Seeing the massive ice tiger surge into the distance, the director—who had already retreated back onto the boat—shouted excitedly:
"Quick, film this! This kind of scene has to make it into the movie!"
At his command, the cameraman immediately adjusted the lens, capturing the battlefield where Team Seven clashed with the Snow Ninja.
Boom!
Naruko and Rin narrowly dodged as the ice tiger slammed down. Snow exploded outward, forcing the two to burst free from the white mist.
Rin turned sharply and shouted to Sakura behind her.
"Sakura! Protect Koyuki Kazahana. She's their real target!"
"Yes!"
Sakura rushed to Koyuki, who had fallen to the ground. Kneeling beside her, she asked urgently,
"Can you stand?"
"I… can't," Koyuki said weakly. "My legs…"
Her calves were already turning blue—clear signs of frostbite from the earlier Ice Release backlash.
"This level of frostbite won't heal quickly," Sakura said decisively. "Hold on."
She crouched, lifted Koyuki onto her back, and sprinted toward the crew's boat.
"Hmph! Trying to escape?"
In the distance, Nadare Rōga (Wolf Fang Avalanche) noticed immediately and prepared to intercept—but his path was blocked as Rin, Naruko, and Sako stepped forward.
Green chakra flared around Rin's palms, the unmistakable aura of medical ninjutsu surging to life.
"Naruko, Sako," Rin said calmly, "you deal with Fubuki Kakuyoku and Doto Kazahana. Nadare is mine."
She stepped forward—and vanished.
At the same time, Naruko and Sako moved.
"Foolish resistance."
Nadare sneered as he charged at Rin.
"You still don't understand the situation. How stupid."
He had initially been wary. After all, Rin was a disciple of Hatake Sakumo, a legendary shinobi. Even if she wasn't as famous as Kakashi or Obito, she shouldn't be underestimated.
But seeing her charge in using only medical ninjutsu?
His caution evaporated.
"Using healing techniques to fight me?" he mocked. "Do you think you're scratching an itch?"
"A woman who doesn't know her place—die!"
"Ice Release: Wolf Fang Avalanche!"
Chakra surged violently as dozens of snow wolves formed midair, their bodies sculpted from ice and storming wind. They opened their jaws and lunged at Rin.
Rin's expression didn't change.
Her glowing palms traced elegant arcs through the air as she moved—her figure weaving between the wolves with impossible precision.
Each strike of her Chakra Scalpel sliced cleanly through their cores. Wherever her palms passed, a snow wolf collapsed into scattered ice.
In barely a second, the battlefield was clear.
"What?!"
Nadare's pupils shrank in shock.
"How can medical ninjutsu be this powerful?!"
Before the thought finished forming, Rin vanished again—reappearing directly in front of him.
Only three meters separated them.
"Ice Release: Ice Icicle!"
A massive spike erupted upward from beneath Rin's feet.
Nadare grinned, certain of a direct hit—
—but Rin slammed her palms downward.
BOOM!
The icicle shattered violently, exploding into countless fragments. The shockwave distorted the air, forcing Nadare to shield his eyes.
When the white mist cleared, nothing remained but falling shards of ice.
Finally, panic crept into Nadare's voice.
"What kind of ninjutsu is that?!"
Rin raised her hands, green light blazing brighter than ever.
"Haven't you heard of the Chakra Scalpel?"
"Chakra… Scalpel…"
Realization struck him.
A near-extinct high-level medical ninjutsu, infamous for its chakra control requirements. It could heal—or destroy—by directly disrupting an enemy's chakra flow and internal organs.
"I didn't expect you to have mastered something like that…"
Nadare leapt backward, widening the distance. Even with chakra armor, close combat against her was suicide.
"But my companions should already be finishing off your students," he said coldly.
"When the three of us surround you, what then?"
Rin didn't answer.
She simply smiled—a calm, almost mocking curve of the lips.
Nadare frowned.
"You think they'll lose?"
"It's not what I think," Rin replied evenly.
"It's what's inevitable."
That quiet confidence made Nadare's heart sink.
On the other side of the battlefield, Sako faced Fubuki Kakuyoku.
