Thick white mist surged through the warehouse's gaps, wrapping the entire building tightly in an instant.
Seastone dust mingled with the mist, its particles too fine to distinguish with the naked eye. Breathing it in made their chakra pathways feel heavy. Kakashi's expression shifted slightly. He pushed his Sharingan to its limit, but the mist still fragmented his vision, and even his chakra perception grew somewhat sluggish.
"Careful! There's something wrong with this mist. It's suppressing our chakra flow!" he warned sharply, holding his kunai across his body, fully on guard.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood back-to-back, their entire bodies feeling heavy, even their hand seals half a beat slower than usual. Two figures flickered in and out of sight within the mist, blade flashes interweaving with icy cold. They were clearly nearby, yet their exact positions remained impossible to pinpoint.
"Brats, you thought taking down two samurai meant you'd won?"
Zabuza's voice came from every direction, making it impossible to tell the real from the false-the classic misdirection of the Kirigakure Assassination Technique. "This shipment of Gato's is mine. Get lost if you know what's good for you, or you'll all be buried here as fish food today."
Before his words faded, countless crystalline ice needles shot out of the mist, densely blanketing the entire area.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!" Kakashi rapidly formed hand seals, and a curtain of water rose from the ground. Yet most of the ice needles pierced through the water wall, their remaining force still deadly.
My ninjutsu's power has been weakened... Kakashi's heart sank. Seastone dust suppressed chakra, mist obscured vision, and surprise attacks from an Ice Release kekkei genkai completed the perfect assassination ground. Zabuza had clearly come prepared. He had deliberately chosen the warehouse to strike, using treasures from another plane to close the gap in strength.
"Sasuke, Fire Release!"
"Got it!"
Sasuke drew a deep breath, formed hand seals, and spat out a Great Fireball. The blazing fireball crashed into the mist, melting only a handful of ice needles before the cold and mist dimmed it.
"It's useless," Haku's cool voice rang out. "Before my Ice Release, ordinary Fire Release is nothing more than a firefly's glow."
As the mist churned, dozens of ice shields half a person's height appeared out of thin air, layering around Haku. His figure moved swiftly behind them, his hands constantly forming seals. More ice blades and spikes streamed out, keeping everyone pinned down.
Meanwhile, under cover of the mist, Zabuza circled behind them with the Kubikiribōchō for a surprise attack. His blade cut through the air with a biting rush, aimed straight at Kakashi's back.
Clang!
Metal rang against metal. Kakashi hastily turned to block, his arm going numb. His sluggish chakra flow even impaired his Sharingan's ability to track movement, and he fell into a disadvantage within a few exchanges.
This can't go on... Kakashi gritted his teeth, feeling helpless for the first time. It was not that the opponents were too strong; the environment countered him too thoroughly. If the fight continued, the whole team would fall here.
Just then, a slender figure slowly stepped forward, leaving the group's defensive circle.
"Lin Chen! Come back! It's too dangerous in the mist!" Kakashi cried out.
Lin Chen seemed not to hear him. His steps steady, he walked deeper into the thick mist.
The Seastone dust settled on him like stones sinking into the sea, having no effect whatsoever. The dense mist blocked his vision, but within his perception, which incorporated jujutsu Spirit Vision, Zabuza's and Haku's positions shone as clearly as beacons.
The Seastone resistance he had plundered had long since merged into his physique, so ordinary dust could not suppress his chakra at all. His basic Spirit Vision also ignored the obscuring mist, allowing him to see even the paths of the Ice Release chakra's flow with perfect clarity.
To him, this lethal trap in the mist, designed specifically for ninja, might as well not have existed.
"Enough of your tricks."
Zabuza's cold shout came from the mist. A brilliant flash of steel suddenly slashed out from the left with a howling rush of wind, heading straight for Lin Chen's neck.
The strike was swift and vicious, concealed within the mist without the slightest warning-the essence of the Kirigakure Assassination Technique.
Naruto and the others cried out in alarm, and Kakashi's heart clenched.
But Lin Chen merely tilted his head slightly.
The blade swept past his shoulder, missing by a hair.
