Chapter 36
Ebizo tossed Aoto Iseki's corpse to the ground, his face dark.
"What a disgrace. A whole group of Jonin, and you let one brat kill one of you. When we get back, report for punishment!"
The Sand Ninja exchanged glances but said nothing.
"Not bad, brat. I didn't expect you to be hiding your strength!"
"A Genin who killed one of our Jonin—you'll have something to boast about to your First in the Pure Land!"
Ebizo's rasping voice rang out again.
"Move! Finish this quickly so we can leave!"
Whoosh!
This time, the surrounding Jonin didn't hesitate for a second.
They charged at Liuyun and his two companions. The entire supply convoy was down to just the three of them!
Liuyun remained calm. He bit his thumb.
His hands flew through Hand Seals, and immense Chakra surged around him.
He slammed a hand onto the ground!
"Summoning Technique!" he shouted.
Poof!
Smoke billowed out, and a mountain-sized Katsuyu appeared beneath Liuyun's feet.
"Lord Liuyun! What's going on?" Katsuyu sounded puzzled.
Katsuyu's appearance stopped the attacking Sand Ninja in their tracks. Rare gravity settled over their faces.
"Katsuyu! Are you Tsunade's student?"
Ebizo stepped forward at the head of the group. Rather than anger, his voice held a hint of delight!
"Katsuyu! Protect Nawaki and Mikoto!"
Liuyun leaped to the ground and gave Katsuyu the order.
"Understood, Lord Liuyun! Should I notify Lady Tsunade?"
"If you can, do it!"
"Understood!" Katsuyu split off a smaller slug and sent her back to Shikkotsu Forest.
Her massive body enveloped Mikoto and Nawaki.
"Lady Mikoto, Lord Nawaki, I'm going to merge your bodies with mine. Please bear with it!"
Mikoto nodded. Beside her, Nawaki was still stunned by the Katsuyu Liuyun had summoned!
It wasn't that he had never seen Katsuyu. He knew her well—the Senju Clan's summoning creature was Katsuyu.
But he had never seen one this big.
Katsuyu's words pulled Nawaki back to himself, and he nodded without thinking.
Just then, Uchiha Yunda and Uchiha Su'er appeared atop Katsuyu. They addressed Liuyun respectfully.
"Lord Liuyun, we'll protect Lady Mikoto here. Please be careful!"
It wasn't that the two were blindly loyal. Once Liuyun summoned Katsuyu, they knew his strength was no less than theirs.
And from the look of him, he intended to face the Sand Ninja alone. He would never do that without absolute confidence.
Liuyun answered them with a casual wave.
His companions were safe now. It was time to make the Shinobi World remember him.
He reached out and closed his hand. Ice condensed, and a Long Sword of ice appeared in his grip.
At the sight of this, the Sand Ninja laughed in disbelief.
A Genin thought he could kill all these elite Sand Ninja by himself!
Even with that enormous summoning creature beside him, he was getting too arrogant!
"A student of Princess Tsunade, all right! What arrogance! Kill him with everything you've got. Ignore the other two!"
Ebizo spoke with a dark expression.
He could see it now: this Ice Release brat was one of Konoha's greatest talents, already possessing the strength of an Elite Jonin at such a young age!
If they failed to eliminate him now, he would become a threat.
One Hashirama Senju was more than enough for Konoha. Ebizo would never allow a second!
Even if every Sand Ninja here died today, they had to snuff out this danger before it grew.
"Heh."
Liuyun grinned and stepped forward. In the next instant, he shot ahead like an arrow.
"Brat, I won't let my guard down like that useless Qiye!"
Three Sand Ninja appeared in Liuyun's path.
Wind-nature Chakra wrapped around two of their specialized weapons as they slashed at him.
The third man's fingers flew like a programmer's, and two specialized puppets dropped from above!
Liuyun's expression stayed cold. He slipped past the two puppets that had appeared out of nowhere.
Then he accelerated, ducking forward to appear before the other two Sand Ninja.
As his eyes narrowed, three scarlet tomoe appeared in each.
He fixed them with a fierce glare. Both Jonin froze mid-strike, their eyes going blank.
