Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

Manda fixed his gaze on Kisame, determined to swallow him whole. Kisame, however, met Manda's intent with a calm, unyielding expression. Although he wasn't completely unscathed, he wasn't an easy target for Manda to crush either.

With Manda keeping Kisame occupied, the pressure on Shin lessened considerably, allowing him to engage the two skilled Mist ninjas with a clear advantage.

On the other side, Kotoe, nearly out of chakra, faced a dangerous situation.

Because of her fearless attitude toward death, Mei and Ao remained cautious, even though they knew she had little chakra left.

"How can I use the last of my chakra… to take down these two?"

Kotoe's gaze remained fixed on Mei and Ao.

With only a small amount of chakra remaining, she couldn't use any substantial jutsu. Her only option was her poisoned senbon, and she needed to create an opportunity for them to hit their mark.

Mei glanced at Ao, then quickly formed hand seals and exhaled her highly corrosive mist toward Kotoe.

As Mei made her move, Kotoe narrowed her eyes with resolve. She pushed off with her foot and charged into the dangerous acidic mist, her eyes shut tightly as she braced herself. The moment her body entered the mist, she felt a burning pain.

Facing a Byakugan user, a feint would be ineffective, and her chances of landing a hit with the senbon required some sort of diversion. But with her chakra nearly depleted, she would have to use her enemy's own mist as cover.

The corrosive mist immediately took effect as soon as Kotoe entered it.

Her clothes were the first to disintegrate, followed by her skin, which reddened painfully, even starting to ooze fluids.

Gritting her teeth against the searing pain, Kotoe threw eight poisoned senbon toward her target position and quickly performed a simple Wind Release technique to push herself downwards.

Her weakened, green-clad figure burst out of the acidic mist and fell swiftly toward the ground.

Through sheer will and by exploiting the enemy's own mist, she launched her crucial attack with the eight senbon.

The toxic green senbon shot out of the mist, aiming directly at Mei.

If not for Ao… if not for his Byakugan…

Without hesitation, Ao kicked Mei aside and used the recoil to retreat.

In this way, the eight deadly senbon missed their mark.

Though the senbon lacked chakra and the acidic mist obscured her vision, Ao's Byakugan could still see Kotoe's throwing motion. So, at the crucial moment, he helped Mei evade the attack, albeit in an ungraceful manner.

Kicked on her left hip, Mei's eyes widened with surprise as she was thrown to the side. She spun in midair and landed gracefully on a tree.

Just as she was about to berate Ao, the senbon lodged in several tree trunks caught her eye, helping her realize why he'd kicked her.

Yet, she still couldn't shake her irritation at having been kicked on the backside.

"Idiot! Wasn't there another way?" Mei yelled at Ao, then looked down with a solemn expression at Kotoe lying on the ground.

Ao remained silent, watching the green-haired girl lying prone.

"So ruthless."

As a fellow kunoichi, Mei couldn't help but admire Kotoe. Without Ao, she might truly have fallen into her trap.

During their prior exchanges, Kotoe must have been fully aware of the effects of the mist, yet she had still braved it, willing to endure it to create a chance for her senbon to land.

If it had been Terumi Mei from ten years in the future, Kotoe likely wouldn't have even managed to throw her senbon before being dissolved by the mist.

Lying on the ground, Kotoe felt a searing pain throughout her body, even her face throbbed. She clenched her teeth and forced herself to stand.

Her green outfit was scorched and filled with holes, revealing patches of burned skin, while her face and hands—exposed to the mist—were severely burned, with raw flesh visible and thin tendrils of smoke rising from her wounds.

Kotoe understood one thing clearly: as long as she hadn't fallen, every moment she held out was a help to Ye Zi. She couldn't just collapse now…

Even if she no longer had the strength to fight, she would… stand and face death, hoping to buy even the smallest amount of time with one last act.

With great effort, she raised her head, enduring the pain, and pulled out a few senbon, gripping them between her fingers. The previously delicate touch now felt like needles pricking her fingers.

Seeing Kotoe's determination to stand despite her grievous injuries, both Mei and Ao fell silent.

"I wonder how things are going with Lord Mizukage," Ao muttered, concerned. It had been a while since he'd heard any sounds from that direction, and he was growing anxious.

"Let's end this," Ao said, looking at Kotoe, then turning to Mei.

Mei took a deep breath, feeling a pang of hesitation for the first time about delivering a final blow to an enemy.

She looked at Kotoe's face, which would be disfigured without immediate treatment, and hesitated for a moment before preparing to end it.

Sympathy was an emotion a ninja should never feel in battle.

In silence, she looked at Kotoe, choosing Water Release rather than her Lava or Boil Release techniques.

As she began forming seals, Kotoe threw her remaining senbon at her, though Mei continued her jutsu, confident in Ao's support.

The weakened senbon were deflected by a strike from Ao.

With her jutsu complete, Mei unleashed the Water Dragon Bullet technique.

Even in death, I won't let you die a humiliating death under a kunai.

The formidable water dragon, with its ruby-like eyes, surged forward to strike Kotoe.

Facing the dragon, Kotoe expressionlessly clasped her hands together, preparing to exhaust her final chakra reserves. Even if she couldn't stop it, she hoped at least to avoid being killed instantly, buying even a bit more time.

Just as Kotoe's jutsu was about to take shape, a figure, flickering with lightning, interposed itself between her and the water dragon. The first thing she saw was a pair of deep black eyes.

It was Ye Zi, who, upon arriving, first saw Kotoe's horrific injuries. Yet this girl, whom he had known for so long, stood there defiantly, truly facing death with no fear.

At that moment, Ye Zi felt his heart tremble.

Using the Lightning Flicker technique, he crossed the path he'd never before taken lightly, standing before Kotoe, his fleeting look of pain clear to her.

With Yagura slung over his left shoulder, Ye Zi's right hand transformed into a wooden arm. Under the stunned gazes of Mei and Ao, he pressed his large wooden hand against the head of the water dragon, halting it in its tracks without detonating the water chakra.

Mei and Ao's astonishment was compounded by the sight of Lord Mizukage on Ye Zi's shoulder.

As Kotoe looked up at Ye Zi, his face close, she could detect the brief flash of sadness in his eyes.

And so, despite her acid-scorched face, she smiled faintly.

"Glad I held out," she whispered to herself.

In response, Ye Zi's eyes filled with a deep anger.

The wooden hand expanded rapidly as the water dragon shrank and finally disappeared. The five fingers of the wooden hand transformed into sharp spikes, hurtling towards Mei and Ao.

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Currently on Chapter 323 - The Defeated Momentum