Chapter 980: Uchiha Kiyomi vs Shimizu Mika
“Uchiha Kiyomi and Shimizu Mika please come to the arena,” announced the referee.
As the participants were revealed, all eyes turned toward two young girls making their way to the arena side by side.
Kiyomi hails from the esteemed Uchiha Clan and is the foster daughter of the former Uchiha Clan Patriarch. On the other hand, Mika is a commoner under the guardianship of an Ichiraku Ramen employee. Both Kunoichi have maintained undefeated records thus far, with Kiyomi relying on her formidable Sharingan and Mika showcasing a unique Kekkei Genkai. This Genkai allows her to transform her body into various types of inanimate weapons at will.
As the two Kunoichi stood opposite each other in the arena, preparing to make the Sign of Confrontation, Kakashi recollected some information about Shimizu Mika. Turning to Kuroto, he inquired, “If I recall correctly, Shimizu Mika joined the academy late, didn’t she? Despite that, her strength is truly impressive—surpassing that of most of the other contemporaries of her year…”
Kakashi found himself intrigued by the strength of the Kunoichi named ‘Shimizu Mika,’ especially considering her late entry into the ninja academy. While her impressive Kekkei Genkai played a role, Kakashi couldn’t help but wonder about the source of her training and abilities.
Recalling a past practical exam in the Forest of Death, Kakashi reminisced about Mika’s exceptional performance. Even then, as a newcomer, she stood shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Neji, the cream of the crop from the Ninja Academy.
Asuma and Kurenai, who had faced Mika during that exam, praised her considerably, offering high evaluations comparable to the best academy graduates. Perplexed by these observations, Kakashi shared his doubts with Kuroto.
In response, Kuroto, after careful consideration, decided to disclose a secretive aspect of Mika’s background to Kakashi. “Actually, this is still a secret known to few, not even Sandaime-sama and the other elders are aware. However, I believe it’s safe to share with you at this point. Mika was trained by ‘Root.'”
Kakashi’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are you serious, Kuroto?”
Kuroto nodded solemnly. “Yes, it can even be said that she was the favorite of Shimura Danzō because of her unique Kekkei Genkai, and he had planned to use her as his ultimate weapon.” He continued to explain, “While training her, Shimura Danzō and his researchers were also studying her Kekkei Genkai since it’s rather unique and quite powerful. The girl was experimented upon for as long as she can remember.”“I see. If it’s from that ‘Root,’ then that explains everything,” mumbled Kakashi, falling into a contemplative silence. He really had no idea what else to say.
Observing Mika, Shisui added with a smile, “Her mental state seems to be a lot better now.”
Kuroto nodded in agreement. “Indeed,” he remarked, noting the contrast with her cold and lifeless expression back when he first encountered the girl. Mika seemed to have improved considerably since then.
From Kuroto and Shisui’s conversation, Kakashi deduced that Shisui was also aware of the girl’s background. Given Shisui’s role as the Vice-principal of the Konoha Ninja Academy and the close relationship between Kuroto and Shisui, this awareness made sense.
Similar to Kakashi, a significant number of people were intrigued by Shimizu Mika’s past and her unique abilities. In contrast to individuals like Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, Lee, Shion, Yakumo, and Kiyomi, who were some of the strongest and most talented graduates of their generation, Mika remained a mystery that few had been able to unravel. Even now, the full extent of her abilities, strength, and Kekkei Genkai remained unknown, creating anticipation for her upcoming duel against Uchiha Kiyomi. The prospect of witnessing the clash between these enigmatic Kunoichi fueled curiosity and excitement among many.
…
At the arena
“Let’s do our best, Mika-san,” said Kiyomi while forming the seal of confrontation.
“I will do whatever is required to win,” nodded Mika in a stoic tone, also forming the seal of confrontation.
Confirming that the two Kunoichi in training were ready for the fight, the referee signaled, “Begin!” and disappeared from the arena with a Body Flicker Jutsu.
Immediately, Kiyomi took out a few Shuriken from the loose sleeves of her Kimono and threw them at Mika rapidly. In response to Kiyomi’s Shuriken, Mika unsheathed her Tantō and used its blade to deflect the Shuriken, then dashed toward Kiyomi, whoosh!
The moment she noticed Mika’s figure vanishing, Kiyomi immediately activated her Sharingan, Sharingan! revealing two black tomoe swirling within the scarlet wheel of each eye. With the dynamic vision provided by her Sharingan, Kiyomi was able to keep track of Mika’s movements. She defended herself against Mika’s attack using a pair of Kunai just in the nick of time.
