Unleashing the Ultimate Move at the First Disagreement

In truth, it was not that complicated. Duke had merely infused chakra into the ground, lowering the surface temperature until frost formed and creating a sensory field. Once any living thing passed through it, it would leave faint footprints. It was a small application he had devised while studying Ice Release. It had no offensive power, but it was extremely practical and could sometimes let him pass himself off as a sensory-type ninja.

"Damn it, how could I fall in a place like this?" The black-robed ninja was unwilling to accept it, but the blood vessels in his limbs had already frozen. He could not even form hand seals. After struggling a few times, he collapsed to the ground.

"You did well!" Zixiao emerged from the woods carrying several large bags. "Especially that coordination just now. It was excellent."

"I knew Teacher Zixiao was fine. That Substitution Technique just now was terrible. When he fell, he did not even cry out 'ah.' I had to put on such a convincing sad expression, but I almost laughed." Asuma showed absolutely no awareness that he had just been praised as he whispered to Duke and Kurenai.

"Yeah, his acting still needs work!" Duke and Kurenai agreed.

"..." Zixiao's face darkened. No longer bothering with the three of them, he lifted the still-breathing black-robed ninja and cast an interrogation Illusion Technique on him.

"Duke, I wanted to ask the last time we put on an act... Was that Ice Release?" Asuma asked curiously, while Kurenai also looked over with confusion. Although the Hōzuki of Kirigakure were not a major clan, they possessed the unique Kekkei Genkai known as Ice Release and were called the Clan of Snow. The two had heard of them in the ninja world.

"Ice Release is a Kekkei Genkai formed by combining Wind Attribute chakra and Water Attribute chakra. I only mastered it recently. As long as you master the nature transformations of two chakra attributes, it is easy to create a new release technique. There is nothing strange about it." Duke shrugged, putting on an easygoing act.

"Are you kidding me? How could a fused Kekkei Genkai be that easy? My old man has mastered the chakra transformations of all five attributes, yet I have never seen him tinker up any Kekkei Genkai." Asuma did not believe him. Under normal circumstances, a Kekkei Genkai could only be inherited through bloodlines and genes. Aside from those of the same bloodline, no one else could learn it. It was a ninjutsu even the Sharingan could not copy.

"Well! That also depends on luck. Obviously, the Third Hokage's luck is not as good as mine."

"Liar!" Unable to get an answer, Asuma grumbled in dissatisfaction. He planned to ask his old man as soon as he got home. Since a new Kekkei Genkai had appeared in the village, the Hokage surely knew about it.

After finishing the interrogation, Mitarashi Shixiao called the three over. After snapping the attacker's neck, his expression turned grave. "There are two pieces of news, one good and one bad. Which do you want to hear first?"

"The bad news first. I am afraid I will not be able to take it if I hear the good news first."

"The attackers came from the Land of Hot Water, but they are not Yugakure ninja. They belong to a religious sect. Because they were misled into believing we carried intelligence they needed, they attacked us." Zixiao spoke slowly. "I am afraid that for some time to come, we will have to live while being hunted."

"Ugh, why are we so unlucky?"

"What is the good news, then?"

"The good news is that it was our Konoha Anbu who misled them..."

"That counts as good news? Were we not just screwed over by our own people?" Duke was utterly speechless. Konoha was second to no one when it came to dragging down teammates.

"Do not interrupt me!" Zixiao continued. "The misleading intelligence they left behind matched our mission schedule and route perfectly. Even the number of people was the same. I have to say, our luck is incredible. We actually ran into such a low-probability coincidence!"

"I would rather not have this kind of luck." Asuma rolled his eyes. He made it sound as if they had won the lottery.

"This is the so-called good news?" Kurenai asked in surprise.

"The good news is that the Anbu escorting the important intelligence can safely reach the village under our cover!" Zixiao looked pleased on the surface, but inwardly he was cursing. Covering for others and taking the blame was something no one would be happy about, yet there was nowhere to argue it. The Anbu had just made up some intelligence to buy time. Who would have thought it would accidentally come true and that the four of them would get caught up in it?

"If the important intelligence is safe, does that not mean our unimportant intelligence is in danger?" Duke gritted his teeth in hatred. This hole had been dug so thoroughly there was no equal to it.

"That is the situation. Complaining is useless now." Zixiao took out a sealing scroll from his Blade Tool pouch. After spreading it out and channeling chakra into it, he tied the ninja sword hidden within the scroll onto his back, then sealed the attacker's corpse inside. The sect the enemy belonged to had a mysterious origin, and the man's mind contained quite a bit of confidential information about the Land of Hot Water and Yugakure. All of it would be useful.

"Time is short. We need to hurry."

At Zixiao's command, the four hurriedly set off, changing their route and heading toward Konoha. In the four-man team, the most experienced, Zixiao, led the way. Asuma and Kurenai stayed in the middle, while Duke, the strongest of the three, guarded the rear against pursuers and would cover their retreat if necessary.

