With the addition of two teams of Konoha Ninja, the situation instantly reversed.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the Kirigakure Ninja hiding in the water decisively flashed away, sprinting towards the dense fog not far away, completely disregarding the five companions still fighting bitterly behind him.
Teammates? What teammates? Do Ninja from the Hidden Mist Village have such things?
At this moment, he profoundly implemented the essence of the four-character combat strategy: 'Collapse, Retreat, Sell, Flee'.
Higashino Shin pursued, also ignoring his teammates' battles. All three battlefields held an absolute advantage; Gekkō Hayate and Yūgao Uzuki might take a little longer, but with Ebisu, victory was certain.
If they couldn't defeat their opponents or even got injured under these circumstances, it could only be said to be the price of growth. He wanted to protect the companions he defined, but he wouldn't act as a babysitter, constantly thinking of shielding his teammates from training.
In the Ninja World, wanting to live longer than others, one's own strength is always the best guarantee, and Higashino Shin would not always be by their side.
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The fleeing Kirigakure Ninja was very fast in the water, but not faster than Higashino Shin. After a few steps of pursuit, he jumped into the air and swung his blade a few times downwards.
The almost invisible Wind Blade from Wind Release: Shadowless Sword shot into the water like a cannonball, penetrating the shallow water and drilling into the ground, blocking the Kirigakure Ninja's escape path.
The Kirigakure Ninja underwater broke out in a cold sweat, if he could sweat in the water.
If he had moved one more step forward, he would have been cut in half by the sharp Wind Blade.
It seemed that he couldn't escape smoothly without getting rid of the brat behind him. Thinking of this, he decisively surged out from under the water, bringing up a splash of water while quickly forming hand seals.
Water Release: A Thousand Needles of Death
The water splashes he brought up instantly turned into a dense array of water needles, shooting towards Higashino Shin, who had not yet landed. He intended to shoot this hateful Konoha brat into a porcupine in mid-air.
You're in mid-air, let's see how you dodge.
Higashino Shin didn't need to dodge. He didn't even use 'One Horned Great Wall' to deploy a Chakra shield for defense. Instead, he activated a Floating Technique, rising into the air and moving rapidly horizontally.
While dodging the dense water needles, he directly arrived beside the Kirigakure Ninja.
What the hell? Are you telling me you can fly?
This Kirigakure Ninja, who was only about 20 years old and had a delicate and beautiful appearance, was stunned for a moment. Could a Ninja operate like this?
Could it be like the Sunagakure Puppet masters, using Chakra strings to swing himself from somewhere? But above them were blue skies and white clouds; where would he attach them? Do you have some deceased uncle helping you from the heavens?
Despite the surprise, his combat instincts didn't falter. Facing Higashino Shin's attacking blade, he created two ice Kunai with his hands to block the downward slash.
Then his expression changed. The opponent's blade condensed high-density Chakra, making it exceptionally sharp. Not only did it easily cut through his hard ice Kunai, but the Chakra-extended blade also split his body from top to bottom.
The two halves of the body fell onto the water with Higashino Shin, then 'bang' turned into water splashes.
It was a Water Clone. Higashino Shin was not surprised; the opponent had been hiding in the water the whole time, not running, but constantly looking for an opportunity to counter-kill.
That's why Ninja combat is an information war. The opponent didn't understand Higashino Shin and knew nothing about his methods.
Hiding underwater is useless for ordinary Perception Ninja, especially since Higashino Shin uses natural perception. But since the opponent wanted to counter-kill, he would give him the chance.
As soon as he landed on the water, ice mirrors suddenly appeared out of nowhere all around him. The ice mirrors spread at an astonishing speed, enveloping him in the blink of an eye.
Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals
What a familiar and nostalgic Ninjutsu, but Higashino Shin wouldn't foolishly stay inside to experience the torture of Mother Rong.
While the opponent's Ninjutsu was forming, he immediately charged in one direction, casually slashing through an ice mirror with a Wind Blade and escaping.
Ice Release is quite miraculous, but the user's strength is a bit lacking; they can't trap him with speed. In terms of speed, he wouldn't lose to anyone... Ah! So cold.
"Got you."
Just as he emerged, a figure suddenly appeared from beneath the water, grabbing Higashino Shin's ankles. Then, with a full activation of Ice Release, it froze Higashino Shin into an ice sculpture.
"Die, you hateful and troublesome brat." The young Kirigakure Ninja slowly rose from the water, face to face with Higashino Shin, looking at the figure in the ice sculpture, and cursed bitterly.
However, despite the fierce expression, due to his slender figure and overly beautiful and delicate appearance, he looked like a beauty pouting.
"You continue, I can still take it!"
Higashino Shin in the ice sculpture suddenly spoke, and at the same time, one hand broke through the solid ice, reaching out to grab the Kirigakure Ninja.
The opponent was startled, grasping Higashino Shin's hand firmly: "Die, die, just die!"
He shouted while desperately activating his Ice Release ability, freezing his opponent into a massive block of ice once more.
This was probably the last of the Chakra he could extract. After completing the technique, feeling that the brat inside was no longer moving, he let out a long sigh of relief and slumped onto the water.
Suddenly, he felt a pain in his spine, then his whole body went numb. His brain couldn't control his body, and he fell onto the water, beginning to sink.
As he fell, he saw another brat behind him, pointing his index finger at him.
Wind Release: Wind Finger Gun
Higashino Shin shot a Chakra bullet into his spine. The sharp nature of the Wind Release Chakra erupted in a small area, completely severing the central nerves within his spine.
Simply put, he wasn't dead, but he was crippled, with super high-level paraplegia from the neck down, destined to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, if he had a rest of his life.
Lord Zhen was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see people die, so he spared his life.
"It seems you're only capable of this much," Higashino Shin said, lifting him up.
"What did you do to me, you hateful brat? What evil Ninjutsu did you use? Why can't I move?"
"I don't need to tell you."
At this moment, the Shadow Clone trapped in the ice block finally couldn't hold on. With a 'bang', it burst open, sending a large amount of memories back to the main body.
Higashino Shin closed his eyes, experiencing the Clone's sensations, and smiled happily: "So, this is Ice Release. Bloodline Limits are truly amazing."
Yes, if he hadn't wanted to experience the feeling of Ice Release, he wouldn't have fought the opponent for so long. Those first few Wind Blades would have killed the opponent.
Higashino Shin also naturally possessed Wind and Water Release Chakra, and his nature transformation training was very deep. He also wanted to create Ice Release to play with.
Even if not for combat, it's very convenient to use as an air conditioner in summer or for frozen drinks.
For this purpose, he even allowed the opponent to grab his body twice, personally experiencing the activation process of the Ice Release Bloodline Limit.
The Kirigakure Ninja of the Yuki Clan desperately felt his numb body and pleaded in a softer voice: "C-can I still be cured? It must be possible, right? If... if you can cure me, I'll do anything. I can recognize you as my master."
Higashino Shin looked down at that devastatingly beautiful face and suddenly became angry: "You can't fool me! Don't think I don't know, you're a man, a man! Bastard!"
After speaking, he punched the opponent unconscious.
What a sin. Why does the Yuki Clan keep producing these damn 'Male Daughters'? If he stayed with such people for too long, Higashino Shin couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't turn gay in the future.
The truth is, these guys don't even need to disguise themselves to enter the women's bathhouse; they can just use their faces. If there were livestreams in the Ninja World, they could trick top donors into bankruptcy without even needing makeup.
Damn it, no wonder Kirigakure would eventually wipe out these monsters; keeping them severely affected the Village's birth rate.