Ninja World: I, Kisame Hoshigaki, am no longer human!

Both enemies who attacked the caravan were Chunin, but for geniuses like Mei Terumi and Ringo Ameyuri, mere Chunin were hardly formidable opponents.

Snapped!

Mei Terumi quickly seized the opportunity, using her water whip to knock away the enemy's weapon and entangle his body.

Water Release: Water Whip is not only powerful, but it can also bind enemies, making it a very comprehensive advanced Water Release ninjutsu.

"Yuri Yuri!"

After Mei Terumi subdued the enemy, she gave a clear shout.

Yuri understood immediately and used her signature Lightning Release ninjutsu to deliver a dazzling bolt of lightning along the water whip to the enemy, killing him instantly.

Seeing that things were not going well, the other person turned around and tried to run away.

However, he hadn't run far when, as Yu Yuli finished forming hand seals again, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, hitting the man directly and causing him to fall off the cliff with a scream.

After swiftly and decisively eliminating the two enemies, Mei Terumi and Yuri Ame exchanged a smile.

"That's amazing."

When Sakura Yuki saw this, her eyes lit up, and she looked at the two girls with new respect.

If it were them, perhaps... the Snow Village could be saved.

As she was dreaming about this, Kisame's voice came to her ears.

"Are these two ninjas after you? You should know this isn't a C-rank mission."

His voice was cold as he questioned Sakura Yuki again.

"I...don't know them."

Sakura Yuki's expression changed, and she subconsciously defended herself, insisting that the other party was either a bandit or a ninja in exile.

The Land of Water is often plagued by internal strife, and indeed many ninjas roam around, engaging in robbery and plunder.

"This is so boring. These two enemies are too weak; they're not even a match for me. I wish there were more."

Yuri walked over at this moment, showing off as if she hadn't had enough fun.

Mei Terumi overheard Kisame and Sakura Yuki's conversation.

She looked at Sakura Yuki, who cast a pleading glance her way.

Mei Terumi finally softened and said to Kisame and Yuri:

"Although we encountered an unexpected enemy, these villagers are all simple and kind people. Let's keep our promise and send them home safely."

Although she noticed something was amiss, she didn't want to give up on the mission easily.

After all, the late village chief of Snow Village was an old friend of Elder Genji. Since Elder Genji specifically entrusted this task to her, Mei Terumi naturally wanted to do her best to complete it.

So, after a short rest, the group set off again.

Along the way, Mei Terumi walked up to Kisame and whispered to him:

“Sakura Yuki may be short of money and unable to afford the reward for a B-rank mission, which is why she issued a C-rank mission. But even if it is a B-rank mission, Yu Yuri and I can handle it, so you don’t need to worry.”

"I hope so."

……

Another day has passed.

"After crossing one more mountain, you'll reach the Snow Village. Our village has steaming hot springs where you can enjoy a relaxing bath."

Sakura Yuki said to the three of them.

Just then, the howling of wolves suddenly came from all around.

"Awoo."

A pack of starving wolves rushed down from the mountain and surrounded the group.

"As expected, wild animals came down the mountain in search of food."

Mei Terumi surveyed the wolf pack, then brandished her Water Whip once more. Without the protection of ninjas, these ordinary villagers of Snow Village would surely have perished in the wolf's belly.

After a fierce but brief battle.

Most of the hungry wolves were killed or wounded, and the survivors tucked their tails between their legs and were driven away.

However, just when everyone had finally relaxed and was about to take a break, a sudden change occurred.

shhhhhhhh!

A rain of shurikens flew out from the woods ahead, raining down on the group.

In an instant, apart from the three members of the team and Sakura Yuki, who was better protected, none of the other villagers survived and fell to the rain of slashes.

But the real crisis has only just begun.

24. The Iron Duo

Crunch. Crunch.

The sound of footsteps crunching on the snow came from the woods.

"Those two useless Chunin sent out, as expected, failed to complete the mission."

"In the end, it still takes the two of us brothers to take action ourselves."

Under the watchful eyes of Kisame and the others, two figures emerged from behind the tree, singing in unison.

They were two tall men, about the same height and build as Kisame. They had buzz cuts, bronze skin, and were dressed in thin clothes, seemingly unaffected by the cold.

