Chapter 43
Rumble! Rumble!
The sound of countless shells exploding rang out all around.
The hard ice could not stop the earth from splitting. Spiderweb cracks spread rapidly in every direction!
Ice-laden soil burst upward, and a powerful blast of air swept through like a storm of destruction.
It carried the soil outward in rolling waves!
The torches nearby went out the moment the blast reached them.
The entire Sand Ninja Camp plunged into darkness!
Even the moon seemed unwilling to watch and hid itself behind the clouds.
"Damn it! I've shot myself in the foot!"
Chiyo stared into the darkness, furious.
With the torches lit, they had known where Liuyun and the others were.
Now their visibility had dropped, making everything far more difficult.
Liuyun and the others were hardly going to stand there like pigs waiting to be slaughtered.
"Hahaha! Chiyo, you old hag, are you a Konoha spy?"
Tsunade's laughter echoed across the Sand Ninja Camp.
"Hmph. I have plenty of ways to deal with this. You and your student will never escape the Sand Ninja Main Camp today!" Chiyo barked.
"All Fire Release Ninja, use your Fire Release to light the area! Find the torches and relight them! Anyone with flint, go straight for the torches!"
"Your job now is to keep the Sand Ninja Camp brightly lit!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Release: Arson!"
One Sand Ninja after another used their best Fire Release Ninjutsu for illumination. The sight was almost comical.
Still, foolish as Chiyo's method was, they could see much farther across the camp!
"Kid! Hurry up and go! What are you standing around for?"
In a dark corner, Tsunade grabbed Liuyun and spoke urgently.
"We're leaving just like that? Without taking revenge?" Liuyun shook his head, a cold glint in his eyes as he looked into the distance.
"You still want revenge? This is our best chance to escape. Once the moon comes out, do you think the two of us can take on all those Sand Ninja out there?"
Shock flashed across Tsunade's face before she scolded him without holding back.
After a moment's silence, her expression turned grave, her eyes burning with hatred.
"We have to stay alive. We have to find whoever was behind what happened to us!"
"Then watch me! I told you I'd show you my true strength!"
But first, Liuyun lowered his head and pressed his lips hard against Tsunade's.
Tsunade froze. She had not expected the kid to take advantage of her even now.
A minute later, Liuyun licked his lips, savoring the taste.
He teased, "Now I've finally put my mark on you! From this moment on, you're my woman!"
Before Tsunade could answer, Liuyun wrapped an arm around her waist and leaped into the air!
Ice spread beneath him, forming stairs that followed in his wake.
A low chant rose around them, like an ancient call echoing across the entire Sand Ninja Camp.
"At the pinnacle of shinobi, I stand above the world. Where Liuyun stands, there is heaven!"
"I am the Ice Emperor, and I shall crush every enemy in the Shinobi World!"
"That brat's insufferably arrogant! Ice Emperor? What a joke!"
Chiyo trembled with rage. She had never seen anyone show off like this!
He was a member of the Uchiha Clan, all right. He could give his ancestor Madara Uchiha a run for his money.
"Sigh. Much as I want to kill him, I have to admit that line got my blood pumping!"
Ebizo sighed. What if he put his own name in it?
At the pinnacle of shinobi, I stand above the world. Where Ebizo stands, there is heaven!
Damn! Doesn't that sound powerful?
As though drawn out by Liuyun's words, the moon peeked from behind the clouds.
The Sand Ninja Camp grew bright again.
A sharp-eyed Sand Ninja immediately shouted and pointed.
"There!"
Every Sand Ninja looked in that direction!
Their faces darkened. Some even twitched at the corners of their mouths.
"Fuck! He really knows how to show off!"
One Sand Ninja could not help cursing.
In the moonlight, a young-looking boy led a graceful woman upward, step by step.
The stairs of ice were crystal clear and flawless, like a stairway leading to the heavens.
At their summit stood a chair made of ice!
