"The one who should surrender isn't me, Mei-hime."
The voice came from right in front of her.
As the words managed to pierce through the ringing in her ears and reach her mind, she felt a warm breath brushing against her face—carrying a faint, refreshing scent of mint. Someone… was standing before her.
If not for how close the distance was, she might not even have heard it at all.
But the problem was—
Her kunai was pressed firmly against the back of Koeda Kyoichi.
Unless Kyoichi had a mouth growing out of the back of his head, it should have been impossible for her to feel his breath on her face. And yet, aside from the subdued figure of Kyoichi before her, all she could see was the giant rock creature dissolving away under acid, leaving behind only a few scraps of melted residue.
"You…"
Terumī Mei had just opened her mouth when—
The Kyoichi she had trapped with her kunai suddenly collapsed, dissolving into a mass of mud and sinking into the hot spring pool. At that exact moment, his true figure appeared abruptly before her, outlined against the glow of the setting sun.
His hands were empty.
A smile was playing at his lips.
He was standing right in front of her.
"…The match is over. The winner is Kyoichi."
At that moment, an elder's voice rang out from above.
Kirigumo Masakazu and Dazen descended from the artificial rock formation, walking over the rippling water. Acting in his role as referee, Masakazu announced Kyoichi's victory—and his own granddaughter's defeat.
"…I lost."
Terumī Mei bit her lip, glaring intently at Kyoichi. But she didn't throw a tantrum or try to argue. Instead, she admitted defeat in a calm, steady voice. Though Kyoichi had never pressed a kunai or blade to her throat, the fact that she had failed to even realize his true body had been hidden right in front of her was undeniable.
This was only a spar.
Had it been a real battle—
Her head might already be rolling on the ground.
"How did you do it just now? Why… couldn't I see you?" Mei's mental resilience was strong. Her disappointment lasted only a brief moment before she quickly steadied herself again, her eyes fixed on Kyoichi with burning curiosity.
"It's a secret technique—Earth Release: Hiding with Camouflage Technique."
Kyoichi answered her plainly.
He hadn't bothered to conceal this method.
For a shinobi, protecting one's secrets was important, but that didn't mean total isolation. Unless you chose to remain a lone wolf forever, teamwork demanded some degree of openness.
And besides—
The true power of the Camouflage Technique lay in catching the enemy completely off guard.
Like just now.
Even Mei hadn't suspected he possessed such a skill. Not even Masakazu, standing nearby, had realized. That was why Mei had been deceived by his earth clone decoy, never expecting that Kyoichi's real body had been lying in wait right beside it.
Of course, even if someone knew about this technique, unless they were a sensory-type ninja, it was still incredibly difficult to pierce through.
But Kyoichi revealing it here wasn't much of a risk—Camouflage was never his trump card. And besides, once he reached Kirigakure, this technique wouldn't be nearly as effective as it was against Iwa or Konoha shinobi.
This time, he had only won because the future Fifth Mizukage hadn't immediately opened with her signature Hiding in Mist Technique.
According to Clan Head Dazen, Hiding in Mist Technique wasn't only used for hiding—its real strength was in allowing the caster to search for and pinpoint enemies within the fog. After all, if the jutsu couldn't lock onto foes hidden in the mist, it would be useless.
By contrast, the Camouflage Technique only erased one's body from sight—it didn't make one's physical form vanish. The user still interacted with their surroundings: rain would fall on them, footprints could be left in mud, and fog would still swirl around their body unnaturally.
In other words, Camouflage was almost useless against Kirigakure's mist-users.
It was said that even the Second Tsuchikage's famed Dustless Bewildering Cover had once been countered by the Second Mizukage's Hiding in Mist Technique. The Dustless technique could even hide chakra, making it undetectable to sensor-nin, but even it couldn't erase the user's physical presence in the world.
In the end, the "man with no form," the Second Tsuchikage, had slain the Second Mizukage—only to be slain in turn, both of them perishing together.
So really, there was little point in concealing Camouflage Jutsu. Better to use it openly.
"This technique is a simplified version the Second Tsuchikage developed based on his Dustless Bewildering Cover. It can erase the caster's form from sight completely. But it's still only a simplified version—it can't hide chakra like the original. Frankly, Mei-hime, I was lucky you didn't use Hiding in Mist Technique. Otherwise—"
"There's no 'otherwise.'"
Mei's emerald eyes widened as she cut him off. "Even if I had used Hiding in mist, at best I'd have sealed off this camouflage of yours. But you… I know you're still hiding other trump cards. I lost, and I'll admit it. Next time, I'll win them back!"
The young kunoichi tilted her chin upward, her beautiful face showing no trace of frustration—only the fierce resolve to fight again.
Finally, she turned her head aside and added, "And one more thing—just call me by my name. No need for those annoying honorifics."
At that, Masakazu laughed heartily.
"Well said, Mei!"
Failure was nothing to fear. Even monsters like Uchiha Madara had lost battle after battle against the so-called God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. And even Hashirama had not been born invincible. For shinobi, defeat was not the end.
As long as you were alive,
As long as your will endured,
You could always fight to win again.
The only real defeat was despair.
Uchiha Madara had been beaten again and again by Hashirama, yet he never lost heart, and together the two became legends of the shinobi world.
Seeing his granddaughter's unshaken fighting spirit, Masakazu was deeply gratified.
"And you, Kyoichi—no wonder you were able to defeat Hanzō of the Salamander. Your skills are truly formidable!"
After praising his granddaughter, Masakazu turned his gaze to Kyoichi. His words carried no hint of consolation—only sincere admiration, his eyes filled with respect and awe.