The tremors of the city wall grew more and more violent, and the eighth seal cracked under the immense force of the Water God Zhang. Hatake Sakumo struggled to his feet, his chest wound throbbing with excruciating pain, yet he stared intently at the colossal, water-colored shadow outside the city that blotted out the sky.
The soldiers on the city wall were pale, their hands trembling as they gripped their weapons. Even the bravest Jonin showed despair – they no longer had the strength to reinforce the walls. The next attack would engulf the entire River City in floodwaters.
Just then, a clear child's voice pierced through the roar of the waves, like a thunderclap exploding over River City: "So noisy! With such a high volume of water, are you trying to drown all the fish?"
Everyone was stunned. Hatake Sakumo suddenly looked up and saw a small figure appear in the sky above the West Water River. The child looked to be no more than six years old, dressed in a magnificent robe, barefoot in mid-air, his black hair swaying slightly in the wind, and playing with a shimmering golden rune in his hand. He hovered quietly a hundred feet above the Water God Zhang's head, his small body exuding an aura of majesty that was impossible to look directly at.
The Water God Zhang seemed to sense something as well; his scarlet vertical pupils turned towards the child in the air, and the raging water attack paused for a moment.
"What are you?" The voice of the Water God Zhang was like a booming bell, and as the giant mouth formed by the flowing water opened and closed, it stirred up a cloud of water vapor. "How dare you interfere in my affairs?"
The child tilted his head, flicked his finger, and the golden rune floated leisurely towards the Water God Zhang: "My name is Tsubasa. You're causing too much trouble here, so I'll have to do something about it."
Before the words were even finished, the runes suddenly erupted with a dazzling golden light. The golden light, like a giant net, instantly enveloped the hundred-foot-tall Water God Zhang. The originally raging and churning water froze in the golden light. The giant waves that were enough to smash city walls were frozen in mid-air, the water droplets were suspended in the air, and even the ferocious face of the Water God Zhang remained in a roaring posture, but could no longer move forward.
"This... this is..." The deputy general on the city wall gaped in astonishment, his long sword clattering to the ground. Tens of thousands of White Tiger Corps soldiers looked up in unison, staring at the unbelievable scene in the air, forgetting to breathe— the Water God Zhang, whom they had tried with all their might to harm without even a scratch, had actually been immobilized by a mere child?
Tsubasa wrinkled his nose, seemingly finding the appearance of the Water God Zhang too unsightly. With a wave of his hand, dozens more runes flew out from his sleeve. The runes transformed into chains in the air, one end binding the Water God Zhang's body, the other end deeply West Water River. As the golden light flowed, the entire West Water River quieted down. The originally rushing river water seemed to be bound by an invisible force, even the waves became docile, only trembling slightly under the pull of the rune chains.
"Freeze!" Tsubasa shouted crisply.
In Setsuna, heaven and earth seemed to stand still. The Water God Zhang let out a resentful roar, his massive body struggling violently, but he was firmly bound by rune chains, unable to move an inch. The giant waves suspended in the air and the water cannons about to crash into the city walls all froze in place, and the reflections of clouds could be seen in the crystal water droplets, breathtakingly beautiful, yet carrying a chilling power.
Hatake Sakumo, clutching his chest, leaned against the battlements, his eyes filled with shock. He had lived half his life and seen countless powerful figures, but he had never witnessed such inconceivable power—to freeze an ancient Suijin and lock up an entire river with the body of a child. This was beyond the realm of Ninjutsu and gods and demons; it was simply a miracle!
"Roar--!" The Water God Zhang, frozen in place, struggled frantically, the runic chains humming and the golden light flickering. It gathered all its strength to try to break free of its restraints, the waters of the West Water River churning violently and rising into a water wall hundreds of feet high, but it was held back by the runic chains and could only roar in vain in place.
Tsubasa landed on the head of the Water God Zhang, his tiny feet stepping on the soft water without sinking an inch. He reached out his small hand and gently pressed it against the Water God Zhang's forehead, which was covered in Uzumaki, his voice tinged with impatience. "Have you had enough? If you don't behave, I'll turn you into a water ladle."
The struggle of the Water God Zhang suddenly intensified, its scarlet vertical pupils fixed on Tsubasa, filled with savagery and fear. It could feel the power within its body being absorbed by those golden runes, and the water flow that made up its body began to become unstable, making it difficult to even maintain its hundred-foot-tall body.
"Retract!" Golden light surged from Tsubasa's fingertips, and the runic chains binding the Water God Zhang suddenly tightened, emitting a dazzling light. Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of White Tiger Corps soldiers, the hundred-zhang-tall Water God Zhang began to shrink rapidly. The raging water was compressed and purified by the runes, emitting a "sizzling" sound. The originally turbid river water became clear and transparent, and the mud, sand, and corpse fragments it carried were purified by the golden light, turning into specks of starlight and dissipating into the air.
The water level of the West Water River dropped at a visible rate. The flood that had submerged the Root of the city walls receded, revealing the silted riverbed; the roofs of the submerged houses reappeared, and even the wreckage of cannons that had sunk to the bottom of the water gradually surfaced. Rune chains pulled the ever-shrinking Water God Zhang, condensing the essence of the entire West Water River's Water Branch into a water dragon as thick as a bucket.
The water dragon writhed wildly in the air, emitting a piercing scream. It watched itself transform from a colossal god that blotted out the sky into its current form, feeling its power firmly locked by runes, a fear originating from the depths of its soul spreading through it. When the Tsubasa reached out, it involuntarily stopped struggling, its voice trembling as it asked, "You... who are you?"
Tsubasa looked at it with a smile, a world-weariness beyond his years on his small face. "I'm here to take you in. From now on, you'll be called Xiao Zhang, and you'll come with me."
As he spoke, he flicked out the final soul-sealing rune from his fingertip. The rune transformed into a stream of light, precisely striking the water dragon's brow. The water dragon let out a painful yet relieved roar, its body convulsing violently a few times. The scarlet light in its eyes gradually faded, replaced by a gentle glow. It circled once in the air before obediently landing in front of Tsubasa, gently nuzzling his palm with its head, like a tamed puppy.
A deafening cheer erupted from the River City! Soldiers threw down their weapons, embraced each other, and many knelt down on the spot, bowing in the direction of the Tsubasa. The heavily wounded Hatake Sakumo looked at the receding flood and the gentle water dragons in the sky, his tense nerves suddenly relaxing. A sweet taste rose in his throat, but he couldn't help but smile, and two hot tears slid down his cheeks—they had finally survived!