An assault came rushing straight at them.
To a Jonin, this wave would have been beneath notice.
Yet it was enough to kill the vast majority of Genin. With the rolling waves and the sinister chakra fluctuations spreading out, the technique's range and speed alone made it an attack ordinary Genin could never evade.
But Kei and Ranne were clearly no ordinary Genin. Even injured, Ranne reacted in the shortest possible time, leaping clear of the waves' reach, and at the same time-
"Ice Release: Flower Crystal Technique!"
Chakra gathered, accompanied by the completed hand seals.
Down below-
Translucent flowers of frozen crystal bloomed.
They formed a dazzling, towering wall off to the side below, directly blocking the oncoming waves.
"Hah!"
At Ranne's sharp cry-
The waves surged back in the opposite direction.
They carried a freezing chill back with them, and as it spread-
The temperature throughout the area plummeted.
Facing the returning waves, Kisame Hoshigaki gave a cold smile. He leaped upward and swung his massive sword down fiercely, forcibly cleaving the wave straight down the middle.
Immediately afterward-
His figure charged straight ahead.
He locked directly onto Minazuki Ranne's position. The icy killing intent spreading from him made Ranne, its target, feel chilled all over, as though she had fallen into an ice cellar.
Kei could sense that killing intent just as clearly.
Almost instantly, he became certain that Kisame Hoshigaki had truly killed before.
That naked killing intent was so unmistakably clear.
There was no need for any hesitation.
Whoosh!
Kei twisted his feet, unleashing another burst of chakra.
He got there a step ahead, blocking Kisame Hoshigaki's path as he flipped his hand and swung his kunai out fiercely.
Clang!
It blocked Kisame Hoshigaki's massive sword at just the right moment.
An intense shower of sparks erupted.
A swift, vicious figure.
Powerful, formidable strength.
Ranne had already been a beat slower in speed, and now her injuries left her unable to react in time. As Kisame Hoshigaki's chilling blade entered her sight-
Her entire body seemed to freeze completely in that instant.
Had Kei been even a fraction slower-
Ranne might very well have become another soul slain by Kisame Hoshigaki's blade.
"Ranne, fall back first! Just cover and support me from behind with your techniques!"
With a forceful swing of his arm, Kei first used the slick ice crystals coating his kunai to slide down and knock Kisame Hoshigaki's massive sword aside.
Then he shouted to Minazuki Ranne behind him.
"Huh?! Yes!"
After answering instinctively, Ranne seemed to wake from a dream and hastily scrambled farther back.
At the same time-
"Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!"
Even as Kei forced him back, Kisame Hoshigaki formed hand seals.
It was no particularly lethal ninjutsu, merely a C-rank Water Release technique, but in a battle between Genin, such a technique was already enough to threaten an enemy's life. Even Kei, with Kisame Hoshigaki so proficient and forming hand seals so quickly at such close range-
Watched the water bullets shoot toward his face and the vital points across his body one after another at high speed.
"?!"
Kei's heart tightened as well.
"Ice Release!"
Likewise giving it everything he had, he rapidly marshaled his chakra, opened his mouth, and swiftly exhaled a breath of freezing air.
Hum!
Freezing air spread in an instant.
Crackle!
As it met the water bullets head-on, it forcibly froze them into glistening pellets of ice.
"Hah!"
Immediately afterward-
With a forceful sweep from Kei-
Crack!
Clatter!
Bang!
All the ice bullets shattered in an instant.
The ice fragments scattering in every direction also momentarily blocked Kisame Hoshigaki's vision at close range.
Kei seized this opportunity to press forward immediately.
He leaped high, descending from above.
All the strength unleashed by his full-force swing concentrated on that single point.
At the point of the ship-breaking strike-
"Hah!"
With that deep cry falling-
"What?!"
As the cold edge came straight at him, Kisame Hoshigaki's pupils abruptly contracted. With no time for any other response, he could only rely on instinct, bending his knees to lower his body before swinging his massive sword heavily upward from behind.
Clang!
Thud!
At that perilously narrow angle, he blocked Kei's strike with speed and precision, sending fierce sparks flying.
In that instant, they illuminated Kei's expressionless face and Kisame Hoshigaki's savage one.
"Ice Release: Frost Binding Technique!"
The first strike pressed close, the second bore down!
The moment his initial assault succeeded, Kei intensified his attack. He channeled the Ice Release chakra he had molded straight onto his kunai, and ice crystals rapidly spread from it.
Before Kisame Hoshigaki could react-
Hum! Hum!
In just a few seconds, they spread directly onto his massive sword, making it dazzling as well.
The instant he felt that freezing chill approaching-
Kisame Hoshigaki's expression changed abruptly. Extremely unwilling though he was, he was forced to release both hands from their grip on the sword.
His weapon fell.
He had clearly been suppressed for the moment.
Kei pressed his advantage without mercy!
Boom!
His fierce assault intensified.
Whoosh!
His right leg swung fiercely.
Bam!
He kicked viciously toward Kisame Hoshigaki's face.
This airborne volley-
Already forced back, Kisame Hoshigaki had no time to adjust his stance. He could only cross his arms before his face and barely manage a guard, forcibly blocking Kei's strike and just managing to disperse some of its force.
But Kei still blasted him away.
Boom!
Whoosh!
Kisame Hoshigaki flew backward at tremendous speed like a cannonball.
Bam!
Then he slammed heavily into the ground behind him.
Crash!
His landing produced a violent, low thud, and dust billowed into the air.
"Cough, cough!"
The dust entering his lungs made Kisame Hoshigaki cough violently, and traces of blood seeped from the corners of his mouth.
Yet Kisame Hoshigaki seemed entirely unaffected.
He sprang up, a crazed look appearing on his face.
"Aaaah!!"
Facing Kei's relentless assault-
He advanced rather than retreated.
He too drew a kunai and met the attack head-on with force.