The four of them broke into a sprint, heading for the stream.
Shinsei formed hand seals as he ran, not to cast ninjutsu, but to extract chakra.
Their opponents had clearly come with ill intent. Shinsei held out no hope for their mercy and extracted chakra with all his strength. Shinjō had never extracted chakra at full strength before. He knew Konoha had many ways of sensing someone else's chakra reserves, so he usually kept the chakra in his body at less than a quarter of his total bodily energy.
Aside from having no use for such enormous amounts of chakra, he did this mostly to keep anyone from probing his true capabilities.
Things were different now. It was time to fight for his life.
A black-clad masked man blocked their path, holding shuriken horizontally in both hands.
Shinsei formed a sword gesture with his right hand. An energy blade made of chakra extended from his fingers, its rapidly moving chakra buzzing as it scraped against the air.
A ninjutsu without hand seals, Water Release: Water Sword!
He swung the Water Sword down, and the man crossed his shuriken to block.
Crack!
A tremendous noise rang out. The rapidly moving chakra shoved the man several meters back, and the two shuriken in his hands now had deep notches cut into them from above, as though they might snap at any moment.
Too bad they didn't break. This isn't the third-stage Water Sword, after all. The thought flashed through Shinsei's mind. The Water Sword in his hand abruptly lengthened, and he swung at the man again.
The black-clad man dared not block again and could only dodge aside.
The remaining black-clad masked men swiftly closed in around them, but Shinsei and the others rushed through the opening the man ahead had left.
Four or five hundred meters might seem far, but to a ninja, it was only a blink of an eye.
The four stood on the river's surface. Looking at the winding stream, Shinsei relaxed a little. Water Release Ninjutsu consumed the most chakra, but there was one exception: places with natural bodies of water. Without having to expend chakra to create enormous amounts of simulated water, he could save a great deal of chakra. Naturally occurring water was also more powerful, though it was harder to control.
The stream, some ten meters wide and winding on for several kilometers, gave Shinsei confidence. Chakra control was something he certainly did not lack. This river was his natural home ground.
Five black-clad masked men surrounded Shinsei's group. One stepped forward and bowed slightly.
"Shinsei, I've long heard of you!"
"Who are you?" Wood Kite's voice was stern, but the intense pain in his right hand made it tremble somewhat.
"My lord has long admired your talents, Shinsei, and wishes to invite you as his guest." The masked man ignored Wood Kite's question and addressed only Shinsei. "If you accept our invitation, your teammates will not be harmed!"
Are they trying to divide us? Shinsei glanced at his teammates out of the corner of his eye. He did not want to suffer another betrayal by his teammates.
"With all of you hiding your faces, it's really hard to trust you." Although Shinsei had guessed where they came from, he still wanted to see whether he could get them to remove their masks.
"My deepest apologies!" The black-clad masked man bowed slightly. "If you cannot agree to our demand, Shinsei, we'll have to be a little more forceful!"
"We will never sell out our teammate!" Wood Kite said through gritted teeth, turning to Hashihime. "Help me form hand seals!"
Hashihime quickly moved beside Wood Kite and extended her left hand, forming seals with his left hand. Each time Wood Kite named a seal, Hashihime changed her hand position.
Giant Beast held shuriken in both hands to keep the enemy from approaching. At the same time, Shinsei swiftly formed hand seals, four per second. He completed eight seals in quick succession and slapped both hands against the water.
"Keep your footing!" Shinsei shouted.
Water Release: Kirin!
An enormous volume of river water rapidly gathered, and the surface surged upward with a roar. Wood Kite steadied himself and continued forming seals.
A massive beast over thirty meters tall stood majestically upon the river, with a dragon's head, deer antlers, a beast's body, and four hooves-the auspicious beast of legend.
A kirin!
If ninjutsu were ranked by how difficult they were to learn, then Water Release: Kirin definitely qualified as S-rank Water Release Ninjutsu!
