Turning Water to Ice Reverses the Situation, Borrowing Strength to Soar Shows Composure

That mass of blood-colored chakra was not an attack, but a piercing signal.

As the scroll was forcibly torn open, the red light exploded within the karst cave like pus and blood, emitting a sharp, shrill whistle. This sound echoed through the enclosed underground space, instantly shattering all tranquility. Wildcat's half-body, previously frozen by frost, developed a bizarre vitality under the stimulation of the red light; his left hand, which had not been frozen, slammed into the rock wall, forcibly propping up his body.

"Damn it... do you think that just because you got your hands on the mission scroll, you can walk out of here alive?"

Wildcat's voice was as hoarse as a broken bellows. His only remaining good eye stared fixedly at Mizuki Han, revealing intense madness. He did not care about the secret of the scroll at all; what he cared about was using the energy fluctuations triggered by it to completely obliterate the boy before him who had thwarted him time and again.

The surrounding standing water seemed to come alive under the tremors of the red light. Wildcat forcibly squeezed the remaining chakra in his body, his hands forming seals at a frequency that bordered on self-mutilation.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

The standing water in the karst cave seemed to be pulled by some irresistible force, instantly converging into a ferocious water dragon. This water dragon was not naturally formed; it was wrapped in shattered stalactite fragments and ice shards from the cave, roaring toward Mizuki Han with enough kinetic energy to crush mountain rock.

This was a finishing blow.

In such a narrow karst cave, facing this massive volume of water that offered no room to dodge, any attempt at evasion seemed pale and futile. Mizuki Han's pupils reflected the roaring water dragon; his heart hammered violently within his chest, his blood flow surging due to the extreme sense of crisis.

Retreat? There was no way out.

Block? His chakra had long since been overdrawn.

The shadow of death loomed once again, the cold, suffocating sensation even more intense than any time before. Mizuki Han's brain raced frantically in a split second; he did not think about how to evade, but instead focused all his attention on the "physical structure" of the water dragon.

Water is a liquid.

Ice is a solid.

To go from liquid to solid requires more than just a drop in temperature; it requires the instantaneous reorganization of molecular structures.

"Since you've sent so much water my way, I'll take it all."

A cold, cruel arc curled at the corners of Mizuki Han's mouth. He did not retreat a single step; instead, he charged toward the water dragon. His hands traced an arcane trajectory before him, and every last shred of Ice Release chakra remaining in his body was squeezed to the limit, poured directly into the surging torrent.

The temperature in the air plummeted at that moment.

"Ice Release: Condensation!"

With this low shout, the pores all over Mizuki Han's body seemed to be spewing out cold air. The roaring water dragon, less than two meters away from him, suddenly saw its ferocious head freeze in place. A layer of crystal-clear frost spread from the dragon's head to its body at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Crack—crack—"

The crisp sounds of ice cracking linked together like a grand symphony. The water dragon, originally wild and full of destructive power, was forcibly frozen in mid-air in less than half a second. It maintained its clawing, snarling posture, transformed into a massive, translucent ice sculpture, like an exquisite yet terrifying work of art.

Wildcat's ferocious smile froze on his face. He looked at this scene in disbelief, a rattling sound emerging from his throat: "This... this is impossible! You clearly had no chakra left!"

Mizuki Han's face was as pale as paper, his eyes bloodshot. He truly had no extra chakra; that last strike had exhausted almost all of his life energy. But he had utilized the very essence of the water dragon being "water," using the power of extreme cold to forcibly alter its physical state, borrowing the enemy's strength to strike back and turning danger into safety.

The rhythm of the battle reversed completely in this instant.

Mizuki Han tapped his toes lightly, pushing off the head of the massive ice dragon.

"Crack!"

The ice dragon's body let out an unbearable groan, a massive crack appearing on its surface, while Mizuki Han himself, aided by the recoil, soared into the air like an arrow released from a bow.

He leaped toward the dome of the karst cave, his body carving an elegant yet lethal arc through the air.

Below, Wildcat was teetering, suffering from the aftereffects of the forced hand seals and the backlash of his own attack being frozen. His uninjured left hand trembled from overexertion, and the defensive posture he had held was completely exposed, leaving his chest and neck wide open to Mizuki Han's leap.

With Mizuki Han in mid-air, his field of vision instantly widened. He looked down at the elite Anbu who had once been so high and mighty, his eyes devoid of any victor's joy, holding only the indifference one might show toward a dead object.

He adjusted his posture in the air, his legs slightly bent, his right hand already reaching for the ninja tool pouch at his waist.

"It's over."

He whispered softly, his voice faint, yet it sounded like the verdict of the Grim Reaper.

In mid-air, he had no point of leverage, his body entirely at the mercy of gravity. But to him, this was not a disadvantage; it was an excellent "bombing" position.

He quickly pulled two kunai already wrapped with explosive tags from his pouch, his movements fluid and seamless. As long as he threw these two kunai now, he could use the shockwave from the explosion to complete his final displacement in the air, landing precisely on top of Wildcat.

The frozen water dragon sculpture was now beginning to collapse on a large scale, unable to withstand the massive impact force.

"Rumble—"

Ice chunks shattered and fell like a meteor shower, completely obscuring Wildcat's vision.

Wildcat swung his left hand frantically, trying to block the falling ice, but because his vision was obstructed, he failed to notice the cold killing intent from above.

Mizuki Han's figure merged with the crystalline shards under the cover of the falling ice. He was like a falcon diving from high altitude, suppressing all his presence, aiming only for that final strike.

The kunai in his hand was already spinning at his fingertips.

Distance: three meters.

Two meters.

One meter.

Wildcat seemed to sense something and looked up abruptly. His only good eye widened in extreme terror at that moment. Through the gaps in the ice, he saw the figure of the boy above.

That boy, like a god, was descending from the heavens with absolute coldness and killing intent.

And behind him, the remains of the frozen water dragon let out a final cracking sound, as if playing the overture to the end of this battle.

Mizuki Han's right hand pulled back sharply, the kunai wrapped in the explosive tag poised at his fingertips.

What he intended to do was not merely to throw the kunai, but to use the moment of the explosion to turn his own body into the final weapon, completely piercing the enemy's defenses.

Just as he was about to throw it, Wildcat suddenly let out a desperate roar. He recklessly hurled the mission scroll, which was still emitting red light, toward Mizuki Han, attempting to use the energy of the scroll's explosion to blow them both into fragments!

In the air, the kunai and the scroll were about to collide.