Looking down at the girl—nearly a head shorter than himself—Fubuki laughed mockingly.
"Unlucky you," he said. "Such a pretty little flower, doomed to wither here."
"Boring."
Sako regarded her opponent with cold indifference.
"Hurry up. I'll finish this quickly so I can go help the others."
"What an annoying brat!"
Fubuki Kakuyoku's eyes flashed with killing intent. The thing she hated most was arrogant little genin fresh out of the Academy.
"Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm!"
Blue-white light gathered in her mouth before erupting outward. The chakra transformed mid-air into dozens of ice-swallows, neatly aligned as they shot toward Sako.
Sako didn't rush. She calmly formed hand seals and raised her right hand to her lips.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Jutsu!"
Boom!
Brilliant flames burst forth, instantly melting the incoming ice.
A flicker of shock crossed Fubuki's face. She had not expected such powerful flames in the freezing climate of the Land of Snow.
This girl isn't a normal genin… I'd better be careful.
Mechanical wings unfolded from the back of her chakra armor. With a sharp whir, Fubuki lifted into the air, putting distance between them.
"So your armor can fly…"
Sako narrowed her eyes. A moment later, her pupils shifted—red tomoe spinning into place.
Two-tomoe Sharingan.
Fubuki stiffened mid-air.
"So you're from the Uchiha clan… No wonder your fire is so strong."
The greed in her eyes sharpened.
Uchiha eyes had outrageous value on the black market. Even a single tomoe was worth over a million ryō—two tomoe could buy a mansion.
Thinking of the profit, Fubuki swooped downward, forming ice talons on her hands as she reached for Sako's face.
But Sako blurred to the left, dodging easily. She spun and flung a handful of shuriken toward Fubuki's exposed back.
They were intercepted instantly—Fubuki's wings and claws grated as they deflected every projectile.
"Did you really graduate from the Academy? Your shuriken control is terrible."
Fubuki mocked as the darts clattered across the ice.
Sako's lips curved faintly.
"Is that so?"
Her hands jerked sharply.
The shuriken embedded in the ice and scattered across the walls suddenly snapped back into motion, pulled by the nearly invisible steel wires attached to Sako's fingertips.
They streaked toward Fubuki from every angle.
Swoosh!
One shuriken pierced directly into the core of Fubuki's chakra armor, cracking the device.
"What—!? How?!"
Sako pulled again, activating the full pattern of her shuriken jutsu.
The wires cinched tightly, binding Fubuki mid-air like a trapped puppet.
Lightning surged from Sako's palm.
Chidori Current.
The current raced through the metal wires straight into Fubuki's armor.
With her armor core destroyed, she couldn't neutralize the chakra. Her mobility plummeted—and she couldn't endure the lightning.
"AAAAAA—!"
Fubuki convulsed violently as smoke rose from her armor. Within seconds, she was burnt black, collapsing like charred wood.
Boom!
A distant explosion drew Sako's attention. Turning, she saw Naruko locked in melee combat with Fuyuki Kazahana's giant enforcer—Kōri Yukiheki (Winter Bear Freezing Rain).
Naruko gritted her teeth as she held back the man's massive fist with both arms.
"You're strong for a guy that big…"
"Hah! For a brat your age, you've got some force," Winter Bear growled.
"But this ends now!"
He raised his free arm and swung a devastating punch downward.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Naruko instantly formed a cross seal. Two shadow clones popped into existence.
One clone caught the massive fist—shattering into smoke—while Naruko and the second clone moved low. Both kicked sharply upward at Winter Bear's chin.
The blow lifted his enormous body into the air.
Naruko shot up hand signs.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Light popped across the battlefield as hundreds of Narukos materialized and surged upward.
Winter Bear's eyes bulged.
"How could a genin have this much chakra!?"
He crossed his arms to guard, but it did nothing.
Chakra armor could block ninjutsu and genjutsu—but not raw taijutsu.
Naruko's army swarmed him. Fists, elbows, knees—an overwhelming storm of impact crashed into him from every direction.
By the time the mass of clones dispersed, Winter Bear's face was swollen beyond recognition, his armor cracked, and his huge body fell to the ground with a heavy thud—unconscious and defeated.