Although they traveled as quickly as possible, the four did not move at full speed in order to conserve their strength. They stopped and started, changing directions, and only entered the Land of Fire after making a wide detour. Two days later, they encountered their attackers in an open, low-lying basin. Among the thirty attackers were Yugakure ninja wearing Missing-nin headbands, black-robed sect members, and wandering ninja without forehead protectors.

"Konoha's little rats, you really made us search hard!" The leader, a Yugakure ninja wearing a Missing-nin headband, spoke resentfully. If there had not been so many of them, Konoha's crafty loaches would have nearly slipped away.

"Next, I will take the lead in attacking. Watch yourselves. I will not have time to look after you." Zixiao drew his ninja sword and held it horizontally before his chest. Staring at the thirty ninja across from them, he made up his mind. "If things go wrong, retreat immediately. I will hold them back with everything I have."

"Teacher Zixiao!" Duke and the other two could hear the resolve in Zixiao's voice. He was prepared to sacrifice himself.

"Duke, I will leave Natsuki and Anko to you in the future!" Without turning back, Zixiao spoke lightly, as if he were discussing some trivial matter.

"You should raise your own wife and child. Who would agree to that promise?" Duke stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Zixiao. "I do not want to see Aunt Natsuki and Anko crying. It would be too troublesome. I am completely incapable of comforting women."

"This is not the time for you to act tough..."

"Besides, compared with Uncle Zixiao, I think I am better at fighting groups." Duke cut Zixiao off and insisted, "If I back down at a time like this, I will lose something important. I am afraid I will only ever be a ninja of this level for the rest of my life!"

"As expected, you will become a great ninja!" A warm smile appeared briefly on Zixiao's lips. He turned stern again and said, "I told you before, during missions... call me Teacher!"

"How can I let you show off alone? I am the man who will surpass the Hokage!" Asuma stepped in front of Duke and said defiantly.

Kurenai said nothing. Holding a kunai, she stood beside the three, making her stance clear.

The smile on Zixiao's lips widened. An imperceptible layer of Wind Attribute chakra coated his ninja sword. He silently swore that no matter what, he would protect the three behind him. They were all Konoha's finest ninja, Konoha's future. They could not die here.

"Looks like you will not surrender. But it does not matter. The gap in numbers cannot be made up. Since you intend to be heroes, I will give you the chance. Kill them. Leave no one alive!" The Missing-nin leader leaped high into the air, leading thirty ninja in a line as they charged rapidly toward Zixiao's group.

"This terrain is perfect. Uncle Zixiao, were you not curious about the ninjutsu I have been practicing lately?" Duke rapidly formed hand seals. "Then take a look at the results of my training."

"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

As Duke formed the final seal with both hands, he shouted and opened his mouth. Like the Great Fireball Technique, he spat out an enormous quantity of water. The massive torrent surged forth, forming layers of violent waves that swept down the terrain toward the thirty attackers. Floodwaters swept across the land, earth and stone collapsed, and trees were uprooted, all carried within the towering flood. Like a tsunami, the natural disaster roared downward.

Supported by Duke's immense chakra, the powerful Water Release that could already create an artificial lake displayed boundless might at that moment. The basin, five kilometers across, instantly became a raging sea. The thirty ninja did not even raise a splash before they were all swallowed up.

"What terrifying chakra..." Zixiao stood frozen in shock. He knew Duke had an enormous amount of chakra, but he had never had a concrete sense of just how much. Only at this moment did he understand. This was no longer chakra a human could possess. It rivaled that red-haired female ninja currently in Konoha, but she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"This..." Asuma and Kurenai stood dumbfounded. They had never known their teammate was so powerful.

"It is not over yet. This level of attack cannot kill ninja!" Duke leaped into the air and landed atop the water. He plunged both hands into it, closed his eyes, and shouted in a low voice, "Ice Release: Artificial Glacier!"

Crack—crack—crack—

Cold Qi spread out from beneath Duke's feet. The lake surface instantly froze solid, covered in thick frost. The raging waves became icebergs, every inch radiating a chill that made people avoid them. Even the moisture in the air became shards of ice and fell.

"Was it still too much?" His chakra exhausted, Duke sat on the ice, panting heavily. Within the ice beneath him, several ninja who had tried to launch a sneak attack remained motionless, frozen in their final poses. Their delighted expressions at nearly succeeding in the ambush could still be vaguely seen. Farther away, where the ice had not fully spread, only a thick layer floated on the surface. The ninja at the bottom of the lake could not break through it to escape. After struggling a few times, they suffocated to death. The few lucky survivors had Cold Qi invade their bodies, drastically weakening them. Zixiao used the Body Flicker Technique to approach them and slit their throats one by one.

Thus, all thirty ninja were wiped out. Not one was left alive!