"Let's see how many of these you can handle!"
Dong Lan flicked her wrist. Accompanied by a piercing cold wind, more than a dozen ice spikes instantly formed in midair, gleaming under the sunlight.
In the next moment, they streaked forward, leaving afterimages as they shot toward Uchiha Retsu.
At the same time, Retsu moved.
Instead of retreating, he charged straight toward Dong Lan, rushing head-on into the dense barrage of ice spikes.
Knowing the plot, he was well aware that although Dong Lan carried a katana at her waist and seemed to favor close combat, in reality, all four panther-cat demons were spellcasters.
Even the burly Qiu Lan was a lightning mage.
The Mangekyo Sharingan rotated slightly in his eyes, precisely capturing the trajectory of every single ice spike.
Retsu drew a kunai with a backhand motion, instantly coating it with chakra.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of crisp metallic sounds rang out.
Every incoming ice spike was knocked aside, shattering into countless tiny ice crystals that scattered across the ground.
Without slowing down, he used the brief opening created by the shattered spikes and closed the distance in an instant.
The kunai flashed with chilling light as it slashed straight toward Dong Lan's throat.
Clang!
A piercing impact echoed.
An ice-blue spear suddenly condensed in Dong Lan's hand, perfectly blocking the strike. Cold air spread along the kunai, trying to freeze it.
Retsu was not surprised. He twisted his wrist and changed his angle of attack, launching a storm-like barrage of taijutsu strikes.
Compared to her overwhelming, wide-range frost techniques, Dong Lan—like Xia Lan—was far weaker in close combat.
As a spell specialist, her physical skills were mediocre.
Facing Retsu's fast, precise, and ruthless attacks, she could only barely defend herself with her ice spear. Before long, she was pushed into a disadvantage.
The kunai in Retsu's hand had been specially forged by a blacksmith not long ago.
In the Sengoku era, where an ordinary person had to save for a year just to buy an iron pot, this kunai had been far from cheap.
But as a ninja, he still preferred using kunai over a katana.
He had already planned to ask Kagome to order some from the modern era later.
After all, the Higurashi family owned a shrine in Tokyo—they were fairly well-off.
While attacking, Retsu was distracted by these random thoughts.
Suddenly, Dong Lan's angry shout rang out.
"How dare you space out while fighting me!"
Seeing how casual he was even in battle, Dong Lan's expression darkened.
She blocked his kunai again, and violent cold winds suddenly erupted from her body, spreading in all directions.
Retsu burst chakra under his feet and leaped backward, retreating instantly to avoid the expanding frost.
He landed lightly on a tree trunk and looked toward her.
Wherever the freezing wind had passed, the ground had turned into a frozen wasteland. Crystals of ice clung to the grass, reflecting cold light.
"Sigh… Your ability is really useful in hot weather," Retsu said with a grin as he looked at the frozen landscape.
"I was only planning to teach you a small lesson for Xia Lan's sake," Dong Lan said coldly, anger flashing in her eyes. "But now, you've really pissed me off."
"Oh? You're angry?"
Retsu looked as if he had just noticed, wearing a belatedly surprised expression.
"Xia Lan, it looks like this guy really made Big Sister mad," Chun Lan whispered beside her.
"It's fine. Big Sister can't beat Retsu," Xia Lan replied confidently.
Chun Lan looked at her in surprise.
She knew Xia Lan's temper well. Like her fire techniques, she was hot-headed and rarely acknowledged anyone.
It was unusual for her to admire a human this much.
"Is he really that strong?" Chun Lan asked curiously.
"Yes!"
Xia Lan nodded hard.
Remembering how she had challenged Retsu multiple times and been pinned to the ground each time, she shook her head violently, trying to erase those memories.
Thinking of the massive blue skeletal figure he had once summoned to punch her into the dirt, she added,
"He hasn't even used his really powerful technique yet. Right now, he's probably just playing around with Big Sister."
"Is that so?"
Chun Lan watched Retsu fight and smiled slyly.
At this moment, Dong Lan was like a living spell turret, continuously firing ice spikes.
Retsu, relying on his speed and Sharingan's prediction, strolled casually through the storm of attacks.
Every spike missed him by mere inches.
By now, the battlefield was covered in shattered ice, sparkling under the sunlight.
Xia Lan stared wide-eyed at the fight, occasionally stuffing barbecue into her mouth, watching with great enjoyment.
Just then, Chun Lan suddenly wrapped an arm around Xia Lan and whispered in her ear,
"Xia Lan, how did you summon him? Teach me, okay?"
"Huh?"
Xia Lan froze mid-bite and turned to look at Chun Lan.
After chewing and swallowing, she licked the grease off her fingers and said,
"Sure. Just sign a contract and learn summoning jutsu."
She thought for a moment, then added,
"Making the contract is easy. I know how. But summoning jutsu is harder. It took me a long time to learn."
The summoning scroll served as proof of their contract, allowing both sides to summon each other freely.
She still remembered how to make the contract, and she had already mastered the technique.
A small flame appeared in her hand, burning away the grease. She patted her chest confidently.
"Don't worry. I'll teach you. I know all of it!"
"Deal!" Chun Lan said happily.
Just imagining having this powerful human as her summoned fighter made her excited.
Her own ability was illusion-based and lacked offensive power. With Retsu charging ahead, she could safely cast illusions from behind.
What she didn't know was that Xia Lan had forgotten to mention one thing—
Summoning Retsu once would almost drain all her demonic power.
At this moment, Retsu had no idea he was about to gain another summoner.
He was still leisurely dodging Dong Lan's attacks.
"You're like a rat, dodging everywhere!" Dong Lan shouted angrily. "Do you even dare stand still?!"
"Alright. I'm tired of dodging anyway. I still need to go back and eat," Retsu replied casually.
To everyone's surprise, he stopped moving and stood still.
"Good!"
Seeing this, Dong Lan clenched her teeth.
"I'll finish you right now!"
Retsu nodded calmly.
"Exactly. One move."
Hearing such arrogance, Dong Lan felt more anger than she had in the past ten years combined. She stopped wasting words.
Her demonic power erupted violently.
She raised both hands toward Retsu.
A massive tornado of ice, frost, and snow instantly formed, roaring forward.
Everything in its path froze into solid ice pillars.
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