Probing

The icy cold front was already within reach of the girl.

In that instant, the world in Kabuto's highly focused eyes consisted only of the Kunai in the Doki's hand.

He could almost touch the girl's smooth forehead, but his mind was racing, trying to figure out what she might do.

Taijutsu?

No, in this position and situation, Sakura Haruno has already used up all her strength; there's no way she can block the Kunai's thrust.

Substitution Technique?

That's impossible. The Substitution Technique requires a medium to be used as a substitute, such as a Substitution Wood or Ninjutsu Clone. Sakura Haruno just arrived here and didn't have time to set up the battlefield. To find a substitute medium in the environment before her brain is pierced by Kunai? There simply isn't enough time.

Defensive Water Release?

From casting the spell to the water jet hitting the Doki, time is required. And right now, Sakura Haruno simply doesn't have that time!

Unless it's "that Ninjutsu".

Kabuto involuntarily recalled the Ninjutsu that had saved Hinata in an instant.

Despite being a powerful defensive Ninjutsu, it barely emitted Chakra fluctuations. Water Release Ninjutsu usually relies on impact for both offense and defense, but this transparent, water-like substance, which simply sat there quietly, was harder than steel. When rain-like ninja tools struck it, they couldn't even create a ripple!

Unbelievable, simply unimaginable.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Kabuto would never have believed that such a counterintuitive Ninjutsu existed!

The first rule of Ninjutsu is: the greater the power, the more Chakra is consumed.

Powerful Ninjutsu means a huge amount of Chakra. Even his own Doki Manipulation is a major Chakra consumer, only more refined and delicate. This is common knowledge, an ironclad rule.

From the lowest-level E-rank Ninjutsu, whose power is so low it can't even kill a cat, to the battlefield-wide, exhilarating A-rank Ninjutsu, and then to the ultimate S-rank Ninjutsu, the amount of Chakra required to execute them increases progressively. Even though it's possible to unleash the power of an S-rank Ninjutsu through ingenious design and superior Chakra manipulation—for example, the Rasengan, which rivals an S-rank Ninjutsu in its scale and offensive capabilities—this doesn't change the fundamental principle that this rule still applies.

"Chakra consumption" equals "Ninjutsu power".

The second basic principle of Ninjutsu is that Water Release typically rely on creating large amounts of water for impact or defense.

Those well-known Water Release Ninjutsu, such as Water Release: Water Formation Wall, Water Dragon Bullet, and Great Waterfall, are all created based on this principle.

However, the Water Release Ninjutsu used to protect Hinata brazenly ignored these two common-sense rules in broad daylight.

Sakura Haruno didn't have time to conceal the Chakra fluctuations of the hastily activated Ninjutsu, so Kabuto could clearly sense that a Ninjutsu of at most a level 1 was being used. Kabuto felt no reaction to this unexpected reinforcement; in fact, he almost laughed. A level 1 Ninjutsu? What a joke! A level B Water Release? Even Water Formation Wall couldn't withstand the full-force attack of the Doki!

So when the pale blue, semi-transparent water shield effortlessly blocked the rain of ninja tools, and the calm water layer didn't even ripple under the violent impact of the ninja tools, Kabuto admitted that his deeply ingrained world of common sense collapsed in that instant.

But he was, after all, a ninja who considered himself no weaker than Kakashi, and even though he was utterly astonished, he still reacted instinctively.

"Ninja Art? Doki Substitution Technique!"

Then, the next moment, just as Kabuto had switched places with the Doki and was hidden deep in the forest, a silver water line shot out from somewhere in the forest, along the girl's slender fingertips, and traversed the entire battlefield, cutting the Doki that had just switched places with Kabuto, as well as everything else standing on the field—except Hinata, of course—into fragments of indescribable objects.

If the Ultra-Pure Water Shield only surprised Kabuto, then the extreme cutting power of the Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent truly terrified him, even making him feel somewhat uneasy. If he had been a step slower, Kabuto would probably have had to test whether his Medical Ninjutsu could heal himself after being cut in two.

Kabuto recalled that not long ago, after infiltrating the Forest of Death to place the Cursed Seal on Sasuke, Orochimaru had specifically mentioned Sakura Haruno.

At that moment, he looked at Kabuto and revealed a meaningful smile: That child's Water Release... is quite a surprise!

Now, Kabuto fully understands what Orochimaru meant by "surprise."

If Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent can still be traced and it can be deduced that it is the result of the ultimate evolution of some kind of Water Release Ninjutsu, then the Ultra-Pure Water Shield Ninjutsu is completely impossible to determine its origin, what it is, what its weaknesses are, how to counter it, and how to break through its defense.

Such Ninjutsu is enough to justify abandoning the mission.