Sparks flew as Mika’s Tantō and Kiyomi’s Kunai clashed with each other Ding! and droplets of blood occasionally fell on the platform of the arena.
In terms of overall speed and strength, Mika was undoubtedly superior. This advantage wasn’t just due to the brutal training she underwent with ‘Root’ from a very young age, but also because she carried the blood of the Senju Clan, giving her a naturally better and stronger physique than most of her peers. Consequently, Kiyomi found it challenging to keep up with Mika’s movements. If not for the fact that she already possessed a two-tomoe Sharingan, she would have been overwhelmed by Mika’s prowess.
Despite the challenging situation, Kiyomi wasn’t nervous; instead, she grinned in excitement. “It’s just as I thought. Among all the girls, you really are the strongest in terms of overall ability!”
Maintaining her stoic expression and not ceasing the movement of her hands, Mika questioned, “If you realize the difference in our strength, shouldn’t you give up already? You should understand that you have no chance of defeating me.”
Kiyomi shrugged, “How would I know that I don’t stand a chance unless I try?” Then, she gracefully leaped high into the sky with a backflip to distance herself from Mika. While in mid-air, she weaved the hand signs for a fire-style Jutsu and breathed out a significant amount of hot fire at Mika, using ‘Fire Style: Fire Annihilation!’
“Such a Jutsu… it wouldn’t really be all that effective against me…” muttered Mika in a low tone. She too weaved hand signs and used a Water Style Jutsu in response to Kiyomi’s Fire Style Jutsu, executing ‘Water Style: Water Trumpet.’
The collision of fire and water created a substantial amount of steam that covered the arena, disrupting visibility.
The moment the steam enveloped the arena, Kiyomi’s grin widened, ‘Step 1 completed, now on to the next step,’ and she landed on the ground with her back facing Mika. The next moment, she turned around, “Let’s see how this one goes,” and thrust her right hand forward, ‘Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!’
Instantly, multiple long snakes emerged from under the loose sleeve of her Kimono, rushing in Mika’s direction.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
The snakes generally had poor vision, not relying on their eyes to perceive their surroundings. Instead, they depended on infrared radiation, which they sensed with specialized pits on their faces. Even though the arena was covered in mist, the snakes could detect Mika’s position as the temperature of her body differed from that of the mist surrounding the arena.
Unimpeded, the snakes rushed at Mika, who stood still, and coiled around her waist, arms, legs, hair, and the rest of her torso, effectively trapping her. They began to slowly tighten their grip, crushing her.
Having captured Mika, Kiyomi smiled confidently and approached her step by step. “You were saying?”
Although Mika was in tremendous pain due to the snakes crushing her, there was no change in her facial expression. With the same tone, she said, “This Jutsu seems familiar… how did you use this?”
Kiyomi answered, “It’s one of the Jutsu I learned from Anko-Sensei during the special training…”
“I see… if it was Mitarashi Anko, then it would make sense,” nodded Mika as if connecting the dots.
Kiyomi shrugged at her response and changed the topic, “Well, do you want to continue? Or do you want to accept defeat, Mika-san?”
Kiyomi hoped for Mika to give up since her hands, feet, and hair had been tied up, and there was not much she could do at this point. She should be under a lot of pain because of the snakes coiling around her, and giving up the fight seemed the natural thing to do. After all, no one likes to suffer from pain, and no one wants to experience it, right?
Contrary to what Kiyomi expected, suddenly, Mika’s stoic expression changed into a blush. Her cheeks reddened, and her lips arched into a wide smile as her breathing became a little rough. Haah… Haa…At the same time, the tone of her voice also changed from monotone to a little freaky, “Uchiha Kiyomi-san, you don’t seriously think that just this much would be enough to defeat me, right?”
Kiyomi would be lying if she said that the sudden break in Mika’s character didn’t send a shiver down her spine. She couldn’t help but let out a startled voice, “Wh-what?!” She had never seen Shimizu Mika make such an expression.
“I see, you really thought so, huh?” muttered Mika and added, “Well, it can’t be helped.” She shook her head dismissively and directed chakra into her hair while speaking, “This much is nowhere near enough to defeat me, the strongest weaspon!”
Kiyomi watched as Mika’s hair started to grow wildly. As the hair volume increased, they transformed into several sharp Kunai, using ‘Body Manipulation Style: Multiple Hair Kunai!’ Multiple hair ends combined together to form several sharp Kunai blades, and under Mika’s control, the Hair Kunai cut down the snakes restraining Mika, effectively freeing her.
After getting free, Mika landed on the ground and looked at Kiyomi with a sadistic, charming smile, saying, “Now then…”