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The Three-Tails was gone, of course. It had been taken down, and Tailed Beasts tend to disappear without a trace when they die.
"Gone? What do you mean?"
The Mizukage wasn't unaware of what Ao meant. The Byakugan's reconnaissance results wouldn't be wrong, but she couldn't react or accept it for a moment.
Why had the Tailed Beast suddenly vanished?
"We can't find any trace of the Three-Tails, neither in the lake nor the surrounding area," Ao repeated.
Moving? No, the Three-Tails had been here for years and had never shown any inclination or intention to move. Even if the Three-Tails had actively transferred somewhere, it was impossible to leave no trace at all.
So, Mei Terumi's gaze naturally shifted to Haori and his group.
"As expected, your target was the Three-Tails?"
This was the most likely guess, and it was also the most correct one.
From the disappearance of the surveillance ninjas to Mei Terumi and her group arriving, it had only been a few minutes. In this time, it was generally impossible to seal or kill a Tailed Beast. But the person in front of her was different.
He was "not ordinary."
By this time, the various villages had already gathered a lot of information about Haori. His attacks that exceeded the norm, including Lightning Release and its additional methods, as well as his sealing jutsu, were all things he excelled at.
In a way, you could even say that Haori was a "weapon" specifically designed to deal with Tailed Beasts.
Mei Terumi's first suspicion was that Haori had sealed the Tailed Beast here and created a new Jinchūriki.
Her gaze swept over Haori's group, first to the young Hyuga clan member with the kekkei genkai. Mei Terumi remembered him. As for him being with Haori, the situation was clear.
This was a defection… but compared to the Three-Tails incident in front of her, he wasn't important.
As for Haku… Mei Terumi glanced at him and moved on. She didn't see anything special about him.
Then, there was the little girl with red hair. There was a high probability that she was a member of the Uzumaki clan. So, there was also a possibility that she was the new Jinchūriki.
If that was the case, then she couldn't be allowed to leave.
The characteristics of the Uzumaki clan weren't a secret. After the destruction of Uzushiogakure, the scattered Uzumaki clan members from Amegakure had almost died out. The reason was simple. Their red hair was too noticeable. It was more eye-catching than Haku's Ice Release chakra, and "hostility" wanted to destroy them more easily than Kirigakure destroying the Ice Release clan.
"What do you think?"
Mei Terumi tilted her head and asked Ao.
Ao shook his head slightly. With his Byakugan, he could basically confirm that there was no Jinchūriki among them. As for sealing the Tailed Beast using other methods, it would basically require special tools.
Seeming uncomfortable with the gaze of the older woman, or even the one-eyed dragon, Mirai hid behind Haori.
"If you were looking for the Three-Tails, I suggest you come back in a few years. Because of a very coincidental reason… just now, it died."
Haori used extremely simple language to describe an extremely simple fact… It was an accidental incident after all. There was no need to hide something so obvious.
Only the "coincidence" he emphasized wasn't that he had accidentally killed the Three-Tails, but that he had accidentally not completely killed the Three-Tails.
"So, in just a few minutes, you killed the Three-Tails?"
Mei Terumi, of course, understood Haori's words in her own way. Coincidence? She wouldn't believe it.
As for killing a Tailed Beast, it was honestly beyond her expectations in such a short time. The time she mentioned was the most extreme consideration. In reality, Haori's combat time was much shorter. After all, when they arrived here, Haori had already stomped the bug to death and wiped his shoes clean.
"Based on the current situation, the Three-Tails being dead is the most likely judgment… But no matter what, now that you've appeared in the Land of Water, you can't think that you can just leave, can you?"
As she spoke, she licked her lips, showing her aggression.
Actually, the current situation wasn't the worst for Mei Terumi. You could even say that she was relieved. Compared to being sealed, a Tailed Beast dying once wasn't something she couldn't accept.
After all, it was a weapon that could be resurrected infinitely. Anyway, Kirigakure couldn't deal with the Three-Tails right now. It didn't matter if it died once.
"To be honest, I have no reason to fight you…"
Haori said. If he hadn't killed Kirigakure's Level 1 Protected Animal, these words would have been more convincing.
But whether it was provocation or fighting spirit, Haori was bound to give a response.
"Actually, I value peace. But it's just 'value.' Peace isn't something I value more than anything else. If you fight me now… it'll just be a matter of seconds."
As Haori's words fell, Kimimaro took off the Hiramekarei that he was carrying on his back, and Haku moved to Mirai's side.
He couldn't fight Mei Terumi's team in a normal way with Mirai. After all, if the battle dragged on when facing four people, there was no 100% chance of protecting Mirai.
But he wanted 100%…
Haori said that he didn't have a reason or intention to fight. But if he decided to fight, it would definitely be an all-out attack.
Looking at him now, he was harmless. But when he truly bared his fangs, then the question would be… could he instantly kill these four people?
"Or, maybe we could try?"
"No… or, there's no need to try."
If there were any old drivers who wanted to race on the spot, then the option of "safe driving" would be nonexistent for them, especially if the main opponent was a female driver.
Haori said no more. And for the four people opposite him, pressure and oppression almost instantly washed over them.
Fighting Haori now would definitely be a bad thing… This was something they could easily sense.
"Mizukage-sama, should we attack?" Ao asked.
"..."
Haori did have concerns about fighting, but he wouldn't do anything he wasn't sure of. But in reality, the Mizukage had to consider more. Many responsibilities were tied to her position.
"No…"
So, she wouldn't do anything she wasn't sure of either.
"Kirigakure and Konoha are at peace right now. No matter what you planned to do with the Three-Tails before, since the Tailed Beast is dead, I assume your plan has failed… We can put the Three-Tails matter on hold for now. I also hope peace can continue. But… you must leave the Land of Water immediately." Mei Terumi said.
This was a lie.
Just now, she suddenly realized that when dealing with Haori, it seemed like "home-field advantage" didn't exist. If she fought him, would she be completely confident in a four-on-one battle?
The aggression hidden behind that face made people feel a little creeped out.
If she had been confident in defeating Haori, then the topic of peace wouldn't have existed.
Ninjas from different villages are enemies. If she hadn't been bound by the Mizukage's identity, Mei Terumi might have been able to go all out against him. But Mei Terumi could die. The "Mizukage" couldn't make another mistake.
Killing one or two ninjas wouldn't trigger a new war, even if it was a ninja like Haori. But the problem was, this guy was really hard to kill.
"That would be best. It's just, unfortunately…"
Haori's words trailed off.
Unfortunately, it seemed like he couldn't test his new jutsu in this situation to see what kind of effect it would have.
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