Nadare Rōga's words, "Hand over the princess and the Hexagonal Crystal," resounded like a thunderclap on the howling wind-swept deck.
"Princess?"
Kakashi's right eye, which had been lazily half-closed, suddenly opened wide, and the pupil contracted slightly.
He turned his head sharply, his gaze like lightning, towards Fujikaze Yukie, who was being instinctively protected Asama Sandayu.
At this moment, perhaps due to the shock of the attack, Kazahana Koyuki's delicate face was as pale as paper, her lips were bloodless, and her azure eyes were filled with undisguised terror and deep sorrow. Her body trembled slightly.
She neither admitted nor denied it, but simply bit her lower lip tightly, avoiding Kakashi's gaze.
The face of Asama Sandayu beside him, drained of all color. He opened his mouth as if to explain something, but in the end, he simply lowered his head deeply and bent over, his posture one of acquiescence and silent plea.
In an instant, many images flashed through Kakashi's mind—the unusually high commission, hiring two major ninja villages simultaneously, and the actress's abnormal fear and resistance along the way...
All the clues connected instantly. He cursed himself for being "careless," but now was clearly not the time to delve deeper.
" Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura!"
Kakashi's voice instantly regained the calm and decisiveness of Jonin leading a team, speaking rapidly, "Protect Ms. Fujikaze Yukie and the crew, retreat, and stay as far away from the ship's side as possible! The enemy's target is clear!"
"Understood!" Naruto replied loudly. Although he was still a little confused about what the "princess" meant, Kakashi-sensei's orders came first.
He immediately formed a triangle with Sasuke and Sakura, protecting the trembling Koyuki, the ashen-faced Sandayu, and the shaken crew members in the middle, and moved towards the relatively safer stern of the ship.
As for these three uninvited guests...
Kakashi turned around, his expression obscured by his mask, but the one eye that was visible was now devoid of any languor, only icy coldness remained. "I'll take care of them. Nadare Rōga, it's time to settle our old scores."
Before he finished speaking, he vanished from the deck in a flash, and the next instant, he was face to face with Nadare Rōga, who was carrying an ice spiked club.
The air between the two instantly tensed, the chilling atmosphere even overpowering the biting cold wind.
Almost at the same time Kakashi moved, the Nadare Rōga Snow Ninja Fuyukuma Mizore on the left and the voluptuous, cold-eyed female Snow Ninja Fubuki Kakuyoku on the right also moved.
Ignoring Kakashi, they charged towards the group on deck like two blue gusts of wind, one from the left and one from the right, their target Yukie, who was being protected in the middle.
"Stop them!"
With a low shout, Shira flashed out first, heading straight for the Fuyukuma Mizore that lunged to the left, trying to bypass them and attack the stern.
He needs to relieve pressure on the Konoha trio, and at the same time, this is an excellent opportunity to observe the Snow Ninja and the Chakra Armor.
"Clear!"
Shūji reacted extremely quickly. The instant Shira moved, his hands had already swung out! Several Shuriken sliced through the cold wind under his superb throwing skills, emitting sharp whistles, blocking several key angles for her to advance and dodge. His tactical intention was clear—to hinder her actions.
However, faced with this precise throw, a hint of undisguised mockery appeared on Fubuki Kakuyoku's pretty face, which was covered by light blue armor.
She didn't even Hand Seals; she simply raised her arm, which was encased in a special material arm guard, and casually held it in front of her to block the view.
"Ding ding ding ding--!"
A series of crisp, dense metallic clangs rang out. Shūji's Shuriken, powerful enough to pierce through ordinary armor, struck Fubuki Kakuyoku's arm guards and shoulder armor, only causing a few tiny ice shards to fly off before being completely deflected, leaving not even a white mark!
"Is this all the kids from Sunagakure are capable of?"
Fubuki Kakuyoku chuckled, her forward momentum undiminished, her hands already Hand Seals. "Let me show you the Ninjutsu of the Land of Snow! Ice Release: Ice Prison Technique!"
