En no Gyōja let out a loud laugh, then declared: "This technique will send you and your summoned beasts on your way! I hope you don't covet other people's things in your next life!"
With a clap of his hands, the orb of light instantly exploded, and a world-shattering surge of energy erupted from En no Gyōja's hands, rapidly expanding outwards! The lake water beneath En no Gyōja's feet was directly propelled away by the shockwave; the spot where he stood had now become solid ground. Even the mud from the lakebed was swept away. The Cranes circling in the sky were all scattered by the shockwave, vanishing from sight.
However, Aokumo and Ryūfū reappeared in the distance, unharmed. But they seemed slightly fatigued. The clones were somewhat linked to them, and being utterly annihilated like that made Aokumo and Ryūfū feel quite uncomfortable.
"You two rest for now; leave this to me."
Hearing Torifū's words, Aokumo and Ryūfū didn't push themselves. They flew to distant trees to rest, ensuring they wouldn't be affected. Torifū was still in his cloud crane form, flying swiftly, allowing him to dodge the impact in time. The large lake was now utterly ravaged, completely stripped of its former beauty. Such a wonderful tourist spot had been destroyed just like that. Regardless of the opponent's purpose or thoughts, Torifū intended to teach him a lesson. However, Torifū still didn't plan to kill him. Such a strong person would be best to win over.
The shockwave spread for several li, turning everything in its path into ruins. The ground was shattered, and trees were snapped. It was as if an earthquake had struck; it was hard to imagine that this was caused by a single ninja's ninjutsu. Torifū felt that even if it couldn't compare to Pain, it was close enough. And this guy was only around twenty years old? His future potential was limitless.
Connecting this ninjutsu with the somewhat familiar name, Torifū remembered who this person was. En no Gyōja, the clan head of the Tsuchigumo clan! Their clan had passed down a super powerful forbidden jutsu for generations: absorbing natural energy and storing it, then releasing it to cause catastrophic destruction! En no Gyōja had made a name for himself in the ninja world with this technique. However, because of this forbidden jutsu, the Tsuchigumo clan was constantly hunted, always on the run. This explained why En no Gyōja appeared in the Land of Fire and spoke those strange words. It seemed he was being pursued and mistook Torifū for a tracker.
In the original world, after the Tsuchigumo clan came to the Land of Fire, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was somewhat wary of En no Gyōja's forbidden jutsu. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi would not fear En no Gyōja in terms of raw power, a ninjutsu that could flatten an entire village was too dangerous. As Hokage, he had to consider his villagers. Protecting the villagers was the Hokage's duty. At that time, after going through major wars and clan divisions, only a few members of the Tsuchigumo clan remained. En no Gyōja was also elderly and had lost the vigor of his youth. After agreeing with Hiruzen Sarutobi never to use the forbidden jutsu, the Tsuchigumo clan received protection from Konoha Village. But that was when he was old; the current En no Gyōja was in his prime, full of youthful vigor. How could he possibly agree not to use the forbidden jutsu? It would be good if he didn't launch another one at you. Torifū still had to beat him into submission.
However, although the power of this forbidden jutsu was incredibly strong, even ridiculously so, encountering Torifū in this wilderness was truly meeting its nemesis. Firstly, it was far from the village, so Torifū had nothing to fear. Secondly, Torifū could fly. Just the ability to fly completely countered this forbidden jutsu. Although it spread widely, its aerial reach was insufficient; one could easily dodge it by flying high enough. It seemed simple, but there were very few ninja in the entire ninja world who could fly. It was just En no Gyōja's bad luck to encounter Torifū.
The shockwave gradually subsided, and the lake water quickly flowed back, but now the water was no longer clear. The mud from the lakebed had mixed with the water, and the black lake water emitted waves of foul odor. Torifū manifested his true form and landed on the ground. With another wave of his hand, the lake surface instantly froze, and the stench stopped emanating.
En no Gyōja, who had just unleashed his ultimate move, stood on the ice, gasping for air. Although he looked exhausted, he hadn't actually consumed much chakra. He was merely tired. The forbidden jutsu consumed stored natural energy, not his own chakra. This one powerful attack had completely depleted the energy he had accumulated over a month. Looking at the solid ice beneath his feet, En no Gyōja knew that his enemy had not been harmed. A hint of fear emerged in him. Even his forbidden jutsu hadn't hurt Torifū; this was the strongest pursuer he had ever encountered. If it were just himself, dying wouldn't matter, but behind him was his entire clan. If he died, he didn't know what fate awaited his clansmen.
Adjusting his state, En no Gyōja stood straight again, looking at the white-haired boy on the shore, and couldn't help but sigh, realizing he had truly met a freak. A mere child had caused him such trouble; it was a first. However, he felt no shame. There were always stronger people out there, and he firmly believed that.
"Can I know your name?" En no Gyōja shouted to Torifū on the shore.
"Why don't you tell me yours first? You can't just be called En no Gyōja, can you?"
En no Gyōja smiled: "My full name is Tsuchigumo Arashi."
"Mine is Kumotsuru Torifū."
Upon hearing that name, Arashi froze.
'Not from the Yuki clan? Then how does he use Ice Release?'
Just as he was about to ask, the shore violently vibrated! Then, massive crystal pillars erupted from underground! Following them were countless crystal thorns and crystal clusters. The entire shore seemed to become a crystal mine, shimmering brightly under the sunlight. Behind Torifū, a crystal throne formed, and Torifū sat on it, smiling at Arashi.
"I'm not here to pursue you. I'm from Konoha Village."
"Of course, you've damaged the Land of Fire's land, turning a perfectly good lake into this monstrosity. I'm going to teach you a lesson."
Arashi felt a significant sense of relief upon hearing that Torifū was from Konoha Village. Their purpose in coming to the Land of Fire this time was to seek help from Konoha Village, but their first impression had been far from good. Whether they would actually receive help remained to be seen. However, he looked at the massive crystal pillars and the flower-like crystal clusters behind Torifū.
'Isn't this already a third Kekkei Genkai? Are all Konoha Village ninja this strong?'
[T/N: En no Gyōja isn't a name but that's what the fandom referred to the guy, I think there's no name, so the author named him Tsuchigumo Arashi. Now we will stick with Arashi.]