Chapter 213   - Ch213. Ringo vs Yagura 1

Ringo slowly approached Yagura who was already waiting in the center of the Kuronami plains. As she looked around, she noted that it was really a bleak area with nothing extraordinary in it. Nothing anybody would mind losing no matter how much they wreck the place. Ringo's lips briefly twitched upward at that thought.

"You are taking your damn time, traitor!" Yagura sneered, only to receive a deadpan look from Ringo.

Ringo, on the other hand, was inwardly amused and simply kept her pointed gaze on the Fourth Mizukage chibi in front of her while raising her eyebrow as if he was a misbehaving child. It took a few moments but Yagura eventually noticed and flushed red from anger. Before he could say anything, however, Ringo started talking.

"You really are quite bad at taunting people, aren't you, boy?" Her even voice spread through the plains in a dismissive manner that told exactly what she thought about Yagura. "Traitor? Really? Is that supposed to make me angry or something?" Ringo mused. "For your information, child, I had a good reason to go rogue and I accepted the potential repercussions of it even before you even started attending academy. Not that it matters. In this world, only power matters."

Yagura's sneer increased the more Ringo talked. She not only tried to rationalize her turning traitor but she also had a complete disregard for him! He was a Kage, dammit!

"Fine then! If it's a power you respect, I shall show you exactly that. Let's begin!" Yagura coldly whispered.

Hearing him, Ringo gave him a patronizing smirk, "Stupid boy, the battle started the second we entered the plai-." She cut herself off mid-speech and performed the most casual step backward in the history of ninjas with a bored expression just as three sharp tendrils of water shot upwards impaling the place where she was standing not a second ago.

"I am quite aware." Yagura smirked at Konan who still looked at him impassively.

What he didn't notice, however, was that her right hand was currently pointing downwards slightly in front of her. Lightning suddenly appeared on her outstretched pointing finger and crackled blue before a small beam zig-zagged forward, impacting the puddle from where the tendrils came from. As the Lightning Jutsu met the Water Jutsu, something never before seen happened that had the spectators knowledgeable in the Water and Lighting Chakra natures all over the continent gaping silly.

Yagura's water chakra in the puddle and the water tendrils completely destabilized when it came in contact with Ringo's Lightning Jutsu, causing them to fall apart, back into the puddle.

Yagura's smirk fell as he stared in muted disbelief at what just happened. It was a known fact that Lightning counters Water but that didn't mean Water was powerless against Lightning. It just meant it would take either more water or more water chakra to overpower lightning-based techniques. Considering they were currently in the WATER country, surrounded by many WATER sources that could power up his Jutsu and significantly cut their chakra cost, Yagura wasn't very worried about Ringo and the meager amount of Lightning she would be able to call forth by utilizing only her chakra reserves. The sight of a small, powerless bolt of lightning completely disrupting his Water Jutsu made him rethink his previous assumptions, however. Especially since no matter how he tried, he couldn't take control of the water in the puddle near Ringo again.

"I know." Ringo's voice snapped Yagura out of his reverie but it was far too late as the pointing finger on her right hand was already firmly aiming at his forehead. "Chidori Nagashi."

The whole Elemental Nations, and especially one masked white-haired always-depressed young man, watched in bewilderment as the current of lightning tore its way through Yagura's head near instantaneously while the man's face was set in disbelieving expression. For a moment, the world grew quiet as Yagura just stood rooted in his spot before his tensed body finally slacked towards the ground as his eyes rolled back.

"Oh, well... I told you I knew." Ringo offhandedly noted as her eyes flickered to the left while her left gloved hand balled in a fist jumped up, blocking a tip of Yagura's staff with her knuckles, causing her to be sent sliding on the ground for five meters.

Ringo furrowed her brows as she looked at her right hand, shaking it slowly. "Damn... that slightly stung." She hummed in a content manner while inwardly pondering one of her inventions, her force redirection gloves she was currently wearing.

Yagura watched unnerved, not expecting to be able to send her back only by five meters. Not when he put so much chakra into enhancing that one blow in that ambush.

'What the heck is she made of?' Yagura inwardly screamed as his hands and staff couldn't stop shaking, 'More importantly, what the heck was that lightning Jutsu!? It was damn near instant! My water clone had no chance to even notice it before he was destroyed.' He shivered as a determination to not be hit by it.

