Throwing himself headlong into the enemy's battle formation meant being surrounded by danger from all directions.
But Haseo remained calm and composed. A steady mind meant a steady body—truly *fudō no yama* (immovable as a mountain).
He lightly kicked his right foot forward. With a crisp snapping sound, the leg of a Mist Ninja in front of him, who had tried to lift his knee, suddenly snapped. The sudden sharp pain and instant loss of balance immediately forced the enemy onto one knee.
Then Haseo stepped forward, stepping onto the enemy's bent knee, using it as a platform to elevate himself.
Yet he didn't have time to finish off this foe—already several others were rushing toward him in a desperate attack.
Though the battlefield descended into chaos under the relentless assault, only Haseo remained in perfect control of his rhythm. Although surrounded by layers of enemies, if any bystander were present, they would clearly see where the center of the battle was—at its core, on Haseo himself.
The surging Mist Ninjas came like an unstoppable tide, yet Haseo stood firm in place, as solid as a fortress.
His left arm snapped back, wrist curling inward and fingers extending just enough to catch the attacker's forearm from behind.
In that enemy's hand gripped a glinting kunai, shimmering coldly.
Haseo gently pulled forward toward his left side while slightly rotating his body, throwing the enemy off balance through his tug.
His back pressed tightly against the enemy's chest. Then, his right arm arched backward, slipping around the enemy's left shoulder, grasping the sword hilt at his waist.
The slender, razor-sharp long blade was drawn upward, and as his left arm kept pulling forward, the enemy's posture sank lower.
So, the chilling metal blade brushed softly against his opponent's throat.
With a slight pull toward himself using his right hand, accompanied by gentle friction, Haseo slid the blade back into its sheath.
It was cut clean like paper beneath a guillotine—something fragile severed in an instant.
The blade left its scabbard and returned in the blink of an eye. Yet now, its gleaming edge bore a streak of deep red—it was hard to tell whether it added refinement or a darker edge to this legendary blade.
Unlike the earlier forceful downward strike, this enemy's body now crumpled lifelessly to the ground. Still gripping the forearm, Haseo pushed further, swinging the corpse in a wide arc, clearing away the enemies on his left while sending them crashing outward together.
It was only now that Haseo had the opportunity to deal with the enemy before him. He gently lifted his right foot and then forcefully stomped down, sending the kneeling opponent crashing flat onto his back. Once more, Haseo's right foot came down on the enemy's neck, twisting slightly at the tip...
Even though he moved like a child casually squishing mud, stomping around a few times, the result was still quite bloody—so brutal it would require heavy pixelation to watch.
Although Haseo found himself surrounded, only a few enemies were actually able to engage him directly at once. More of them simply formed a loose circle around the outer perimeter. As the battle progressed, the area around Haseo gradually became somewhat empty.
The pace at which fresh Mist ninjas kept piling in to "reinforce" began to slow… Well, understandable. After all, what they called "backup" was really just sacrificial meat shields.
For lower-level Mist ninjas, aggressively pushing toward Haseo served absolutely no purpose. Was proving your passion really worth getting splattered across the battlefield? That'd be way too extreme.
Of course, the enemies noticed this too—the power Haseo displayed now seemed somewhat different from what they'd remembered.
While Mist had been cultivating in isolation over these years, Haseo certainly hadn't wasted his time like some stray dog.
Thus, the stronger Mist ninjas finally decided to act themselves.
An enormous surge of chakra erupted beneath Haseo's feet, which he barely sensed in time. His body dodged to the side just as a massive translucent spike violently burst up from underground.
Haseo avoided direct impact but still found himself lifted into midair atop the rising conical column, his body sliding sideways along its surface.
The sudden chill beneath his foot and the frost-laden aura radiating from the spike revealed his opponent's nature in an instant.
"Ice Release… huh?"
Propelled upward atop the ice spike, Haseo gained a wide view from above, instantly locking onto the attacker's location.
Haseo unleashed a burst of chakra from beneath his feet, rocketing himself forward straight toward the enemy's position.
Meanwhile, hand seals had already formed in his hands.
[Water Dragon Jutsu]
A roaring torrent coalesced into a mighty water dragon, surging ahead of Haseo as he shot forward toward the Mist ninjas gathered below—but Haseo didn't expect much damage from this technique. He merely intended for the water dragon to clear out the crowd.
However, suddenly a massive wall of ice appeared directly in front of the water dragon, blocking most of its raw power. At the same time, a giant ice pillar emerged beneath the Ice Release ninja, lifting his body a few meters into the air, perfectly evading Haseo's watery assault.
Moving at high speed, Haseo forcefully landed atop that very ice pillar.
"A challenge arena?"
Well, in truth, it really was starting to resemble one.
"Your strength exceeds even my expectations… but perhaps you've grown too confident."
"
The enemy continued forming hand seals while speaking.
This opponent perfectly matched Haseo's image of an ice-style Kekkei Genkai ninja—long flowing hair, tall and slender figure, refined androgynous face with a flat chest.
When Haseo looked up again, numerous ice mirrors were already floating in midair, encircling the "arena."
[Ice Release Secret Art: Demonic Mirroring Thin Ice] "As long as I trap you here, our forces can easily crush the newly regrouped Konoha camp once more." Immediately afterward, the ice ninja melted into the mirror surface.
This plan seemed solid enough—at least at first glance. The ice mirrors created by Ice Release weren't easy to break. The enemy had indeed constructed a prison to confine Haseo. However... regardless of whether this prison could actually be shattered or not, the intentions of the Village Hidden in Mist toward Haseo had involuntarily retreated one step.
At first, wasn't their plan to completely destroy him? Now why has it changed to merely "trapping" him?
Haseo simply smiled at the enemy's words without bothering to respond.
There's an opening!
The ice ninja must have been a determined ninja with ideals and goals. He himself wasn't content with just trapping Haseo—that felt too passive. Eventually, Haseo would find a way to escape. Therefore, when Haseo turned his back to his real body, he immediately emerged from the mirror surface and silently dove downward at high speed from a diagonal angle above, attempting to complete a spectacular assassination.
However...
A much fiercer sapphire-blue Lightning Release suddenly erupted from Haseo's body. He quickly turned around, moving ahead of the enemy's attack, dodging sideways. As the enemy passed beside him, his right hand flashed out like lightning, grabbing firmly onto the opponent's slender neck.
Bright radiant light gleamed from his palm. Powerful Lightning Release surged through the enemy's body. Under this unstoppable invasion, the opponent couldn't even mobilize his own chakra.
Let alone activating those jutsu that utilized the mirrors for effortless "solid-to-phantom" transformations.
Under the effects of Lightning Release, Haseo suddenly burst forth with unimaginable speed. He altered the enemy's downward diagonal dive into a horizontal movement, pulling both of them forward together as streaks of light.
Then...
Bang!
Haseo grabbed the enemy's head and smashed it hard against an upright ice mirror.
It really was solid—the shockwave made Haseo's own palm feel numb.
Bang!
Again—bang!
And finally, one more—bang!
"So far, I don't think I've become overly confident yet."
Haseo let go. The enemy collapsed. The ice mirrors began to melt away.
This opponent did possess some skill, but apparently, it still wasn't quite up to snuff.
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