The cold mist dispersed, leaving only a dozen or so ninja who had reacted in time and three Jonin on the beach. All the others had become ice sculptures, glittering beneath the blazing sun.
"This..." The surviving ninja stared in horror at Nai Hyuga, who stood atop the ice wall.
"How can you use such powerful ninjutsu? Who the hell are you?" One of the Jonin pointed at Nai Hyuga with a trembling finger, his voice thick with panic.
He glanced behind him and asked shakily, "Lord Kazeno, what should we do now?"
But to his surprise, the man who had been standing behind him moments ago was nowhere to be seen. He froze, scarcely able to believe it.
After a long moment, he said in terror, "Lord Kazeno has already fled..."
"What?" The remaining ninja refused to believe it at first. Only after looking behind them did they have to accept that it was true.
"Lord Kazeno... really ran away?" One ninja stared blankly, muttering to himself, "Then what are we supposed to do?"
"Run! We have to run..." Some of the ninja had already reached their breaking point. Dodging their frozen comrades, they coated the soles of their feet with chakra and rushed toward the sailboats on the sea.
"Damn it, get back here..." The three Jonin could no longer contain themselves. Watching the panicked ninja, they felt killing intent rise within them.
"Deserters will be killed without mercy!" one Jonin roared. He formed hand seals and unleashed wind blades, cutting down the ninja about to board the sailboats one after another.
Standing atop the ice wall, Nai Hyuga watched the scene below with an amused smile. "Killing each other! What a wonderful show... Well, a good show deserves an audience..."
She sat there quietly, watching their every