Chapter 30 — A Ninja Battle Is, Above All Else, a Battle of Information
In the world of ninja combat…
At least before cheaters began sprouting out of the ground like weeds—
there was one principle most shinobi agreed upon:
A battle between ninjas is fundamentally a battle of information.
A classic example was the so-called "information ninja," Jiraiya.
Rumor had it that if Jiraiya got hold of accurate intel on someone…
There wouldn't be a soul alive he couldn't take down.
And now, facing the Oto-nin unit, the three Snow-nin and their lord, Kazahana Doto, were like fish laid out on the chopping block—
because the Oto-nin already knew them far too well.
Unfortunately for Doto and his elite trio…
they weren't among those miraculous "plot-armored monsters" who seemed to grow straight out of the soil.
Tragedy strikes again—
and with it, their previously smooth-sailing lives came to an abrupt end.
---
"Hurry and get in the air, Fubuki!"
While the burly Fuyukuma roared for Fubuki to take off and relieve some pressure…
He actually believed the Oto-nin under Kinoshita Jirō's command were only throwing kunai and shuriken?
Snow Country might be a minor nation,
but even small nations had their rare geniuses and elite fighters.
However—
Oto-nin under Nobunaga?
They were trained using tactical doctrines from Nobunaga's otherworldly knowledge—spec ops principles decades ahead of this era.
So why would they be "just throwing kunai"?
Every single kunai and shuriken raining down from the darkness…
had a paper explosive tag tied to the end.
The telltale crackling of burning paper—
normally impossible for a trained shinobi to miss…
Was perfectly drowned out by Fuyukuma's thunderous shouting.
And Fubuki?
Flapping her wings, furious at being woken from her beauty sleep and nearly killed in it?
She was too busy getting airborne to notice anything else.
Not a single one of them realized what was about to happen.
---
"Idiots! RUN! BOTH OF YOU!"
Fortunately, among Doto's group, at least one person could be called competent.
Rōga Nadare—
the least greasy-looking one among the rebel trio and their leader.
He had once fought Kakashi Hatake to an even match in the original timeline,
and now his triangle-shaped eyes twitched.
He heard it.
The burning hiss of dozens of detonating tags.
His soul nearly flew out of his body.
Instantly he shouted to his two teammates, while dragging Doto with him in a clumsy scramble to escape.
---
"Huh?"
Fuyukuma, still bracing the slab of wood like a shield, reacted a beat too slow.
Even when he saw Rōga and Doto sprinting away at speeds that would impress a jonin,
he simply blinked with his big, honest eyes…
And stood his ground.
Then—
BOOM!!!!!!!!
A string of explosive tags detonated all at once.
Where Fuyukuma had been standing…
The world turned white.
To Winter Bear Fuyukuma—
in his simple worldview, his job had always been to be the shield that protects those behind him.
And now, quite literally, he had become a shield.
A perfectly functioning one.
After taking dozens of explosive tags head-on…
his fate was likely no different from Senju Nawaki's—only worse.
So when Rōga and Kazahana Doto saw the charred black lump lying on the ground…
Their faces twisted with shock and anger.
"You bastards actually killed Fuyukuma?!"
Both men immediately began forming hand signs.
Whatever tiny chance existed for negotiation had died with that explosion.
Not that negotiation was ever truly on the table.
Normally, their plan would be simple:
Let Fubuki, with her aerial advantage, scatter the enemy formation.
Then Rōga and Doto would counterattack with Snow Country's terrain-favored ice techniques.
With their chakra armor providing defense and environmental advantage,
they never believed these sneak-attacking, trap-spamming intruders could take them down so easily.
But—
Intelligence decides battles.
And Nobunaga already knew all their intel.
Not only that, even Sandayū Asama—the faithful old retainer of Koyuki Kazahana—had provided every detail about them.
With their secrets laid bare…
How could the battle possibly unfold the way they expected?
---
"What the—?!"
Thanks to Fuyukuma's massive frame tanking most of the explosive blast,
Fubuki had barely managed to escape death and take to the air.
But—
Before she could reach a safe altitude…
before she could unleash her signature technique, Ice Release: Swallow Snowstorm,
a shadow descended from above.
A net.
A pitch-black net, invisible in the nighttime darkness, dropped cleanly over her.
Completely caught off guard, Fubuki struggled wildly, but—
This net wasn't improvised.
It was made specifically for her.
Just like a spider's web:
the more the prey struggles, the tighter the net constricts.
Within seconds, the wires wrapped around her limbs and torso, forcing her into a highly unflattering—and very compromising—pose.
Her voluptuous curves pushed against the netting, making her look even more indecent.
"You bastards—!"
Her wings rendered useless, her flight vanished instantly.
As she dropped from the sky, Fubuki attempted to form hand seals mid-fall, planning to blast herself free—
She never got the chance.
---
"Lightning Release — Spider Web!"
More than a dozen Oto-nin specializing in Lightning Release stepped forward.
They struck simultaneously.
Blinding streams of crackling lightning shot into the net and into Fubuki's body.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!!"
Her attempt at jutsu ended before it began.
Pinned between the conductive net and the violent lightning,
she writhed on the ground like a dying mermaid—
frothing at the mouth, eyes rolled back.
Snow-nin Trio member #2—
Fubuki—fell.
Just like that.
---
"Damn it all!"
Seeing two elite Snow-nin taken down so cleanly—without even inconveniencing the enemy—
Rōga's blood ran cold.
There was no time for hesitation.
If his usual hand seal speed was one sign per second—
right now, at the edge of life and death,
his hands moved like lightning.
Given the situation, either of his strongest techniques could turn the tide:
Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale
—a colossal blue-whale-sized ice construct capable of crushing everything in its path.
Ice Release: Wolf Fang Avalanche Technique
—an overwhelming storm of ice and snow, devastating to multiple enemies.
Both were perfect.
And Rōga, teeth gritted and sweat pouring down his face, made his choice:
The White Whale.
Chakra surged through his body as he wove the final signs.
He could already feel the freezing energy gathering—
could already envision the colossal ice whale rising behind him—
But—
Something was wrong.
His sweat, already pouring, began dripping like a waterfall.
His chakra kept trying to manipulate the environment…
and failing.
"The ice… won't respond?"
He froze.
The snow.
The ice.
The environment that had always obeyed him in Snow Country—
was completely inert.
Panicked, Rōga darted his eyes around frantically.
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