In Konoha: Three Choices at the Start

The giant held a long ice spear in its left hand and an ice shield in its right.

An icy cloak draped over its shoulders. Under the moonlight, its azure eyes gleamed with an eerie light.

The ice giant towered between heaven and earth. Just standing there, it radiated an overwhelming pressure.

A diamond-shaped ice crystal was set in the giant's forehead. Liuyun and Tsunade sat inside it, smiling down at them.

"We're in trouble," Chiyo murmured.

She had never imagined that the brat before her possessed such strength—or such terrifying Chakra.

A giant this tall could probably rival the Uchiha Clan's Susanoo.

The question was no longer whether they could kill Liuyun and Tsunade. It was whether they could survive and save the Sand Ninja camp.

"Congratulations, Chiyo! This is the first time I've used this Ice Release technique. I named this giant Anlan!"

Liuyun's unhurried voice spread across the entire Sand Ninja camp in an instant.

As soon as he finished speaking, Liuyun willed the giant to move.

The motionless ice giant lifted a foot that blotted out the sky and stepped toward Chiyo and the others.

Boom! Boom!

The earth shook wherever the ice giant passed, and ice spread beneath its feet.

With its appearance, the temperature plunged into bitter cold, as though midwinter had arrived.

"All of you, use Wind Release! Attack Anlan's legs!"

"I'll leave him nowhere to go!"

Chiyo fought back the crushing pressure and barked the orders, her face grim.

"Wait, sister! We have to bring Liuyun down!"

"Even if we cut off the ice giant's legs, he'll just repair them! We should attack the giant's head instead!" Ebizo interrupted.

"It's too high, and the giant is moving. We won't be able to aim accurately!" Chiyo shook her head.

While they spoke, the Anlan Giant Liuyun was piloting reached them.

"Half of you, cut through its right leg with wind blades. The moment it falls, the rest attack the diamond-shaped ice crystal where Liuyun is!"

With the giant almost upon them, Chiyo hurriedly gave the order.

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!"

"Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel!"

Wind-nature Chakra gathered, and enormous wind blades flew toward the giant's leg, their edges razor-sharp.

The giant's next move stunned everyone. Their faces changed.

Its spear appeared beside its thigh in a flash.

Then it swept the spear clockwise!

Whoom!

Space seemed to split, sending ripples outward like crashing waves.

A crescent-shaped slash stretching from earth to sky swept out with the spear!

Against that slash, every Ninjutsu attack and Kunai thrown at it seemed powerless.

The instant they touched it, they vanished!

"Run!" Chiyo's fingers danced.

The Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu appeared before her, their weapons wrapped in Chakra, to block the devastating slash!

Clang! Clang!

The screech of metal rang out.

The Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, Chiyo's pride and joy, held against the slash for only a moment before cracks appeared across them!

"How can this be? How can the gap be this huge?" Chiyo's eyes widened in shock.

Rumble!

Just then, the ground beneath Chiyo and the others shook.

The earth began to sink. In an instant, the ground still within the slash's path collapsed.

It was as if a square pit had been carved straight out of the flat earth.

"Oh! Earth Release! I didn't expect anyone among the Sand Ninja to use Earth Release," Liuyun said, sounding surprised.

"What did you think? The Sand Ninja specialize in Wind Release Ninjutsu and puppetry, but they have other kinds of Ninjutsu too. Just not many!"

Tsunade shot Liuyun an exasperated look, though her face still showed deep shock.

She had never imagined her young apprentice could be this powerful.

That ice giant could damn near rival her grandfather's Wood Release.

Compared to Liuyun, her teacher was practically worthless. No—perhaps he could put up a little resistance, like Chiyo.

With nothing left to stop it, the razor-sharp slash tore onward and struck a hill behind the Sand Ninja camp!

Boom!

A deafening crash rang out as the earth shook violently.

The hill, six or seven meters tall, split cleanly in two from its base.

The cut was so smooth and even that it was breathtaking.

Boom!