Kabuto decided to test Orochimaru again, not because of his loyalty to Orochimaru, but simply as an ambitious young man's subconscious reaction: to eliminate a future powerhouse who had become an enemy as soon as possible, or at least to try and uncover her secrets before she fully matured. After all, the example of Orochimaru being instantly defeated by the rising star Itachi was right before his eyes.

Kabuto believed that every Ninjutsu had a weakness.

What are the weaknesses of the Ultra-Pure Water Shield?

Seeing Sakura cornered, Kabuto intently observed the girl's reaction, hoping to find a weakness in her Ninjutsu!

Time seemed to stretch out. A mere 0.1 second felt like an eternity.

In mid-air, the girl, her body stretched to its limit, unknowingly placed her empty right hand in front of her chest, her slender fingers rapidly Hand Seals, creating a series of afterimages.

One-Handed Hand Seals!

It was the special skill that Sakura Haruno had learned from Haku.

The difficulty of performing One-Handed Hand Seals is not greater than that of performing without hand seals, since one hand is still used to assist in Chakra circulation. Some techniques are only a matter of understanding a thin layer of paper; before you break through it, it's like looking at flowers through a fog, but once you do, it's actually quite easy to master. For Sakura, she can already perform several of her commonly used Ninjutsu with single hand seals or even without hand seals, so performing One-Handed Hand Seals is not very meaningful; she only uses it to perform her still-unmastered Ice Release Ninjutsu.

It's not Ultra-Pure Water Shield!

To Kabuto's astonishment, as Sakura Hand Seals, the girl instantly condensed a large amount of Chakra within a fraction of a second!

Then, Kunai advanced, a clear sense of obstruction came from ahead.

Through the Doki's vision, Kabuto saw that the moment the iron edge of the Kunai touched the girl, water vapor frantically gathered in front of the Kunai!

Driven by Sakura, the Chakra circulated wildly, intertwining, surging, condensing into mist, and coalescing into water droplets.

In less than a fraction of a second, the water mass expanded rapidly, like an inflating balloon!

Crack.

The girl's right hand moved swiftly, her Ice Release Chakra surging wildly and emanating an extremely cold aura. The water ball began to condense into ice the moment it formed, and from within the ice layer, it grew wildly like bamboo shoots!

Crack!

The front end of the Kunai was completely encased in ice. The Doki suddenly exerted its strength, and the sound of the ninja tool rubbing against the ice shards was sharp and piercing, but the ice block blocking the Kunai's advance remained completely still.

The Doki's pupils contracted sharply in its cold eyes, Kunai the resistance in front of its kunai suddenly intensified. It mustered all its strength, yet couldn't advance even an inch! Just as Sakura had retreated to her limit, the Kunai was only a hair's breadth away from piercing the girl, but Kabuto was shocked to discover that the Kunai, completely encased in ice, was firmly blocked from advancing, no matter how much the Doki exerted its strength!

Then, the girl stared coldly at the Doki, her Chakra surging and boiling within her, and her right hand Hand Seals quickened even further!

The boiling Chakra became even more violent, churning like boiling water, and spewing out from Sakura's meridians. Under the master's exquisite and complex control, it quickly forged into eternal ice harder than steel, enveloping the Kunai, extending it, and growing it. Then, in a short time, it swelled into an ice cone a meter long!

Break!

The head of the Doki that was blocking the path of the surging ice spikes was pierced by the ice spikes and brutally smashed open, exploding like a watermelon. Dark red and pale white brain matter and bone fragments scattered and flew out, turning into a blood-red firework in mid-air.

The Doki's body suddenly convulsed, and the strength in its hands vanished like snowflakes in the sunlight, causing it to slump and fall to the other side.

A streak of blood spurted from the Doki's artery, breaking in mid-air into crimson beads that dripped onto the girl's fair face, blooming into crimson flowers. The snow-white skin was adorned with crimson, which, against the backdrop of Ying Ruxue's icy eyes, made her appear inexplicably cold and beautiful.

Having dealt with the Doki, the girl gained two precious seconds to relax. The cold expression on her face had not yet faded; the puppet beneath her, controlling the Doki, was her final enemy.

Her abdomen tightened, and she flipped her body 180 degrees from her original position of lying flat in mid-air with her back to the ground, using the force of her head tilting back, so that she was facing the ground.

Her slender neck stretched out gracefully, and the girl's posture in the air was like that of a dancing goose.

Her clothes fluttered in the air, and as she tumbled, her top rolled up and clung to her chest, revealing a glimpse of her fair skin at her waist. Two faint V-lines and her slightly bent right leg clearly hinted at the immense power hidden beneath her slender appearance.

Beneath the girl, Kabuto, who had taken in everything, paid no attention to the fleeting pleasure; what he cared about was the familiar Chakra fluctuations emanating from Sakura.

That is--

"Monstrous Strength Technique? Wind God Leg!"

Why do the dots used for separation become question marks?