Water Style: Super Big Water Wave.
A massive surge of water exploded outward, trapping the enemy in a giant sphere. No matter which way the target moved, the water ball would follow relentlessly.
This technique was perfect against close-combat fighters like Logan.
Biwa Juzo had learned this move during a drunken conversation with a boy named Hoshigaki Kisame. It was powerful but incredibly chakra-draining. With Juzo's reserves, he could only sustain it for ten minutes at most.
To suffocate Logan—who had mastered the Grandmaster Breathing Technique—in under ten minutes? That was a fantasy.
But Juzo wasn't alone.
Black Hoe Thunderfang was here too.
A flash of lightning shot into the giant water sphere.
Trapped at the center, Logan felt his skin searing from the shock.
If not for the Ripple energy cloaking his body and shielding his internal organs, the electricity would've stopped his heart and left him paralyzed.
"What now?" Logan clenched his fists, the last breath he took before being submerged now locked in his chest. He adjusted the frequency of his ripples.
Green waves of energy pulsed from his hands, altering the flow of water around him. The smooth currents turned chaotic, pushing and pulling violently.
"Damn it! What kind of ability is this?!" Juzo spat blood as he tried to maintain control of the water sphere. "Don't hold back, Raiga! Kill him now! He's trying to wrest control of the Water Style from me!"
"Seize control…?" Raiga didn't fully understand, but the urgency was clear. He raised his dual swords, pouring all his chakra into them until lightning exploded from the blades.
"Thunder Blade Technique: Thunderfall!"
Bolts of lightning rained down on the water sphere. From afar, it shimmered like a glowing crystal.
Magistrate Morimura, watching from the outskirts, was stunned. "This is the power of a ninja… Incredible!"
Compared to Juzo and Raiga, the Wolf Squad was nothing.
The Magistrate, who'd been mourning the death of the Wolf, now felt hopeful. Perhaps he could recruit Juzo to his side after all.
But he didn't understand the full picture.
The constant lightning strikes were electrolyzing the water, filling the air with oxygen. While people outside breathed easier, Logan—trapped inside—felt the air in his chest depleting fast.
He withdrew the outward ripple energy and focused it on coating his entire body, blocking the electric current traveling through the water.
This was the most dangerous situation he'd faced since arriving in the Naruto world.
This wasn't like fighting Uchiha Itachi, where Logan had the upper hand in information.
This wasn't Kakashi, who didn't use water like this.
And it wasn't like the battle with the Pufferfish Ghost, where Logan had seized the initiative and pummeled his enemy using Star Platinum's melee dominance.
No—this was a coordinated, intelligent ambush by two elite ninja who knew Logan's capabilities inside and out.
This was a true life-or-death battle.
"The harder the problem, the calmer the mind must be," Logan reminded himself.
Panicking and flailing about would only drain oxygen faster. If he ran out of breath or let the Ripple disperse, death was certain.
But the battlefield was never static.
Change could come from anywhere.
Logan closed his eyes.
Sort the clues.
Ripple?
No—this water contained Juzo's chakra. He couldn't breathe, and the small amount of Ripple energy left wasn't enough to reverse control of the flow.
Star Platinum?
It couldn't throw him out—water resistance was too high, and the enemy had planned for that.
Aerosmith? Hermit Purple? Destruction Blade?
None of his other abilities could break him out of this trap.
As the lightning weakened his Ripple barrier and oxygen thinned, Logan turned to his final option—the system.
He opened the interface:
> "Kill Elite Jōnin: Wolf – Gain 240 Soul Fragments."
"Current Fragments: 820."
Eighty-two draws.
Enough for a decent chance at pulling a five-star Stand with an escape skill.
Logan hovered his finger over the "Draw" button.
And stopped.
He couldn't do it—not yet.
The draw was his last hope. If the Stand he pulled was useless in this situation, if it offered no way out...
That final shred of hope would vanish.
And when hope dies in a desperate moment—it can break a man.