Her target was Sasuke Uchiha, who had just used the Great Fireball Jutsu in conjunction with Shira and was now slightly ahead in position! The deck beneath Sasuke's feet and the surrounding air were instantly filled with frigid air, condensing into countless solid ice crystals, like a living cage, closing in on Sasuke with lightning speed!
They were about to completely freeze him inside!
" Sasuke!!" Naruto exclaimed.
But just before the ice prison completely closed, a hint of triumphant glint seemed to flash across the face of the frozen " Sasuke," and then with a "bang," he turned into a piece of substitute wood.
The real Sasuke, taking advantage of the brief obscuring of his vision when the ice prison solidified, Body Flicker Technique in the shadow of a cable post a few meters to his side and rear. And where he had originally been, inside the newly formed, thick ice prison, was a faintly glowing Explosive Tag!
"Hmph, a mere trick."
Fubuki Kakuyoku missed its target, let out a cold snort, and with a flicker of its figure, retreated like a ghost. At the same time, two crystal-clear ice wings made of Chakra suddenly unfolded from the back of the seemingly close-fitting blue Chakra Armor on its body!
With a flap of her wings, she soared into the sky with incredible speed and agility, instantly leaving the ground and drawing an arc in the air, intending to attack Koyuki at the stern of the ship again from another angle.
Her movements were swift and unpredictable, clearly indicating that she wanted to use her aerial advantage to catch everyone off guard.
"Up there! At ten o'clock, fifteen meters above sea level, they're maneuvering!"
Ishikawa, who had been concentrating on his senses with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and began to report the points rapidly.
His senses were impaired in the extreme environment, but he still clearly detected the close distance and the obvious Chakra Armor fluctuations on Fubuki Kakuyoku's body.
"Roger that! Watch this!" Naruto, who could no longer contain himself, immediately formed hand seals upon hearing this, "Shadow Clone Technique!" Bang bang bang A puff of white smoke appeared, and seven or eight Naruto shadow clones roared and fearlessly leaped from the deck.
The clones, using the ship's gunwale and mast for leverage, lunged at Fubuki Kakuyoku's flight path from different directions, attempting to block and interfere with her through sheer numbers.
"Annoying bugs!"
Fubuki Kakuyoku frowned, made a nimble stop and turn in mid-air to dodge the attacks of several Shadow Clone, and at the same time waved her hands, sending several sharp ice Senbon flying like a rainstorm at the remaining Shadow Clone, instantly blasting them into white smoke.
But in that brief moment when she was dealing with the Shadow Clone, a figure, like a cheetah that had been poised for a long time, suddenly leaped up from the deck!
It's Shira! After forcing back the Fuyukuma Mizore and creating an attack opportunity for Shūji and Maki, he had been keeping an eye on this female snow ninja with the highest agility in the air.
The ground beneath his feet groaned under the immense pressure, and he Fubuki Kakuyoku in the air like a cannonball, moving so fast that he left only a faint afterimage in the eyes of ordinary people!
Just as Fubuki Kakuyoku finished clearing out the Shadow Clone, she felt a scorching and sharp aura rushing towards her. Startled, she quickly flapped her ice wings and dodged to the side. At the same time, she reached for her waist with her right hand, and a chain-like ice blade, gleaming with cold light, shot towards Shira's chest like a venomous snake's tongue.
Shira neither dodged nor evaded; but at the very moment the ice blade was about to strike him, he slightly shifted his body to the side, and the ice blade grazed past his clothes.
He didn't retaliate immediately, but instead, in the brief moment their bodies passed each other, his gaze quickly swept over Fubuki Kakuyoku Chakra Armor —the patterns at the joints, the energy core on her chest...
"Huh? You brat, how dare you look down on me?!" Seemingly sensing Shira's disdainful gaze, Fubuki Kakuyoku's eyes flashed with cold light, feeling insulted.
With a seemingly casual wave of her left hand, several almost transparent rhomboid ice crystals, hidden beneath the refracted light of her ice wings, silently shot towards the blind spot of Shira's vest!
