With the arrival of two teams of Konohagakure shinobi, the situation reversed in an instant.
Seeing that things had gone bad, the Kirigakure shinobi hiding in the water decisively flashed away and bolted toward the dense fog zone not far away, completely ignoring the five companions behind him who were still fighting desperately.
Teammates? What teammates? Shinobi who come out of the Bloody Mist—do we even have such a thing?
Higashino Makoto broke into a sprint in pursuit, likewise paying no attention to the battles involving his teammates. All three battlefields were holding an absolute advantage; only Hayate and Yūgao might need to spend a bit more time, but with Ebisu added, victory was assured.
If even under these circumstances they could not take down the enemy, or were even injured, then that could only be called the price of growth. He intended to protect those he defined as companions, but he would not act as a nanny—constantly keeping teammates tucked under his arm would leave them with no room to be tempered.
In the ninja world, if one wanted to live longer than others, personal strength was always the best guarantee. Makoto would not be at their side at all times.
The fleeing Kirigakure shinobi was very fast in the water, but not faster than Makoto. After a few steps of pursuit, he leapt into the air and swung his blade downward, making several empty slashes.
The nearly invisible wind blades released by Wind Release: Shadowless Sword plunged into the water like artillery shells, pierced through the shallow water, and drilled into the ground, sealing off the Kirigakure shinobi's path of escape.
The Kirigakure ninja beneath the water broke out in a cold sweat—if sweating were possible underwater.
If he had gone even one step farther just now, he would have been cleaved cleanly in two by the razor-sharp wind blades.
It seemed that unless he dealt with the brat behind him, there was no way to escape smoothly. With that thought, he decisively burst up from beneath the water, kicking up a spray as both hands rapidly formed seals.
The splashing water he brought up instantly transformed into a dense spread of water needles that shot toward Higashino Makoto, who had yet to land. He intended to turn that detestable Konoha brat into a pincushion while he was still in midair.
"In midair—let's see how you dodge now."
Makoto didn't need to dodge. He didn't even use One-Horn Tranquility to deploy a chakra shield for defense; instead, he activated a levitation technique, his body rising higher out of thin air as he shifted laterally at high speed.
While evading the dense volley of water needles, he moved straight to the Kirigakure shinobi's side.
What the hell? Damn it—can you fly or something?
This Kirigakure shinobi—no more than about twenty years old, with soft, delicate, handsome features—froze for a moment. You could fight like this as a ninja?
Could it be like a Sunagakure puppetmaster—using chakra threads tied to something to swing himself up? But above them was nothing but blue sky and white clouds; what could you possibly tie to? Don't tell me you've got some dead uncle up there helping you.
Surprised as he was, his combat instinct didn't dull. Facing Makoto's incoming slash, he formed two ice kunai with both hands and braced them to block the downward strike.
Then his expression changed. High-density chakra was condensed along the blade, abnormally sharp. Not only did it easily sever his hard ice kunai, but the chakra-extended cutting edge also split his body cleanly in two from top to bottom.
The two halves of flesh fell onto the surface of the water along with Makoto—and then, with a "poof," they turned into splashing water.
It was a Water Clone. Makoto wasn't surprised. From beginning to end, the opponent had been hiding in the water. He hadn't run—he had been looking for a chance to counterkill.
That was why ninja combat was an information war. The opponent didn't understand Makoto at all; he knew nothing about his methods.
Hiding underwater was useless against ordinary sensory-type ninja—especially since what Makoto used was nature sensing—but since the other side wanted to counterkill, he would give him that opportunity.
The moment he landed on the water's surface, ice mirrors suddenly grew up out of thin air all around him. The mirrors spread at an astonishing speed, and in the blink of an eye, they surrounded him in the middle.
A ninjutsu that felt truly familiar—and nostalgic. But Makoto wasn't going to stupidly stay inside.
During the time it took the opponent's ninjutsu to form, he immediately charged in one direction, and with a casual slash he sent a wind blade that shattered one ice mirror, slipping out.