How is that possible?! Zabuza was shaken to his core.
The Silent Assassination he took such pride in seemed like slow motion before his opponent.
Before he could withdraw his blade and change his attack, Lin Chen struck its flat with a backhand palm.
[Ding! Locked onto the Kubikiribōchō's secondary contamination!] [Available to plunder: advanced Seastone resistance, Cursed Energy contamination purification method, fragmentary manual of Kirigakure assassination secrets!] [Critical multiplier: sixfold!]
Devouring power spread along the blade. The Seastone fragments embedded in it instantly lost their color, and the black aura coiling around it was drained away completely.
Zabuza felt the great blade in his hand grow lighter. Its familiar suppressive effect vanished, and even the assassination rhythm he had honed over many years faltered for half a beat.
"That strange power again!" Shocked and furious, he pulled back his blade and retreated swiftly.
Lin Chen did not pursue Zabuza. His gaze turned toward Haku on the other side of the mist.
"Your turn."
As his words fell, his figure flickered, instantly disappearing from the spot.
The Root Max-Level Stealth Technique combined with the Mist Shadow Movement Technique allowed him to move freely through the mist, more ghostlike than even a true Kirigakure ninja.
Alarmed, Haku rapidly formed hand seals, stacking layers of ice shields around himself while dozens of ice spikes shot indiscriminately in every direction.
"Ice Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"
Crystalline ice blades filled the air, sealing off every avenue of escape.
Yet Lin Chen's figure slipped calmly through the gaps between the ice blades like a phantom, without even the hem of his clothes being touched.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind Haku.
"Your Ice Release is pretty good."
The cool voice sounded beside his ear. Every hair on Haku's body stood on end. He tried to turn and counterattack, but it was already too late.
Lin Chen lightly touched the back of his shoulder with a fingertip.
[Ding! Locked onto Haku: Ice Release kekkei genkai!] [Available to plunder: complete foundational essence of Ice Release, one-handed seal talent, kekkei genkai chakra affinity!] [Critical multiplier: eightfold! Initiating deep plunder!]
An invisible devouring force erupted, surging wildly into Haku's body through Lin Chen's fingertip.
"Ugh..."
Haku let out a muffled groan. He felt the icy chakra he had possessed since birth draining uncontrollably from deep within his chakra pathways.
His greatest pride, his Ice Release kekkei genkai, was rapidly drying up like a reservoir with its floodgates opened.
"No..."
Gritting his teeth, Haku drove his chakra to forcibly suppress it, but the harder he resisted, the faster it drained.
The ice shields around him shattered inch by inch, and every ice blade in the air melted away.
Within the thick mist, the icy aura rapidly receded at a visible rate.
In mere seconds, Haku lost all his strength, staggered, and pitched forward.
His mask slipped off, revealing his delicate, pale face, filled with disbelief and despair.
More than half the essence of his Ice Release kekkei genkai had been forcibly extracted.
From now on, let alone advancing his kekkei genkai, he might not even be able to use ordinary Ice Release smoothly.
"Haku!"
Zabuza's eyes nearly split with fury as he charged over like a madman, great blade in hand. "Brat, you're asking to die!"
In his rage, the chakra around him surged. The Kubikiribōchō carved a fierce arc of light, as though he intended to take Lin Chen down with him.
Lin Chen turned sideways to avoid the blade, then struck Zabuza's chest with a backhand palm.
[Ding! Locked onto Zabuza: Demon assassination legacy!] [Available to plunder: perfected Silent Killing Technique, insights into decapitating swordsmanship, berserk physique talent!] [Critical multiplier: sevenfold!]
Another wave of plundering followed.
Zabuza's entire body stiffened, his blood roiling in his chest. The essence of assassination and insights into swordsmanship he had cultivated through more than a decade of hard training, along with his fierce combat instincts, rapidly drained away.
He flew backward and slammed heavily into a cargo crate, sending wood splinters flying.
"Pfft-"
Zabuza spat out a mouthful of blood and barely managed to stand, bracing himself on his sword. The ferocity in his eyes as he looked at Lin Chen was gone, replaced by profound fear.