It was then Yagura noticed how impassive Ringo looked. She didn't even draw the blades on her waist nor did she take a proper stance. She just stood in her spot, slightly slouched as if it was a bother to even be there as she inspected her gloved left hand with a look of brief annoyance, completely ignoring him.

Anger suddenly sprang up in Yagura. This was not some private duel! This was as much a battle as it was a show to the whole Elemental Nations! He couldn't be seen as weak! Despite that, his opponent didn't even look as if she was even properly paying attention to him!

Yagura knew that Ringo had her senses on him non-stop. He knew she was watching him like a hawk. Any high-ranking ninja knew that. But the wealthy civilians, chunin, and genin-ranked ninjas? The woman was making him look weak!

Yagura sprang forward straight at Ringo whose lips set in a small smile. He brandished his staff at Ringo, his eyes flickering around, trying to find where she will dodge or if she will block. What counter will she use...

And suddenly, the staff landed on Ringo's body as she just indifferently stood in her place with an amused expression, causing Yagura to stop in his tracks for a second.

Yagura stared at Ringo in disbelief.

Ringo stared at Yagura in mirth.

"Is that all?" She suddenly asked, snapping Yagura out of yet another brain freeze as he took a half-step back mostly on instinct and started raining blow after blow on Ringo's body.

Many spectators winced as they watched the brutal beatdown Yagura was currently administering to the crimson-haired beauty.

Shoulder, stomach, collar bone, ribs, t.h.i.g.h, knee, back to stomach... and so it went as the tip of Yagura's staff violently danced all over Ringo's unmoving body until...

Yagura suddenly tried to hit Ringo's head, only for her to lean it to the left, evading the blow. He tried again but the result was the same and so in a fluid motion, his staff once again found purchase on Ringo's shoulder.

The more blows Yagura landed, the more frustrated he was becoming. The spectators couldn't see it but the madwoman was grinning at him! There was not even a speck of pain in her expression. She was still looking at him in that patronizing way as if he was a small kid throwing a tantrum! He was moving at above-jonin speed and hitting her with strength that would flatten average jonins for f.u.c.ks sake and she was acting as if she didn't even feel it!

Suddenly, Yagura's eyes wandered to Ringo's foot and shone with hope. He quickly redirected his staff mid-swing and stomped with its tip onto the center of said foot. The ground beneath Ringo's foot slightly caved in as cracks appeared around him, causing Yagura to smirk in content.

That slight lapse in guard cost him dearly. He was too close to her and stopped his mad onslaught of blows. In one move, Ringo put her hand on the handle of her sword and in one fluid move, she partly unsheathed it while putting a lot of chakra to enhance her blow before driving its pommel into Yagura's stomach, raising his feet from the ground as his body bend in the waist and was sent flying backward for a bit.

Huffing, Ringo rolled her shoulders as she watched the Fourth Mizukage land on his feet, swaying from the blow she just gave him. Her body felt... fine. A bit sore but fine. 'I guess the force redirecting full-body suit is a smashing success.' A sweet smile bloomed on her face.

Seeing such a satisfied and carefree smile on his opponent's face, Yagura's mind rapidly pushed any discomfort and pain from the previous blow away as he snarled, his eyes still looking at Ringo's foot. 'Why isn't it broken!? With the strength I put into that blow, at least some of the small bones in her foot should have snapped!'

Noticing his look, Ringo's smile widened, "I am currently testing a suit that can redirect force through its surface. Meaning, no matter how hard your hit is, I will barely feel a small percentage of its power." Ringo uncaringly shrugged before a sudden thoughtful frown appeared on her face before she added, "Naturally, it requires a special way of molding a Lightning chakra so only I can use it." She lied through her teeth to the entire Elemental Nations so nobody would pester her in order to sell it.

In one particular room in the Capital City of the Land of Water, Konan alongside Tsunade snorted and Ao g.r.o.a.n.e.d at the obvious lie while Rei only thanked god that the lie would be obvious only for those who knew Ringo.

Catching his breath, Yagura straightened up again, "I am done playing with you." He said through his gritted teeth but Ringo only looked at him curiously which drove him even more sparse.

Out of nowhere, his body was coated in a dark orange shroud of chakra, and Ringo's smile dropped, her face for the first time donning a dead-serious expression.

"Damn... I wanted to leisurely test more of my inventions. Give me a break, kid."

Yagura snarled.