He breathed. Thought. Counted five full seconds.
"No shortcuts. No miracles. Just the long, dumb way out."
Logan opened his eyes.
"Star Platinum!"
The Stand materialized behind him.
Seeing Logan open his eyes, both Juzo and Raiga instinctively tensed.
Even now—suffocating, surrounded, and seemingly out of options—Logan's gaze was calm.
It was unsettling.
Logan passed the Destruction Blade to Star Platinum.
The Stand gripped the massive sword, raised it above its head, and began to spin.
The blade—two meters long and half a meter wide—resembled a tombstone. Now it spun like a propeller, whipping the surrounding water into a violent vortex.
"What is this?! Are you trying to spin out like a boat's rotor?" Juzo laughed. "Dream on!"
But his voice trembled.
It was more to reassure himself than to taunt Logan.
Then, Logan pointed at Juzo through the water.
Though sound couldn't travel, lip reading was second nature to ninja.
And Logan's message was clear:
"Don't be impatient. Watch carefully."
Rage flared in Juzo's chest.
"Raiga!!"
"I know!" Raiga growled. He was overexerting himself, lightning crackling wildly and even striking his own body.
But he didn't stop.
Now, all thoughts of the Mizukage, personal agendas, or survival faded.
Only one thing remained:
Kill Logan.
Kill him.
KILL!
The spinning blade created a vortex. Logan stood calmly at its center as water levels above him began to drop.
He wasn't trying to escape.
If the enemy had prepared for that possibility, it would only lead to death.
No—the key to survival lay deeper.
"AHHHHHH!" Juzo pushed his chakra to the limit, trying to stabilize the vortex and collapse it again. Blood streamed from his pores as his body broke under the pressure.
The whirlpool slowed.
Logan's exit route was blocked.
Suffocation set in. His vision blurred. Even Star Platinum faded as Logan's spiritual focus waned.
"Success!" Juzo exclaimed, triumphant.
But then—Logan's chest rose faintly.
And golden light began to pulse.
Golden Ripple!
With no oxygen, no external air, and his body under duress, Logan finally triggered the breakthrough he'd been seeking.
Qi.
Not air from the outside—but a pure life force born within the meridians.
The energy he'd tried to awaken while training in Luoxue Village had finally ignited.
He no longer needed the system's lottery.
He lowered his finger.
Bathed in golden Ripple, Logan didn't summon Star Platinum again.
He gripped the Destruction Blade with one hand and swung.
BOOM!
Juzo screamed, vomiting blood. The water sphere collapsed, crashing outward in a tidal wave that swept across the battlefield.
Water surged up to Juzo and Raiga's legs.
"Go!" Raiga shouted.
Juzo nodded and turned—
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bomb!"
Two roaring dragons blocked their escape.
Normally, they'd cut through such a jutsu with ease.
But now?
Juzo was critically wounded. Raiga was exhausted.
They were trapped.
"Who's there?!" Juzo turned—
And saw a beautiful woman step forward.
"Terumi Mei?! You betrayed the village?!"
She shook her head.
"You're the ones who betrayed the village."
Before Juzo could respond, a massive surge of water smashed into them.
The two were caught in the vortex.
Like broken ships, they were pulled toward its center—toward Logan.
Logan held the Destruction Blade in both hands, golden ripples surging into the weapon.
BZZZ—!
The blade trembled and glowed like a miniature sun.
Juzo and Raiga exchanged one final glance.
There was no way out.
Only one option remained: charge Logan together.
Using the force of the vortex to launch themselves, they attacked from both sides.
A flash of golden steel.
The vortex exploded into rain.
Two bodies fell.
Two ninja blades, broken.
Logan stood at the center of the storm.
Unharmed.
> "Kill Biwa Juzo – Gain 480 Soul Fragments."
"Kill Black Hoe Thunderfang – Gain 460 Soul Fragments."
pàtreøn (Gk31)