The Undead Army is large. The shinobi skilled in Earth and Water Style should stay and stop them," Tsunade said after a moment's thought.
"In that case, let Akatsuchi and Bizu, who are already fighting, stay behind," Kitsuchi agreed. "We will escort the Shrine Maiden."
Of the five people present, Hanakawa was the only one who was not an elite jonin from one of the three villages.
"Alright," Tsunade nodded slightly, then looked at Hanakawa. "You stay and deal with the Undead Army."
Although his strength was impressive, he wouldn't be of much use against a being on the level of a Tailed Beast.
"Okay."
Hanakawa didn't refuse.
"Be careful."
Tsunade reached out and patted his head. Then, the four of them escorted Miroku away.
Hanakawa looked away and quickly ran towards the square in front of the Shrine Maiden's Temple.
Just then, with a boom, the earth wall that had held for so long suddenly collapsed.
A massive ring of fire came flying through.
Hanakawa raised an eyebrow.
He recognized it as a composite jutsu used by Yomi's four subordinates.
Simply put, it was a combination of Fire and Wind Style.
But it wasn't a Kekkei Genkai fusion, just a simple叠加.
"Get out of the way!"
Mei's voice rang out.
Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu!
She stood not far away, gathering chakra in her mouth, and then spewed out a magnificent torrent of water.
It was like a waterfall, crashing down on the ring of fire.
If the ring of fire wasn't stopped, it would endanger the Shrine Maiden's Temple, the shrine maidens, and the samurai inside.
"You're repaying my kindness with enmity!"
Hanakawa used the Body Flicker Jutsu to dodge the waterfall and appeared by her side.
"When have you ever done me a favor?"
Mei glared at him.
"Right now!"
Hanakawa raised an eyebrow, drew his katana, and flew behind her.
A dazzling flash of light from his blade, and the heads of two puppets were instantly cut off.
As soon as the earth wall fell, many puppets rushed into the square in front of the temple.
It wasn't just them; Bizu, Akatsuchi, and the others were also engaged in a bitter battle.
"Hmph!"
Mei glanced at the extinguished ring of fire and said, "I could have handled it without your help."
As she spoke, she wove a series of hand signs.
Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!
A massive water dragon roared into the sky under her control.
Lightning Style: Thunder Roar!
Seeing this, Hanakawa sheathed his katana and wove his own hand signs.
He was faster than Mei. Almost simultaneously, a lance-like beam of lightning shot from his mouth.
The water dragon descended from the sky, engulfing a large area of puppets.
Hanakawa's lightning lance followed closely, merging with the flow of water.
In an instant, the water and lightning reacted, and countless sparks of lightning scattered everywhere.
A continuous crackling sound filled the air, and puppets fell like dominoes.
"A pleasure working with you."
Hanakawa said with a smile.
Mei was about to reply but quickly frowned.
The puppets they had just defeated were getting back up.
"This is a pain!"
Mei said grimly. "If this continues, our chakra will eventually run out, and we'll be at their mercy."
"Did you see that ring of fire earlier?" Hanakawa asked, thinking for a moment.
"What about it?" Mei asked, startled.
"That was a jutsu," Hanakawa said, turning around and cutting off the head of an approaching puppet. "Do you think these puppets would use jutsu?"
"Are you saying someone is controlling them from behind?" Mei's eyes lit up.
"That's right."
Hanakawa looked at her and smiled. "Let's go take them out. Once they lose their controller, the puppets will be nothing but scattered mobs."
In the original story, the puppets were controlled by Moryo.
But Moryo only wanted to kill the Shrine Maiden, so the actual commander was Yomi.
Yomi's Dark Medical Ninjutsu was impressive, but his own strength was nothing special, at most a jonin.
As for his subordinates, they were even weaker.
Hanakawa plus Mei could take them.
"Why don't we just let them go?" Mei asked, pointing to Bizu and Gonbei in the distance.
"They're too strong. It would alert the person behind the scenes and make it difficult to approach," Hanakawa said. "Let them attract attention and cover for us. We'll seize the opportunity."
"Okay, let's do as you say."
Mei pondered for a moment. "I'll go tell them."
She leapt, jumping over the heads of the puppets, and quickly approached Bizu and Gonbei.
Akatsuchi and Bunya from the Hidden Stone were also there.
They all knew that fighting the immortal puppets was pointless and readily agreed.
"Use Earth Style: Earth Rising Fortress," Akatsuchi said, looking at Bunya.
There were many Earth Style jutsu that could be used in conjunction, like Earth Style: Great Wall of Earth.
In the Fourth Shinobi World War, it was performed by several Hidden Stone shinobi to fight the Third Raikage, who had been reanimated.
The only drawback was the immense chakra consumption.
"Right!"
Bunya and Akatsuchi wove hand signs in sync, and both pressed their hands to the ground.
The ground shook, a volcano erupted from beneath, and then sprayed countless streams of lava.
Bizu and Gonbei did not use a combination jutsu, but their actions were just as coordinated.
Large amounts of chakra turned into seawater, and a huge wave rose from nowhere in front of them.
The swarming puppets were instantly caught between a rock and a hard place.
"Let's go!"
Mei shouted, ready to charge forward, but Hanakawa stopped her.
"I have an idea," Hanakawa said, suddenly thinking of something. "You use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and I'll use the Transformation Jutsu to disguise myself as your clone."
"You're really taking advantage of me," Mei said, rolling her eyes. "Why don't you use the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
"Because I can't," Hanakawa said, with a straight face.
Mei was so angry her teeth ached, but there was no time to argue.
She wove hand signs and created five Water Clones.
The seawater created by Bizu and Gonbei helped her save a lot of chakra.
This was because Water Style users received a boost when near rivers or oceans.
Transformation Jutsu!
Hanakawa's body shimmered, and he took on Mei's appearance.
The seven of them sprinted out over the water.
The shinobi of the Five Great Villages were not bad at all.
Yomi retreated to a safe distance.
Although the puppets were fighting a losing battle, he wasn't worried.
Because the puppets were immortal, and the shinobi's stamina was limited.
With enough time, they would be exhausted to death.
"Lord Yomi, a shinobi is headed this way."
Behind him, his four subordinates spoke up.
"It's just a little girl. You four handle her," Yomi said, glancing at Mei without a care.
"Yes!"
The four of them used the Body Flicker Jutsu and vanished.
"Be careful!"
Hanakawa had activated his eight-power-zoom, so he noticed them ahead of time.
"I know!"
Mei replied instinctively.
"I'll use a genjutsu, you just follow my lead."
Hanakawa, in her form, stepped forward.
Mei's heart skipped a beat, and the other five Water Clones lined up with him.
"I'll just blow them away!"
The leader of the four subordinates sneered, clapping his hands together.
Wind Style: Divine Wind!
A powerful storm descended, quickly blowing over the surface of the water towards Mei.
Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu!
Mei reacted quickly, instantly raising a wall of water to block the gale.
Just then, Hanakawa leaped into the air.
...
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