Chapter 38 — An Unexpected Encounter
"Strange… What kind of Kekkei Genkai is this?"
Terumi Mei narrowed her emerald eyes as she studied the aftermath of her shattered Lava Release. The molten tide she had unleashed—capable of melting steel and reducing stone to slag—had been countered in a way that defied her expectations.
"This resembles Explosion Release… but it's not quite the same…"
She murmured the words under her breath, even as her hands continued weaving seals with fluid precision. A seasoned shinobi never allowed curiosity to slow their movements. If one bloodline limit failed to overwhelm her opponent, she would simply switch to another.
But just as she prepared to unleash her second Kekkei Genkai, the world shifted.
The forest vanished.
The towering trees, the scorched earth, the drifting embers—all dissolved into a vast, gray expanse devoid of detail. The air grew heavy, oppressive, as if the world itself had been drained of color and life.
Her pupils contracted slightly.
"What an impressive genjutsu… I didn't even see where the caster was before being dragged into it."
Her lips curved faintly, though her voice remained calm.
"Aside from the Uchiha clan's Shisui of the Body Flicker… no one else could accomplish something like this so seamlessly."
She did not panic. Instead, she inhaled deeply.
"Boil Release: Clever Mist Technique!"
A dense cloud of scalding steam erupted from her body. The vapor was not ordinary mist—it was a corrosive, high-temperature acidic fog capable of dissolving both matter and chakra constructs alike.
The gray world trembled. And the illusion began to warp under the intense heat.
In the next instant, the false reality evaporated entirely, shattering like fragile glass.
The forest returned.
The charred earth. The fractured trunks. The lingering smell of burnt wood and molten stone.
Mei landed lightly on a branch, casting a final glance toward the shadows.
"Konoha Thunder Flash… that's enough for today," she called out with an almost playful tone. "You're welcome to visit my Land of Water another time."
Without waiting for a response, she leapt away, her figure darting across the treetops before vanishing into the depths of the jungle.
---
Moments later, a figure materialized beside Obuya.
Uchiha Shisui's expression was still sharp with focus, though his breathing remained steady.
"How did you end up fighting her?" he asked.
Obuya exhaled slowly, the residual lightning around him fading.
"Do I need to explain?" he replied irritably. "She must have been tailing that squad from the start. Because she intervened, aside from the one Jonin I eliminated, the other six Chunin escaped under her cover."
Shisui glanced at him sidelong, a faint knowing smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
He said nothing.
After more than half a year of fighting side by side, they understood each other without needing words. Shisui knew Obuya's capabilities well enough. If Obuya had truly intended to eradicate every last one of those Chunin, at least half would never have made it past the first tree line.
Obuya noticed the look but chose to ignore it.
"What about your side?" he asked instead.
"All eliminated," Shisui answered evenly. "Not a single survivor. In that regard… I suppose I'm superior."
There was no arrogance in his tone—only a simple statement of fact.
Obuya didn't argue.
When it came to ruthlessly executing a mission without hesitation, Shisui indeed held the edge.
Obuya's lightning was merciless in battle—but deep down, his attachment to Konoha did not run as deep as that of someone born and raised within its walls. The hatred between nations that fueled many shinobi did not burn quite as fiercely within him.
War, to him, was a necessity—not a vendetta.
Shisui's gaze grew thoughtful.
"This Terumi Mei isn't someone ordinary," he said. "She possesses both Lava Release and Boil Release. Even our strongest Jonin, Minato Namikaze, would struggle against her without relying on the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Obuya nodded slowly.
"She's formidable. Though technically still a Jonin, her strength is clearly near-Kage level. Even if the two of us combined forces, we likely couldn't keep her here."
He sighed inwardly.
Kekkei Genkai were rare. They were not abilities one encountered casually on the battlefield.
In six months of war, aside from the Explosion Release user, Terumi Mei was only the second shinobi of that caliber he had faced.
For a fleeting moment, he had even considered whether it might be possible to seize her bloodline power for himself.
But that thought had been fleeting and unrealistic.
Her control over two separate Kekkei Genkai, switching seamlessly between Lava and Boil Release, left no obvious weakness to exploit.
