Bonus chapter
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As the battle began, both sides quickly found their respective opponents.
Minazuki Murasaki confronted the leading Uchiha Clan jonin. Without exchanging a word, the two launched into a fierce clash of weapons.
The Uchiha jonin's kunai grazed Murasaki's mask, knocking it off and revealing the delicate features of the Minazuki Clan.
Murasaki flipped backward, then kicked the jonin in the abdomen, sending him several meters away. The moment she landed, her hands blurred through a series of seals. In the next instant, an ice dragon condensed and crashed toward the Uchiha jonin.
[Ice Release: Ice Dragon Bullet]
The Uchiha jonin did not panic. Forming hand signs of his own, he expelled a blazing fire dragon from his mouth.
[Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet]
The ice dragon and fire dragon collided, instantly producing a massive cloud of steam that obscured their vision.
"Ice Release? The Minazuki Clan?" the Uchiha muttered, staring into the mist.
Suddenly, his Sharingan's enhanced perception caught several dark figures darting toward him through the fog. Relying on instinct, he leapt backward.
The moment his feet left the ground, countless ice needles erupted from the spot where he had been standing, piercing the earth.
Before he could steady himself, a shadow fell over him.
Minazuki Murasaki descended from above, an ice blade in hand, slashing down with tremendous force. With no room to evade, the Uchiha jonin instinctively raised his weapon to block.
But how could a hurried defense withstand such a heavy strike?
His kunai was sliced clean in half, and the ice blade continued downward toward his chest.
Driven by survival instinct, he raised his other arm to shield himself. The ice blade buried itself two-thirds of the way into his forearm before stopping.
Before he could even feel relief, a powerful kick struck him in the chest, sending him flying into a tree trunk behind him.
He coughed up blood, forced himself upright, and wiped the corner of his mouth.
"Minazuki brat… not bad. It's been a long time since anyone's made me look this disheveled. What's your name?"
Murasaki didn't respond. She simply raised her hand and fired several more ice needles.
"Tch!"
The Uchiha tilted his head to dodge, then pushed off the ground and retreated. Murasaki paused briefly before pursuing him.
After only a few steps, a fireball suddenly shot toward her from the front. Without hesitation, she used the Body Flicker Technique to evade.
The moment she landed, several kunai tied with explosive tags flew toward her position.
"The Great Fireball was a feint… these explosive tags are the real attack."
Realizing she couldn't escape the blast radius, Murasaki decisively formed hand seals.
A thick layer of ice armor instantly enveloped her entire body.
Just as the armor solidified, the explosive tags detonated.
The explosion swallowed her in flames, and the shockwave toppled several large trees nearby. When the smoke cleared, Murasaki was seen half-kneeling at the center of the blast, breathing heavily.
She looked battered. Most of her ice armor had shattered, her clothes were scorched, and fragments of floating ice still clung to her pale face.
"You survived that? Minazuki brat, you really do have a tough life."
The Uchiha jonin's mocking voice echoed from all directions, but Murasaki, weakened and exhausted, couldn't pinpoint his location.
"In that case… I'll send you off myself!"
A fūma shuriken spun toward her, slicing through the air with a sharp whistle.
Though severely drained, Murasaki was confident she could still dodge such a straightforward attack. Forcing her heavy body to move, she leapt upward, narrowly avoiding the spinning blade while scanning the surroundings for her opponent.
Then she heard a soft laugh behind her.
She turned—and saw that the fūma shuriken had split into two, each attached to a steel wire. They were now being pulled back, hurtling toward her from both sides.
Suspended midair with no foothold, Murasaki could only watch as the twin blades closed in.
In her despairing gaze, the fūma shuriken struck her, pinning her body to the trunk of a tree.
After waiting a while and seeing no movement, the Uchiha jonin finally revealed himself.
He slowly approached the figure nailed to the tree.
"You're impressive, brat, making me this disheveled. But in the end, I was superior. The power of the great Uchiha Clan is beyond your imagination. How was that move? The Uchiha Shuriken Manipulation Technique! Hahahaha—"
"Ugh!"
An ice blade suddenly pierced through his chest.
The Uchiha jonin looked down at the blade protruding from his body, disbelief filling his eyes.
"How… is this possible… you…"
Before he could finish, another ice blade slashed across his throat.
In his fading vision, he saw that the Minazuki Murasaki pinned to the tree had turned into a lifelike ice sculpture.
The real Murasaki stood before him, completely unharmed, an ice blade dripping with blood in her hand.
After enduring the explosive tags, she hadn't suffered serious internal injuries—she was simply exhausted from excessive chakra consumption. To deceive her enemy, she had used [Ice Release: Ice Clone] to leave behind a more battered version of herself, then employed Earth Release to hide underground and wait for an opening.
The Uchiha jonin had been cautious. After pinning her to the tree, he didn't approach immediately and even waited for a time.
But Murasaki's Ice Clone, similar to a Wood Clone, was a high-level technique with considerable durability. It would not disappear upon contact like a Shadow Clone.
In the end, the clone successfully deceived him, and Murasaki seized the chance to kill him.
Although Hozuki Mangetsu and Minazuki Murasaki had each defeated an Uchiha jonin, the overall situation on the battlefield remained grim. The Fourth Squad was gradually being pushed back.
After eliminating their opponents, Mangetsu and Murasaki immediately moved to reinforce the other skirmishes. Their arrival finally shifted the tide in favor of the Fourth Squad.
Their strength proved decisive—especially Mangetsu. Having avoided serious injury, he rampaged across the battlefield with his Hydrification Technique, often crippling enemies in a single exchange. He moved like an assassin, each strike producing immediate results.
Though Murasaki was injured, it was not critical. She quickly reorganized the squad and directed a coordinated counterattack. Under her command, the members worked together more effectively, achieving results far greater than fighting individually.
As time passed, the Fourth Squad ultimately annihilated all the Konoha ninja present.
However, they paid a heavy price. Only one-third of their original numbers remained.
Looking exhausted, Hozuki Mangetsu walked over to Sato Kenta.
"Why are only you here? Where's Captain Asuka?"
"Lord Asuka stayed behind alone to hold off Konoha's pursuers and cover our retreat," Sato Kenta replied, his expression somber.
"Alright, alright, why the long face? With Captain Asuka's strength, those Konoha ninja definitely can't stop him."
Minazuki Murasaki, standing nearby, nodded.
"That's right. I believe in Lord Asuka's strength—he will definitely break through. What matters most now is that we safely return to the Land of Water, so that Lord Asuka's efforts aren't in vain."
Hearing her words, the squad members regained their resolve.
After a brief rest, they set off once more, heading toward the border of the Land of Water.