Chapter 340: Killing the Envoy
Suikazan Pufferfish died quickly and cleanly.
Haruno Sakura's final thrust was extremely fast, leaving no time for the opponent to react. In the last moments of his life, Pufferfish hadn't even struggled effectively, merely futilely pressing on Sakura's shoulder before his heart was pierced.
Seeing Pufferfish die tragically at the hands of his opponent, the faces of the Mist ninja present were a little ugly.
Although Pufferfish's strength was not as good as his brother's, the previous owner of Samehada, he was considered an outstanding Jonin in the Mist. There were not many ninja standing here who were confident of defeating him!
And he was defeated so easily...
Even Mei Terumī's eyes flickered a few times. Although Suikazan Pufferfish was the backbone of the opposition and she wished he would die sooner, he was still a Mist ninja after all. Being killed by a Konoha ninja in a few moves made her lose face a little.
Moreover, the Fifth Mizukage knew very well that the girl on the field was actually a ninjutsu-type ninja, yet she had defeated her opponent with sword techniques! Even if she had inherited Tsunade's monstrous strength, Suikazan Pufferfish being defeated so easily was truly beyond her expectations.
Is the gap between the Mist and Konoha already this big?
She stared intently at the battle scene below the stage, her thoughts racing. In an instant, many thoughts flooded her mind, even including the idea of killing this Konoha envoy afterwards, but she suppressed them one by one.
Hagura exchanged a glance with her, his flickering gaze questioning Mei Terumī. The Suikazan clan had lost a high-level ninja, and it was precisely when their formation was in chaos. It was time to start the mission. Here, they would hold back the opposition in the name of the meeting, and then Hagura and the others would stab them in the back!
The Fifth Mizukage's eyes swept left and right, and she made a decision instantly.
She nodded and was about to speak loudly when her pupils suddenly shrank, looking at the First Elder opposite her!
The First Elder's face was extremely ugly. He had thought that Suikazan Pufferfish, if not defeating the opponent, could at least gain the upper hand. He didn't expect him to be killed in just a few moves!
"Trash!" He cursed in his heart, his face gloomy, but his mind was extremely clear, and he didn't hesitate at all—the plan could not be stopped because of this!
He suddenly raised his hand high and shouted angrily, "Do it!"
With a single order, several ninja suddenly jumped out on the field, their chakra surging, their cheeks puffed up high!
Mei Terumī was startled, her chakra instantly rising, using the defensive ninjutsu "Water Style: Water Formation Wall" to protect herself and the confidants beside her!
But she guessed wrong.
The target of the sudden attack was not her, but surprisingly Haruno Sakura on the field!
"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!" "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire!" "Lightning Style: False Darkness!" "Water Style: Water Gun Cannon!"
Four powerful ninjutsu instantly enveloped the entire field. The roaring wind bullets, blazing fireballs, jumping lightning, and rapid water droplets completely locked Haruno Sakura's escape route, forcing her to take the enemy's moves head-on!
"Bastard!" Mei Terumī's eyes suddenly turned cold, having guessed the First Elder's plan!
She frantically urged her chakra, moving the Water Formation Wall onto the field, wanting to block their offensive; but in the end, she was a step too late. She only had time to block the Water Gun Cannon, and could only watch helplessly as the remaining powerful ninjutsu blasted towards Haruno Sakura!
Hagura's eyes were splitting with rage. The enemy had grasped the timing perfectly, choosing the very moment Haruno Sakura killed Pufferfish, when everyone was surprised and somewhat relaxed! I'm afraid even Mei Terumī herself couldn't block so many high-level ninjutsu in this situation...
An ice blade filled with chakra shot out from below the stage, cutting off the weakest Lightning Style, and flew into the air with undiminished power, landing somewhere unknown; but the remaining fireball and wind bullet were unavoidable!
Haruno Sakura's expression was indifferent. She looked at the two incoming ninjutsu without joy or sorrow, completely enveloping her figure. She didn't dodge or evade, standing quietly.
Chakra circulated rapidly—
"Ice Style: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"
With a boom, two extremely powerful ninjutsu exploded on the field. Fierce winds and heat waves rolled out in all directions. Only a huge deep pit remained on the field, and the girl's figure had vanished without a trace.
Fragments of the long sword and charred pieces of flesh and bone were scattered all over the ground.
"Dead?" The ninja watching from the side were shocked!
If the Konoha ninja had died in a fair fight she proposed herself, there would still be room for argument; but right now, she had died from a deliberate sneak attack!
"Blown to pieces, probably!" The First Elder sneered. Under the bombardment of two powerful elemental jutsu, everything on the field had been reduced to ashes!
Mei Terumī closed her eyes slightly, not knowing what she was thinking.
Her trembling eyelids hinted at her restless mood.
After a while, she opened her eyes, her sharp knife-like gaze staring at the old man, and asked, "First Elder, what are you doing?"
"Lord Mizukage, can't you see? I'm helping everyone make a decision!" The First Elder used honorifics, but spoke calmly without any respect. "By killing the Konoha envoy, we are left with only the option of being enemies with Konoha, and everyone doesn't need to argue anymore!"
The Mist ninja were in an uproar. Even many ninja who supported the First Elder's faction were uncertain: they supported closing the country and biding their time, not offending Konoha!
"Are you looking for death..." The Fifth Mizukage clasped her hands in front of her chest, her tone as cold as frost, killing intent erupting. Surging chakra stirred up a whirlwind around her, ready for battle at any time!!