The boy before him was no ninja.
He was a monster, an aberration who could forcibly extract another person's lifetime of cultivation!
"Retreat... hurry!"
Gritting his teeth, Zabuza grabbed the weakened Haku and pulled him up, not daring to linger any longer.
He flung out several smoke bombs, and thick white smoke exploded once more.
By the time the smoke cleared, the two had long since vanished through the warehouse's back door, leaving only wreckage scattered across the floor.
The mist gradually dispersed, and light returned to the warehouse.
Everyone stood frozen, unable to recover for a long time.
Naruto's mouth hung open, but no words came out for ages. Sasuke's face was pale, his clenched fists trembling slightly.
Even Kakashi stood rooted to the spot, his Sharingan still active, his eyes filled with shock.
Only a few minutes had passed between Kirigakure's ambush and Ice Release suppression, and Lin Chen's intervention that turned the tables.
Two rogue ninja whose reputations shook the Shinobi World had been beaten into a panicked retreat just like that, with even most of their kekkei genkai and assassination techniques extracted.
Such methods had completely surpassed the common understanding of the Shinobi World.
"Lin Chen..." Kakashi's voice was dry. "What did you do to them..."
"I just crippled their core abilities." Lin Chen calmly lowered his hand. "They won't be able to cause trouble again anytime soon."
He spoke lightly, but Kakashi knew that crippling their kekkei genkai and assassination legacy was crueler than killing them.
He opened his mouth, wanting to ask what kind of secret technique this was, but ultimately swallowed the question.
Asking would yield no answer anyway.
The secrets surrounding this boy were already unfathomable.
[Ding! This plundering session has been successfully completed!] [Obtained: complete foundational Ice Release kekkei genkai, one-handed seal talent, perfected Silent Killing Technique, insights into decapitating swordsmanship, advanced Seastone resistance, Cursed Energy purification method!] [Host's kekkei genkai system completed, nature transformation proficiency greatly increased, close-range assassination ability now ranks among the Shinobi World's finest!] [Current combat strength: Elite Jonin level!]
As the system notifications sounded one after another, Lin Chen's fingertips moved slightly.
A wisp of icy chakra flowed around his fingertip, condensing into a tiny ice crystal, clear and translucent, smoothly taking shape at his will.
No hand seals were needed; it moved with his thoughts.
The Ice Release kekkei genkai was fully his.
Combined with his foundation in the Five Great Nature Transformations, his repertoire of techniques now had no weaknesses.
He walked to the deepest part of the warehouse, brushing his fingertips over the remaining cursed objects and Seastone fragments.
The final wave of plundering quietly began.
All the remaining energy from other planes, Cursed Energy essence, and Seastone substance were extracted, leaving nothing behind.
The warehouse, previously filled with a sinister chill, instantly returned to the unremarkable state of an ordinary storage building.
Those strange goods capable of suppressing chakra and breeding evil entities had become nothing more than a pile of useless scrap iron and wooden plaques.
"It's all cleaned up," Lin Chen said, looking back.
Kakashi stepped forward to inspect them. When his fingertips touched the black iron fragments, he indeed no longer felt any sluggishness in his chakra.
The cold black mist had also vanished without a trace.
As he looked at Lin Chen's back, his feelings were complicated in the extreme.
This mission to the Land of Waves had soared from C-rank to above A-rank. They should have stood little chance of surviving.
Yet because of Lin Chen's presence, every crisis had been readily resolved.
He did not know whether this was Konoha's good fortune or the beginning of turmoil in the Shinobi World.
Just then, a low rumble suddenly came from the sea outside the window.
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw space distorting above the distant sea, forming a faint black rift like a wound torn open.
The rift slowly expanded, and an even denser unfamiliar energy seeped out from within.
Kakashi's expression changed abruptly. "What is that?!"
Lin Chen raised his eyes, a faint glimmer flashing through them.
The spatial rift had finally fully manifested.
The traces of One Piece and jujutsu had only been appetizers.
Beyond this rift lay opportunities from more planes, along with even greater dangers.
Before you continue