Yuto's gesture of lifting Terumi Mei's chin caused her fair face to instantly flush red.
However.
Terumi Mei didn't dodge in the slightest. Instead, she followed Yuto's motion and lifted her head, her gaze fixed directly on Yuto's eyes.
In Terumi Mei's beautiful green eyes, hints of nervousness and shyness flickered, yet she continued to gaze steadily into Yuto's.
Seeing Terumi Mei cooperate so readily, Yuto couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
Though Yuto had low emotional intelligence, he wasn't stupid. At a moment like this, how could he fail to notice Terumi Mei's feelings for him?
"Good grief."
With a hint of helplessness on his face, Yuto chuckled softly. He reached out and wrapped his arm around Terumi Mei's slender waist, pulling her into his embrace.
A soft, almost inaudible sound escaped Terumi Mei's lips, her face flushed with maidenly shyness.
Yuto smiled gently and brushed the long, auburn-red curly hair away from Terumi Mei's face, tucking it behind her ear. He lowered his head and pressed a light kiss against her lips.
Terumi Mei's body tensed for an instant, but quickly relaxed again.
A moment passed.
Yuto released Terumi Mei's reddened lips and gently stroked her long auburn hair.
"Leave the rest to me."
Yuto spoke with a calm, confident tone, his voice carrying a note of solemnity. With that, he turned and walked toward the outside of the tent.
Terumi Mei bit her lower lip softly, revealing a rare, girlish expression on her face.
If anyone from Kirigakure were to see Terumi Mei like this right now, they would surely be shocked speechless.
After all, in the eyes of every Kirigakure shinobi, their Mizukage was a mature and beautiful woman.
But this side of Terumi Mei was something only Yuto could see.
The moment Yuto stepped out of the tent, he spotted Haku and Kimimaro waiting quietly not far away.
The two of them hurried over as soon as they saw Yuto emerge.
Haku's face held a mixture of curiosity and gossip, and even Kimimaro's eyes held a rare flicker of intrigue.
Yuto shot a glance at Haku and Kimimaro, his expression one of mild exasperation.
Gossip truly was human nature.
However, Yuto appeared entirely unbothered. If his feelings for Terumi Mei had been somewhat ambiguous before, now they had naturally fallen into place.
Yuto walked up to Haku and Kimimaro and lightly tapped both of them on the head.
"Stop letting your imaginations run wild."
"Lord Yuto."
Haku clutched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Beside him, Kimimaro simply lowered his head, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
Out of the corner of his eye, Haku caught that rare smile on Kimimaro's face and couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
In all the time he had known Kimimaro, the number of times he had seen him smile could be counted on one hand.
This cold-faced guy really only smiled when he was around Lord Yuto.
Haku's expression softened as he pulled his gaze away from Kimimaro.
"Let's go. Let's see what Konoha is truly made of."
Yuto set off in the direction of the Konoha forces, his voice calm and unhurried.
"Yes, Lord Yuto!"
"Yes, Lord Yuto!"
Haku and Kimimaro spoke in unison, their expressions turning deadly serious.
On the valley ridge between the battlefield of Konoha and Kirigakure!
While the Seven Swordsmen had launched a fierce assault on Konoha's defensive positions, temporarily pinning down a portion of their forces, they had also created an opening for the rest of the Kirigakure troops.
A large number of Kirigakure shinobi quickly used ninjutsu to construct a bridge spanning the valley.
The gap between the two sides of the valley was roughly twenty to thirty meters across. A few jonin might manage to cross it using special techniques.
But for chunin and genin, crossing such a vast chasm without external assistance was virtually impossible.
In any shinobi force, jonin made up only a tiny fraction. The vast majority consisted of chunin and genin.
If the bulk of the army couldn't cross, the jonin alone would have minimal impact on the overall battle.
Below the valley roared a treacherous, rushing river, making any approach through the valley floor equally impossible.
But the construction process was soon disrupted by arriving Konoha reinforcements, causing the nearly completed bridge to collapse just short of success.
