"Ah-choo! Sniff!"
Ten minutes later, on the back of the Golden Eagle in the sky, Hozuki Mangetsu sneezed and sniffled, looking as though he had caught a cold.
Soji frowned at the sight, his face full of disgust.
Of course, with the Ice Mask on, Hozuki Mangetsu could not see it.
It turned out that after Soji had frozen Hozuki Mangetsu, whom he had mistaken for a Water Ghost, he quickly realized something was off.
Soji had always had Pakura gather intelligence on Kirigakure, especially information on talented individuals, whom he had instructed her to keep a close eye on.
Hozuki Mangetsu was one of them.
In the original story, he had been a renowned genius, though for some unknown reason, he had died young.
So, after lashing out in surprise, Soji quickly remembered that he seemed to have seen that face in the intelligence reports Pakura had sent him.
After confirming that the other party was not a "Water Ghost," Soji gave it some thought, then transported the fellow, ice block and all, onto the Golden Eagle's back.
Soji was no fool. Since this suspected "Water Ghost" had chosen to meet him this way, he clearly wanted to avoid certain people's notice.
And who else could those people be? Naturally, Kirigakure's Anbu!
That was how Soji ended up riding the Golden Eagle through the sky alongside an ice-sculpture "Water Ghost."
After avoiding the eyes of the Kirigakure Anbu, Soji naturally dispelled the Ice Release ninjutsu on the "Water Ghost."
Judging by how the "Water Ghost" kept sneezing, he must have been frozen badly.
Luckily, Soji had not infused his Ice Release ninjutsu with the power of Yin Release, nor had he used his ice crystallization ability. Otherwise, this "Water Ghost" might not even have been able to sneeze.
If