With a furious roar from Might Duy, a gray-white chakra surged into the sky. The pressure it unleashed crushed the earth around his feet, forcing the ground to cave in.
The gray-white chakra gathered around his fist, taking the shape of an enormous tiger's head. The overwhelming pressure made Kisame's expression change drastically as he faced the attack head-on.
Uesugi Shinji's heart sank as well. If Kisame took a blow that powerful head-on, he might well lose his life here.
Roar! Roar! Roar!!!
The white tiger formed from chakra let out a roar that echoed across the battlefield, then lunged straight at Kisame. In truth, it was a cannon blast of air pressure, formed from chakra of tremendous density. The Ice Crystal Shield in front of Kisame was no match for it; the blast shattered it on contact, reducing it to steam.
A massive, muffled boom rang out. Kisame's towering body was sent flying dozens of meters before crashing to the ground and carving out a trench more than ten meters long.
Lying on the ground, Kisame spat out a mouthful of blood. His chest had caved in, and both arms he'd used to block Might Duy's attack were broken.
"Cough, cough... Looks like I'm really going to die here!"
Kisame tried to move, only to discover that most of his bones were broken. The only reason he was still alive was the astonishing chakra inside him, which was keeping him going.
Shiranui Genma and Ebisu stared at the scene, dumbfounded, their eyes fixed on the valiant Might Duy in disbelief.
"Is that really Duy?" Shiranui Genma's mouth hung wide open. Even the senbon he usually kept between his lips had fallen to the ground.
Ebisu shook his head blankly. "I don't know either."
After a couple of seconds' silence, Shiranui Genma asked, "So, do we still need to run?"
"I don't know either," Ebisu replied, still sounding dazed.
Meanwhile, Uesugi Shinji rushed to Kisame's side and pressed one hand against his chest, sending a thread of chakra into his body.
"Eighty percent of the bones in his body are broken, and fifty percent of his muscle tissue is damaged. His blood vessels and internal organs have also suffered severe injuries."
Once the chakra Uesugi Shinji controlled entered Kisame's body, he could scan him thoroughly by tracking the chakra's circulation and using Light Brain.
At the same time, he used Ice Release chakra to seal several critical wounds inside Kisame's body, preventing continued internal bleeding and doing what he could to stabilize his condition.
"Don't die on me."
Uesugi Shinji watched Might Duy, who had locked onto him with his killing intent, his expression grave. At the same time, he spoke casually to Kisame, who was lying on the ground beside him.
Kisame smiled at that. "Cough, cough... I should be saying that to you!"
Just then, Might Duy sprang into action again. He stamped down hard, leaving a huge crater in the ground, and instantly closed the distance to Uesugi Shinji.
Might Duy hadn't even thrown a punch yet, but the chakra bursting from his body was like a raging gale, blowing all of Uesugi Shinji's hair backward.
Uesugi Shinji brought his hands together. In the blink of an eye, his jet-black hair turned snow-white, a diamond-shaped ice crystal appeared at the center of his forehead, and his dark eyes became translucent.
This was Uesugi Shinji's Inner Ice Release state, achieved by merging with Natural Energy—what was known as Sage Mode.
In this state, not only was Uesugi Shinji's ninjutsu greatly enhanced, but his taijutsu improved tremendously as well. Might Duy's speed had been difficult for him to handle before, but now he could deal with it effortlessly.
Might Duy didn't pause at all when Uesugi Shinji's appearance changed. With a shout, he swung his fist forward, the gust from the punch already stinging Uesugi Shinji's face.
Uesugi Shinji remained expressionless and brought his hands together. A smooth, mirror-like, diamond-shaped sheet of ice appeared in front of him, just in time to block Might Duy's fist.
A sound like shattering glass rang out. Might Duy's punch cracked the diamond-shaped mirror. The crack spread rapidly, and the entire surface shattered with a crash.
The diamond-shaped ice mirror looked as though it had failed to stop Might Duy's attack, but it had bought Uesugi Shinji a single breath. He feinted toward Ebisu and Shiranui Genma, who were off to one side, then suddenly dashed in their direction.
Uesugi Shinji wasn't trying to kill the two of them. He was using a feint to draw Might Duy's attention away and prevent him from finishing off Kisame, who could no longer move.
Sure enough, when Might Duy saw what was happening, he forgot about Kisame, who lay nearby, and immediately turned to chase Uesugi Shinji.
Once Uesugi Shinji had drawn Might Duy away, he stopped short of attacking the two Konoha rookies. Instead, he turned to face Might Duy and quickly pulled a scroll from his robes, tossing it into the air.
He raised his right hand in front of his chest, forming the Hand Seals, then called out, "Open!"
The scroll unfurled in midair. At its center was a circular sealing formula, with the character for "water" written in the middle.
The sealing formula on the scroll glowed blue, and a thick column of water gushed from its center, firing at Might Duy like a high-pressure water cannon with an enormous barrel.
Uesugi Shinji knew all too well that his chakra reserves were limited, so he always carried scrolls containing sealed Water Release Ninjutsu. They provided the water his Ice Release required, saving him a great deal of chakra.
Might Duy showed no concern as the water column hurtled toward him. It was powerful enough to smash an ordinary person to pieces, but it was nothing to him.
"Ah-ha!"
Might Duy let out a strange cry. His speed didn't slacken in the slightest as he charged toward Uesugi Shinji. He punched forward, and the powerful pressure from his fist split the rushing column of water in two.
As Might Duy drew closer, a flash of killing intent passed through Uesugi Shinji's narrowed eyes. His hands moved rapidly through the Hand Seals, completing eight signs in the span of a single breath.
"Inner Ice Release: Instantaneous Cold Extremity!"
A ring of luminous white light spread outward from beneath his feet, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Unless they were watching closely, most people wouldn't even see it and would assume their eyes had deceived them.
Yet the instant the ring of light passed over the thick column of water hurtling toward Might Duy, it froze into a clear pillar of ice, sparkling in the sunlight.
As for the unstoppable Might Duy, he was now sealed tight within the pillar. He still held his fist out as though in mid-punch, but he seemed unable to break free of the icy prison!
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