Although the Seven Swordsmen had annihilated the Konoha unit stationed there, the remaining Konoha forces had already discerned Kirigakure's intent to force a crossing.
They had already relayed this intelligence!
As a result, several Konoha reinforcement units arrived at breakneck speed.
For a time, the situation once again devolved into a stalemate.
"Damn it!!"
Ao watched as the bridge they had just built was rapidly destroyed by Konoha shinobi, with dozens of Kirigakure ninja lost in the process. His face turned ashen with rage.
"My lord, what should we do now?"
"We can't drag this out any longer. The Seven Swordsmen are currently on the enemy's position — they must be surrounded by now."
"If we stall much longer, their situation will only grow more dire."
A Kirigakure jonin standing beside Ao spoke, his expression equally grim.
Hearing this jonin's words, Ao's face darkened further. The logic was sound, and Ao understood it all too well.
"What other options do we have?"
Ao turned to the jonin, his gaze seeking answers.
"My lord, at this point I'm afraid we only have the brute force approach."
The Kirigakure jonin's face twisted with reluctance as he spoke.
Ao naturally knew what this "brute force approach" meant — taking a long detour around the canyon.
But doing so would mean covering an enormous amount of extra ground, wasting far too much time!
Even ignoring the exhaustion such a march would inflict on the Kirigakure forces, the Seven Swordsmen might not last long enough for reinforcements to arrive!
"Damn it, these Konoha bastards really know how to fight."
Ao's face was a mask of frustration, his voice tinged with reluctant admiration.
Despite his words, deep down, Ao couldn't help but respect the Konoha shinobi.
The Konoha fighters truly were fighting as if their lives depended on it. They were willing to trade two of their own for every Kirigakure ninja they took down.
After all, Kirigakure and Iwagakure had already fought their way to Konoha's doorstep. If they didn't fight desperately now, there would be no second chances.
Even a veteran like Ao could feel the intangible pressure of this battle.
Just then!
A wave of exuberant shouting erupted from behind the Kirigakure lines.
Ao's expression shifted, and he frowned, turning to look back. He was about to reprimand the nearby jonin for the commotion.
But then he saw the Kirigakure units behind them rapidly parting to make way, forming a corridor roughly two meters wide.
At the far end of this corridor, three figures slowly came into Ao's view — and the one leading them drew his attention above all else.
Seeing Yuto and his two companions approaching from the rear, Ao's frustration and anguish vanished in an instant, replaced by excitement.
With Haku and Kimimaro in tow, Yuto walked to the front of the army beneath a cascade of fervent, reverent gazes.
Countless pairs of eyes from the Kirigakure shinobi burned with devotion as they fixed their gaze on Yuto.
Had Yuto not stopped them in time, the entire Kirigakure army would have broken into chants of his name!
"You've been at this for this long and you still haven't crossed?"
Yuto frowned slightly, directing a mildly displeased look at Ao.
"Forgive me, Lord Yuto!"
Ao hurried to Yuto's side and bowed his head. He offered no excuses, simply accepting the blame.
Having spent this much time without getting all the Kirigakure forces across the valley was, without question, a failure of his command.
"Where are Ringo Ameyuri and the others?"
Yuto couldn't sense the chakra of the Seven Swordsmen on the battlefield, and he asked with mild confusion.
Though Yuto had been commanding the overall forces during this period, he had only set the broad strategic direction and pace. Tactical command on the ground had been left to each unit's own leaders.
"The Seven Swordsmen are currently engaged on the enemy's side of the battlefield. They were supposed to create an opening for us, but the Konoha forces reacted too quickly..."
Ao hurried to explain, his face etched with shame by the end.
"I see. Who is commanding the Konoha forces?"
Yuto's curiosity was piqued.
With a note of gravity, Ao answered solemnly: "Nara Shikaku."
A flash of understanding crossed Yuto's eyes.
"Good grief."
Yuto still looked faintly displeased, but he let the matter of Ao's command failure drop.
