"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique (Futton: Kōmu no Jutsu)!!!"
This was one of Mei Terumi's two Kekkei Genkai, the terrifying Futsuton (Boil Release).
Once, she had used this very technique to corrode and melt Uchiha Sasuke's Susanoo itself, an achievement that spoke volumes about its destructive potential. Even defenses said to be absolute could not withstand it for long.
Naturally, the Skilled Mist Technique was not without flaws.
First, it was usually effective only in enclosed spaces. Without a sealed environment, maintaining its lethal concentration became extremely difficult.
Second, the technique was indiscriminate,if handled carelessly, it could just as easily injure allies as enemies.
Back during the Five Kage Summit, White Zetsu's interference had caused the mist to spread uncontrollably, forcing Mei to reduce its potency to protect her comrades.
But now,
Although she was not fighting in a closed area,
the endless fog blanketing the sea served as a natural substitute.
Mei subtly merged her Boil Release into the surrounding mist, allowing the corrosive vapor to cling to the dense moisture in the air. Instead of spreading explosively, it expanded slowly and deliberately, maintaining both lethal concentration and precise control.
It was an elegant, deadly application of the technique.
Before anyone realized what was happening, the mist had already drifted onto the Sunagakure fleet.
At first, the Sand Village ninjas merely felt discomfort,tightness in their chests, a burning sensation in their throats. Then the coughing began, sharp and uncontrollable.
Moments later, panic erupted.
Their skin blistered, clothing hissed and dissolved, and even chakra-forged weapons began to bubble and melt, eaten away by invisible acid.
"AAAAAAGH,!!!"
Agonized screams tore through the fog.
Clang!
Clatter,!
Weapons slipped from numbing fingers and struck the deck, followed immediately by the sizzling sound of corrosion, as metal was reduced to ruin.
"What's happening?!"
A voice rang out,old, steady, and commanding, cutting through the chaos.
Mei's eyes narrowed slightly.
Granny Chiyo…
The legendary elder of Sunagakure. The commander of this force.
"This is,!"
A master puppeteer and a veteran poison expert, Chiyo needed only an instant to understand.
"Corrosive acid mist!"
Her expression darkened.
"Everyone, get inside the cabins immediately! Seal the decks!"
The Sand Village ninjas scrambled in desperation, abandoning formation as they rushed for cover. Still, many were too slow. Some collapsed screaming, others stumbled blindly before plunging into the sea, vanishing beneath the waves with heavy splashes.
Chiyo's fury boiled over.
"Wind Release units!"
"Disperse this fog at once!"
"The enemy is using it as a medium,blow it away!"
"Yes, Lady Chiyo!"
Elite Wind Release users stepped forward, forming seals in unison.
" Fūton: Kakeami (Wind Release: Hanging Net)!!!"
The sea roared.
A violent gale exploded outward, tearing through the mist like claws. The fog was ripped apart, scattering across the sky as the corrosive vapor weakened and dispersed.
But it was already too late.
The damage was catastrophic.
Ninjas lay injured or dead. Armor was pitted and crumbling. Weapons were nothing more than twisted scraps. Even the ships themselves groaned, their hulls eaten through, timbers creaking as if ready to collapse at any moment. Torn sails fluttered helplessly before sliding into the sea.
Despite everything, Mei Terumi felt a trace of admiration.
"She reacted instantly… figured out my technique, and countered it without hesitation."
"A true veteran of countless wars."
Ao snapped her back to reality.
"Now's not the time to admire the enemy."
"The fog won't last much longer. Once it clears, they'll spot us."
"And with just the three of us, we can't fight an entire Sand Village army head-on."
Mei smiled,calm, confident.
"I know."
She raised her hands.
"But before we leave…"
"Let's give them one final gift."
In a flash, she began forming seals. Ao and Chōjūrō followed immediately, their chakra surging in response.
The Mist Village's specialty,Water Release,erupted at once.
"Water Release: Water Formation Pillar (Suiton: Suijinchū)!!!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet (Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu)!!!"
"Water Release: Water Shockwave (Suiton: Suishōha)!!!"
Three powerful techniques activated simultaneously.
And this was the open sea,an endless source of water and chakra amplification.
The ocean answered their call.
Towering columns of water burst upward. A roaring dragon of liquid fury twisted through the air. Crushing waves surged forward, merging into a single, unstoppable force.
BOOOOOOM,!!!
Like a raging tsunami, the massive torrent thundered toward the Sand Village fleet, blotting out sky and sea alike.
Mei Terumi alone already possessed terrifying Suiton (Water Release) power.
With the sea at her back,
it became absolute devastation.
The Water Formation Pillar had once withstood even Uchiha Madara's Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
And now, with two additional elite shinobi reinforcing it, how could its power be anything but monstrous?
In an instant, a colossal tsunami gathered and surged forward. The sea itself seemed to come alive, transforming into a rampaging leviathan as it lunged toward the Sunagakure forces, intent on swallowing them whole.
Granny Chiyo's expression changed drastically.
"Careful! It's the enemy's Water Release,its power is enormous!"
"Ships, fall back immediately!"
"Defensive units,activate all defensive ninjutsu!"
The orders rang out with iron authority.
In the next heartbeat,
"Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Formation Wall)!!!"
"Fūton: Ōkakeami (Wind Release: Great Hanging Net)!!!"
Every defensive squad in Sunagakure moved at once. Even ninjas outside the designated defense units poured chakra into protective techniques, forming layers upon layers of resistance.
Two violent forces collided head-on.
The impact was cataclysmic.
The sky seemed to split apart as towering waves crashed together. The sea howled, and monstrous walls of water exploded upward, sending shockwaves tearing across the battlefield.
Sunagakure's ships rocked violently, tossed about like fragile toys amid the raging storm.
Those vessels already weakened by the earlier corrosion fared the worst,some snapped apart entirely, their hulls breaking as the waves flipped them over without mercy.
One after another, Sand Village ninjas were thrown into the sea, their screams quickly swallowed by the roar of wind and water.
And amid the chaos,
Mei Terumi had already withdrawn at full speed, using the confusion as perfect cover.
Before even catching a glimpse of their enemy, the Sunagakure ninja army had already suffered devastating losses.
Granny Chiyo stared at the scene, her hands trembling with a mixture of shock and fury.
She had survived countless battles, faced legendary enemies,
yet she had never suffered such a loss without even landing a counterstrike.
Her eyes hardened.
"Reposition the ships. Regroup the formation!"
"The enemy is directly ahead!"
"It's time for us to launch our counterattack!!!"