[At the same time, Sasuke's battle with the Snow Hidden jōnin Fubuki Kakuyoku had already entered an even more intense and deadlocked stage.
Growing increasingly impatient at her inability to take down the boy before her, Fubuki Kakuyoku suddenly slammed both hands against the ground, instantly activating her Ice Prison Technique.
In the next moment, a heavy tremor rumbled up from beneath the frozen surface. Thick pillars of ice burst out through the snow, carrying biting cold as they crashed forward with tremendous force.
Facing the attack, Sasuke first twisted aside to evade the fierce assault of the ice pillars, then, without hesitation, unleashed the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique once more, intending to suppress his opponent with flames.
But Fubuki Kakuyoku had already prepared for that. With a lift of her hand, she summoned a solid wall of ice, easily blocking the violent force of the Great Fireball.
Then more ice pillars, precisely controlled by the Snow ninja, began striking in from every direction. In no time at all, Sasuke was surrounded on all sides—until he was completely sealed within the ice.
Yet before Fubuki Kakuyoku could even begin to look pleased with herself,
she discovered that the Sasuke trapped inside the pillar was nothing but an afterimage. In his place was a stove, frozen within the ice, plastered all over with explosive tags.
Boom! Rumble—!
A deafening blast erupted.
The entire ice pillar shattered instantly, sending fragments of ice flying in every direction amid a wave of blazing heat.
Caught completely off guard, Fubuki Kakuyoku had no time to think. In a panic, she spread the wing-like mechanisms on the back of her armor and used their lift to launch herself into the air, barely managing to avoid the scorching flames.
But at the same time, the violent explosion and the fire blazing into the sky completely shattered Kazahana Koyuki's already strained mental defenses.
Staring at the flames rising higher and higher, staining the sky red, the terror of her past finally burst through all restraint. Her legs could no longer support her weight, and she crumpled directly onto the icy snow.
"P-Princess!"
Asama Sandayū and Sakura had remained at her side the entire time. The moment they saw her collapse, both cried out in alarm.
Naruto, who had been exchanging blows with Doto Fuyumaguma, was also distracted by the cry. His movement slowed for the briefest instant—and his enemy seized the opening, driving a heavy punch straight into his stomach.
With a muffled groan, Naruto was sent flying backward. He smashed straight through the ice wall behind him and was buried alive beneath a cascade of shattered ice.
"Naruto!"
Seeing Naruto buried and the situation on the battlefield take a sudden turn for the worse, Kakashi could no longer afford to continue trading taijutsu blows with Nadare Rōga, nor did he have time to keep wondering how Rōga's strength had suddenly become so terrifying.
Using the repelling force from their clashing fists, he instantly leapt backward, turned, and dashed straight toward Naruto's position.
At the same time, his hands were already moving rapidly through a series of seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!!"
The instant the hand seals were completed,
the sea beyond the massive iceberg suddenly surged upward.
A huge vortex of water rose into the air, taking the shape of a vicious water dragon. Then, with an earthshaking roar, it charged directly at Doto Fuyumaguma.
Faced with a powerful ninjutsu cast by Kakashi of the Sharingan, an elite jōnin of Konoha, Doto Fuyumaguma remained perfectly calm.
He immediately activated the power of the armor covering his body. Using its chakra barrier to withstand the most destructive initial impact of the water dragon, he then retreated backward, easily slipping beyond the range of the remaining torrent.
Of course, Kakashi had expected as much from the start.
He had never intended to defeat Doto Fuyumaguma with that technique. As long as it temporarily pinned the enemy down long enough to rescue Naruto, that was enough.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the director—who had been watching the fierce fight from beginning to end—was already so excited he was practically trembling.
Even as he shook with excitement, he kept shouting at the cameramen, ordering them to record every single moment of the battle without missing a thing.
"Listen to me, all of you! Even if it costs your lives, keep filming this! I guarantee it—this will be the very thing that sends this movie to the highest box-office record in history!!"
While the director's shout still echoed in the air, Kakashi had already reached Naruto. The two of them stood back-to-back in silent coordination, each watching the enemies before them with full vigilance.
"Sensei, those ninja's armor seems kind of strange," Naruto said.
"That's equipment specially developed by the Land of Snow for its Snow ninja," Kakashi replied. "It's called Chakra Armor—an advanced type of special defensive gear from the new era."
"Chakra Armor?"
Hearing the unfamiliar term, the confusion in Naruto's eyes turned into curiosity.
He had seen all kinds of finely crafted ninja tools in Konoha, but never anything like this armor-based defensive equipment. For a moment, he could not help wanting to know exactly what made it so special.
As if noticing the curiosity in Naruto's eyes, and just as Kakashi was privately thinking that the Land of Snow's Chakra Armor had improved enormously compared to ten years ago,
Nadare Rōga suddenly flickered onto a snow peak not far away and looked down on them from above. Wearing a smug expression, he began introducing it of his own accord:
"You should remember, shouldn't you?"
"This Chakra Armor not only amplifies the wearer's own chakra, strengthening the power of their ninjutsu, but can also project a chakra barrier around the body, neutralizing all sorts of chakra-based attacks. It can even reverse your chakra back against you. Whether it's ninjutsu or genjutsu, all of it is completely useless against it!"
"And this—this is the supreme embodiment of the Land of Snow's technological achievements!!"
By the time he finished saying that, the smugness on Nadare Rōga's face had shifted into a sinister grin, and his tone took on a more eerie edge.
"Of course, compared to this pinnacle of technology, the Land of Snow still possesses something even greater."
"Kakashi, weren't you just asking what exactly happened to me?"
"If you've got the nerve—then uncover the truth yourself."]
—"How is that even possible? A tiny country like the Land of Snow actually has defensive ninja equipment this powerful?!"
—"Don't believe everything Nadare Rōga says. I've dealt with Snow Country ninja before. That armor definitely has some performance, sure—but it's mostly useful only at the genin or chūnin level. Once you're talking jōnin-class combat, the enhancement it gives becomes really limited. It's nowhere near as exaggerated as he's making it sound."
—"The guy above is right! If that armor were really as incredible as he claims, then Doto Fuyumaguma wouldn't have blocked Kakashi's Water Dragon only for a moment before retreating. He should've been able to turn the tables and suppress him instead."
—"Still, just being able to stall a jōnin's assault is already no small thing! And ordinary ninja tools can't even touch it. That defensive capability is strong enough."
—"At the end of the day, though, all of that is still external equipment. If Nadare Rōga himself weren't strong enough, then even with the armor he still wouldn't be able to fight Kakashi. At most, the armor just makes the strong stronger. Rather than envying gear like that, you'd be better off focusing on your own training. Strength itself is the real foundation."
—"Easy for you to say! If becoming stronger were really that simple, then Kage-level fighters wouldn't be so few and far between across the entire ninja world. Ordinary ninja wouldn't have to struggle so desperately just to improve. There wouldn't be so many regrets in this world."
—"Setting that aside, is nobody curious about the power the Phantom Demon Emperor granted to Nadare Rōga and the other Snow ninja? From the way he talked, that power seems even greater than the Chakra Armor developed by the Land of Snow."
—"No need to rush. Judging by the pacing of the video, Nadare Rōga and the others will probably use that power very soon. When they do, we'll get the perfect chance to see just what this mysterious Phantom Demon Emperor really is!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 119)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter79)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter125)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 73
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 55
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 66
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 63
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 55
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 31
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 31
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 31
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