Chapter 114: Surprise Attack on the Snow Ninja
The moonlight was bright and clear, laying a layer of silver gauze over the snowy ground.
The bright, flowing light poured down from the sky, casting mottled light and shadows in the woods.
The moon was bright and the wind was clear. The tranquil night enveloped the boundless earth, but the silence was suddenly broken by the movements of three ninja traveling at high speed.
The leading ninja was nimble and light, speaking as she leaped through the forest.
"By the way, one of the three main ninja was already seriously injured by me during the day. Although I don't think they're strong, we still can't underestimate them in battle."
The speaker was the Konoha ninja, Haruno Sakura.
She continued her analysis, "The Ice Style these Snow Ninja use is a completely different thing from the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai that Haku and I have mastered, which is a combination of wind and water affinities. Their Ice Style is perhaps more aptly called 'Ice Block Style.' It's much worse than the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai, about the same as a general elemental ninjutsu."
"However, this is the Land of Snow. There is ice and snow everywhere, which is the home field for Ice Style. I think you've both understood from the past few days of sparring how much of an advantage it is to fight on your home field! Here, even a very weak ninja has the possibility of using a powerful ice jutsu, so you must be careful!"
Of course, what had left the deepest impression on the girl was the suit of armor on the ponytail-wearing ninja.
"Their Ice Style can at most cause you a little trouble; there's no need to be too concerned. But the armor on those three ninja seems to be able to nullify ordinary taijutsu and ninjutsu attacks, so you must not be careless in battle, and don't be stingy with your ninjutsu!"
All three of them were moving fast.
As Sakura spoke, she led the two of them forward. Before long, the castle that served as the Snow Ninja's base stood before them.
In the dark of the night, two Snow Ninja were patrolling the castle, one in front of the other, holding lanterns.
"The atmosphere tonight is a bit strange," the ponytail-wearing Snow Ninja leading the way muttered in a low voice.
"Hn, I heard that one of the three lords went out on a mission this morning and came back covered in blood, unable to even walk. He was carried back," the white-haired ninja following behind said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. He didn't dare to speak loudly. Today, a brother had been talking about this matter behind their backs and had been overheard by another of the three lords, who had hung him up and given him a harsh beating. The miserable state of that man was still fresh in his mind.
"Hn, I know. One of the two who went out with that lord today was my brother," the ponytail-wearing Snow Ninja said, turning his head back to whisper. He wore glasses, and his voice was extremely low. "He said the opponent was just one person, a girl with pink hair."
"A girl?"
"That's right, about thirteen or fourteen years old. With just two moves, she seriously injured that lord to the point of near death. I heard she was even holding back."
"Hey~~" The white-haired ninja seemed to be shivering from the cold wind, his voice trembling. "The girl you're talking about, d-does she have green... eyes?"
"Huh, how did you... know?"
The ponytail ninja was startled. He followed the other's trembling, raised arm and looked back—
"Yo~ Good evening!" The pink-haired, green-eyed girl was standing right before them, greeting them with a bright smile.
Thud, thud! Before the Snow Ninja could react, Naruto and Sasuke, who had appeared behind the two of them, each delivered a hand-chop to their necks, knocking them unconscious.
Catching the softly falling Snow Ninja and tossing them into a dark corner, Sasuke incidentally rolled his eyes at the girl. "Tsk, your bad taste... is really strong! This could easily expose us!"
"We're already here. It's impossible not to be exposed. The infiltration before was just to save stamina," Sakura said with a smile and a shake of her head. Looking around, they had already penetrated deep into the castle's interior. They had already taken care of many patrol personnel. The enemy was probably already on alert. "There's no need to waste time from now on. We'll just launch a frontal assault!"
"Alright, it's about time!"
"Hmph, suits me just fine!"
And it was just as Sakura had said. Not long after taking down these two Snow Ninja, the alarm sounded in the castle. Squad after squad of Snow Ninja began to gather and rush towards the intruders. Then these cannon-fodder ninja met with great misfortune, being beaten by Fire and Wind Style until they were completely routed.
When Sakura and the others were still playing at infiltration earlier, they could still show mercy when they encountered Snow Ninja, only knocking them out and not killing them. Now that the two sides were clashing, it was impossible for Sasuke and Naruto to hold back any longer. Especially Naruto, relying on his abundant chakra, charged at the very front, throwing one wind jutsu after another. Often, before the Snow Ninja could even react, he had beaten them into a complete rout. The Snow Ninja soon suffered heavy casualties.
After taking down two more squads of Snow Ninja that came to meet them, there were only a few people left in the already understaffed Snow Ninja base. Some had even begun to flee in panic. They had no time to stop them, rushing straight for the core of the castle with unstoppable momentum.
Then, in an empty courtyard, they finally met with an obstacle.
"Ice Style - Swallow Snowstorm!"
The ninjutsu brought with it over a dozen huge, exploding ice darts. Their fierce and intimidating presence made Team 7 stop in their tracks for the first time since entering the castle.
Ting, ting, ting! After a few crisp sounds, Naruto and Sasuke, holding kunai in their hands, calmly parried the incoming darts one by one.
Long-term training and combat had made it so that Naruto and Sasuke no longer paid any mind to a surprise attack of this level. However, the ninja opposite them had probably not used their full strength either. This ninjutsu was more like a dangerous greeting.
"Yo~ the presence of this ninjutsu... it seems we've finally met some opponents who aren't such cannon fodder!" Sakura, who was walking at the back of the team, said with a light smile, looking at the three ninja standing before them.
In the courtyard in front of her stood two men and one woman, all wearing the same armor as the Snow Ninja from the daytime. It was clear that these were the main targets Team 7 was looking for. The tall ninja standing at the very back was Kazahana Dotō. The man and woman standing in front of him, guarding him, were the elite Snow Ninja, Kakuyoku Fubuki and Fuyukuma Mizore.
"Pink hair, light green eyes... it seems you are the Konoha ninja who seriously injured Rōga Nadare," the middle-aged ninja standing at the back said with a gloomy face.
The armor he was wearing looked more complex and more exquisite. He also carried the air of a superior who had long been in a position of honor. His every move had an overbearing aura that was unpleasant. Sakura quickly realized that this was Kazahana Dotō.
Kazahana Dotō stared intently at Sakura, clearly very wary of her ninjutsu, especially the water jutsu that had pierced through Rōga Nadare's armor. However, from the fact that he had chosen to stand out and fight, he was probably confident that the armor on his body was even tougher. This ambitious fellow was clearly more confident in his own strength.
"Then, you must be that scumbag, Kazahana Dotō," Sakura sneered.
"You insolent fool!" The female ninja standing in front, Kakuyoku Fubuki, had the most fiery temper. Hearing Sakura's rude words, she let out an angry shout. Her rather pretty face twisted in anger, and she immediately and unhesitatingly formed hand seals to cast a ninjutsu.
"Ice Style - Tearing Dragon, Fierce Tiger!"
A large amount of chakra rapidly condensed the ice and snow on the open ground into a giant, fierce tiger as tall as two men. It roared and charged towards the three members of Team 7.
This one ninjutsu forcefully choked back the words that Haruno Sakura and Kazahana Dotō were about to exchange and, as a bonus, raised the curtain on the battle.
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