The Secret Art of the Snow Doll

A frigid mist blanketed the sea.

The surging seawater had frozen, its rolling waves locked in place, rising and falling across the frozen surface as far as the eye could see.

"Ice Release: Thousand Killing Array!"

The blue figure stepped on thin, brittle ice shards forming beneath her feet in midair, using them to stand in the sky.

Glittering points of light gathered in the air. Blades, spears, swords, and halberds forged entirely of ice poured down upon the frozen earth below like an endless torrential rain.

The girl looked beautiful and dreamlike, gentle as water, yet the ninjutsu she wielded was filled with chilling murderous intent.

This was a near-frenzied feast of slaughter.

Boom boom boom boom boom!

Boom boom boom boom boom!

The explosions continued for a full minute before gradually fading away.

Every weapon made of ice possessed explosive force comparable to a shell, setting off violent detonations across the frozen sea.

Frozen mountains began to collapse, while enormous pits several meters deep were blasted into the icy surface.

Countless mangled corpses lay scattered about. Blood mist mixed with white fog and spread across the frozen sea.

"Bastard!"

A black-clad ninja, drenched in blood, roared in fury.

The shattered remains of his companions surrounded him. Ice fragments remained in their wounds, and the blood spraying from them had frozen the instant it burst forth, becoming lurid crimson crystals.

The one responsible for all this was the blue-kimono girl standing in midair atop ice shards—IrorI.

As Yayoi's highest-grade Puppet Lifeform, she not only possessed a chakra reserve close to that of the Tailed Beasts, but also chakra circuits known as Ice Mirror, which closely resembled the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

Though both used Ice Release, her Ice Release started from a far higher foundation than that of the Yuki Clan in the Land of Water.

"Still alive?"

No ripples stirred within Irori's purple eyes.

The hem of her kimono fluttered lightly in the breeze, revealing a section of smooth, jade-like calf.

Her exquisitely crafted face was breathtakingly beautiful, enough to make one marvel at the creator's supreme craftsmanship.

"Die!"

The black-clad ninja reached down and grabbed the ice.

Crack, crack.

Cracks spread across the ice. A massive chunk of ice more than ten meters across was lifted over his head with both hands. Then, powerful chakra erupted forth as he hurled it at Irori in the sky with all his strength.

Boom!

The ice chunk's own weight, combined with its charging speed, gave it destructive power far beyond its size.

However—

Pale ice dust slowly dispersed as chunks of shattered ice drifted down from the sky.

Irori remained standing in midair without a scratch, her body utterly unmoved.

"Wh—"

The black-clad ninja's eyes widened.

Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!

Ice spears shot out from the surrounding ice, piercing through the black-clad ninja's body from multiple directions and pinning him firmly to the surface.

His lips trembled once. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and the light quickly faded from his eyes.

"What a pity, unknown ninja sir."

Irori sighed softly and descended soundlessly onto the ice, her graceful blue-kimono-clad figure drifting down like a butterfly.

Since her chakra reserves were close to those of the Tailed Beasts, the body capable of containing such vast chakra naturally possessed defensive capabilities beyond ordinary imagination.

Though it had not reached the level of the Tailed Beasts, ordinary attacks could not even leave a scratch on her, much less a mark.

Even without Ice Release, she could defeat most ninja through taijutsu alone.

"Lady Irori!"

More than a dozen figures rushed over. They were three ninja and eleven samurai, all of them respectful.

They had personally witnessed Irori face dozens of incoming ninja. With astonishing Ice Release ninjutsu, she unleashed cold air and instantly froze the sea into an icy plain, forcibly changing the battlefield's terrain.

Then, with overwhelming force, she utterly crushed the dozens of formidable ninja.

Even the enemy leader had been effortlessly eliminated by her.

This kind of power had already surpassed the realm ordinary ninja could reach.

"Let's sweep the next location. Also, inform the other squads not to advance alone. If you encounter a powerful enemy, leave them to me."

Irori spoke in a gentle tone.

"Yes!"

Although Irori's attitude was gentle, no one who had witnessed that scene would mistake her for a harmless girl. She was an extraordinarily efficient weapon of war.

The ninja and samurai began moving, following Irori's orders.

Due to the Five Great Nations' recent actions, turmoil had begun spreading through many small nations, forcing numerous foreign ninja into exile.

Most of those exiled ninja came from ninja clans, though none were particularly powerful. Otherwise, they would not have been driven into exile.

Any of these exiled ninja willing to join the Land of Night were allowed to stay. Those unwilling to join were driven away, and those who ignored repeated warnings were suppressed.

