The second after Makoto stopped Uchiha Hikari and said "Leave it to me," he appeared behind Mei.
If not for Makoto's excessive self-control, his sheer energy output was so high that he could probably make anyone he glared at pregnant.
"Don't be afraid. Let's do it again." Makoto placed his hand on Mei's shoulder.
Hearing the voice from behind and feeling the sudden surge of limitless energy entering her body, Mei's eyes grew determined.
The "Keystone" formed by Makoto's condensed Natural Energy was essentially a convenience tool, allowing others to access the power without needing Makoto's close physical contact.
But now that Makoto was directly transferring Natural Energy to Mei Terumi like a battery charger, they didn't need to worry about the limitations of the connection.
The only drawback was that, like Gaara and Temari before her, Mei currently couldn't control her own body.
She had to let Makoto take the wheel.
All she could do was carefully experience the sensations in this god-like state.
As Makoto injected the energy, the blue robe and red patterns on Mei Terumi's clothes began to shift.
A thin layer of blue-gold chakra enveloped her body.
Originally, Mei Terumi's blue clothing combined with her red hair matched the color scheme of the Legendary Pokémon Kyogre.
But now? It was different.
The current Mei Terumi was like someone in Tenseigan Chakra Mode, wrapped in a cloak of pure power.
The patterns on her hands and clothes transformed into a mix of glowing gold, white, and deep neon blue.
Her pupils turned golden. An 'Alpha' symbol glowed on her hand.
This directly changed her color scheme to Primal Kyogre.
Her hair color remained unchanged, though it was covered by a faint glow.
(This was normal; if her hair color changed to gold too, she'd be a Super Saiyan, and that's a different anime altogether.)
Whoosh—
As Makoto completed the transformation, the drizzle in the sky suddenly intensified.
CRASH.
Torrential rain poured down as if the sky had been torn open.
Simultaneously, the sea around the small island began to churn violently.
Several massive waterspouts rose around them, connecting the ocean to the dark clouds in the sky.
...
Several water orbs once again condensed around Mei Terumi's body.
However, these spheres far exceeded the previous ones in size and were no longer the color of normal water.
They emitted a terrifying, pale blue plasma glow.
BOOM—
The moment the water spheres coalesced, they shot toward the Wooden Golem like beams of annihilation.
Mei Terumi could sense that this was technically still "Water Release," but its power was worlds apart from the spit-take she had used earlier.
"This move is called Origin Pulse. It's a signature ability unique to the Master of the Ocean," Makoto named it in advance to prevent Mei Terumi from coming up with some bizarre name like "Super Acid Kiss."
At the same time, Makoto once again confirmed a previous hypothesis.
Some fundamental laws might differ across worlds, but others remain constant.
In the Pokémon world, when Kyogre and Groudon underwent Primal Reversion, the lore stated that nature's energy overflowed.
Now, seeing the effects here, Makoto developed a new theory regarding Kaguya, the Sage of Six Paths, and Hashirama Senju.
But that would require checking Orochimaru's lab data later.
"Origin Pulse...?"
Mei Terumi stared dumbfounded at the scene before her.
The massive Wooden Golem, which she had struggled to shatter just one arm of earlier—only for it to regenerate immediately—was now completely pulverized into dust by this single attack.
"What's going on with the weather around us?"
Mei Terumi snapped back to reality and suddenly noticed something amiss.
The rain wasn't stopping and the water level was rising.
"...Why does it feel like we've become the world-destroying villains?"
After hearing Makoto's description of the power, Mei Terumi fell silent for a moment before speaking nervously.
"When you can use it yourself in the future, just turn it off right after you're done. Do you really want to drown the world?" Makoto retorted.
"That's true... Wait, no! Then why don't you pull it out quickly... Uh, I mean, take your hand away and deactivate this mode! The Land of Water is an island nation with very little land to begin with! If the sea level rises, my economy will collapse!"
Mei Terumi suddenly grew anxious.
She was no longer just the leader of the Hidden Mist Village but the ruler of the entire Land of Water.
Every bit of submerged land was real estate she was losing.
And as soon as she thought of this, Mei Terumi realized another problem.
As Makoto released her shoulder and the rain gradually lightened, Mei Terumi turned to him with a worried expression.
"Even if I master this mode in the future, I feel like I wouldn't dare use it recklessly. Every time I use it, the world loses a bit of land. If I use it a few more times, even if I don't want to be a villain, I'd have already drowned the continent."
"Don't worry," Makoto patted Mei Terumi's arm.
"Once I create an '[End Land]' jewel for Kurotsuchi too, there won't be anything to fear."
"Her power will continuously swallow the ocean and expand the continent with magma. You two can cancel each other out."
"...Doesn't that sound backwards? Her Hidden Stone Village is inland—what would she need more land for?" Mei Terumi complained.
Makoto rolled his eyes.
"Even though Kurotsuchi uses Earth Style, she's always flying around in the sky showing off her legs. What does she have to do with the ground anyway?" Makoto immediately shot back with a petty counter-remark.
"Coincidentally, based on my experience crafting this Blue Jewel for you, I speculate that after wearing the Red Jewel I made for her, she'll also need to stand on the ground as much as possible to absorb the earth's natural energy."
Makoto let out a long sigh.
This was the price of being an embodiment of the earth—you had to stay firmly grounded.
No more flying.
She needs to touch some grass!
The two returned to the lakeshore.
Hashirama Senju was currently recovering, with half of his Impure World Reincarnation body slowly reforming from scattered paper fragments.
Fortunately, Hashirama wasn't as perverted as Uchiha Madara.
The reincarnated Madara had deliberately allowed himself to be hit by Onoki's Dust Release just to expose his bare chest and let everyone admire the face of his "beloved" Hashirama implanted there.
If Hashirama were equally twisted, intentionally pointing at certain parts of his body at this moment and claiming "Look! These are the places Madara once penetrated me!"... that would be utterly disgusting.
"My mark has disappeared."
Uchiha Hikari stepped forward, curiously examining Mei Terumi, who had returned with Makoto.
"Mark?"
Mei Terumi looked at Makoto in confusion.
She had no idea Hikari had secretly tagged her like a wild animal!