Dragons and phoenixes were carved along its sides, while unfamiliar runes had been painstakingly etched across it.
Under the moonlight, it shone with a riot of colors.
The chair looked like an exquisite work of art, too beautiful to exist in this world.
As Tsunade walked, she covered her face with one hand. This was so damn embarrassing. All those people were watching, and she still had to let the kid lead her around...
She muttered through gritted teeth.
"Kid! If you can't handle this, I'll beat the shit out of you even from the Pure Land!"
"Relax. I don't want our child to lose both parents before it's even born!"
Liuyun smiled calmly, his eyes full of confidence.
"Fuck! I can't take it anymore! How can anyone be such a show-off?"
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
A burly Sand Ninja who specialized in Fire Release had had enough. He unleashed his strongest Ninjutsu!
A fire dragon flew from his side, its scorching flames driving back some of the surrounding chill.
The dragon roared toward the ice stairs. Just before it struck, a wave of ice surged up from below.
In an instant, it swallowed the fire dragon whole.
"What are you waiting for? Don't waste this chance!" Chiyo roared.
She pulled out a scroll and slammed her hand against it!
Poof!
As smoke billowed, specially made puppets appeared before her.
Secret Technique: Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets!
At Chiyo's shout, the Sand Ninja, already itching to attack, unleashed their best Ninjutsu and hurled Kunai and Shuriken!
Once again, the air around Liuyun became the focus of every attack.
Just as the attacks arrived, Liuyun and Tsunade reached the top.
With one arm around Tsunade, he sat down in the exquisite chair!
He looked down at the Sand Ninja below as though they were ants.
An air of noble authority radiated from him without his realizing it.
The chair of ice did not feel cold. If anything, it was a little warm!
Sitting beside him, Tsunade watched his expression change in astonishment.
That authority, that nobility—it surpassed even a Daimyō or her teacher, the Third Hokage, by an immeasurable distance.
They were worlds apart. There was no comparison.
What's going on? How can this kid seem so different from a moment ago? Tsunade frowned, unable to make sense of it.
Of All the Show-Offs, Liuyun Takes the Crown!
Could it be? Was Liuyun really the Ice Emperor, as he'd claimed?
"Here it comes!" Liuyun smiled faintly.
"What?" Tsunade did not understand.
"Nothing. Keep thinking it over!"
He gave a slight tap with his right index finger!
Crash! Crash!
It sounded like waves breaking against the shore.
The ice on the ground surged and raced forward, rising like a pillar to the sky, like a river pouring upward!
It rushed toward Liuyun.
Waves of ice swept together. The Sand Ninja's attacks filled the sky in the distance, but as the ice rose—
They vanished from sight without raising so much as a ripple.
The disturbance Liuyun caused was so great that even the residents of the Land of Rivers heard it clearly!
They came out of their houses and looked toward the sound.
Under the moonlight, silver-white waves churned like a whirlpool and shot into the sky, like a pillar holding up the heavens!
The residents of the Land of Rivers stared at the distant sight. They swallowed, fear filling their eyes.
"Th-that looks like the Sunagakure camp!"
"Are they fighting again? Come on, let's go!"
Once they heard it was the Sunagakure camp, the residents of the Land of Rivers wasted no time returning to their rooms and lying low.
Neither the distant spectacle nor the Sunagakure camp was anything they could afford to get involved with.
All they hoped was that the war would end soon.
That was the tragedy of a small country, and of the ordinary people who lived there.
Back at the camp, towering waves of ice swirled around Liuyun, forming a curtain that blocked every Sand Ninja's view.
"Everyone, gather around me!" Chiyo shouted.
The enormous disturbance gave her a terrible feeling.
Moments later, all the Sand Ninja had assembled behind her.
"When the time comes, everyone follows my orders!"
Chiyo swept her gaze over the Ninja behind her, and confidence returned to her face.
Just then, the curtain of ice before her began to dissipate, revealing what lay within.
An Ice Giant dozens of meters tall stood before Chiyo.