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Shin and the Third Kazekage faced each other. The other Suna Shinobi formed a circle around them.
“Kazekage-sama, do you need assistance?” Chiyo asked.
“No.” The Kazekage refused. He wasn’t going to gang up on a kid.
Chiyo frowned. They couldn’t underestimate this boy. He had injured the Kazekage with a single blow.
She felt the Kazekage was being arrogant. This could end badly.
“Vacuum Slash!”
Shin swung his sword with full force, slicing through the air. A blade of compressed air shot towards the Kazekage.
Creating an air blade with a sword was far more difficult than with a punch.
The air blade was incredibly fast. The Kazekage’s eyes widened.
“Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!”
Iron Sand swirled around the Kazekage, forming an impenetrable sphere.
The air blade struck the Iron Sand, sparks flying. It slowly cut through the Iron Sand, but the defense was thick, over thirty centimeters.
The air blade managed to penetrate twenty centimeters before dissipating.
“Couldn’t break it. Disappointing.” Shin sheathed his sword.
“But since you like staying in there so much, why don’t you stay there forever?”
“Ice Release: Ice Age!”
Shin’s hands flew through a series of hand seals, fifteen seals in two seconds. An icy chill emanated from him.
Ignoring the Chakra cost, frost spread from his feet, covering the ground in a thick layer of ice.
The Iron Sand sphere encasing the Kazekage was instantly frozen. The ice continued to spread outwards.
“Retreat! Everyone, retreat!”
Chiyo yelled, leading the Suna forces in a hasty retreat. Those further away were fine, but the Shinobi near the front couldn’t escape.
The stronger ones managed to flee, but the Chunin were too slow. They were frozen solid, encased in ice. Within moments, a one-kilometer radius was transformed into a world of ice.
Hundreds of ice pillars stood frozen in this icy wasteland. They were the Suna Shinobi who hadn’t been able to escape.
“Still not as powerful as Kuzan’s Hie Hie no Mi.”
Shin observed his Ice Age Jutsu. He had developed it based on Kuzan’s Devil Fruit ability, but it was still far weaker.
Kuzan could freeze dozens of kilometers of ocean with ease.
But Shin’s Ice Release was still developing. Perhaps one day, he would surpass Kuzan.
Shin wasn’t completely satisfied, but the Suna and Konoha Shinobi were stunned.
“That’s Ice Release?! When did he get Ice Release? He didn’t tell me!” Tsunade was indignant.
“What incredible power…” Orochimaru’s eyes widened in shock.
“Damn that brat!”
Chiyo almost fainted, seeing her frozen comrades.
“Quick! Save the Kazekage!”
Ebizo, Chiyo’s brother, yelled, his eyes filled with worry. The Third Kazekage was trapped in the ice.
If they didn’t rescue him soon, he would suffocate.
They had to break the ice. If the Kazekage died here, Suna would be in danger.
Ebizo charged forward, using Wind Release to attack the ice encasing the Kazekage. But the ice was as hard as steel.
Shin watched them calmly. They wouldn’t be able to break it. He wondered if the Kazekage could escape from the inside.
The Kazekage had deactivated his Iron Sand defense. He looked at the ice surrounding him, his face pale.
He manipulated the Iron Sand, forming various weapons, and attacked the ice from the inside.
With attacks from both inside and outside, and with some Shinobi using Fire Release, the ice finally shattered. The Kazekage emerged, gasping for air.
The space within the sphere hadn’t been large; the air had been thin.
“Retreat!” the Kazekage ordered.
He didn’t try to attack Shin. He chose to retreat.
The Suna Shinobi wanted to save their frozen comrades, but they knew the chances of survival were slim.
“You think you can just retreat? Did you ask me?”
Shin charged towards them, his sword flashing. A massive air blade sliced through the ice.
“Puppet Technique: Human Puppet!”
Chiyo used the Human Puppet Jutsu to defend, and the Third Kazekage used his strongest Iron Sand defense.
The other Suna Shinobi also used defensive Jutsu. The sight was spectacular, even more so than when Shin had faced the combined might of Kirigakure.
The air blade sliced through ten puppets and broke through the Kazekage’s Iron Sand defense. The air blade was too large, and the Kazekage’s Iron Sand wall wasn’t thick enough.
But after breaking through the Iron Sand, the air blade’s power was spent. It was easily blocked by the other Suna Shinobi’s defenses.
The Suna forces retreated hastily, abandoning their frozen comrades.
The chances of survival for those trapped in the ice were slim. The Kazekage wouldn’t risk further losses to save them.
If Shin used another Ice Age Jutsu, the consequences would be dire.
Chiyo winced as she retrieved the broken Human Puppet. It was a masterpiece by the previous generation’s Puppet Master, Monzaemon Chikamatsu. It was irreplaceable, and now it was damaged.
She didn’t know if she could repair it.
As she collected the puppet, she suddenly felt a chill, a sense of danger. She instinctively leaned to the side.
A flash of white, and a sword pierced through her body.
She had dodged slightly, avoiding a fatal blow. The sword, aimed for her heart, had missed, piercing her side instead.
“Too bad.”
Shin deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan, disappointed. He had almost killed Chiyo.
He had used Yomotsu Hirasaka to open a small, invisible portal and thrust his Kusanagi sword through it.
The sword had emerged from another portal near Chiyo, stabbing her from a distance of several hundred meters.
This was another application of Yomotsu Hirasaka.
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