Chapter 35: Fierce Battle!

Genichi Shita never expected to encounter a ninja with the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

He realized he would have to give it his all.

Ninja possessing a Kekkei Genkai were never simple adversaries. Moreover... the man before him was a perfect specimen for his experiments!

Snake-Ram-Tiger!

After only three hand signs, a water dragon surged from the river, diving toward the black-haired man in the blue garment.

"This brat..."

The man's expression shifted again. The Water Formation Wall from before was one thing—a C-rank jutsu—but to execute the Water Dragon Bullet Technique so quickly? He was faster than even he was!

"Truly a brat not to be underestimated!"

The man fully shed his previous casual demeanor, crouching low and pressing his palms against the surface of the water.

Boom!

A surge of water rose to form a curtain, which then solidified into a wall of ice.

Rumble!

The water dragon slammed into the ice wall, shattering and dissipating instantly.

The next moment, a shuriken struck the ice wall; the attached explosive tag ignited, detonating with a roar. The man in blue leaped backward, an ice blade forming in his right hand, parrying an incoming sword strike with a metallic clang.

Thud, thud!

Both landed on the river surface simultaneously. As the man held Genichi’s short sword at bay with his ice blade, he began forming signs with his left hand.

Genichi’s pupils constricted; he immediately retracted his blade and leaped back. On the river surface, countless water needles shot upward with a shrill whistle. Genichi swung his sword, intercepting every one of them. But as his feet touched the water, four streams of water erupted from his periphery, converging on him.

The man had predicted his landing spot.

Boom!

Genichi took the hit squarely, his body instantly transforming into a splash of water that fell back into the river.

"What? A Water Clone!"

The man’s eyes widened. He possessed sensory abilities and was certain before the battle began that Genichi had no ambushes prepared. This meant the clone had been cast during the very first jutsu.

"Cunning brat!"

The man cursed under his breath, spinning around and crossing his arms. Genichi lunged from the shadows, his blade gleaming like a streak of light as he slashed from the lower left to the upper right.

The blade bit into the man's crossed arms, sending a shower of ice shards flying.

"He actually formed an ice armor on his body... just like Gaara's sand armor," Genichi thought, shocked. After the slash, he delivered a powerful kick, sending the man tumbling across the river surface.

Sheathing his sword, Genichi formed hand signs.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

This time, the water dragon was even more massive. Before the man could regain his footing, the dragon descended from the heavens.

Rumble!

Water surged and sprayed everywhere. The technique hit its mark, but Genichi frowned slightly. As the water subsided, a hemispherical ice dome remained, shielding the man inside.

Crack...

The fractured ice dome crumbled, and the man, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, rose to his feet. "I was too careless."

"That won't happen again."

The man lifted his right arm to form signs with one hand. His left arm, though protected from being severed by the ice armor, had suffered a fracture from the sheer force of Genichi’s strike, rendering it useless for weaving signs. The blood at his lips was a parting gift from that kick.

Seeing the enemy weaving signs with one hand again, Genichi immediately formed the Tiger sign: "Illusion: Bringer of Darkness!"

The man’s vision was instantly stripped away.

"This is... an illusion!"

"Damn brat!"

The man nearly bit his tongue, changing his signs mid-stream. He opened his mouth and exhaled, a thick mist howling outward and rapidly dispersing. Having used the Hidden Mist Technique, he immediately leaped away from his original position.

Yet, despite his swift reaction, he could not avoid a grazing shuriken from Genichi, leaving a bloody gash on his left arm. While he could condense ice armor to cover his body, he could not, like Gaara, maintain such armor on his skin indefinitely. Thus, both the kick and the shuriken had drawn blood.

Fortunately, his reflexes were sharp enough to use the mist to obscure his opponent's sight. Gasping for air, the man used his Ice Release to freeze the wound on his left arm, then attempted to dispel the illusion with one hand.

Nearby, within the mist, Genichi felt a surge of frustration. Someone with a Kekkei Genkai was truly troublesome. Setting aside the Ice Release, even the man's ability to weave signs with one hand and his rapid reflexes surpassed any opponent he had faced thus far. *Could he be a Jonin?*

He decided that when he returned, he would learn a Wind Release technique.

Scanning his surroundings, Genichi formed hand signs, partially releasing the Strength of a Hundred Seal. The chakra stored within surged forth, rapidly replenishing his depleted reserves.

Genichi continued to weave signs, creating a Shadow Clone and leaving his ninja tool pouch behind before silently retreating. He could not afford to get bogged down here. Sarutobi Shinnosuke was facing seven enemies, and if this Ice Release user was this formidable, the others...

Time ticked away. Suddenly, the mist began to thin.

Genichi’s eyes narrowed. Ice mirrors were floating all around him, with the black-haired man reflected in every single one.

"Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

Genichi immediately formed signs: "Rat-Snake!"

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

River water surged up, rotating around Genichi. It even sealed off the space above his head. The entire formation resembled a massive, inverted, spinning bell.

The man, who had just begun to smile, saw his expression stiffen. "How is this bastard's Water Release even better than mine?!"

"He's clearly a leaf ninja, damn it..."

The man gritted his teeth. "I don't believe your chakra can hold out!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dense ice senbon fired from every direction, but they were all deflected by the spinning water wall. The two engaged in a battle of attrition.

A moment later, the floating ice mirrors suddenly cracked and shattered, falling into the river with a splash. The man tumbled from the air, crashing onto the river surface with a thud.

"What... is happening?"

The man lifted his head with great difficulty.

Genichi dispelled the water wall, flicked a shuriken into the man’s shoulder, and smiled faintly. "Sorry, I’m also a medical ninja."

The man’s eyes widened as the realization struck. "Your shuriken... they’re poisoned!"

Genichi’s gaze fell to the frozen wound on the man's arm. If not for the ice, the poison would have taken effect even faster. Still, the potent toxins developed by Tsunade were truly effective! If not for the poison on his shuriken, he might not have been able to take this man down today.

"How ridiculous... to die at the hands of a mere brat..."

The man’s head slowly slumped forward, and he lost consciousness, unable to hold on any longer.

Only then did Genichi approach. He pulled a syringe of anesthetic from his tool pouch, injected it into the man, and then fed him an antidote.

He couldn't let this one die yet.