This is her real killer move!
However, as if she had eyes in the back of her head, just as the Shira crystals were about to hit her, she suddenly twisted and turned, moving half a foot to the side in the air with a fluid motion that almost defied the laws of physics, just in time to let the deadly ice crystals graz her body.
His movements were so fast that Naruto and the others below only saw a blur before their eyes, as if he had used the Body Flicker Technique.
"The speed is good, but unfortunately, it's not enough."
Shira's calm voice rang in Fubuki Kakuyoku's ears. Without anyone noticing, he had taken advantage of the slight gap left by the opponent's missed attack and the exhaustion of force, and like a ghost, he had cut into Fubuki Kakuyoku's blind spot from the side and behind!
Fubuki Kakuyoku was greatly alarmed and frantically flapped its Ice Wings to try and create distance, but Shira's speed, enhanced by the Seven Heavens Breathing Method: First Activation, far exceeded her expectations.
A leg, its muscles slightly bulging with strength, swept silently yet heavily towards her lower back like a steel whip!
"Bang!"
A muffled thud! The kick landed solidly near the junction of Fubuki Kakuyoku's back armor and ice wings. Although the Chakra Armor absorbed most of the impact,
But the penetrating force and skillful technique still made her groan in pain, and she instantly lost her balance, falling diagonally towards the direction where the Sunagakure and Konoha people were gathered on the deck below!
"Good opportunity!" Naruto shouted, and a Shadow Clone immediately leaped up, spreading its arms to catch the falling Fubuki Kakuyoku, trying to control her.
"Idiot! Don't touch her armor!" Sasuke shouted urgently, but it was too late.
Just as Naruto's Shadow Clone embraced Fubuki Kakuyoku, several thin, yet incredibly sharp, ice blades suddenly sprang out from the seemingly smooth surface of her Chakra Armor!
"Sizzle--!"
The Shadow Clone was instantly sliced into several pieces and vanished in the white smoke. But this obstruction also completely cut off Fubuki Kakuyoku's chance to adjust her position.
" Sealing Jutsu: Paper Binding Coffin!"
Maki, who had been preparing for a long time, made her move! She stood calmly at the back, her hands Hand Seals, and Chakra surged towards the few seemingly inconspicuous talismans she had placed around her beforehand.
The talisman instantly came to life, shooting out like a living white snake. It swelled in the air against the wind, transforming into countless incredibly tough white strips of paper. Taking advantage of the moment when Crane Wing Snow's old power was exhausted and new power had not yet been generated, and when she was interfered with by Naruto's shadow clone, the strips wrapped around her tightly from head to toe!
The paper strips shimmered with pale blue sealing runes, not only binding her body tightly but also suppressing the flow of Chakra within her. Even the ice wings that she was trying to reassemble on her back flickered a few times before unwillingly dissipating.
"Thump!"
Wrapped in a white "cocoon," Fubuki Kakuyoku crashed heavily onto the deck. It struggled for a few moments but couldn't move. Only its eyes, which were exposed, continued to blaze with anger and disbelief.
Silence fell over the deck. Only the booming chakra of Kakashi's battle with Nadare Rōga Chakra Avalanche on the other side, and the distant shouts of Fuyukuma Mizore being forced back by Shūji and Ishikawa, could be faintly heard.
Shira floated back onto the deck, the scorching heat around her gradually subsiding.
He glanced at Tsurugi Fubuki, who had been successfully sealed and subdued by Shinju, then his gaze swept over Naruto's shadow clone, who was breathing slightly, Sasuke, who looked solemn, Hiiragi Tsukasa, who was beaming with joy, and Shinju, who was focused on maintaining the seal.
The first time we worked together, it went pretty well.
He looked up at Kakashi, who was locked in fierce combat with Nadare Rōga on the sea, and then glanced at the Fuyukuma Mizore trying to circle around in the distance.
Okay, that's about enough. It's time to retreat for now...