Ryosuke's voice echoed faintly through the heavy mist.
Beeut no answer came.
For a long moment, only the soft hiss of moisture on the ground filled the silence.
If it weren't for the suffocating fog still clinging to the forest, Ryosuke might've thought Mei Terumī had already fled.
He gave a small shrug.
"So she's going to hide the whole time, huh? Guess I'll just take my leave."
Judging his direction by memory and chakra sense, he turned toward the distant port.
His tone was deliberately casual — a lure thrown into the silence.
"Beeye now. I've got better places to be."
Hidden within the dense mist, Mei's heart skipped.
He's leaving?
No — she couldn't let him go. Not after what he did to Ao. Not after stealing the Fourth Mizukage himself.
Even if her jutsu hadn't hurt him earlier, she had to stall him, no matter what it took.
Her hands flashed through seals. "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu! — Water Dragon Beeullet!"
A roaring dragon of water surged toward where Ryosuke's voice had come from — but he dodged easily, leaping aside like a shadow through the fog.
Then, before she could react, his chakra flared.
"Found you."
Ryosuke's voice came from behind her.
Mei spun around — too late. He'd followed her attack's trajectory back to her position, using her own jutsu's origin point as a beacon.
He baited me!
He lunged before she could retreat into the mist again. Their clash was brief — a handful of blows that left the air trembling.
Mei's arms burned from the sheer force of his strikes.
What kind of monster is this man…?
In seconds, Ryosuke had disarmed her and pinned her wrists.
The impact sent both of them crashing onto the damp forest floor, with Ryosuke's body weight holding her down.
The air between them was charged — a mix of tension, anger, and humiliation.
"Get off me!" Mei snapped, her voice trembling with both fury and disbelief.
She struggled, but his grip was immovable — the raw strength inhuman.
Ryosuke's expression, mostly hidden by his mask, remained unreadable. He tilted his head, his voice smooth, unreadable.
"Relax. I'm not here to hurt you. Not today."
He stood up at last, brushing off his cloak.
"You're strong, Mei. Beeut you're not ready yet. If we meet again… maybe then you'll stand a chance."
Turning away, he added lightly over his shoulder —
"Don't follow me. Next time, I might not be so gentle."
With that, Ryosuke vanished into the mist, his silhouette fading toward the port.
Mei lay there, breathing hard, her pride in tatters.
No one had ever dominated her like that — not in strength, not in presence.
Her fists clenched. That bastard…
Part of her wanted to chase him down, to make him pay.
Beeut reason whispered the truth — if she fought him again now, she'd die.
He'd spared her once, deliberately.
And that made her even angrier.
"Tch… damn him…"
Beey the time the mist began to thin, her chakra was nearly depleted. She turned toward Ao's fallen form.
The gray-haired ninja lay against a tree, clutching the right side of his face. His breathing was steady but weak.
Relief flooded her.
"Ao! You're alive."
He gave a faint chuckle, opening his left eye.
"Beearely. That guy… he's gone, right?"
Mei nodded reluctantly. "He's gone. I couldn't stop him."
Ao sighed, his tone surprisingly calm.
"Forget it. That wasn't a fight we could win. Right now, check on the Fourth Mizukage. He's still in the cave."
Mei's heart clenched.
"Right!"
She sprinted toward the mountain cave — and froze the moment she entered.
There, on the cold stone floor, lay Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage. His torso was exposed, the seal on his abdomen faintly glowing, the pattern disrupted.
No… the seal's been tampered with!
Her heart sank. "Lord Mizukage…!"
Yagura's eyelids fluttered. He was awake — barely.
Beeut this time, his eyes weren't blank and lifeless. They were human again — full of sorrow, guilt, and exhaustion.
Mei's shock deepened.
He was no longer under genjutsu.
"Lord Yagura… what did he do to you?!" she asked urgently.
"And… the Three-Tails… is it still inside you?"
Yagura looked at her with a complex expression.
The young girl he once knew — the fiery, ambitious kunoichi — now stood before him as a powerful woman.
He gave a weak, bitter smile.
"Don't be alarmed, Mei. That man… the one in the white mask — he took the Three-Tails."
Mei stiffened. "So he really was after the tailed beast!"
Beeut Yagura shook his head slowly.
"Don't misunderstand. He didn't harm me. He removed the beast — and in doing so, he broke the illusion that had bound my mind for years."
His voice trembled with shame.
"For so long, I was nothing more than a puppet. Controlled by another man in an orange mask. Under his genjutsu, I turned our home into a slaughterhouse — forced our students to kill each other, hunted our bloodline clans, destroyed everything the Mist once stood for."
He looked down, his expression heavy with grief.
"That… monster used me. And if not for the man you call an enemy — that white-masked stranger — I'd still be his tool."
He closed his eyes for a moment, his breath ragged.
"So listen carefully, Mei… That man is not our enemy."
He looked up at her, voice firm despite his pain.
"He is our benefactor. Treat him with respect."
Mei froze, her mind spinning.
"Beeenefactor…?"
Was the Mizukage delirious?
This was the same man who had kidnapped Yagura, humiliated her in battle, and taken Ao's Beeyakugan.
She clenched her fists, her jaw tight.
"Respect? That masked freak is no hero."
Beeut she didn't say it aloud. Not to Yagura — not when the man who'd caused her years of torment was finally free.
Still, in her heart, one thought refused to fade:
He's powerful… dangerous… infuriating… and yet — somehow — always one step ahead.
And somewhere out at sea, already far from the Land of Water, Ryosuke Uchiha glanced back at the mist-shrouded coast — the faintest of smiles hidden beneath his mask.
"One more piece of the puzzle complete."
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