Slash! Slash!
The ice sword flashed. Both men fell silent to the ground.
"Wind Release: Kamaitachi!"
A gale erupted. Dense wind-nature Chakra formed a huge blade of wind that screamed toward Liuyun.
Liuyun swept out his right hand. Ice surged upward, and a wall several meters thick rose from the ground.
He turned, took a step, and appeared before the Sand Ninja puppeteer nearby.
The puppeteer's face changed as he worked his puppets. He tried to speak, but Liuyun answered with an unhesitating slash!
(The story's about to go on sale, and this little author is so nervous. Could you send me some flowers?)
Who Stands at the Peak of Showing Off? (First Update!)
Blood sprayed, and a large head flew into the air. As his awareness faded, the Sand Ninja saw his own body.
In the blink of an eye, all three Sand Ninja who had rushed him were dead.
Bathed in blood, Liuyun stood straight as a spear.
He turned toward the Sand Ninja charging at him, licked his lips, and slowly curled them into a wicked smile.
"Damn brat! Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
The remaining Sand Ninja unleashed their strongest Ninjutsu!
A gale erupted. Wind blades and spheres compressed to their limits hurtled toward Liuyun, rippling with terrifying power.
Liuyun faced the barrage without expression. He folded his arms across his chest as the wind whipped his short hair.
He looked rather like Madara standing alone against the Allied Shinobi Forces in the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Even against ten thousand, I'll advance!
Just as every Sand Ninja thought their attacks had scared Liuyun senseless,
he stamped his foot. Solid ice shot up from the ground, forming a sturdy barrier that enclosed him completely.
Boom! Boom!
Thunderous impacts rang out without end!
The terrifying wind-nature Chakra became a storm of blades that flew at the ice wall!
Then it burst against it like countless exploding shells.
Then it formed a huge crescent-shaped slash!
Each attack slammed into the ice wall nearby!
The earth caved in as though crying out; the darkened sky seemed to weep!
The ice wall stood like an impassable divide. Despite the battering, it did not budge. It did not even crack!
The shock waves from the collision spread in every direction, carrying clouds of dust like a storm before the end of the world.
Nearby trees might as well have been paper. Trunks as thick as a man's waist snapped in two.
Dust filled the forest, and every Sand Ninja instinctively shut their eyes.
"Aaah! Aaah!"
Suddenly, several screams rose among the Sand Ninja.
Ebizo narrowed his eyes and looked toward the sounds.
He caught sight of several silver-white blurs flashing past.
In their wake stood several lifelike Ice Statues.
"Damn brat!" Ebizo said darkly, his heart aching at the losses.
This was their squad's first mission, and they had already lost no fewer than seven people to a Genin! What a disgrace!
Just then, an indifferent voice came from across the clearing.
Laced with Chakra, it rolled out like heavenly thunder, carrying a low, resonant sound across a kilometer.
"Today, your lives will give rise to the name of the Ice Emperor!"
"Your blood will spread my power across the Shinobi World!"
Ebizo's face turned livid with rage. He ground his teeth.
"Don't get too arrogant, brat!"
He formed Hand Seals and roared, "Wind Release: Blow!"
Hum!
A powerful gale poured from Ebizo's mouth.
The surrounding gusts fell into line and swept in one direction.
As the dust cleared, their surroundings came back into view.
The Sand Ninja looked toward Liuyun, undisguised horror in their eyes.
Ice covered the ground, smooth as a mirror.
An enormous creature crouched at Liuyun's feet.
Scales, antlers, a serpentine body... every part looked lifelike.
It was an Ice Dragon made of ice, more than ten meters long!
Cold mist streamed from its mouth. Its bright blue crystalline eyes roved about, making it seem alive.
Suddenly, the Ice Dragon raised its head and swept its gaze over the Sand Ninja. No emotion stirred in its blue eyes.
That single glance brought an invisible pressure down on them. Cold sweat beaded on every Sand Ninja's forehead, and fear filled their eyes.
"Lord Ebizo! What do we do?"
A Sand Ninja looked toward Ebizo nearby, his voice trembling.