Another crash followed as half the hill fell to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust.

Just as Liuyun was about to finish Chiyo off, his brow furrowed slightly.

"What a lucky bunch."

Cutting Through the Sand Ninja Camp! The One-Tail Jinchuriki! ### Through his Chakra senses, Liuyun detected someone approaching at tremendous speed!

More importantly, that person's Chakra was immense—greater even than his own.

There was something familiar about that Chakra, something he had sensed from Mito Uzumaki.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked quietly, noticing the change in him.

"The One-Tail Jinchuriki is back. We need to leave."

"Monk Bunpuku? That old man won't be easy to deal with. Apart from Grandma, he's the only person I know who can perfectly control a tailed beast!"

Tsunade frowned, her beautiful face turning grave.

"Then let's go. But first..."

Liuyun swept his gaze over the other Sand Ninja in the camp. At his command, the ice giant stamped its enormous foot down!

The ground caved in, and soil burst upward all around them!

Crack! Crack!

Chunks of bitterly cold ice surged outward in every direction like waves across the sea!

In an instant, the entire Sand Ninja camp was blanketed in glittering white, as though midwinter had arrived.

Some Sand Ninja were caught off guard and became ice sculptures, terror frozen on their faces.

Sensing only a few faint Chakra signatures left in the camp, Liuyun nodded with some satisfaction.

He steered the ice giant away, shaking the earth with every step.

They had not gone far when Chiyo's anguished cry rang across the Sand Ninja camp!

"Princess Tsunade! Uchiha Liuyun! I won't let you get away with this!"

Clearly, she had discovered what had happened to the camp.

"That old woman must be furious!"

Tsunade smiled brightly, like a peony in bloom.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Liuyun's grave expression, Tsunade's smile faded.

"The last person I wanted to face is here," Liuyun said grimly.

At full strength, he would not have feared old monk Bunpuku. But after using one powerful Ice Release technique after another and piloting the giant...

He had only a little over half his Chakra left. Worse, he was still in the heart of Sand Ninja territory. That made things tricky.

Looks like I'll have to reveal my Mangekyo, Liuyun thought.

"Amitabha. You two seem to have had a fine time wreaking havoc in our Sand Ninja camp!"

Old monk Bunpuku looked at the giant in the distance, his aged face expressionless.

Yet his voice reached Liuyun and Tsunade clearly.

"Are you going to capture us?"

"No. I merely ask that you visit us Sand Ninja. Allow us to show you some hospitality!"

Bunpuku shook his head and smiled kindly.

"Why make this difficult? Can't you just let us go?"

The giant raised its massive foot, which radiated a terrifying cold!

It brought the foot down toward old monk Bunpuku!

"Amitabha."

Bunpuku stood where he was and murmured the word.

The instant the giant's foot descended, white light flared from Bunpuku's body!

It shone like a blazing sun!

"Hahaha! I'm finally out!"

A huge dark-brown claw marked with curse-like patterns emerged from the light!

It stopped the ice giant's foot cold!

Crack!

Ice formed, freezing the enormous claw in an instant!

"What the hell is this? Ice? Old monk, looks like you've met someone strong!"

Shukaku gave a rasping laugh and pulled his outstretched claw back.

A massive creature as tall as the ice giant appeared before Liuyun.

Mysterious patterns covered its dark-brown skin.

It resembled a tanuki, with a long tail swaying behind it.

It was Shukaku, the One-Tail!

"These two have brought disaster upon the Sand Ninja camp. I had no choice but to call you out!"

Bunpuku pressed his palms together, looking as though his heart ached for everyone.

"Oh? Old monk, I thought you were kind. Why are you asking me to kill now?"

"My kindness is reserved for my own village," Bunpuku murmured.

"Hmph! Hypocrite! Still, as payment for letting me out, I'll kill those two for you!"

Shukaku snorted, then grinned savagely.

"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"

He clapped his hands together, and dense wind-nature Chakra gathered in his gaping mouth!