The Mist Strikes

Seeing three ninjas from their village slaughtered, Shirokumo Hayama and the two other Konoha Jonin were livid. The Mist Village prisoner slung over one of the Jonin's back looked terrified, too. He realized that the Assassination Squad sent by the Mist Village to silence him had caught up.

At that moment, two figures dressed in Mist Village ninja uniforms appeared on the branch of a large tree not far away.

The Mist ninja on the left was tall and heavily built, with short purple hair that stood straight up and a fierce face. Gills seemed to mark both sides of his cheekbones, and the skin exposed on his body was an unusual dark teal. He looked absolutely terrifying.

The Mist ninja on the right looked much more presentable. He had handsome features, black hair, and dark eyes. He was about as tall as his companion, but nowhere near as bulky, with a much more well-proportioned build.

A straight-bladed Wakizashi hung at his right hip. His right hand rested lightly on its hilt, as though he might strike at any moment.

(A Wakizashi was a type of samurai sword, sometimes called a companion sword. Its blade was thirty to sixty centimeters long and was usually carried by samurai as a backup weapon. It was shorter than a regular samurai sword but longer than a dagger.)

"Oh, my, I didn't expect Konoha to have ninjas so naive. That's quite a surprise! Don't you think, Shinji?" the dark-teal-skinned Mist ninja said teasingly.

This Mist ninja was no unknown figure. He was none other than the future "Mist Weirdo" and "Tail-less Tailed Beast," Kisame Hoshigaki.

At this point, however, Kisame had yet to acquire Samehada and was not one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Instead, he served under Samehada's original owner, Suikazan Fuguki, and was tasked with eliminating ninjas who had defected from their side or might leak information.

The ninja Kisame had called "Shinji" was Uesugi Shinji. He was Kisame's teammate and the squad's leader.

Uesugi Shinji gave Shirokumo Hayama and the others a detached glance. He ignored Kisame's chatter and said flatly, "Attack."

The three Konoha Jonin wore murderous expressions as well. Their captain, Shirokumo Hayama, gave a signal, and his two subordinates immediately understood what he wanted.

The Jonin carrying the Mist Village prisoner quickly retreated several steps, putting some distance between them so he could help his teammates watch their surroundings and guard against a surprise attack.

Ninja squads usually consisted of three or four members when carrying out missions. Only two Mist Village ninjas had appeared to attack them, so there could well be others hiding nearby.

The other Jonin moved beside Shirokumo Hayama to support him and help him deal with the enemies in front of them.

Across from them, Kisame let out a mocking laugh at the order to attack and swiftly formed Hand Seals, completing a common Water Release Ninjutsu in no time.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

As Kisame completed the technique, a wave far larger than an ordinary Great Waterfall Technique—more like a tidal surge—formed beneath him and Uesugi Shinji. It surged toward Shirokumo Hayama and the others.

Seeing the astonishing force of the Great Waterfall Technique, all three Konoha Jonin, including Shirokumo Hayama, looked shocked. They couldn't believe an obscure Mist Village ninja could perform a technique on such a scale.

But these Konoha Jonin were all battle-hardened. Kisame's technique didn't scare them; they immediately began to counter it.

The Jonin standing beside Shirokumo Hayama to help him fight was named Toshiromaru. He specialized in Earth Release. As the enormous wave rushed toward them, Toshiromaru quickly formed Hand Seals, dropped to one knee, and pressed both hands against the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!"

The ground within roughly ten meters beneath Toshiromaru and Shirokumo Hayama suddenly loosened. The entire area rapidly rose, and a huge wall of rock thrust up to a height of thirteen or fourteen meters, lifting all three Konoha ninjas onto high ground.

The rising wall changed the terrain, preventing Kisame's Great Waterfall Technique from reaching the Konoha ninjas. The mighty technique seemed to have accomplished nothing, wasting a considerable amount of chakra.

Just then, Kisame's companion, Uesugi Shinji, finished forming his Hand Seals. His hands moved incredibly fast, and Shirokumo Hayama, who had been watching him from nearby, grew even more grim.

I've never seen anyone form Hand Seals that fast. This guy might be even harder to deal with than that blue-skinned freak with his astonishing chakra! Shirokumo Hayama thought.

A chill rose around Uesugi Shinji and quickly flowed into the surging water Kisame had summoned beneath them.

"Ice Release: Ice Prison."

Empowered by the Ice Release technique, the once-roiling wave slowed considerably. Dozens of thick columns of water instantly rose from it, rapidly freezing into ice as they closed in around the center of the rock wall. They encircled the three Konoha Jonin and the Mist Village prisoner.

In only a second or two, the thick columns had frozen solid.

Shirokumo Hayama cautiously threw more than a dozen shuriken at the ice pillars, trying to break through. To his surprise, they were harder than he had expected, and a shocking chill radiated from them.

When his shuriken struck the pillars, the chill quickly spread over them, freezing them in place against the ice.

Fixing his gaze on Uesugi Shinji, who was surrounded by swirling frost, Shirokumo Hayama knew that this Mist ninja was the one who had just killed three of his juniors!

He tightened his grip on his samurai sword. Shirokumo Hayama narrowed his eyes slightly, and a flash of killing intent flickered in them.