On the steel warship
Ranke's attack shattered the bow of the warship, and after seawater flooded in, it began to list and quickly started to sink.
Seeing that there were still dozens of people on the warship, Rock Lee, in a moment of desperation, shouted towards the sky, " Kashirō! There are still hostages here!"
Kamira was startled. In her bat form, she could sense her surroundings using ultrasonic waves, but she couldn't detect anyone else nearby. Suddenly, a white figure swooped down and landed on the water's surface. "What?!"
The newcomer was none other than the short-statured Kashirō. He stood on the water's surface, his hands Hand Seals: " Ice Release: Ice River Technique!"
"Hehe..."
The air suddenly turned extremely cold, and the sea surface froze into ice centered on Kashirō, spreading outwards and freezing the sinking steel warship as well.
Seeing that the situation was bad, Ranke roared at Kamira in the sky.
Kamira understood, opened her mouth wide, and exhaled pink smoke, enveloping everyone in it.
At this moment, a person stepped forward from the crowd that had been controlling the armored soldiers and shouted to the sky, "Lady Kamira! You must leave now! We can't escape anymore! Lord Haidō needs you!"
"Yes! Lady Kamira, there are too many of them now, please leave quickly!"
Looking at the thick fog before him, unable to sense Kamira and Ranke, Kashirō said, "Hmph, trying to escape? You do know how to prioritize, but... you can't escape!"
After saying that, he poured his Chakra into the ice beneath his feet, and the ice began to flow like liquid, gathering towards the steel warship.
" Ice Release: Great Ice Prison!"
Centered on the steel warship, the ice blocks closed in, trapping everyone inside.
Rock Lee jumped to Kashirō's side. " Kashirō! You're amazing! You managed to seal off such a huge warship!"
"Tch, no big deal!"
"Holy crap! That eight-armed monster who looks just like Kyōai is back! Konoha Strong Fist..."
Kyōai, looking exhausted, climbed out of the sea onto the ice. "You bastard Rock Lee! If you dare kick me again, I'll kill you! And forget about the Konoha Alliance!"
Kashirō held Rock Lee down. "Oh, Rock Lee, this is exactly what Kyōai looks like!"
After using the Great Thousand Worlds, Kyōai was already very weak, and with Rock Lee adding two more blows, she was now lying on the ice in a very sorry state.
"Bang!"
At that moment, a gap appeared above the ice block trapping the steel warship, and Kamira, gripping Ranke with both feet, flew away into the distance.
"Trying to run?"
Seeing this, Kashirō prepared to use Ice Release again to knock the two down.
But Kyōai grabbed his ankle, stopping him. "No, let them go."
Kashirō was puzzled. "You went to so much trouble to destroy this warship, why did you suddenly let them go?"
Kyōai struggled to sit up. "I intended to let them go from the beginning."
Kashirō released his hands from the Hand Seals, frowning. "What are you plotting?"
Kyōai combined the nine swords into one and pointed to the bottom of the steel warship. "The technology of this warship is completely different from that of our Nuclear Ninja Village. It's impossible for just these two female warriors to build it."
So you're planning to follow them?
Kyōai nodded. "Those two don't seem to use Chakra as the basis for their transformation, so they can't be sensed. It's very different from Beast Seal Transformation. When I was fighting them just now, I secretly left a sensing technique on the woman named Ranke. Follow her there, find their headquarters, and I'll come back and formulate a battle plan."
Kashirō said somewhat reluctantly, "Tch, why not just break it in one fell swoop?"
Kyōai shook her head. "No, my goal is not to defeat them, but to acquire their technology. After all, the Grand Elder said that technology should be the core driving force. I just observed that the power system of this warship is very strange. It is self-contained, which saves a lot of space for the warship. I Hieimon will be very interested in it."
Kashirō thought for a moment, then nodded. "I understand."
Next, Kashirō walked to the ice block, lightly leaped, and sank into the seawater. In Kyōai's perception, he was traveling at an extremely fast speed across the seabed, heading towards Kamira.
At that moment, Shino Choji: " Kyōai- kun! Are you alright? I saw you get knocked away twice."
Kyōai said irritably, " Rock Lee, you've lost your alliance gift!"
Rock Lee exclaimed in surprise, " Kyōai! I really didn't know you had eight arms!"
Kyōai: "Get out of here!"
Choji looked at the frozen steel warship. "That Ice Release... was that Kashirō just came by?"
Rock Lee replied, "After receiving the distress signal, Kashirō and I flew over using our flying ninja tools. He's currently tracking them."
Shino stretched out his right hand and released a green Kikaichū, which flew onto Kyōai: "This is Healing Kikaichū; it can help heal your injuries."
The Healing Kikaichū was much larger than a normal Kikaichū, only the size of a little fingernail. It lay on the chest where Kyōai had been hit by Rock Lee, and surprisingly released green Chakra to heal Kyōai's injury.
Kyōai felt her injuries slowly healing and exclaimed in surprise, " Shino- kun, your insects can even Medical Ninjutsu?"
Shino nodded. "Yes, Kendon conducted a gene mutation experiment on my insects."
"I see."
Choji chuckled, " Shino's insects have a lot of really powerful individuals now."
Shino said calmly, "According to Kendon, after my insect completes the first step of gene mutation, it can also carry out the second step of gene combination, which is..."
Having witnessed Shino's prolific chatter before, and seeing him poised to launch into a speech, Kyo Kyōai immediately turned to Rock Lee and Choji and said, " Lee-kun! Choji- kun! Let's tow this warship back. There are still people on board; they might freeze."
Choji nodded in agreement. "Yes! Lightning Release Chakra Mode!"
The three of them moved with lightning speed, leaving Shino and running to the back of the steel warship. They strengthened their Chakra and began pushing the warship back to the shore.
Shino watched the three people slowly walk past her. "(_)... Hehe."
After Choji and Shino left, the three Sand Ninja on the shore began to discuss among themselves.
Baki's expression turned grave. "You mean, the Nuclear Ninja Village has also allied with Konoha."
Temari nodded, watching the group slowly pushing the warship back. "That's right, they probably want to use the power of the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire to strengthen themselves."
Baki continued, "I've heard that your Nuclear Ninja Village currently has only two hundred people, but judging from their combat strength, their future potential should not be underestimated."
Gaara stared silently at Hongshi, who was treating the wounded, without uttering a word.
Temari pointed to her Great Sickle Weasel Fan: "Moreover, the Nuclear Ninja Village is a technology-centric entity, and even its non-core combat forces are so formidable. It seems we must cultivate a deeper relationship with this ally. Furthermore, that Kyōai is politically astute, and with the Sunagakure currently weakened, perhaps we can get him to lend a hand."
Baki thought for a moment, "Well, although it's not good for word to get out that others are interfering in the affairs of our Sunagakure, this is the only way for now. The Land of Bears is getting too arrogant; we can't let this continue. Otherwise, if the balance among the Five Great Shinobi Villages is broken, it will be extremely dangerous!"
Temari: "We can give up an advisory position in exchange for the Nuclear Ninja's further trust, that way..."
Hongshi noticed Gaara and saw his murderous gaze. " Lord Kazekage, what are you looking at? Try looking at him again. Believe me, I'll heal this guy to death."
Gaara snorted coldly and slowly walked towards the Hongshi.