"Hehehe, Lord Fifth Mizukage, are you sure you want to be enemies with our Suikazan clan at this time?" The First Elder sneered, waved his hand, stopping Mei Terumī's movement. "In that case, with internal strife within and strong enemies without, the destruction of the Mist is just around the corner!"
He revealed a vicious smile. "Are you sure you want the Mist Village and the Land of Water to perish for the sake of an outsider? Lord Mizukage!"
The dagger was drawn!
This was the First Elder's plan.
Simple and crude, but killing the envoy, whether in this world or in Sakura's previous world, was an effective way to force others to make up their minds...
The First Elder waved his hand, and a group of ninja stood up sparsely from below the stage and walked over to his side.
The situation on the field instantly became clear: all the diehards of the Suikazan line stood on the side of the First Elder. In addition to his clansmen and relatives, it also included ninja secretly won over by the First Elder. At this moment, they openly declared their stance!
On the other side were the ninja who supported the Fifth Mizukage, slightly more numerous than the other side.
The remaining ninja did not have a very obvious stance, but they were the most numerous, accounting for more than half! The existence of these people was one of the reasons why Mei Terumī dared not use overly tough iron-fisted means to strike at the Suikazan faction: she needed to win their approval.
At this moment, these neutral ninja subconsciously supported the Mizukage emotionally, but rationally, they were shaken by the First Elder's words.
With the Konoha envoy dying in full view of the public, this meant that the Mist had completely broken with Konoha!
At this time, it was meaningless to pursue the responsibility of one's own people for an enemy's envoy...
And the Fifth Mizukage's policy of peace and openness was declared bankrupt!
Mei Terumī's face was livid, her expression changing constantly.
She looked at the ninja beside the First Elder, spitting out names one by one: "Haruta, Kabakaba, Yuchi, ..., Yuan, you actually became his running dogs!"
Mei Terumī had long known that the tentacles of the Suikazan clan had extended to every corner of the Mist, but she didn't expect that even people in key departments had been won over by them...
They actually stood out blatantly... Mei Terumī looked at these people coldly, thinking to herself that the Suikazan clan probably wanted to settle everything here completely, not afraid of her settling accounts later!
After a while, no more ninja stood up from below the stage. The numbers on both sides were about the same.
At this time, the First Elder, who had kept a straight face, finally revealed a satisfied smile.
Although exposing all his strength and hidden pawns at once was a bit risky, fortunately, the plan went very smoothly, and everything proceeded as they expected!
The number of ninja standing on his side was enough to make the Mizukage wary of taking action.
Because no matter how powerful Mei Terumī was, she couldn't suppress so many ninja on his side. Once she forcibly tried to take down the Suikazan clan, the battle would become prolonged, and would inevitably lead to internal strife in the Mist. A divided Mist would be unable to contend with the covetous Konoha, leading to destruction... With Mei Terumī's character, she would absolutely not make such a choice!
Therefore, Mei Terumī could only swallow what happened today and compromise with them...
The First Elder calculated in his heart.
On the other hand.
The neutral ninja present, after thinking for a while, had realized that the Fifth Mizukage's policy was completely bankrupt, and the village could only follow the First Elder's closed-door route.
The First Elder glanced coldly at Mei Terumī. Their plan was more than just this! Forcing the Mizukage to accept what they had done was only the first step. The next step was to completely solve the Mizukage problem...
Thinking this, he opened his mouth to continue speaking, but saw Mei Terumī, who had kept a straight face, suddenly reveal a faint smile.
The First Elder's heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling arose spontaneously!
Did something go wrong?
"I was having a headache about how to catch all of you without missing a single one..." She smiled faintly, a smile with a hint of dangerous killing intent. "I didn't expect you to jump out on your own initiative and expose yourselves completely! Now, I don't need to engage in messy plans, nor do I need to deal with you with my hands tied!"
The First Elder's eyes widened instantly. "W-What did you say?"
"I've long been impatient with these inexplicable plans..." Mei Terumī's chakra surged, clenching her fists, and said coldly, "I'm going to concentrate my strength here to defeat you in one fell swoop and catch you all in one net!"
"Y-You don't care about the big picture!"
Mei Terumī sneered. Who is the one not caring about the big picture? She said coldly, "Elder Suikazan, you made two misjudgments. First, you misjudged my strength... Do you really think you ragtag bunch can hold me back? I just wanted to solve you in the way that would cause the least damage to the Mist, so I tolerated you many times. It doesn't mean I'm really afraid of you!"
Her chakra bulged wildly, her wine-red hair flying high, displaying the full strength of the Mizukage in front of everyone for the first time!
The abyss-like aura made the First Elder take a step back, shocked in his heart; at this moment, he finally understood how Mei Terumī had killed Yagura Karatachi!
It wasn't by overwhelming him with numbers as they, the petty people, had guessed...
"Is this a 'Kage'-level ninja..." he murmured.
"The second thing you misjudged," she looked at the First Elder and the ninja behind them as if looking at a group of clay chickens and pottery dogs, and continued, "is the strength of the Konoha envoy, Haruno Sakura."
"C-Could it be..." someone said in disbelief.
"Yes, she is also a 'Kage'-level ninja." The Fifth Mizukage said calmly. From the glimpse of the battle just now, she could see the energy contained in this girl was no less than hers!
As Mei Terumī spoke, she turned her gaze outside the field, the direction she had carefully probed when she closed her eyes just now.
There, a pure and sharp chakra texture was echoing her from afar.
Mei Terumī nodded.
A silver-white water line shot over from that direction!
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