Chapter 234: Brave Warriors, Fight!
Bang! Bang!
Thud!
Puff, puff, puff!
Faced with the high-tech attacks of the Snow Ninja and their armor capable of deflecting strikes, the trio was panting heavily, their bodies covered in bruises. It was a difficult fight. They had attempted various tactics with shuriken and explosive tags, but against unknown technology with varying capabilities and zero prior intelligence, they found themselves helpless. This lack of information rendered a ninja's usual methods ineffective.
"Don't think you can beat us just like this! We can't let the Captain look down on us," Genda shouted. "We've grown this past year too!"
"Hah!"
After dodging another volley of ice caltrops, the three simultaneously wove hand signs to refine their chakra. The Snow Ninja, seeing them weave signs so quickly, knew they couldn't let the trio succeed and moved to intercept. The Snow Ninja also began casting. Augmented by their Chakra Armor, each member of the four-man squad prepared a technique.
"Twin Dragon Blizzard!"
"Fire Style: Flame Tornado!"
"Summoning Augmentation: Emperor Penguin No. 2!"
"Secret Art: Iron Fist of the Demon God!"
Facing the powerful Snow Ninja, the three unleashed their ultimate moves at once. Ordinary ninjutsu was simply too ineffective against enemies equipped with Chakra Armor. Through the heat of battle, they had realized the armor's weakness: Taijutsu. While the Snow Ninja's gear was designed to compensate for this flaw, the trio noticed that their auxiliary equipment was far less effective than the primary Chakra Armor. Thus, they brought out their high-level trump cards.
Goenji's feet ignited, creating a trail of flames as if he had rocket boosters attached, allowing him to close the distance instantly. Facing the enemy's Ice Style, he spun in mid-air, fire-natured chakra coiling around his legs. The rapid rotation created a "Flame Tornado" that shattered the ice. His flaming feet slammed into two of the enemies.
Bang! Bang!
The two Snow Ninjas, along with their armor, were smashed into pieces by Goenji. Flesh flew, and blood splattered across the ice, staining the crystalline blue surface crimson.
Huff... huff...
Having finished the move, Goenji broke into a cold sweat. He glared at the remaining two, gritting his teeth. This move took a massive toll on his reserves.
Whiz, whiz, whiz!
Kido wove signs for a summoning. Five summoned penguins immediately shot forward, their rears emitting a sound like rocket propulsion as they broke through the Snow Ninja.
Bang! Bang!
Meeting the Ice Style head-on, the penguins shattered the jutsu and continued their charge toward the Snow Ninja.
"Damn it! What kind of ninjutsu is this?" The Snow Ninja were shocked that their combined attack was broken in a single move. They reacted quickly, manifesting an ice wall to block the path.
Puff, puff, puff!
Under their collective casting, a massive wall of ice rose before the penguins.
Tweet!
The sound of a whistle echoed. The propulsion of the five penguins suddenly shifted, allowing them to curve around the massive ice wall.
"What?" The four Snow Ninjas stared in shock. The attack was too fast and too close; all they could do was raise their arms in a desperate guard. But how could flesh and blood stop an attack that even ninjutsu couldn't block? Their armor was useless here; the penguins were summoned physical entities—this was a raw physical strike.
Crunch!
All four were shattered upon impact, exploding across the ice island. As the ice wall collapsed without chakra to sustain it, Kido could be seen in the distance looking haggard. The chakra consumption was clearly too high.
"Damn, this move takes too much chakra," Kido muttered, looking toward Goenji. Seeing that Goenji had only taken down two and had two left to face, he looked worried. Forcing himself past the exhaustion of his secret technique, he prepared to help.
The illusory iron fist looked almost solid. Facing the Ice Style, Genda thrust his fist forward in a left hook. The phantom behind him mirrored the movement, crushing the ice and smashing toward the Snow Ninja.
Boom!
The four Snow Ninjas tried to use an ice wall as well, but under Genda's iron fist, they were flattened into meat pies. Only then did the phantom behind Genda slowly dissipate.
"Goenji!" Genda looked toward his teammate. Seeing two enemies still standing while Goenji was vulnerable, his face filled with concern. He prepared to rush over despite his exhaustion.
"Die!"
The two remaining Snow Ninjas snapped out of the shock of their comrades' deaths and glared at Goenji with predatory eyes. One pointed his hand at Goenji.
Zip, zip!
Ice caltrops were launched, closing in on him. Goenji's pupils shrank.
Whoosh!
Clang! Clang!
Squeltch!
A flash of cold light flew by, slicing through the ice caltrops and cutting both Snow Ninjas in half. A dark shadow appeared in front of Goenji, holding a katana.
"Can you make it back?"
Tonbo Tobitake's voice came from the figure. Goenji looked at the unfamiliar black-clad ninja, but from the voice, he guessed it was the Captain's doing. In the distance, Genda and Kido sighed in relief.
"Decent strength, and good trump cards."
Tonbo retracted his " Eye of the Creator" technique. Looking at the three returning subordinates, he showed a satisfied expression. In the future, these three could at least become Special Jonin. At their age, they were already quite impressive. Having only been Chunin for a year, they had plenty of room to grow.
He then looked up at the sky. A massive airship was hovering in the clouds; after his team finished the enemies, it slowly began to sail away. Tonbo's keen eyes could see someone on board who looked very much like Nadare Roga from the original story.
Are they going back to prepare?
The attack just now was likely just a probe. But they were certainly ruthless—they stood by and watched their own men die. Tonbo could tell that without the Chakra Armor, those enemies only had the strength of Genin with very poor combat experience. Otherwise, with that technology and a bit more skill, they could have easily defeated the trio. This also showed that Chakra Armor was quite a mature technology in the Land of Snow, allowing a Genin to fight with the margin of error of a Chunin.
"Good job. Keep it up!" Tonbo said to the returning three.
"Yes, Captain!" The three smiled. They had finally been of use; their performance was likely acceptable.
"Incredible! As expected of Konoha ninjas! Now we can go up and film," the director said, his eyes lighting up as he looked at the footage captured by the cameraman. He had his material, and he didn't even have to pay for special effects.
"No, that won't be possible," Tonbo interjected.
As if on cue... Rumble!
The ice island seemed to lose its structural integrity and began to crack, sinking into the depths of the ocean. The displacement triggered a massive surge in the waves.
"Turn the rudder! Now!" the director screamed.
Rumble!
The helmsman worked desperately to turn the ship to run with the waves. Tonbo sighed and secretly manipulated a giant whale beneath the surface to stabilize the vessel.
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