The water kirin shook its body, opened its mouth, and spat a high-speed jet of water at the charging black-clad masked men.
A black-clad man nearby swiftly formed hand seals, raising a ten-meter-high earthen wall in front of them. The water jet swept across the wall, slicing through it like tofu. Its force undiminished, the high-speed stream cut into the ground, gouging out an enormous pit.
Wood Kite finally finished the hand seals for his ninjutsu. He opened his mouth and spat out a dense volley of tiny wind-nature chakra masses. The white chakra masses shot like bullets toward the black-clad men around them.
The black-clad men were no weaklings. With a few quick dodges, they avoided the incoming energy bullets, leaving deep pits in the ground.
"You truly are a rare talent, Shinsei!" The black-clad masked man removed his gloves. His purple hands tore open his clothes, and his entire muscular body rapidly turned purple. "Then please forgive my rudeness!"
Another black-clad masked man with orange hair extended both hands, forming two L-shapes and aiming them at Shinsei!
Mind Body Switch Technique!
The water kirin moved instantly, splitting a wall of water from its back to block the front!
Shinsei's body stiffened, and an orange-haired masked man appeared in his mind.
Purple mist billowed from the black-clad man's purple body. In an instant, it formed a human figure that appeared on the water kirin's back and reached out to grab Shinsei.
Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!
Giant Beast spat out a great blast of fire, engulfing the purple figure. The figure burned into a heap of ashes and scattered, but a wisp of purple mist continued winding toward Shinsei.
Whoosh...
A powerful blast of wind burst from Wood Kite's mouth! It blew away a black-clad man who had crept close.
The water kirin swayed as though it were about to fall apart.
Shinsei's eyes were tightly shut, his face contorted in pain. He extended his right foot as though trying to touch the purple mist.
"Get out!!!" Shinsei roared, snapping his eyes open.
The orange-haired masked man spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Such powerful mental energy. I can't control him!" The orange-haired masked man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Just now, inside Shinsei's mental sea, he had been like an ordinary person facing a giant over ten meters tall. Such a vast difference in mental energy could not be overcome with mere technique.
Ever since transmigrating, Shinjō had meditated every day, steadily increasing his mental energy. Although he had never compared it with anyone else's, he was certainly not someone who could be controlled so easily. The Mind Body Switch Technique could control him when he was caught off guard, but once Shinsei reacted, he broke free instantly.
Shinsei stamped his foot, and a massive surge of water washed away the purple mist that had nearly curled around his feet. He did not want to touch even a trace of that stuff.
An enormous cloud of purple mist continued sweeping toward them, as though blotting out the sky and sun.
"Stay where you are!" Shinsei pressed his palms together. A large hollow opened in the water kirin's back, and the four sank into its body.
Continuing to form hand seals, Shinsei crackled with blue electricity. He gritted his teeth and shocked his entire body. Fortunately, his constant work on Lightning Release Ninjutsu had given him a decent resistance to Lightning Release. Otherwise, he would not have been able to endure it.
"Do you want a round too?" Shinsei turned to ask his companions. "Nano-sized venomous insects reproduce very quickly! I'll control the intensity."
"Will it really be all right?" Hashihime looked a little eager to try.
Shinsei continued changing hand seals, wrapping a layer of water around each of them.
"Give us a blast of Fire Style to disinfect us!" Shinsei told Giant Beast.
Giant Beast instantly understood Shinjō's idea. He formed hand seals and spat out a blast of flame.
The rapidly flowing water carried heat away from his teammates' bodies as flames burned inside the kirin. At the same time, Lightning Release traveled through the water, sending electrical sparks crackling over their bodies.
Hashihime trembled and could not help moaning. Giant Beast gave a quiet grunt as well. Only Wood Kite made no sound.
The water kirin flicked its tail, whipping a black-clad man into a puff of white smoke.
Shinsei raised his eyebrows. Now it's our turn!