Killer B stood proudly on the small boat, hands on his hips.
Whether or not he could actually beat that red-haired kid didn't matter. As one of the most famous figures in the entire shinobi world, he absolutely couldn't afford to lose when it came to presence.
Omoi, drooping his brows lazily, muttered,
"Looks like that kid just finished a battle... but it seems like he handled his opponent pretty easily."
Their boat gradually drifted closer to the vessel where Shinju and Sasuke stood.
Karui, the red-haired kunoichi, squinted and got a good look at Shinju and Sasuke standing on the opposite boat.
"So the rumors are true… Konoha's shinobi really are handsome. (´◊ω◊｀)"
"If they proposed to me, I might just reluctantly agree~ ( *ˊᵕˋ)✩︎‧₊"
Omoi immediately went silent, speechless.
"Wake up already! Stop daydreaming! They might be young, but that doesn't mean they're stupid! ┐(´-｀)┌"
Karui snapped back, annoyed,
"Hey! I'm not that old either! I'll give you one more chance to rephrase that! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)"
...
On Shinju's side, the four of them stared blankly at the noisy trio on the other boat.
"Who the heck are they?" Naruto squinted hard, trying to see better.
"Judging by their chakra signatures, they're probably shinobi from Kumogakure," Sasuke analyzed.
Shinju frowned.
Among the three, he had already sensed one individual with an enormous amount of chakra… dangerous levels.
"Stay alert," Shinju warned in a low, cautious voice.
He had little goodwill toward Kumogakure. After all, they had sent assassins after him before.
As the two boats drew closer, Shinju tightened his grip on the newly obtained Sword of Raijin and shouted toward the opposite boat,
"Don't come any closer!"
"Who are you people? What are you doing here?!"
Killer B immediately raised both hands and replied with an easy-going smile,
"Yo, little, we're here to deliver some cash!"
That jogged Shinju's memory—he vaguely recalled that Konoha had demanded a hefty compensation from Kumogakure in his name.
So… these people had come straight to him to settle the debt?
Hearing it was about money, Shinju's tone relaxed slightly.
"Alright, then hand it over."
"It's over ten million ryo," Killer B said casually. "If I just toss it over, I'm afraid it'll smash your boat to pieces."
Shinju nodded; he had a point. So, he slowly maneuvered his boat closer.
When the two vessels were about twenty meters apart, Shinju finally got a clear look at the three Kumogakure shinobi.
All three were armed, their hairstyles were… colorful to say the least, and their skin tones varied from dark to darker.
Kumogakure must get a ton of sunlight, huh…
And yet, despite their casual approach, Shinju noticed one glaring issue—there wasn't a single money bag on their boat.
"Row us back a bit," Shinju whispered to Naruto, his brows furrowing slightly.
Killer B, noticing Shinju's sudden wariness, barked out sharply,
"Move in!!"
"Swish! Swish!"
His two students leapt into the air, flipping gracefully as they dove off the boat!
"Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!"
The two landed on the surface of the water, sprinting across it like wolves closing in on prey, blades gleaming in their hands, charging straight for Shinju's boat!
Shinju clapped his hands together in an instant.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!!"
"Whooosh!!"
From the depths, a colossal dragon's head erupted from the ocean, towering and menacing!
The gigantic water dragon roared forth, surging directly toward Omoi and Karui!!
Omoi froze mid-step, utterly dumbstruck.
How the hell was a Konoha shinobi pulling off a Water Dragon Bullet of this scale?!
A hundred meters long…
A dragon's head so massive and majestic it radiated raw power…
It was as though a true dragon had descended upon them!
Even Killer B felt the pressure pressing down.
"Tch… makes sense though. There's plenty of water here, so the jutsu's power gets a boost. Still, this is way over the top! (≖╻≖;)"
"A Water Style jutsu this strong… it's on par with Konoha's Second Hokage!"
"Get out of the way, both of you!" Killer B barked urgently.
The two disciples were still young—barely chunin level. If that water dragon slammed into them, they'd be coughing up blood and sinking straight to the bottom.
Luckily, Omoi and Karui weren't idiots. The moment they saw the massive water dragon forming, they bolted backward immediately!
But Shinju's dragon wasn't letting them off easy—it locked on and pursued Omoi like a heat-seeking missile!
"Don't come after me! I swear, I'll never pick a fight with Konoha shinobi again!! Σ(っ °Д °;)っ" Omoi yelled frantically while running.
Karui still found the time to scold him mid-escape,
"Omoi! You're a proud Kumogakure shinobi! Where's your backbone?!"
At that moment, Sasuke stepped forward on the boat's prow, forming hand seals.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!!"
"Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh!"
Dozens of blazing fireballs shot from Sasuke's mouth, raining down upon Karui like meteors.
The power wasn't as overwhelming as Shinju's water dragon, but it was more than enough to handle Karui.
Karui's expression turned from annoyed to terrified.
"Why are all the handsome ones so ruthless?!"
Killer B slapped a hand over his face. (￣┰￣*)
These two disciples were giving him a headache.
And then, finally, Killer B moved.
He pulled several shuriken from his ninja pouch and hurled them toward Shinju's boat.
Simultaneously, he leapt off his boat, feet slapping against the water's surface, dashing toward Shinju at lightning speed—like a living missile.
On Shinju's boat.
Shinju saw the incoming shuriken and quickly ordered Sasuke and Naruto,
"Protect Idate!"
Then, he drew his own shuriken, tossed them forward, and formed rapid hand seals.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!!"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…"
A single shuriken instantly multiplied into a storm of steel, intercepting Killer B's projectiles mid-air!
Killer B's eyes widened in shock.
"The Third Hokage's Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu… and this kid's using it this smoothly?!"
Meanwhile, Shinju created a wooden clone, leaving it to guard Idate closely, while his true body stepped off the boat and onto the water.
"Crack—"
The moment Shinju's foot touched the surface, frost exploded outward.
Killer B's face twitched violently. ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!
In the shinobi world, there were five basic chakra natures: Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Wind.
But ice? Ice wasn't one of them.
Killer B knew of a clan from the Land of Water who could combine Water and Wind chakra to create Ice Release—but those bloodlines were nearly extinct, only surviving due to the country's unique environment.
So why the hell was this kid using Ice Release?!
Two Kekkei Genkai… in one person?!
Unheard of!
Even Omoi and Karui were frozen in disbelief.
Karui gawked,
"No way! He's got Wood Release and Ice Release?!"
Omoi stammered,
"Wh-what kind of clan is this guy from?! Some crazy mix of Senju, Uzumaki, and Land of Water bloodlines?!"
Back on the boat, Naruto jabbed Sasuke's arm urgently,
"Hey, Sas'ke, what the heck's going on? How come Shinju's using 'Ice Release' now?!"
Sasuke just shrugged. ┓( ´∀` )┏
"How should I know?"
"Either way, it doesn't make any sense…"
As for why Shinju could wield Ice Release—
That traced back to his training from a while ago.
During that time, Jiraiya had casually revealed something—
Certain Kekkei Genkai could actually be learned through training. For example, Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, had mastered Dust Release despite having no blood relation to the Second Tsuchikage.
If others could learn it, there was no reason Shinju couldn't.