Battle (Part 2)

In Kirigakure, there exists a clan known as the Yuki (the boy named Haku who stayed by Zabuza's side belonged to this clan), and this clan possesses a Kekkei Genkai called Ice Release.

Right now, the squad attacking them is a team from the Yuki clan of Kirigakure.

Of course, only the leader possesses the ability to use Ice Release.

This Kekkei Genkai is not something every member of the Yuki clan possesses.

A Water Dragon surged up from the bottom of the cliff, carrying the five attackers as they crested the edge. Facing the high Earth Wall before them, the leader's deep voice rang out: "To think they'd have an Earth Release ninja right here. Tsk, this is a bit troublesome."

"You guys, you're from Kirigakure, aren't you!" The secretary, seeing the enemy had already ascended, felt cold sweat bead on her forehead and gritted her teeth as she spoke. "Isn't your Kirigakure in an alliance with us?!"

The leader sneered at the secretary: "An alliance? We are also in an alliance with the Land of Lightning. Don't embarrass yourself by spouting such naive thoughts.

Besides, the Land of Lightning paid a hefty price to have us help them."

Although the money wouldn't be paid until the job was done, he certainly wasn't going to tell these Konoha people that directly.

The secretary gritted her teeth. She wasn't worried about herself, but rather that the three little ones behind her might get hurt.

"If that's the case, how much did they offer you? Let's hear it. If it's possible, I can pay you double," Yuya said calmly, standing behind the secretary.

"Oh? And who might you be?" The lead ninja squinted at Yuya.

Yuya looked up at him and said, "I am the only son of the richest man in Konoha. I can make the call, as long as you turn back."

Yuya wasn't stupid; he certainly wouldn't reveal his true identity to the enemy.

The lead ninja gave a disdainful laugh: "You think that's enough to make us turn back? Heh, you've got quite the imagination."

As he spoke, the masked leader charged forward, and a series of Ice Mirrors formed around them, encircling the group.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique, heh heh heh..."

A thick fog enveloped Yuya and his group. The secretary quickly pulled Yuya, Rou Uchiha, and Kazuko Hyuga close to her.

"Rou, can your Sharingan see the enemy?" Yuya whispered.

Rou Uchiha, eleven years old, had awakened a single-tomoe Sharingan. While it was a bit lackluster, not everyone could be a monster like Madara Uchiha; in the Uchiha clan, Rou was already considered an excellent member.

Rou Uchiha shook her head anxiously: "I can't! There's chakra everywhere, I can't see a thing!"

"Kazuko, what about you?" Yuya asked the other girl.

Kazuko activated her Byakugan and pointed to the side: "I see them!"

The secretary immediately pressed her palms together: "Earth Release: Earth Control Rock!"

However, the speed was too slow, and the attack was dodged.

"Kazuko, give me a coordinate!" Yuya looked at the Kunai in his hand, formed a hand seal, and looked at Kazuko.

Kazuko nodded and focused her attention on the thick fog before them...

The Byakugan could see a person's chakra circulatory system. Even within a dense fog of chakra, the human body's meridians remained fixed in shape.

Unless you weren't human.

"Over there!"

Kazuko pointed to one side. Yuya threw the Kunai, which had an explosive tag attached, and clapped his hands together: "Taste this! Ha!"

"Boom, boom, boom, boom!" The violent wind kicked up by the continuous explosions left the other four attackers in a state of shock.

It wasn't that they couldn't maintain the Hidden Mist Technique, but with that girl's Byakugan, they couldn't achieve true stealth. Only the leader, with his Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, had the qualifications to fight head-on.

The others' Water Release was hard-countered by the secretary's Earth Release.

After all, they hadn't reached Kage-level strength; in fact, these people were barely even at the level of Chunin. They only managed to get this far because the Yuki ninja was carrying them.

But now...

"Ah! Ah! My leg! My leg is broken!" Wails erupted. Since the Hidden Mist Technique couldn't keep them hidden, maintaining it was just a waste of their own chakra.

The group dispelled the Hidden Mist Technique, only to see that the one caught in the explosion had lost a leg. The sight of blood gushing out turned the faces of Rou Uchiha and Kazuko Hyuga deathly pale.