Ice Release is indeed quite remarkable—but the user's strength is a bit lacking. He can't trap me with speed. When it comes to speed, I won't lose to any—ah! So cold.
"Got you."
Just as he emerged, a figure suddenly appeared beneath the water's surface. Both hands seized Makoto's ankles, and then Ice Release was activated at full power, freezing Makoto into an ice sculpture.
"Die already, you really are a damned, hard-to-deal-with little brat."
The young Kirigakure shinobi slowly rose up from the water, facing Makoto. Staring at the figure inside the ice sculpture, he cursed through clenched teeth.
Yet despite the ferocity of his expression, his slender build and overly soft, beautiful features made him look more like a beauty throwing a petulant tantrum.
"Go on—I can still take it!"
Makoto's voice suddenly came from inside the ice sculpture. At the same time, one hand broke through the solid ice and reached toward the Kirigakure shinobi.
The other side was startled and grabbed Makoto's hand. "Die, die—just die already!"
Shouting as he did so, he desperately activated his Ice Release again, freezing his opponent once more into a massive block of ice.
This likely exhausted the last chakra he could extract. After the technique was completed, sensing that the little brat inside had gone completely still, he let out a long breath and collapsed onto the surface of the water, sitting down hard.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain along his spine. Then his entire body lost all sensation. His brain could no longer command his body, and he fell onto the water's surface, beginning to sink downward.
As he fell, he saw that behind him there was still another little brat, pointing at him with an index finger.
Wind Release: Wind Finger Gun
Makoto fired a chakra bullet straight into his spine. The sharp cutting nature of wind-attribute chakra erupted within a small area, completely severing the central nerves inside his spinal column.
Put simply, he didn't die—but he was crippled. A high-level paralysis from the neck down. For the rest of his life, he would only be able to sit in a wheelchair—if he even had a rest of his life.
"It seems this is all you're capable of," Makoto said as he lifted him up.
"What did you do to me, you damned little brat? What kind of evil ninjutsu did you use—why can't I move?"
"I have no obligation to tell you."
At that moment, the shadow clone trapped inside the ice finally couldn't hold on any longer. With a bang, it burst apart, sending a massive amount of memories back to the original.
Makoto closed his eyes and absorbed the clone's experiences, then smiled happily. "So this is Ice Release. A bloodline limit really is quite something."
That was right—if he hadn't wanted to experience the feeling of Ice Release firsthand, there was no way he would have dragged the fight out for so long. Those initial wind blades alone would have been enough to cut the opponent down at the very start.
Makoto was naturally born with both wind- and water-attribute chakra, and his nature transformation training was already quite advanced. He also wanted to try producing Ice Release for himself.
Even if it wasn't used for combat, using it as an air conditioner in summer, or for chilled drinks, would be extremely convenient.
For that purpose, he had even deliberately allowed the opponent to grab him twice, personally experiencing the activation process of the Ice Release bloodline limit.
The Kirigakure ninja of the Yuki Clan despairingly felt his numb, unresponsive body. In a softer, more pleading voice, he begged, "I… can I still be cured? I can, right? If… if you can cure me, I'm willing to do anything. I can acknowledge you as my master."
Makoto lowered his head and looked at that stunningly beautiful face—and suddenly exploded in anger. "You think you can fool me? Don't think I don't know—you're a man! A man! Bastard!"
With that, he knocked the other party out with a single punch.
What a sin. How was it that the Yuki Clan produced nothing but these damned pretty-faced men? Staying around people like this for too long, Makoto didn't dare guarantee he wouldn't end up bent later on.
After all, these guys didn't even need disguises to enter the women's bath—just showing their faces was enough. If the ninja world had live streams, they wouldn't even need makeup to scam the top donors into losing everything.
Damn it—no wonder Kirigakure would later wipe these monsters out completely. Leaving them around would seriously impact the village's birth rate.
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