Shisui nodded solemnly.
"Just now, she used Boil Release to break my genjutsu almost instantly. That's no small feat."
Obuya knew better than most the depth of Shisui's illusion techniques. Over the course of half a year of relentless war, Shisui's Sharingan had evolved from two tomoe to the Mangekyō stage. His genjutsu had undergone a qualitative leap.
And yet—even that had been dispelled with relative ease.
"Our mission isn't finished," Obuya said finally. "The supply escort team should be arriving soon. Let's move ahead and continue scouting."
---
Their assignment this time was not assassination—but protection.
They were tasked with escorting a vital supply convoy to the frontlines. Thousands of Konoha shinobi depended on those provisions—food, medicine, weapons—to survive.
Without supplies, even the strongest army would crumble.
In the next half day, the duo encountered an interception squad from Iwagakure.
On the surface, it made little sense. The immediate frontline conflict in this region was between Konoha and Kirigakure. Iwa should have had no involvement here.
But that was precisely the strategy.
Elsewhere, the war between Konoha and Iwa raged intensely. Iwa had begun to fall into a disadvantage. By striking Konoha's supply line here, they could inflict heavy losses and force Konoha to divert troops from the main battlefield—thereby relieving pressure on Iwa's primary front.
War was not fought solely at the frontlines.
The rear was equally treacherous.
Each nation sought to stab its enemies in the back whenever possible. This Iwa squad consisted of ten shinobi, led by an elite Jonin.
Obuya and Shisui intervened without hesitation.
The battle was swift and decisive.
Lightning tore through stone defenses. Illusions fractured enemy coordination. In mere minutes, the squad was crushed. Only the Jonin managed to escape—severely wounded and barely clinging to life as he fled into the forest.
---
Night descended over Shinboku Forest.
The moonlight filtered weakly through thick canopies, casting fragmented shadows along the path.
More than thirty shinobi moved cautiously through the woods, escorting over a dozen supply carts. Wheels creaked softly over uneven ground, muffled as much as possible.
"Keep moving," the lead Jonin instructed in a low voice. "We'll rest once we reach our destination. The road has been calm so far—but until we arrive, we cannot lower our guard."
Several shinobi murmured quietly among themselves.
"Before this mission, I was prepared for a life-or-death fight," one whispered. "Who would have thought it would be this calm? It feels… wrong."
"Maybe the mission was kept secret enough that the enemy never caught wind of it," another speculated.
They continued forward, the forest eerily still.
At the center of the formation walked a young girl with gentle features.
"Rin," came a quiet voice beside her.
Hatake Kakashi, serving as vice-captain of the escort team, had executed his duties flawlessly since the mission began. Earlier that day, he had successfully repelled an enemy Jonin, earning subtle acknowledgment from the commanding officer.
Now he slowed his pace to walk beside her.
"You've seemed distracted lately. Is something bothering you?"
Rin looked up, concern evident in her eyes.
"Before we departed, Obuya said he had an important mission to carry out too," she said softly. "You know how it is… when they say 'important,' it usually means dangerous. I can't help wondering if he completed it safely."
Kakashi hesitated for a moment.
"Don't worry," he replied. "He's not the same as he was six months ago. Ordinary Jonin aren't his match anymore—especially with Shisui by his side. That pair…"
He trailed off, recalling the battlefield rumors and reports of their recent exploits.
A faint glint of ambition flickered in his eye.
Despite his talent, he was often assigned logistics or defensive roles. His strength had not yet been fully acknowledged by higher command. Offensive missions of high profile rarely fell into his hands.
"Heh, Rin, you're overthinking it," another voice chimed in.
Uchiha Obito stepped closer, wearing his usual confident grin.
"Obuya's called Konoha Thunder Flash now. Unless he's up against someone like Minato-sensei, no one can defeat that duo."
Rin nodded faintly, though the worry in her eyes did not completely fade.
And then, a disturbance erupted at the front of the convoy.
"Contact ahead! Everyone, on alert!"
In the darkness before them, a streak of blue lightning tore through the night sky, crackling violently as it raced toward the convoy at astonishing speed.
The escort formation tensed instantly.
The calm road… had finally ended.