The iceberg drew closer and closer, so close that the jagged, crystalline patterns on its surface were clearly visible, gleaming with an unreal, eerie blue light against the gloomy sky.
The chill was no longer a feeling, but a tangible thing, like a small knife drilling into the seams of a person's clothes.
Several crew members were stamping their feet, rubbing their hands and breathing on them to warm them, complaining about "this awful place."
The director, however, was brimming with energy, wrapped in his thickest leather coat, directing the cameramen and lighting crew to set up equipment along the ship's side.
"Quick! Quick! This is the angle! With the iceberg as a backdrop, what a magnificent scene! Everyone, just stand here!"
Just then--
"BOOM!!!"
A deep, resounding roar, seemingly emanating from the depths of the earth, suddenly came from the direction of the iceberg!
Then came a series of teeth-grinding, teeth-grinding "click, click" sounds!
Behind the actors, the majestic iceberg that served as the backdrop suddenly collapsed in a section near its top without warning!
It wasn't a small-scale snow skiing event; it was a massive, building-sized ice mass that, with a deafening roar, disintegrated and crashed into the sea with the force of tens of thousands of tons!
"Ah--!!" The crew members screamed and scattered backwards, while the director was so frightened that he fell to the ground.
The ninjas from Konoha and Sunagakure instantly went into battle mode. Kakashi appeared in front of them almost the instant the loud noise was heard.
Naruto and Sasuke instinctively stood back to back, and Sakura quickly took out Kunai and stood in front of Fujikaze Yukie.
On Shira's side, Ishikawa immediately closed his eyes and opened his senses to the fullest extent; Maki's hand pressed on the sealing scroll at his waist; Shūji flipped his hands, and several Shuriken.
However, the anticipated scene of ice breaking off into the sea and causing huge waves did not immediately occur.
The collapsed ice blocks were pulled and shaped in mid-air by an invisible force!
Ice Release: Tearing Dragon Fierce Tiger!
A cold, harsh voice, tinged with cruel laughter, pierced the cold wind and came from the direction of the iceberg!
Three enormous, ferocious "ice dragons," entirely made of ice, roared and charged out from the collapsing ice dust!
They were not physical entities, but rather highly condensed ice-attribute Chakra creations, baring their fangs and claws, carrying a chilling aura and an aura of destruction. One rushed towards the left wing where Kakashi and Sakura were, while the other swept towards the bow of the ship where Naruto and the director were.
Finally, the largest and thickest of them all opened its massive maw, made of ice spikes, and lunged straight at Fujikaze Yukie, who was standing on the ship's side, seemingly stunned, as well as Sasuke, Sakura, and Shira not far from her.
The attack came too fast and too suddenly! Moreover, the Chakra and coldness contained in this ice dragon far exceeded that of ordinary Water Release or Ice Release!
"Watch out!" Kakashi shouted sharply.
"Your Highness!" The Sandayu's eyes widened in fury as he tried to rush forward, but the icy wind brought by the ice dragon forced him to stagger backward.
Sakura caught Fujikaze Yukie just in time and rolled to the side with her.
Sasuke was right in the path of the ice dragon's attack. His eyes turned cold, and almost the instant the ice dragon took shape, his hands had already formed Hand Seals, his chest bulging—
" Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive, blazing fireball, several meters in diameter, spewed from his mouth with a roar, crashing headlong into the oncoming ice dragon!
The flames illuminated Sasuke's cold profile and his flowing black hair.
However, the Chakra and cold energy contained within that ice dragon were truly astonishing.
The Great Fireball collided with the ice dragon, unleashing a burst of hissing white steam. The fireball failed to defeat the ice dragon in one fell swoop; instead, it was suppressed by the extremely cold dragon breath, rapidly shrinking and dimming, on the verge of being completely extinguished!
Although the ice dragon's momentum had slowed slightly, it still carried remnants of ice spikes and freezing air as it rushed towards Sakura!
" Sasuke, I'm here to help you!"
With a loud shout, Shira did not rush towards the ice dragon. Instead, he stomped his foot and shot like an arrow toward Sasuke's side, who was maintaining the output of the Great Fireball!
As he traveled, a deep and scorching aura suddenly erupted from his body!
Seven Heavens Breathing Method - First Activation, Activated!
There was no earth-shattering sound, but the air within a radius of several meters centered on Shira suddenly hummed and sank, freezing for a moment!
It was as if an invisible air pump had compressed the air intensely and then suddenly released it. The air around him distorted slightly, and a faint glow of heat emanated from beneath his skin, causing his hair to move without any wind.