With that, Yuto walked directly toward the edge of the valley.
This valley was the Valley of the End — the legacy of the battle between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara that had raged for days and nights.
At the far end of the valley, close to Konoha, stood the colossal statues of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
"A valley carved by a Complete Body Susanoo. Impressive power."
"But it's existed long enough. It's time for it to go."
Yuto reached the edge of the valley and spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
As the words left his mouth!
Yuto stomped his foot sharply toward the valley.
BOOM!!
Terrifying force erupted from the tip of Yuto's foot, surging rapidly along the valley's edge in all directions.
A deafening roar echoed as the entire valley began to collapse under the spread of this overwhelming power. Countless boulders and tons of earth cascaded down into the chasm below.
It wasn't just the Kirigakure side — the Konoha side of the valley edge also began to crumble, like a breached dam!
The force continued to propagate along the valley's rim, all the way to the far end. The statues of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were blown apart in a spectacular explosion!
As every shinobi on both sides watched in stunned disbelief, the dust settled.
Where the valley had once been, there was now nothing but flat ground. The surrounding terrain had dropped roughly two to three meters in elevation.
Yuto retracted his foot and slipped both hands into his pockets, walking forward with an expression of total indifference. Haku and Kimimaro followed closely behind.
"All units, prepare to advance!"
Ao snapped back to reality, his face alight with exhilaration as he barked the order to all Kirigakure forces.
"So this is Lord Yuto's power!"
"It's terrifying! Overwhelming!"
"Lord Yuto is incredible!"
Shouts of excitement erupted from the Kirigakure ranks as every soldier surged forward.
By the time the troops collected themselves, Yuto had already crossed the filled-in valley and arrived at the front of Konoha's defensive line.
Every Konoha shinobi stared at the approaching Yuto with expressions of sheer terror.
For every step Yuto took forward, the Konoha ninjas couldn't help but take a step back.
Yuto wasn't releasing any aura or chakra. He looked like an ordinary shinobi. But what he had just done — single-handedly filling in the entire valley — had already shattered the morale of most Konoha fighters.
"How can anyone fight against power like that?"
"Damn it!"
"This is terrifying! This doesn't even belong to the realm of human power anymore!"
"This monster! The village is right behind us — we can't let him get any closer!"
Cries of fear and rage echoed across the Konoha defensive line.
Unable to bear the crushing pressure, some shinobi snapped and launched ninjutsu attacks.
Once one ninja attacked, the rest followed like a chain reaction, one after another casting their jutsu.
"Fire Release — Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
"Earth Release — Mud River!!"
"Water Release — Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
All manner of ninjutsu rained down toward Yuto in a overwhelming barrage.
"Stop!"
The commanding Konoha jonin's face twisted with horror. He knew exactly what the First Mizukage Yuto was capable of. He shouted to stop them, but it was already too late!
Facing the oncoming torrent of ninjutsu, Haku and Kimimaro behind Yuto tensed. Yet neither of them moved from their spot.
The massive barrage of jutsu crashed down — and the moment it approached Yuto, it vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.
To be precise, it was absorbed by Yuto.
In the span of a few breaths, the overwhelming onslaught of ninjutsu had completely disappeared, as though it had never happened at all.
"How boring."
Yuto tilted his head, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
The moment those words left his mouth.
A heart-stopping surge of chakra erupted from Yuto's body.
All the ninjutsu he had just absorbed came roaring back with several times the ferocity, blasting toward the Konoha forces.
BOOOOM!
Terrifying explosions detonated across the Konoha defensive line. A sea of flames instantly engulfed every shinobi in the area.
Massive volumes of water condensed into thousands upon thousands of water needles, raining down like a storm to blanket the entire battlefield.
Lightning, razor-sharp wind blades, and surging earth rivers!
Every jutsu had been amplified severalfold, and the entire barrage slammed into the Konoha positions.
This unit of Konoha shinobi didn't even have a chance to resist. In an instant, they were completely annihilated by Yuto!
(End of Chapter)
[
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