"Now do you realize we aren't to be trifled with? My offer still stands. Turn back, and I can authorize a payment of one million ryo. You can use that to treat his injury."

Yuya was sweating slightly; he also found the scene before him nauseating, but now was definitely not the time to vomit.

That would be showing weakness.

Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, a super S-rank ninjutsu of Senju Tobirama.

Simply put, as long as one explosive tag touches a person, it can infinitely replicate and explode.

However, this "infinite" was a false premise, because human chakra is not infinite, so this skill could not achieve infinite replication.

In the Naruto anime, aside from Senju Tobirama's Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, the only other highlight for explosive tags was Konan's ten billion tags exploding for ten minutes (so that's where all the money the Akatsuki organization made went, huh?).

And as the grand-nephew of Senju Tobirama, it was only reasonable that Yuya would have learned the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags skill, right?

However, due to his age, his chakra wasn't particularly vast, so he could only manage about a hundred tags before his chakra ran dry.

To conserve his chakra, Yuya couldn't just dump it all into one skill.

But looking back now, perhaps it would have been better to increase his chakra output earlier and just kill this Mist ninja outright.

"You brat!" The opponent clearly wasn't willing to accept Yuya's terms. He flashed into one of the nearby Ice Mirrors, and as a cold wind blew, Yuya and the others suddenly realized the ground beneath their feet had frozen into ice.

"Oh no!" the young secretary cried out in alarm, but it was already too late.

The ice surface bulged upward, and four identical figures lunged out from within.

"Watch out!" The secretary could only block one, and as the three children on Yuya's side were about to be pierced by the ice blades in the hands of the three clones, Yuya spread his arms wide. Liquid gold surged from his arms, enveloping himself, Rou Uchiha, and Kazuko Hyuga.

With a loud "clang," the ice blades struck down heavily, yet they failed to inflict any penetrating damage on the golden barrier solidified before the three of them.

Meanwhile, Rou Uchiha, having finished her hand seals, puffed out her cheeks and unleashed a torrent of flames toward the three ice clones in front of her.

Missing his strike, the leader decisively retreated, then narrowed his eyes as he looked at Yuya.

Yuya let out a cold snort and slammed his palm directly onto the frozen ground.

A flash of golden light swept across, and the entire ice surface transformed into gold.

"..." The leader fell silent.

His Ice Release required using ice blocks to construct a domain that enveloped the enemy, allowing him to launch surprise attacks or simply use ice clones to strike from all directions.

But now...

Looking at the gold spreading across the ground beneath his feet, the leading Kirigakure ninja knew that it was impossible to trap this Konoha squad in his frozen domain.

Most importantly, they were very close to Konoha's frontline camp. Their mission to bypass the Land of Iron for reconnaissance had been completed, and they had already destroyed this retreat route used by the Konoha ninja.

The basic mission was done; if they didn't retreat now, they might be captured by the ninja rushing over from the Konoha side.

Retreat was almost the only option, but...

The leader took a deep look at Yuya. "I didn't expect Konoha to have someone with a Kekkei Genkai like yours. Hmph, then we shall meet again on the battlefield."

He was about to leave, but Yuya hurriedly called out, "Wait!"

The leader stopped in his tracks and looked at Yuya with a dangerous expression. "Don't tell me you actually think you can keep us here?!"

Yuya shook his head. "No, I know full well that if we really fought, we couldn't take you down in a short time, and you couldn't kill us all quickly either. What I mean is, what I said earlier still stands, only the target is now your Mizukage.

Whatever benefits Kumogakure has offered you, we can negotiate, and these ten kilograms of gold are my greeting gift to Kirigakure."

As he spoke, Yuya tossed a gold brick over.

The Kirigakure leader immediately frowned.

Yuya pointed to his own feet and said, "Rest assured, the gold created by my Kekkei Genkai turns back to its original state when it touches water. What I'm giving you is the real deal, not something conjured up."

After Yuya clarified the situation, the Kirigakure leader snorted, yet he still tucked the gold brick into his arms before turning and leaving.

Seeing this, Yuya immediately broke into a smile.

I'm not afraid of you taking it; as long as you take it, there will be plenty of room for maneuver.