Everyone was utterly shocked by what they had just witnessed.
In reality, Yoruha hadn't done anything before launching that ice spike. Just before attacking, he had cast a genjutsu on Mizore.
That brief moment of daze—it was the effect of the illusion.
So when the ice spike impaled him, Mizore hadn't even realized what was happening.
He struggled for only a few seconds before his body went limp, lifelessly slumping down, still skewered on the ice.
His blood quickly froze into solid ice.
Rouga Nadare and Fubuki were horrified.
"Damn it… this guy is an absolute monster. He actually used Ice Release to kill Mizore?"
"Does chakra armor do nothing against him?"
For the first time, both of them doubted the effectiveness of their own armor.
But at this point, retreat was no longer an option.
Rouga Nadare gritted his teeth.
"If we don't kill you, the leader's plan will fail. We have to kill you."
He immediately turned to Fubuki, who was still in the air.
"Fubuki! Keep him occupied from above—I'll attack directly!"
Fubuki nodded grimly.
But as she looked down at Yoruha—who stood there so calmly, his hands casually tucked into his pockets, perhaps because of the cold—her heart pounded uncontrollably.
"This guy… can we even defeat him?"
"Can we really win against him?"
"He's a monster."
Yoruha's overwhelming display of power had already filled her with despair.
To her, he wasn't just an enemy—he was something unbeatable.
This was the first time Yoruha had made his opponents feel this way.
Before, his enemies had only ever thought of him as strong. But now? Now his strength was so absurd that even the arrogant Rouga Nadare, Mizore, and Fubuki all felt as if they were fighting a monster.
And that was saying something—after all, with their chakra armor enhancing them, the three of them were at jōnin level.
Even Kakashi Hatake would struggle against them if he let his guard down.
Yet now, in the face of Yoruha, they felt helpless—as if he were a demon who had crawled straight out of hell itself.
Despite her fear, Fubuki didn't hesitate. She provided air support for Nadare from above.
"Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm!"
It was the same jutsu.
The same target—Princess Koyuki.
At the same time, Rouga Nadare unleashed his own technique.
"Ice Release: Fierce Dragon Tiger!"
"ROAR—!"
Two jutsu were launched simultaneously.
Nadare's eyes were locked onto Yoruha.
"I refuse to believe you can block both at the same time. Choose—"
"Will you save yourself, or the princess?"
But Princess Koyuki showed no fear.
Her gaze never left Yoruha.
She believed in him—believed that he would never let her be in danger.
Even Asama, though he trusted Yoruha, still instinctively stepped in front of Koyuki, ready to block the attack with his own body.
Meanwhile, Nadare's Fierce Dragon Tiger surged toward Yoruha like a violent storm.
Yoruha, however, looked at him with a hint of exasperation.
"What gave you the idea that I can only use one jutsu at a time?"
And in the next moment—
Yoruha pressed his hands together, a giant firebird attacked
The moment the firebird and the ice tiger collided—
BOOM!
The ice tiger was instantly vaporized into a misty haze.
The firebird Yoruha had unleashed was scorching—several times hotter than any ordinary Fire Release jutsu.
Its impact was overwhelming.
So in just an instant, the Fierce Dragon Tiger, which had always been able to suppress dragon-type jutsu, was completely overpowered—pierced through as if it was nothing.
And the firebird showed no signs of stopping.
Rouga Nadare's eyes widened as he watched the flames engulf him.
"Damn it—my body won't move! I can't react at all!"
The firebird was simply too fast.
Its heat was so intense that the very space around it seemed to warp.
"BOOM—!"
"AAAAH—!"
In the blink of an eye, the firebird swallowed Nadare whole.
He had no time to resist.
His entire body—along with his chakra armor—was reduced to nothingness.
Not even a speck of ash remained.
Even Yoruha was startled by the sheer destruction.
"Whoa... that was a bit much."
Even he hadn't expected the firebird to be this lethal.
When he had created this jutsu, he knew it had immense lasting power, the ability to melt steel in an instant, and devastating destructive force.
But he had never unleashed it at full power before.
He had only tested it once—injecting merely a tenth of his chakra into it.
Back then, its power was nowhere near what it was today.
"This isn't just ten times stronger—it's dozens of times stronger."
"I should probably avoid using this too often… This jutsu is completely absurd."
"That was only a third of my chakra... If I poured everything into it—"
Yoruha shuddered at the thought.
Even without going all out, the firebird's destructive power was terrifying.
If he had injected the full chakra requirement into it...
He couldn't even imagine the devastation.
Its destructive potential far surpassed Water Release.
Water Release primarily reshaped landscapes, causing large-scale environmental damage.
But Fire Release—
It erased everything in its path.
And it did so at an alarming speed.
This was the first time Yoruha had ever used the firebird in battle.
Even at just a third of its power, it left him with lingering fear.
The sheer devastation was beyond what he had anticipated.
"Why the hell did I even create this jutsu?"
"I should just never use it again—it's way too ridiculous."
By the time the firebird dissipated, the once-vast glacier, spanning for kilometers, had melted down to just a few hundred meters.
And that was only because the firebird hadn't directly targeted it.
Had Yoruha directed its full force at the glacier—
It would have been obliterated in mere seconds.
Meanwhile, Yoruha's Ice Release had successfully blocked Fubuki's attack.
From above, Fubuki stared down at the battlefield.
Rouga Nadare was gone.
There was nothing left of him.
Her entire body trembled.
She had been completely shaken by what she had just witnessed.
"T-This monster… this monster…"
Her voice quivered.
Her teeth chattered.
She had lost all hope.
Earlier, Yoruha's rapid Ice Release had terrified them.
But now—
The firebird had plunged her into utter despair.
It had shattered her will to fight.
"How could anyone possibly defeat something like this?"
"The leader is insane. Everyone is insane. How could we ever win against a monster like him?"
"I can't stay here and die!"
Snapping back to reality, Fubuki turned—
And fled as fast as she could.
Gone was the confidence she had arrived with.
Even surviving now felt like a luxury.
Honestly, she'd be lucky if Yoruha let her die with an intact corpse.
After all—
Rouga Nadare had been reduced to nothing.
Not even ash remained.