Hearing Shi Xiu's resolute words, Haku felt a surge of warmth in his heart, and his tension eased a little.
Haku knew, too, that as long as Shi Xiu was by his side, they could fight back against even the most powerful enemy.
By then, the ninjas from Takigakure had closed in and surrounded them.
Every one of them wore a vicious expression. The Kunai in their hands glinted coldly in the sunlight, as if they were ready to launch a deadly attack at any moment.
Shi Xiu slowly surveyed the enemies around them, a cold smile curling his lips. He patted Haku on the shoulder and said, "Leave no one alive!"
At his signal, Haku quickly formed Hand Seals. In an instant, the temperature around them dropped several degrees.
"Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"
A dozen ice mirrors appeared around the Takigakure ninjas. As they stared in bewilderment at the mirrors surrounding them, Haku quietly slipped inside one.
In an instant, Haku's image appeared across dozens of mirrors.
"What? These are... mirrors?" The Takigakure ninjas cried out in alarm, shocked by Haku's secret technique.
"Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"
But Haku gave them no time to catch their breath. Countless ice needles shot toward the Takigakure ninjas, each one precise and deadly.
Though the ninjas vastly outnumbered him, they were utterly helpless against Haku's secret technique.
Standing off to the side, Shi Xiu watched Haku's unstoppable technique and couldn't help but nod. He copied both of Haku's secret techniques as well.
But just as Haku was about to finish off the last of the enemies, a powerful chakra fluctuation suddenly came from the direction of Takigakure.
Haku's expression changed. He could sense how powerful and dangerous that chakra was.
He could no longer concern himself with the Takigakure ninjas who were barely clinging to life. He dispelled his technique and called out urgently to Shi Xiu, "Sir, watch out!"
Shi Xiu had sensed the powerful chakra too. He turned to look toward Takigakure.
A figure came rushing toward them like lightning. The person wore a splendid outfit and had a Takigakure Forehead Protector strapped to her arm, radiating a powerful presence.
"So you've finally appeared, Seven-Tails Jinchuriki," Shi Xiu said quietly, his eyes turning playful.
The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Kaede, stopped not far from Shi Xiu. She looked at him coldly and said with a stern expression, "So you're the fool who dared trespass in our Takigakure? You really don't know your place."
Shi Xiu didn't answer. He simply watched Kaede, sizing her up.
She looked much as she had been described in the original story. Shi Xiu studied the pale-yellow wings on her back, as well as the Tailed Beast power hidden within her.
"You finally came out, Kaede, Seven-Tails Jinchuriki," Shi Xiu said slowly. Haku stepped in front of him, warily eyeing Kaede in the sky.
Kaede gave a disdainful laugh. "Hmph. A grown man who needs a little girl to protect him. And you even dare come after me? You're both arrogant and cowardly."
Before Shi Xiu could respond, Haku shouted at Kaede, "Don't you dare insult Sir!"
Countless ice spikes shot toward Kaede, but she dodged them with ease.
Just as Kaede was about to mock Shi Xiu, he struck a thoroughly provocative pose. With a smug, obnoxious look, he slowly raised a hand and pointed at her. "Come on, then!"
Haku turned to look at Shi Xiu in surprise, seemingly unable to understand why the usually gentle and composed man was acting so... punchable!
Shi Xiu's taunt enraged Kaede. She rushed toward him, flapping her wings and scattering scales to blur his vision.
"Wind Release: Wind Killing Formation!" As the scales fell, Shi Xiu quickly formed Hand Seals. A tornado appeared and blew them all away.
The powerful wind affected even Kaede. At that moment, Shi Xiu leaped high into the air and appeared behind her.
Kaede reacted quickly, spinning around and stabbing at Shi Xiu with the Kunai in her hand.
But Shi Xiu seemed to have anticipated her move and dodged it with ease. Then he took the chance to punch her in the chest, knocking her out of the air.
Kaede skidded more than ten meters across the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. When the dust cleared, her clothes were in tatters, leaving some of her body exposed.
Kaede wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. A hint of wariness entered her gaze as she looked at Shi Xiu.
