Chapter 28: An Unconventional Rescue and a Clean Escape(Bonus Chapter)
"You'd better take a look at your own situation!"
Shiro sneered, a bluish-gray hue immediately spreading across her skin. It turned out the Iwa ninja could harden their skin like stone. The scorpion venom had quietly retracted from the golem's body back into Shiro the moment Kakashi revealed himself.
"Now you… you're not also a clone, are you?"
"This time, it's really over." Mizukage sighed, glancing at Liumu still trapped in the swamp.
"Why are you looking at me like that? It's making me uncomfortable." Liumu asked lazily, frowning. He even yawned mid-sentence. His expression wasn't panicked at all; he seemed almost… entertained, as if he weren't the one trapped.
"Honestly, it's kinda cool down here."
"You can still joke at a time like this?!" Mizukage shouted, her voice shrill. "Don't you see Kakashi's trapped because of you too?! What do we do now? Is this really the end of our Chunin Exams?"
Mizukage muttered, a glimmer of tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
"Hey, hey, what's with the waterworks?"
Liumu frowned. As an old-school 'straight man,' he was immune to both soft and hard approaches, but tears… they were his weakness. Seeing the watery tears threatening to spill over, Liumu shouted, "Alright, alright, stop crying! I'll get out myself, okay?"
With that, Taotie's Gluttony activated, absorbing the chakra maintaining the Earth Release swamp. Instantly, under Mizukage's astonished gaze, the swamp began to solidify rapidly until it returned to hard-packed earth. Liumu simply stepped out.
"Ruined my clothes." Liumu looked at the mud stains on his outfit. His figure blurred and vanished from the spot.
Up on the golem, the Iwa ninja, having successfully trapped Kakashi, were about to discuss the scroll when a gust of wind, swift as lightning, swept past. Kakashi disappeared.
"What happened?!"
The large Iwa ninja cried out coldly, turning to look down.
They saw Liumu, who had just been trapped in the swamp, had somehow escaped. Seeing Kakashi beside him, the three Iwa ninja immediately understood.
After checking Kakashi over to ensure he was unharmed, Liumu smiled. "See? I rescued you. How about you wash my clothes with a Water Release? You know, do the laundry?"
Water Release… for laundry?
Seeing Kakashi's speechless expression, Liumu added, "If you won't wash them, at least help me rinse off!"
He really was a mess. Looking at him, Kakashi suddenly felt he couldn't quite keep up with Liumu's train of thought.
"At least… wait until we're safe."
Facing Liumu's expectant gaze, Kakashi couldn't bring himself to refuse outright.
"Easy enough!"
Liumu cracked his knuckles, slowly clenched his fists, and turned to walk straight toward the stone golem.
The Iwa ninja, their advantage shattered by Liumu's escape, were baffled. How had he gotten out of the swamp? And that speed just now…
"Shiro! Don't just stand there!"
Seeing Liumu majestically approaching the golem's feet, the kunoichi named Shiro snapped the large man out of his thoughts.
Immediately, the large man manipulated the golem's massive stone palm to continuously hammer down on Liumu.
But what everyone present found utterly bizarre was that Liumu didn't dodge. He didn't even blink.
BOOM!
The stone palm smashed into the ground, stirring up a huge cloud of dust. Liumu, who had taken the blow head-on, wasn't just unharmed—he'd punched straight through the giant's palm.
"Time to wrap this up."
With a murmur, Liumu crouched low. His right fist slowly drew back to his waist as he shouted, "Normal Series: Normal Punch!"
Yikes!
At that moment, Kakashi suddenly recalled the long-standing rumors about Liumu in the village. In the Valley of the End, the statue of Uchiha Madara had suddenly shattered. Everyone whispered it was Liumu's doing.
If Liumu could reduce a stone statue of that magnitude to rubble… then this so-called stone golem before them…
BOOOOOOM—!!!
A single punch. The rock flickered. The powerful fist wind swept up countless gravel, pulverizing the stone behind the golem and the mountainside beyond.
Dust and smoke billowed everywhere, obscuring all vision.
When the air finally cleared, Kakashi and Mizukage were stunned by the scene before them.
The Valley of Thunder, originally a continuous chain of mountain peaks, now had a perfectly circular tunnel punched clean through its central massif.
As for the three Iwa ninja who had been on the stone golem…
Kakashi looked closely. His pupils dilated, his cheeks flushed instantly, and he hurriedly spun around, turning his back.
Even Mizukage up in the tree, after clearly seeing the trio's… state, blushed furiously and immediately covered her eyes.
"This…"
Liumu paced among the rubble, looking down at the three unconscious Iwa ninja at his feet. He scratched his head in mild embarrassment.
"The quality of your clothes is… subpar. But… your figures… not bad. Good potential for development."
Liumu's punch had sent the Iwa team's scroll flying to who-knows-where. Kakashi searched for a long time but couldn't find it.
After an unsuccessful hunt, the three had no choice but to give up.
But as they prepared to leave, Mizukage, looking at the still-unconscious Iwa ninja, asked, "Is it right to just leave them like this?"
"Indeed," Kakashi agreed.
"But I only have one set of clothes. I can't leave it for him. Besides, with my slender build, my clothes wouldn't fit him anyway."
The male Iwa ninja was too tall; neither Liumu's nor Kakashi's clothes would work.
As for the two girls… After Mizukage reluctantly took off her outer coat to cover one, she looked down at the single remaining layer on her own body…
"Take it off. There's still one more person!"
Liumu stared at Mizukage with eager anticipation, urging her on.
"Get lost!"
Mizukage glared at Liumu's lecherous expression, noticing Kakashi stealing glances too.
Mizukage: "…"
Countless indignant thoughts ran through her mind, but the rational Mizukage kept them to herself.
...
...
...
BOOM!
The violent explosion, like a thunderclap, completely shocked the ninja from various villages stationed around the Valley of Thunder. Seeing the tunnel punched through the central mountain…
"Who? Who did this?!"
Inside the Raikage's Office.
The Jonin leading the various village teams gathered around the table, looking at the devastation in the distant Valley of Thunder, all wearing expressions of shock.
Theoretically, the Valley of Thunder was currently surrounded by Chunin from Kumogakure. And inside the valley were only the children participating in the Chunin Exams…
"Wait… it can't really be…"
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