Hiruzen persuaded me to die

"If you won't hand it over… then I'll just take it myself."

Terumi Mei's tone was calm, even confident.

This was Kirigakure, after all. Mist shinobi could rush in to back her up at any moment. Even if her opponent was one of the Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru—she wasn't overly concerned. She may not win, but surviving until reinforcements arrived? That, she could do.

Orochimaru gave a faint smirk."Have I really been so quiet lately... that even little girls dare look down on me?"

Mei flinched slightly.

She was around the same age as Kakashi Hatake and Naraku Hyūga. Among her peers, only Naraku was truly a monster. Even a prodigy like Kakashi couldn't compare to the sheer lethality radiating off Orochimaru.

Suddenly—BOOM.

The pressure changed.

The air solidified with Orochimaru's killing intent, so tangible it chilled her marrow.

Terumi Mei's breath hitched.

She was born in the era of the Blood Mist.She had killed. She had survived. She was no stranger to death.

But this...

This wasn't bloodlust—it was death itself whispering from behind her ear.

Her legs trembled.

She gritted her teeth."Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!"

A hissing cloud of high-temperature acidic mist surged from her lips, flooding the area. She felt the fear slip back slightly, replaced by determination.

The acid hit Orochimaru head-on.

He didn't move.Didn't dodge.

He let it melt him.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!"

A scream tore from his throat as the acid ate away his flesh, revealing bone in seconds. He collapsed into a smoking heap.

Terumi Mei's eyes widened in disbelief."…I killed him?"

Konoha's Orochimaru… reduced to a pile of charred meat by her Boil Release?

It didn't make sense. Yet… his body lay motionless. Even Haku, who had rushed to his side, was frozen in shock and panic.

She began to believe it.

"Hmph. Even the Sannin fall when they underestimate my Boil Release," she muttered.

Just as she stepped forward—

"Is that so?"

A figure shot out from the ruined corpse—saliva dripping, skin pristine. Orochimaru.

Alive.

Inhuman.

A Kusanagi Blade emerged from his mouth as he flicked it directly against her neck before she could react.

"I must say… that Boil Release of yours is impressive," he whispered. "No wonder Naraku-kun took interest."

He smiled wide, unsettling.

"This bloodline limit… is worth dissecting."

Then, he backed off."For Naraku-kun's sake, I won't take you in today."

Mei stumbled back, heart racing.

"You… I saw you melt!"

Orochimaru's decayed corpse was still lying behind him—untouched. A leftover husk.

From a distance, Naraku's voice echoed coldly:

"Remember—you can't kill Orochimaru. Not unless you kill him… everywhere."

Even sealing him wasn't enough.

Madara. Obito. Nagato. All dead. But Orochimaru would outlive gods if he had to.

Unless Naraku returned to Konoha and erased Orochimaru's Cursed Seal on Anko, he'd always come back.

Even now, Naraku wasn't sure if Orochimaru had other resurrection methods.

Melted by Boil Release?Fine, Orochimaru would just shed a body.

Burned by Amaterasu?No problem—Shed the body. Vomit a new self.

He was unkillable.

"I appreciate your faith in me, Naraku-kun." Orochimaru laughed.

In raw power, he might lose to Naraku.

But when it came to survival?

No one in the ninja world could compare.

Suddenly—he struck.

The Kusanagi blade lashed forward toward Naraku in a blur of silver light.

CLANG!

Steel rang against steel.

"…So fast!"

Mei's jaw dropped.

She hadn't even seen Orochimaru move.

Now both Orochimaru and Naraku stood locked, swords crossed.

At some point, Naraku had drawn the Kusanagi blade from his own waist, deflecting Orochimaru's strike like it was nothing.

"These two… are they even human?"

"Or is my taijutsu just that bad?"

She was dazed.

The speed Orochimaru used on her earlier—he had been holding back. Letting the Boil Release hit him on purpose. Testing its limits.

But against Naraku?

He moved like a ghost.

And Naraku?Naraku met him without even blinking.

She was an elite Jōnin.

She was proud.

And yet… after watching this—

Terumi Mei doubted everything.

To be Continued........