One-Horned White Whale? Great Eruption

The White Snake Sage glanced down at the three of them.

The three immediately felt a wave of pressure.

"Did he leave?" the White Snake Sage asked.

All three nodded.

"That boy has immense talent. Perhaps because of him, Ryūchi Cave will be able to surpass the other two sacred lands."

"Isn't that right, Tagorihime?"

Tagorihime had been looking down. Startled to be addressed, she raised her head. "Y-yes, that's right."

She felt a little guilty.

Tagitsuhime and Ichikishimahime also glanced at her.

The White Snake Sage continued, "Which snakes did he sign contracts with?"

Tagitsuhime replied, "He signed a Summoning Contract with Aoda, and he also signed one with the three of us."

As she spoke, Tagitsuhime glared at Tagorihime.

They hadn't wanted to sign a contract with Yeyu at first. They had done so entirely because of Tagorihime.

Although Ichikishimahime disliked Yeyu too, she hadn't been particularly opposed to signing a Summoning Contract with him.

Just as Tagorihime had said, as long as Yeyu had enough chakra to summon them, they had no reason not to answer.

The White Snake Sage kept her gaze on Tagorihime for a long while.

"Garaga missed out on a good summoner. He misjudged the boy—having only one eye really does affect your judgment."

"But Aoda is more than good enough."

Among the great snakes of Ryūchi Cave, Aoda was second only to Garaga in strength.

He was simply too mild-mannered, nothing like a snake at all.

After leaving Ryūchi Cave, Yeyu returned to his room.

It was already the middle of the night.

But dawn was still a long way off, and they wouldn't be leaving for quite some time.

The moment Yeyu appeared in the room, Anko woke up.

"You're back already?"

"Did it work?"

After returning, Yeyu lay down to sleep. "It worked."

Yeyu wanted to sleep, but Anko was wide awake. She moved closer to him. "Which great snake did you sign a contract with?"

"Did you sign one with Manda?"

Anko thought Manda was the strongest in Ryūchi Cave after the White Snake Sage.

Yeyu waved a hand. "No. Orochimaru is his summoner, so of course I didn't sign a contract with him."

Anko sounded disappointed. "Actually, a Summoned Beast can have several summoners."

Yeyu closed his eyes. "All right, it's over now. Go to sleep."

"We still have to take a boat tomorrow. Get some rest."

Anko pouted, but went to rest anyway.

Yeyu was only twelve, yet he seemed to be the one leading the team.

Anko didn't question it at all.

When they set out for the Land of Snow the next day, Kazahana Koyuki was noticeably more respectful toward Yeyu.

His strength would earn him respect in any country.

He was incredibly powerful, with limitless potential.

Who would want to offend someone like that?

Kazahana Koyuki simply hadn't known how strong Yeyu was before.

The ship took more than a week to reach the Land of Snow.

Before entering the Land of Snow's harbor, they passed a massive iceberg.

The director stood on deck, staring at the iceberg in the distance, his face alight with excitement. "Wonderful! This is the backdrop I've been searching for all along."

"Let's film on that island."

Since the director had spoken, nobody objected.

Yeyu and Anko followed Kazahana Koyuki onto the island.

The entire island was made of ice. Ice stretched for more than a thousand meters in every direction, making it a beautiful backdrop.

While the crew filmed, Yeyu and Anko watched from beside the staff.

Watching Kazahana Koyuki's superb performance, Yeyu smiled and praised her. "As you'd expect from a big star. You really can act."

Anko said with a smile, "She's been the hottest star in the Land of Fire lately. Her last few movies have all done really well at the box office."

"But if she really becomes the Daimyo of the Land of Snow, she probably won't be able to keep acting."

"I wonder what she'll choose."

Yeyu didn't care about that.

Whatever life Kazahana Koyuki chose, she would be fine.

Just as Yeyu and Anko were enjoying Kazahana Koyuki's performance, the iceberg in the distance suddenly split apart.

"Bam! Rumble..."

Everyone looked toward the iceberg. "Was that an avalanche?"

"No, the iceberg broke apart."

People wondered if the iceberg had shattered.

But the vigilant Anko had already appeared beside Kazahana Koyuki. "Fujikaze, be careful. They're probably ninjas sent by the Land of Snow."

What were the odds of an iceberg suddenly breaking apart right after they came onto the island to film?

Kunai in hand, Anko watched their surroundings warily.

Yeyu looked toward the distant iceberg. "They finally made their move. I wonder how your Ice Release works."

Some Ice Release techniques used the surrounding environment, while others came from a pure Kekkei Genkai.

Yeyu thought this was probably a Kekkei Genkai.

It wouldn't be strange for the Land of Snow to have a few ninjas with an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

When the crew saw chunks of ice rolling down from the shattered iceberg toward them, they all ran for open ground farther away.

Kazahana Koyuki recognized the scene. It was just like the one in her memories.

"This... This is a technique used by Dotō Kazahana's subordinates."

The entire ice island trembled.

The iceberg quickly collapsed into shattered chunks of ice.

"Rumble..."

Countless chunks of ice in the distance began to gather together.

"Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale!"

Countless blocks of ice converged, forming a gigantic, hundred-meter-long whale.

"Roar!"

The whale charged toward them.

The enormous whale was made entirely of solid ice. Its massive weight crushed the ice beneath it as it advanced.

"Rumble..."

The ice kept breaking apart. The ice beneath their feet was about to be crushed.

Anko was frantic. "Damn it, even Fire Release won't melt it!"

Anko was skilled in Fire Release Ninjutsu, but her techniques didn't have enough range.

The giant whale was far too large, and it was made entirely of ice. Her Fire Release wouldn't work on it.

"The temperature here is way too low. Any snake we summon would lose its ability to fight in no time."

Snakes were extremely sensitive to temperature.

In a place this cold, any great snake they summoned would soon fall into hibernation.

Anko shielded Kazahana Koyuki behind her, then turned to Yeyu.

Yeyu lifted his head and looked at the giant ice whale charging toward him.

He murmured to himself, "So this really is Ice Release that relies on the environment."

"I'm a little disappointed."

Yeyu had originally thought he would get to see a Kekkei Genkai of Ice Release.

He could have learned how the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai worked.

Anko shouted, "Yeyu, get Fujikaze out of here first!"

Anko wanted Yeyu to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to move Kazahana Koyuki to safety.

Kazahana Koyuki was the target of their mission. She couldn't get hurt.

But Yeyu didn't answer Anko.

He merely glanced at the One-Horned White Whale, now just over two hundred meters away.

"Vwoom..."

Yeyu vanished.

Almost at the same moment,

Yeyu appeared in front of the One-Horned White Whale.

"Great Eruption!"

"Boom!"

Yeyu threw a punch. The terrifying heat carried by it instantly blasted the enormous One-Horned White Whale into nothingness.

A vacuum zone opened up in front of Yeyu, and the distant sea was carved into a trench hundreds of meters wide and several kilometers long.

The seawater still steamed heavily.