She hadn't expected the ninja she'd thought needed a little girl's protection to be so powerful.
Looking at Kaede, Shi Xiu couldn't help making a comment. "Flat as a board. Nothing there."
At his words, Kaede immediately covered her exposed skin, flushed with embarrassment as she glared at him through gritted teeth.
"Looks like I underestimated you," Kaede said. She quickly began forming Hand Seals, preparing to use her Tailed Beast Transformation.
But Shi Xiu didn't give her the chance. He threw a Kunai, seemingly to interrupt her transformation.
Kaede leaned slightly to dodge the incoming Kunai, about to make a sarcastic remark.
To her surprise, Shi Xiu instantly appeared in front of her. He grabbed the Kunai and held it to her throat.
"Don't move! Let's see whether you can transform faster or my Kunai can reach you faster!"
Kaede swallowed and slowly lowered her hands. "I surrender! But can you spare Takigakure?"
Shi Xiu didn't answer. Instead, he placed both hands on Kaede's abdomen.
That frightened Kaede badly. In a tearful voice, she said to Shi Xiu, "No... please, don't!"
Even Haku blushed and hurriedly covered his eyes, though he still peeked at Shi Xiu through the gaps between his fingers.
Shi Xiu looked at Kaede speechlessly. Then chakra flowed through his palms as he inscribed an Eight Trigrams Seal on her stomach, sealing the Seven-Tails and Kaede's chakra.
Shi Xiu let go of Kaede. She could no longer sense the chakra in her body. Looking at the Eight Trigrams Seal on her abdomen, she sighed in resignation.
Just as Shi Xiu was about to take Kaede and Haku back to Konoha, three black-clad men wearing hoods suddenly appeared. Haku hurriedly shouted to Shi Xiu, "Sir! Watch out!"
The three men rushed toward Shi Xiu. Without hesitation, he summoned an incomplete Susanoo.
After all, summoning a Complete Body Susanoo—even if he deliberately made it smaller—might bring the whole place down with a single strike.
The three black-clad men seemed to have been prepared for this. They quickly split up, with two of them charging straight at Haku.
Shi Xiu immediately understood what they were after and roared, "Get away from him! Don't touch him!"
At this critical moment, Haku's heart tightened as he quickly formed Hand Seals.
In an instant, countless sharp ice spikes appeared out of thin air, carrying a fierce chill as they roared toward the two black-clad men like a rainstorm.
To Haku's utter shock, the seemingly airtight attack was dodged effortlessly by his opponents.
Meanwhile, Shi Xiu was desperate to rush over and help Haku, but the other black-clad man kept him firmly occupied.
No matter how fiercely he attacked, his opponent always managed to evade with incredibly nimble movements. Shi Xiu furrowed his brow as a fine sheen of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.
Seeing the situation grow more and more dangerous, Shi Xiu made a decisive move and used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
As a cloud of smoke rose, more than a dozen identical copies of him appeared before his eyes.
Next, the Shadow Clones all summoned gigantic Susanoo, surging toward Haku like a rushing tide.
In truth, a dozen Shadow Clones were nowhere near the limit of Shi Xiu's abilities. But with the surroundings restricting him, this was all he could manage for the moment.
As Shi Xiu directed the Shadow Clones forward, he looked anxiously toward Haku.
What he saw made his heart nearly stop: the two black-clad men had closed in on Haku, almost within arm's reach. They were about to capture him.
Though the Shadow Clones were running as fast as they could, they were still a considerable distance from Haku.
At that life-or-death moment, Haku abruptly turned to look at Shi Xiu, his eyes filled with boundless regret and resolve.
He shouted with all his strength, "Sir! I'm sorry! I'm afraid I'll have to break my promise this time!" Before the words had fully left his mouth, Haku charged straight at one of the black-clad men and threw his arms around him.
Then he formed Hand Seals again, and a razor-sharp ice spike shot forth.
With a muffled thunk, the ice spike pierced both Haku and the black-clad man without resistance.
In an instant, blood sprayed everywhere, a tragic scarlet flower suddenly blooming in the air.