A calm, scorching aura, brimming with surging life force, suddenly descended!
He came to within half a step of Sasuke's side and slightly behind him. As Sasuke glanced at him with slight surprise, Shira took a deep breath, her chest heaving.
Then, aiming at the remaining flames of the Great Fireball that was locked in a stalemate with the Ice Dragon but was already showing signs of weakness, he suddenly exhaled the scorching heat in his lungs, which had been stimulated to the extreme by the First Activation, mixed with his exquisite control over the airflow!
Whoosh—Boom!!!
It was a condensed, violent, and scorching column of air with a spiraling force! The column of air struck the center of the Great Fireball with pinpoint accuracy.
It was like adding fuel to the fire, or like giving a strong gust of wind to a dying fire!
The Great Fireball, which was about to be extinguished, was fueled by this "fuel" containing life energy and precise airflow control, and the flames suddenly surged!
Its volume instantly expanded to nearly double, and its color changed from orange-red to a dazzling bright white! The high temperature caused the air to crackle, and even Sasuke was not far away, felt the heat wave on his face, and his sideburns were slightly charred!
The surging super Great Fireball crashed into the already exhausted ice dragon with overwhelming force!
"Boom--!!!!"
An even more violent explosion rang out in mid-air! This time, it was the ice dragon that let out a mournful cry of unbearable strain!
Extreme cold and extreme heat collided and annihilated each other, producing a large, thick, scalding white cloud of steam that instantly covered a large area of the bow of the ship and temporarily obscured everyone's vision.
The remains of the ice dragon completely vaporized in the high temperature, with only a few broken ice shards falling and clattering on the ground.
The steam was slowly dispersed by the cold wind.
At the ship's side, Sasuke breathed slightly, lowered his hand Hand Seals, looked at the empty sea and the rapidly melting ice shards on the ground, then turned his head to look at Shira beside him, who had already calmed down and regained her composure. A hint of surprise flashed in his dark eyes.
That guy, there was clearly no Chakra fluctuation in that last attack.
Shira nodded slightly to him, said nothing, and her gaze sharply turned towards the direction of the iceberg.
Through the burst of energy and his perception of the airflow, he had "seen" clearly that the attack came from three directions. Three individuals with cold and powerful Chakra reactions were standing on a collapsed ice cliff in the distance, looking down at them.
On the other side, Kakashi used Ninjutsu to shatter the ice dragon that was attacking him, protecting several actors nearby.
On Naruto's side, he used Shadow Clone combined with agile Taijutsu to dodge the attack, but some members of the crew were hit by the cold wind brought up by the ice dragon and fell to the ground, causing chaos.
"Enemy attack! Protect Miss Yukie!" Sandayu's shouts rang out in the cold wind.
Kakashi appeared beside Shira and Sasuke, one eye above his mask narrowing sharply as he looked at the iceberg. "It seems the master isn't too welcoming to us guests. And three elite Snow Ninja have arrived right off the bat?"
Before he finished speaking, three figures, like ghosts, stepped from the ice cliff onto a frozen path that seemed to have formed out of thin air. With a few leaps, they landed lightly on the sea not far in front of the " Northern Merchant ".
The seawater froze instantly beneath their feet, forming three stable ice floes.
The leader was a tall man wearing a dark blue uniform with a fur collar, typical of the Land of Snow. He had a cruel and mocking smile on his face and carried a huge, spiked ice mace on his shoulder. The shout of " Tearing Dragon Fierce Tiger!" had just come from him.
To his left was an even more burly, bear-like giant with a face full of scars. To his right was a woman with sinister eyes.
All three of them had a considerable amount of Chakra flowing within them, especially their seemingly ordinary uniforms, which revealed intricate jutsu patterns when Chakra was injected into them— Chakra Armor!
" Kakashi Hatake, it's been a long time."
The tall, imposing man at the head of the group— Nadare Rōga —licked his lips, his gaze sweeping over Kakashi before settling on Fuuyuki, who was being protected by the others and whose face was deathly Yukie.
Finally, his gaze lingered on Shira and Sasuke for a moment, especially on the Jonin Forehead Protector Jonin Shira's waist, his smile growing even more cruel.
"Brought reinforcements this time? A remnant of the Uchiha, and a Jonin Sunagakure? Interesting. But hand over the princess and the Hexagonal Crystal, and I might let you die a quicker death."
The icy sea wind howled, swirling up tiny ice crystals.