Kekkei Genkai

"This is... a Kekkei Genkai?!"

In Thunder Warrior Valley, Liumu and the others looked at the three Konoha ninja frozen by Ice Release nearby and recognized the caster's ability almost instantly.

Ice Release was an ability formed by combining Wind Release chakra and Water Release chakra.

It was different from the Sharingan of Konoha's Uchiha Clan.

Although the Sharingan was also a Kekkei Genkai, it was a form of ocular jutsu, alongside the Byakugan and even the Rinnegan.

Most Kekkei Genkai were inherited through bloodlines and could not be acquired through study or copying. Moreover, because of this innate ability that could be called a natural gift, those who possessed a Kekkei Genkai were often unquestionably powerful as ninja.

Second only to Tailed Beasts among the powers that villages competed to obtain, Kekkei Genkai naturally provided the greatest possible boost to a village's fighting strength the more of them it possessed.

When Liumu saw Ice Release appear, the first person who came to mind was Haku, the Ice Release ninja who had appeared alongside Zabuza.

If Liumu had not read Haku's official profile in the past, he probably would have kept thinking Haku was a girl.

"They're leaving!"

Suiguang stared at the white-haired girl who had unleashed Ice Release and spoke quietly.

Liumu nodded, then leaped down from the tree, landing directly in front of the three Mist Shadow ninja.

"Wait!"

Blocking their path, Liumu pointed at the ice sculptures nearby. "Since you've already taken their scroll, why not let them go?"

Neither Kakashi nor Suiguang had the ability to undo Ice Release. Prolonged freezing would endanger those three people's lives, and if they forcibly broke the ice, no one could say whether their bodies would shatter along with it.

Although Liumu could use Taotie's Gluttony to absorb the Ice Release chakra directly, he did not choose to do so.

Now that he was close to the three Mist Shadow ninja, Liumu could finally see their appearances clearly.

All three women from the Mist were attractive, and the white-haired girl's looks made Liumu freeze for a moment.

The Ice Release girl looked about thirteen or fourteen. A vermilion hairpin adorned her head, and her long hair cascaded like a waterfall. A snow-white dress draped her body, without a speck of dirt, making her seem like a priestess in a temple. Her features and pale blue eyes, together with her waist-length hair resting casually over her shoulders, all complemented one another.

"Do you want to steal our scroll too?"

The three Mist Shadow ninja questioned Liumu.

Liumu shook his head. "No, mine is a Heaven Scroll too. Taking yours wouldn't do me any good."

"Then get out of the way!"

Despite the rebuke, Liumu did not budge. Instead, he told them again, "You took their scroll because they weren't as skilled as you. I have nothing to say about that. But like I said before, let them go."

"And what if we don't?"

The white-haired girl's frosty eyes opened a little wider. Although she had remained silent all along, Liumu could seemingly see no vitality in her eyes.

She was like an ice sculpture that had been sealed away for years, devoid of feeling.

Liumu raised his hand. "Then I'll have to offend you."

"Wait!"

Just as the other two Mist Shadow ninja were about to fight Liumu, the white-haired girl suddenly spoke. Under Liumu's gaze, she extended her pale, slender arms, her hands flying through seals. Her red lips parted, and with a soft "Release," the ice sculptures nearby melted instantly.

Liumu looked at her in puzzlement, but the white-haired girl lowered the white veil atop her head, concealing her face.

Her rejection was clear, so Liumu did not linger.

After thanking her, he walked past them.

"How are they?"

Following closely after Kakashi and Suiguang, Liumu looked at the three people on the ground and immediately asked.

"They're not in danger, but their bodies are frozen stiff."

As Kakashi spoke, he stood and gathered dry branches from beneath the surrounding trees. After they piled up stones as a protective barrier, Liumu used Fire Release: Fireball Technique to light the wood and warm the three.

"So your Fire Release really is for starting fires."

Suiguang teased him with a laugh while helping Kakashi rub the three people's frozen bodies.

"Listen to you. My Fire Release doesn't just start fires. It can set girls' hearts aflame too!"

Suiguang: ...

"Pfft, shameless! You're such a little kid. Where did you learn all these things that make people blush?"

Liumu chuckled. "My teacher is Jiraiya, you know."

At the mention of Jiraiya, Liumu suddenly turned to Kakashi. "Oh, right. I remember you like reading, don't you? I happen to have a few masterpieces by Jiraiya-sensei. Want me to lend them to you later?"

"By Lord Jiraiya?"

Kakashi immediately agreed upon hearing that. "Sure. Thank you, Liumu."

"No need. We're all friends here. Of course we should share the good stuff." Liumu raised his eyebrows with a sly grin, then turned toward Suiguang.

"What are you looking at me for?" Suiguang's bewilderment was mixed with a hint of annoyance. "Why did you invite Kakashi but not me? I'd really like to read Lord Jiraiya's books too."

"You... better not."

Liumu scratched his head awkwardly. "Wait five or six years before reading them, if you want to. The timing will be just right then."

"Why?"

Suiguang was puzzled. "Hey, why are you leaving? You haven't told me why I have to wait five or six years to read them!"

About a hundred Genin were taking the Chunin Exams. With three people per team, that meant over thirty teams.

Although they had set out at different times after the exam began, strangely enough, Liumu's group encountered no other teams along their route.

Nearly three days of travel passed in the blink of an eye. However, they still had not obtained an Earth Scroll, so they could not report to the rendezvous point yet.

"Do you think that Ice Release ninja has already gone to the rendezvous point?"

On the path before the finish, Liumu and the other two hid behind a huge boulder, waiting for a fish to take the bait.

While they waited, Suiguang kept asking about the Ice Release girl, tirelessly repeating her questions.

Women were prone to jealousy at any age. Suiguang had considerable potential, and her figure was beginning to develop, but faced with someone on the Ice Release girl's level, she still could not help comparing herself to her deep down.

"Probably," Kakashi said. "Among the teams taking this exam, they're undoubtedly among the strongest."

Kakashi was quite capable, and as a young prodigy, he had made Ninja Academy history alongside Liumu.

But if he asked himself honestly, could Kakashi still uphold his title as a genius if he personally faced a ninja who commanded Ice Release?

Perhaps...

Kakashi turned to look at Liumu, who was lying leisurely on a rock with a foxtail grass stem between his lips.

"Perhaps he could."

"They're here."

Just then, Suiguang's Sensory Ninjutsu detected a faint disturbance, and she immediately alerted Liumu and Kakashi.

Hearing her, Liumu spat out the grass, got up, and stretched lazily. He told Kakashi and Suiguang, "Come on. Let's rob the rich and help the poor."