Kisame noticed that although the two of them were not wearing headbands, they each had a conspicuous "steel" and "iron" tattooed on their right shoulders.

Cloud Shadow Ninja?

In an instant, he made a preliminary judgment about the other party's identity.

In Kumokage Village, high-ranking ninjas usually have shoulder markings, such as the characters "lightning," "gold," "silver," or "iron," which are symbols of strength and status.

These two are Jonin from Kumogakure.

Judging from their conversation, the two Chunin who attacked the caravan earlier were also their subordinates.

Thinking of this, Kisame turned to look at Sakura Yuki and found that the latter was trembling all over, her eyes filled with fear.

"Did you invite these Hidden Mist ninja to avenge the old village chief?"

"These guys are really underestimating our Iron Duo."

At this moment, the two spoke again, looking at Sakura Yuki and Kisame with a mocking expression, and approached step by step.

"The Iron Duo?!"

Mei Terumi suddenly remembered something, and her expression changed.

"You know them?" Kisame asked.

Mei Terumi's expression turned serious as she quickly spoke to Kisame and Yuri:

"I have heard my family elders talk about the deeds of these two people."

The Iron Duo were two Jonin brothers from Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village) in the Land of Lightning. Dissatisfied with the policies of the Third Raikage, they attempted to emulate the Gold and Silver Brothers by staging a coup to overthrow the Raikage's rule. However, their efforts were thwarted before they could even make a ripple, and they were suppressed by the Raikage and imprisoned for reflection.

However, these two were restless in prison, managing to kill a guard and escape. They were later wanted by the Hidden Cloud Village with a bounty of 30 million ryo. Unexpectedly, they crossed the ocean and fled to the Land of Water.

After saying these words, Mei Terumi's expression turned even more unpleasant.

She turned her head sharply and questioned Sakura Yuki:

"You knew about these enemies from the beginning, didn't you? The enemy has two Jonin, which is close to an S-rank mission. Why didn't you say so earlier?"

At this moment, Mei Terumi understood Kisame's worries, but it was too late.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know they were so powerful... I thought, I thought you could handle them..."

With tears in her eyes, Sakura Yuki finally realized that she had made a terrible mistake.

"Damn it, we've been recognized. Has word of our embarrassing exploits even reached Kirigakure?"

"In that case, we absolutely cannot let these people leave alive."

The two steel-clad duo exchanged a glance and reached a tacit understanding.

Months ago, after being wanted by a bounty hunter, they were quickly hunted down by a terrifyingly powerful bounty hunter ninja, who even nearly stole the heart from one of them.

Having barely escaped death and fled to the Land of Water, the Steel Duo dared not act ostentatiously again and hid deep in the mountains.

Later, the two accidentally discovered the Snow Village and thought it was a good place to hide. After their threats against the old village chief to provide them with shelter failed, they brutally murdered him and staged it as an accidental death.

However, Sakura Yuki still discovered the truth.

She pretended to know nothing and followed the village caravan out of Snow Village, arriving in Kirigakure, which led to the events that followed.

In the woods, a life-or-death battle is about to erupt.

"I'll deal with the tall shark-faced one, you take care of the two shorter ones."

On the Steel Duo's side, the older brother, Steel Ninja, and the younger brother, Iron Ninja, discussed their plan, both revealing cold smiles.

As for Sakura Yuki, she's still useful. They plan to take her hostage and control the entire Snow Village.

call out!

A layer of lightning surged from Steel Ninja's body, and he moved with lightning speed, heading straight for Kisame.

Lightning Release Ninjutsu?

Seeing this, Kisame dared not be careless and immediately unleashed the Mad Dog Fluid Technique, shouting and charging towards his opponent in a frenzied manner.

Bang bang bang!

Every clash between the two was a brutal, bone-crushing battle, with their fists whipping up snowflakes that danced in the air.

However, during the fight, Kisame gradually realized that his opponent was not as strong as he had imagined.

The most authentic Lightning Release ninjutsu of Kumokage Village is the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, passed down through generations, which is extremely difficult to master.

This technique requires the user to release chakra from all the acupoints in their body, and it also demands a very high amount of chakra. For example, the Third and Fourth Raikage had chakra levels comparable to those of tailed beasts.