However, there were simply too many ninja who needed suppressing, and quite a few arrived by sea through the ports. That was why Yayoi had no choice but to deploy Irori, this ultimate weapon.

As an artificial lifeform, Irori's Ice Release was highly suited to fighting in watery environments.

There could be no one more suitable to suppress ninja arriving from the sea.

"Lady Irori, we found the invaders' stronghold. It's there."

The speaker was a female ninja from the Aburame Clan—Shion Aburame.

She was around twenty years old and wore the Aburame Clan's distinctive long black coat. A black eye mask with openings covered her eyes.

Though her coat collar concealed most of her face, one could still vaguely tell that she was a striking beauty.

As a genius ninja of the Aburame Clan, Shion was currently controlling a large swarm of insects flying through the air, handling the intelligence-gathering work.

Originally, Shion had been extremely proud as one of the Aburame Clan's elite.

But after following Irori on this mission, she had been utterly won over by Irori's elegant yet violent, beautiful yet cold-blooded fighting style.

Standing atop the churning sea, she pointed toward a small island over three kilometers in diameter.

Dense woods covered it, and a large mountain stood at its center.

It was an excellent hiding place.

The fog around it was especially thick. Approaching carelessly could easily lead to stepping into enemy traps after losing one's bearings.

Only by relying on her insect secret technique had Shion managed to find the enemy's stronghold after expending considerable effort.

Besides Irori, quite a few ninja and samurai from the Land of Night were gathered nearby, all eager for battle.

It seemed that with a single command from Irori, they would swarm forward and take the island.

"Should we attack directly, Lady Irori?"

A heavily armored samurai stepped forward to ask.

He gripped his katana tightly. Chakra flowed along its blade, making it clear that he had mastered the technique of chakra infusion.

"No. There are many enemy traps outside, and several enemies of unknown strength. Charging in without detailed intelligence would cause unnecessary casualties. Step back. I happen to have a technique I want to test."

As she spoke, Irori shot into the air, stepping through the sky as if flying.

Ice shards continued forming beneath her feet, but she moved so quickly that it looked as though she were stepping on air as she ascended into the heavens.

The people below exchanged glances, unable to understand what Irori intended.

Then, everyone suddenly shuddered.

"Hey, isn't the air around us... getting colder?"

A ninja shivered, hoping it was merely his imagination.

"Yes. Even with my warm armor on, I can feel a piercing chill."

The fully armored samurai also spoke, proving that it was no illusion.

It felt as if the heat in the surrounding space had suddenly been drained away.

"This should be enough... There are more than five hundred enemies, aren't there?"

Hovering above the island, Irori stared down at the several-kilometer-wide island with her purple eyes. Her rosy lips parted with a soft breath.

But if one sensed carefully, the temperature around her lips had fallen to an utterly terrifying level.

Massive amounts of freezing air were drawn in from there by Irori, entering her breathing passages and flowing into her body.

As she breathed, the temperature of the surrounding air began to fall rapidly.

An incomparably massive chakra erupted violently from her body, freezing the air itself.

She brought her hands together.

Boom!

Azure chakra went completely berserk from within her body, sweeping wildly in all directions and raising a frigid pale storm.

"Let all things freeze!"

"Ice Release: Frost Sky Demonic Realm!"

That gentle voice, soft as water, was a note that brought death.

Freezing energy condensed in the heavens.

At first, crystalline snowflakes drifted down from the sky. Then they fell faster and faster, turning into a raging blizzard in mere seconds.

The cold wind howled as white snow covered everything.

The blizzard formed from icy energy poured down upon the earth like a world-ending flood.

The sky was dyed the pale white of ice and snow. Gray, frigid mist completely blocked out the sunlight, and shadows enveloped the area, plunging it into eternal night.

The isolated island below first saw its surrounding seawater freeze. Then came the sand, the trees, the mountain, and even the stone fortress built by the island's ninja, all dyed in a despairing white.

In less than half a minute, the island and the surrounding sea had become a massive ice sculpture floating upon the ocean.

Majestic and magnificent.

As if shaped by nature's divine workmanship.

The Land of Night ninja and samurai at the perimeter stared in horrified disbelief.

In the brief instant they had stood stunned, the island—which they might not have been able to take even at considerable cost—had been completely frozen into an unparalleled creation of ice.

Not only the island, but even the surrounding waters had been frozen by the cold.

The sea beneath their feet had frozen solid as well, no longer rising and churning.

