"My sensory ability?"
"You can sense her location, right?"
Karin nodded.
"Then you can also sense when she steps into this area."
Shinji stood up and looked at her. "I need you to tell me when she enters, where she stops, and which way she's going."
Karin's hands clenched.
"Okay."
She closed her eyes.
She pushed her sensory range to its maximum.
In the distance, that ball of fire was getting closer and closer.
Ten meters. Eight meters. Five meters.
Three meters.
One meter.
Then she stopped.
Right at the edge of this area.
Karin's breath hitched.
"She... she stopped..."
Shinji didn't say a word.
He just stood there, looking in that direction.
Three seconds.
Five seconds.
Then, the ball of fire moved.
She stepped inside.
"She's in!"
Karin lowered her voice. "She's moving left—avoiding the first row of Kunai..."
Shinji's expression remained unchanged.
Mei Terumī's Water Clone wasn't a fool; she knew there were traps here.
But so what?
She would still come in.
Because she was Mei Terumī.
Because she had chased him for fifteen years.
Because she wanted to ask him that question herself.
Or, for revenge!
Karin's voice trembled. "She dodged the second one. She's moving toward the center. She... she knows where the Explosive Tags are."
"Mhm."
"W-what should we do?"
Shinji didn't speak.
He just stood there.
Waiting.
Three meters.
Two meters.
One meter.
The ball of fire stopped three meters in front of him.
Mei Terumī stood there.
Standing on a fallen tree trunk, she looked down at him.
Moonlight peeked through the clouds, falling upon her.
Her auburn hair was a bit messy, and there were a few shallow cuts on her face left by Orochimaru.
A corner of her collar was burned through, revealing her fair skin, and her breathing was slightly hurried.
She was indeed exhausted.
Shinji could tell.
Her Chakra fluctuations were significantly weaker than before, and her murderous intent wasn't as sharp.
But she was still Mei Terumī.
Still the woman who had chased him for fifteen years.
"Traps?"
She glanced around, the corners of her mouth curling slightly. "Eight Explosive Tags, twenty-three Kunai, and some Tripwires. Is that all?"
Shinji didn't speak.
"You knew I could dodge them."
Mei Terumī looked at him. "Then why did you even set them up?"
Shinji looked at her.
"To distract you."
Mei Terumī was stunned for a moment.
In that very instant.
Shinji moved.
He vanished from the spot, moving so fast he was nothing but an afterimage.
It wasn't a retreat, but an attack. He charged straight at her, a Kunai sliding from his sleeve into his palm, its edge aimed at her throat.
Mei Terumī's eyes lit up.
In that light, there was surprise, familiarity, and a hint of something indefinable.
She sidestepped to let him pass, simultaneously sweeping a leg toward the back of his knee.
Shinji was prepared. He rolled with the momentum, dodging the kick while thrusting the Kunai in his hand toward the small of her back.
She twisted her body, and the Kunai grazed her waist, slicing a small piece of her clothing.
"Not bad," she said.
Then, her fist arrived.
Shinji raised his arm to block.
Thump.
As fist met palm, the shockwave sent fallen leaves flying.
He retreated five steps.
She retreated one step.
The gap still existed.
But it wasn't as large as before.
Mei Terumī looked at him, the fire in her eyes burning even brighter.
"Scumbag."
Shinji didn't answer.
He just charged forward again.
This time, he didn't hold back.
He fully activated his Sage Body. His Chakra surged wildly. Fifteen years of combat experience accumulated in the Simulation poured out at this moment.
One punch. Another punch. And another.
Every punch carried his full strength, each one aimed at her vital points.
She blocked. Parried. Dodged. Counterattacked.
The two were locked in combat in the dense forest, the dull thuds of their blows echoing through the night.
Karin hid behind a tree in the distance, covering her mouth, not daring to make a sound.
She saw that man covered in blood, yet charging forward like a madman.
Knocked back by a punch, he immediately charged again.
Kicked away, he scrambled up and kept charging.
She had never seen a battle like this.
It was as if he were fighting for his life.
And yet, it also seemed like he was waiting for something.
Ten moves.
Twenty moves.
Thirty moves.
Shinji's breathing became heavier and heavier. His vision grew increasingly blurred.
His Sage Body was frantically repairing his wounds, but the rate of consumption was much faster than the rate of healing.
He was about to reach his limit.
But Mei Terumī was also nearing hers.
He could feel her Chakra depleting rapidly.
A Water Clone couldn't last long to begin with, and after fighting Orochimaru for ten minutes, then tangling with him for this long...
She was about to dissipate.
There was one last chance for a strike.
He took a deep breath, mobilizing every last bit of his Chakra.
Then, he charged.
He threw a punch toward her face.
She sidestepped to avoid it, while simultaneously throwing a punch at his heart.
He didn't dodge.
That punch landed squarely on his chest.
Pfft.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backward.
But he had caught her too.
His left hand gripped her wrist tightly, while the Kunai in his right hand was pressed against her throat.
Both of them fell together.
Crashing into the fallen leaves.
He was pinned on top of her. Covered in blood, gasping for air, his vision going dark.
But the Kunai in his hand didn't loosen; the blade was pressed against her throat, and a thin line of blood was beginning to seep out.
She lay beneath him, looking at him.
No resistance. No struggle.
She just looked at him.
"You won again," she said.
Shinji didn't speak.
He just looked into her emerald eyes, at the fire and the things beneath the ice that were finally, completely flowing out.
"Water Clone... your Chakra is about to dissipate."
"Mhm."
"Before you go, is there anything else you want to say?"
She smiled.
The smile was brief, so brief it was as if it never happened, but it was definitely a smile.
"You won't always win."
"Mhm."
"I didn't want to kill you; I just wanted to stab you."
"Mhm."
"But as I kept chasing..."
She paused. "It turned into wanting to see just how far you could run."
Shinji didn't speak.
She raised her hand and gently touched his face.
Her hand was very cold. Her Chakra was dissipating, and its warmth was fading.
"You've gotten thinner," she said.
Shinji's eyelashes fluttered.
"A twelve-year-old body is naturally thinner than a twenty-three-year-old one."
"True." She laughed. "I forgot."
Silence.
The wind blew between them.
Her body began to turn transparent.
"Shinji."
"Mhm."
"When my real body comes for you."
She looked into his eyes.
"Be careful. She really might kill you."
Shinji didn't speak.
Mei Terumī smiled.
"Don't be afraid. The 'you' I know was never afraid."
Her figure grew fainter and more blurred.
Finally, only those eyes remained.
"Goodbye."
Then, she dissipated.
Turning into a cloud of mist, she vanished into the night wind.
Shinji lay on the fallen leaves, watching the mist slowly drift away.
His chest hurt, two of his ribs were broken, and his whole body was in pain.
But he didn't move.
He just lay there, looking in the direction where the mist had disappeared.