"An assassination-type jonin was far more troublesome than one who fought head-on, especially since this guy wasn't weak in a direct fight either."
The swirling dust quickly settled, and the cautious Sunagakure jonin vanished from their sight once more.
Satoru raised an eyebrow and snorted.
"He's being overly cautious... but that's an opportunity too."
"Nawaki, once I make my move, run with everything you have. I'll buy you time!"
"What?!"
Nawaki froze, then gritted his teeth and growled.
"That's a jonin! Satoru, you're a genius, but you can't be reckless at a time like this!"
"Even if someone has to hold him off, it should be me!"
Nawaki's expression had never been so serious. He stared wide-eyed at Satoru.
"Even though you've never called me senior brother or upperclassman, the fact is, I'm more than two years older than you!"
"I'll be the one to cover the rear! A genius like you surviving matters far more to the village's future than me surviving!"
"...Heh."
Satoru fell silent for a moment, then gave a helpless chuckle and slammed his staff heavily against the ground.
"Honestly... Senior Brother Nawaki, I'm the team leader. Have you forgotten what you told Sister Mikoto before?"
"Someone who loves staying home as much as I do wouldn't go looking for death..."
Nawaki's face darkened as Satoru looked at him with utter disdain.
"You're not even a beauty. Well, even if you were, it wouldn't work!"
"I have my own plan. Go on ahead and meet up with Teacher Orochimaru and the others. It won't be an easy task."
"I'm only escaping from a jonin. I have experience with that—you forgot Teacher Orochimaru's earlier test for me?"
Satoru gave a reason that left Nawaki speechless.
"Even though it was a test, I escaped from Teacher Orochimaru without a scratch back then. Escaping now won't be a problem either."
"But..."
"That's enough! Stop whining and follow orders!"
Satoru's face hardened as he shouted.
"Get ready! If you don't leave and get captured as a hostage, then I really won't be able to escape!"
"..."
Nawaki bit his lip hard enough for blood to trickle down. He clenched the kunai in his hand and looked at Satoru's solemn expression.
"You have to catch up, or else..."
"There is no 'or else.' Have I ever failed to keep my word?"
Nawaki let out a long breath, then smiled.
"You haven't... I believe you!"
"Good... then now's the time!"
Satoru planted his staff in the ground, grinned, and fiercely clasped his hands before him.
"Water Elemental—Condense!"
"Go!"
Nawaki's figure vanished in an instant, speeding toward the direction Orochimaru and the others had taken.
If Orochimaru and Mikoto had already escorted Mr. Ito to their destination, then if he hurried over, they might still make it back in time to save Satoru!
"Wait for me!"
As Satoru moved, a patch of ground not far behind him churned like mud!
Rumble—
Splash—
The ground rolled, then rapidly bulged upward as an enormous fountain erupted from it!
The fountain did not scatter. Instead, the massive Water Elemental took shape again, and within it was a struggling human figure!
"This guy's style is so steady. He's practically a role model for our kind."
Satoru gave a cold smile. Just now, after the Water Elemental had been shattered by the earth dragon and disappeared, it had turned into a current and seeped underground.
The silent, formless current served as Satoru's sensing medium, detecting the Sunagakure jonin hiding beneath the earth with Earth Release.
The underground around here had already been saturated by water infused with Arcane Power!
And the re-formed Water Elemental was like a water prison to the Sunagakure jonin!
The Water Elemental churned and compressed violently. Its immense water pressure tightly restrained the Sunagakure jonin's movements.
"Th-this... what kind of ninjutsu is this?!"
He barely managed to raise his hands and form seals, intending to use ninjutsu to break through this strange water prison.
"Don't be in such a hurry..."
Magnificent arcane light flashed in Satoru's eyes. After fighting for so long, he did not feel drained at all—
His Chakra came from converted Arcane Power. It was not refined from physical energy and spiritual energy.
Therefore, the stamina corresponding to physical energy was only used for adapting during battle, and its consumption was negligible.
As for the spiritual energy that guided Arcane Power—the "mana" mages called it—for Satoru, who possessed The Book of Medivh...
The Book of Medivh, analysis progress 42%, 21% mana refunded upon casting spells, maximum spell damage increased by 21%!
Thus, Satoru was no longer merely a genin who stood out even among chunin.
"As long as I want to, I can play with you now!"
Through the Mage Eye's perception, Nawaki had already left its range.
"Let's begin!"
The purple arcane radiance around Satoru's hands instantly turned into a dreamlike crystalline glow, and the temperature on this battlefield in the desert dropped sharply!
The jonin struggling to form seals within the Water Elemental suddenly shuddered.
He realized that the speed of his hand seals had become unbelievably slow!
"What's happening?! This water... it's getting cold?! My hands... they're frozen stiff!!"
"Can Water Release do something like this?!"
Snowflakes swirled around Satoru. Three frost-radiating balls of ice replaced the fiery orbs of Flame Shield and revolved around him.
"Frost Shield!"
A cold smile curled across Satoru's lips.
"Since it's come to this, although dead people occasionally leak secrets too, the odds are much lower than with the living."
"Deep Freeze!"
A dazzling storm of ice crystals whirled around the Water Elemental. In an instant—
The massive Water Elemental was frozen solid by Satoru's frost magic...
Along with the Sunagakure jonin inside it!
"Ice Release... He... he's a Kekkei Genkai Ninja..."
Though frozen, a jonin was still a jonin. He struggled desperately, erupting with Chakra in an attempt to break free from the restraint.
"This brat... he... he has the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai!"
"So that's it... I have to... warn the village!"
"Haaah!!"
As he explosively unleashed his Chakra, the Sunagakure jonin came to a realization: he would likely not escape death today.
But at the very least, he had to find an opportunity to use a secret communication technique and send word of this dangerous enemy from Konoha back to the village!
Crack...
The Sunagakure jonin could feel the ice around him beginning to fracture under his struggles.
"Just a little more..."
"Ice Arrow!"
"Ice Lance Technique!"
Whoosh—
A massive arrow of ice radiating chilling frost and a crystalline ice lance trailing a magnificent streak struck the Sunagakure jonin almost simultaneously, just as he was about to break free.
Pfft...
Thud!
With wild joy still lingering on his face, the Sunagakure jonin was pierced by the arrow and lance at the instant he broke free, then dropped to his knees.
"This isn't a game... These two spells both have initial destructive power comparable to Rank C Ninjutsu. With spell enhancements, they're solidly Rank B Ninjutsu."
Satoru's voice sounded beside the Sunagakure jonin, whose eyes could barely remain open.
"Was that... a critical hit?"
"Frozen by the low temperatures condensed from a huge amount of Water Elemental, your body has already been silently eroded by the cold. It's become so fragile..."
Pfft!
Another crystalline ice lance stabbed into his rapidly cooling body.
"Pathetically weak."
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