"Let's return. The sweep is over. The ice here won't thaw for the next three months."

Irori descended from the sky, her face slightly pale. Releasing such a powerful technique had not drained all her stamina and chakra at once, but it was clearly not an ultimate-level release technique she could use casually.

"O-Okay."

The ninja and samurai came back to their senses in a daze. Their minds were still overwhelmed by what they had just seen, and in the end, they did not even know when they had returned to camp.

"Irori really is a capable child. The northern border should remain stable for some time now."

Information about Irori's feat of freezing the island soon reached Yayoi in Nightview City.

Inside the Tenshu Tower, he looked over the intelligence report and smiled in satisfaction.

In only half a month, Irori had suppressed every last exiled ninja clan that had invaded from the northern waters of the Land of Night. Her efficiency was remarkably high.

Her final feat of freezing the island was even more inspiring. For the current Land of Night, it was undoubtedly a much-needed boost.

At the same time, it made the Land of Night's name known and attracted more people to migrate there.

Whether it was population or foreign ninja clans, only genuine strength could create a siphoning effect.

The Five Great Nations were now racing against time to carry out reforms. They would take the lion's share, but Yayoi felt that he could still follow behind and get a little of the leftovers.

Catching up with the Five Great Nations was not something that could be done in the short term. He had to face reality, respect objective laws, and fight a prolonged war.

Moreover, Yayoi knew that the creation of ninja villages would inevitably bring internal losses.

No matter what, the hatred between ninja clans would not disappear in a short time. There would definitely be opposition factions within, waiting for an opportunity to stir up chaos. The only question was when it would erupt and how much would ultimately be lost.

However, considering that every one of the Five Great Nations possessed powerful figures capable of settling matters with a single blow, even if losses occurred, they would not damage their foundations.

"Come to think of it, who is stronger, my husband or Irori?"

Since Irori had gone out to carry out a mission, Kicho was the only one beside Yayoi handling official documents.

After reading the report, she suddenly became curious about whether Yayoi or Irori was stronger.

"Well..." Yayoi thought for a moment before smiling frankly. "Irori may have been created by me, but if we truly fought, unless I can fully perfect Chakra Armament Mode, lasting thirty exchanges would be my limit. Irori's strength isn't limited to Ice Release."

Yayoi had undoubtedly poured immense time and effort into creating Irori.

It could be said that she was his first, and also his most flawless masterpiece.

Before Irori had consumed the Seven-Tails' vast chakra, she had already been an outstanding Puppet Lifeform.

After consuming the Seven-Tails' enormous chakra reserves, both her Ice Release and physical strength had reached a higher realm.

If Irori's current body had been capable of absorbing more Tailed-Beast Chakra, her performance could have continued to improve.

Thus, besides Ice Release, Irori's taijutsu was equally exceptional.

Anyone who thought they could bypass her Ice Release attacks and subdue Irori through close combat would face unprecedented despair.

However, he had already pushed Irori's abilities to their limit. If he wanted to improve her performance further, he would have to further activate Irori's body.

But to accomplish that, he first had to bring about a greater qualitative transformation in his own chakra activity.

Ultimately, everything he possessed was based on the Active Chakra he refined himself.

To use a similar comparison, the effects of his Active Chakra were remarkably similar to those produced by Yin-Yang Release.

At present, Yin-Yang Release was more powerful than his Active Chakra.

Only through another qualitative transformation could his Active Chakra stand alongside Yin-Yang Release—or even... surpass it!

"That's true. Still, it's hard to believe Irori is a puppet creation. But is it really alright to expose Irori's strength like this?"

Kicho smiled and sighed, inwardly envying Irori's immense power.

Especially since, as a "daughter," Irori's actual physical age exceeded that of Kicho, her "mother."

As a result, Kicho often had extremely complicated feelings when facing Irori, this "daughter" of hers.

"It's fine. Compared with truly powerful people, the commotion Irori caused... can only be considered children fighting? A little interesting, but not much."

Yayoi smiled nonchalantly.

After unleashing her ultimate technique, she had only frozen a few kilometers of island and the nearby sea... Madara Uchiha's Susanoo had cleaved several mountain peaks in two with a single slash, badly wounded the Seven-Tails, and nearly killed a Tailed Beast instantly.

And that had only been an ordinary attack while using Susanoo. He did not believe Madara's Susanoo lacked techniques to complement it.

The reality was just this pathetic.

Irori was very strong, yet not strong enough at the same time. But for protecting the Land of Night as it was now, her strength was just right.