Konoha, Kushina's House.
"Sensei Minato, Senior Seiki, I'm really grateful but you're working too hard because of me!" Kakashi felt touched yet guilty inside. If it hadn't been for his own "stubbornness," they wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble.
Minato shook his head slightly. "I don't mind, but you should indeed thank Seiki properly!"
Kakashi gave a firm nod and said to Senior Seiki, "Thank you!"
"I'll accept that gratitude." Seiki smiled and took out an ice crystal Tamaki Ring. "After all, it took quite some effort to make this."
Looking at the crystal-clear Tamaki Ring in Seiki's hand that strangely didn't radiate much cold, Kakashi asked curiously, "Senior, what is this?"
"This is a Tamaki Ring I made using [Ice Release]. It can help maintain clarity of mind to some extent." Seiki smiled and handed the pendant over. "You were affected by the [Puppet Curse], right? And since King and I can't leave [Flying Thunder God Technique Forms] on you, we can only teleport to the nearest location to you. This Tamaki Ring will help minimize the effects of the Puppet Curse on you until our arrival."
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Kakashi gave a slight involuntary shiver as he took the Tamaki Ring. "Hss!"
From afar, it hadn't seemed like much, but upon touching it, a wave of coldness surged into his heart.
It wasn't a piercing chill, but a refreshing coolness—like splashing icy spring water on your face at dawn.
Rin nearby happily said, "Great! With this, we won't have to worry about the effects of the Puppet Curse anymore."
Seiki took out another Tamaki Ring and offered it toward Rin. "Rin, this one's yours."
Rin blinked her eyes, pointing at herself with her delicate small hand. "I also get one?"
"If it was just ordinary Ice Release, I wouldn't say it cost me much energy." Seiki explained with a smile. "Besides helping the wearer stay alert, this Tamaki Ring has two additional functions."
"First is sensor-based positioning. King and I cannot stay too close to you, or we risk being detected by enemies. One function of this Tamaki Ring is that when you are in danger, it can guide King and me to your location. Although we already have Kakashi's coordinates, having an extra measure is always safer."
"Secondly, induced apparent death. After all, King and I cannot leave technique forms everywhere on the battlefield—we can only teleport to locations nearest to you, and during that time interval, you must rely on yourselves."
"I'm quite confident in Kakashi's abilities, but Rin… your position could make you a potential target for the enemy. In a moment of crisis, remember to break the Tamaki Ring."
"Because the second function of the Tamaki Ring is similar to a medical scroll—it contains Medical Ninjutsu (medical ninja techniques) that I've sealed inside. Moreover, the shattered ice crystals will transform into chilling gas entering your body, drastically slowing your metabolic rate, putting cells into cellular dormancy, placing your body into a state of apparent death; if fortune favors you, you may even fool the enemy into thinking you're dead."
After hearing Seiki's explanation, everyone's eyes lit up with excitement.
Similarly, as sealed Medical Ninjutsu Scrolls go, this one created by Seiki, a top-tier medical ninja, was naturally far more powerful than ordinary ones.
Not to mention the pendant also came with numerous additional effects like Streamlined Techniques, Mental Clarity, and Simulated Death.
"Whoa! This must be some deluxe ultra-enhanced Medical Scroll!"
"If you sold this kind of life-saving artifact outside, it'd fetch no less than ten thousand coins!"
Rin carefully accepted the pendant, deeply moved. "Senior, I'm really troubling you too much!"
Seeing how hard Seiki had worked for his sake—and even considered Rin's safety—Kakashi's gaze softened. Admiration slowly turned into deep devotion. "Senior, I definitely won't let you down!"
Beside them, Mizuki rubbed his chin thoughtfully. That look in Kakashi's eyes… why did it feel so familiar? Like he was staring at his own reflection?
...
Three days later, on the Eastern Front.
In a vast open plain, ninjas from Konoha, Cloud Village, and Mist were locked in chaotic battle.
Especially around the central area, thunderbolts, fierce winds, raging flames, and acid torrents intertwined into a terrifying storm of energy.
The solid ground exploded into rubble, and sand and stone fragments, caught up in the windstorm and accelerated, shot outward like bullets, easily piercing rock formations on the battlefield's periphery.
All surrounding shinobi kept their distance, fearing collateral damage.
"You bastard! How dare you deceive me!" A roared furiously.
"You think I don't know you secretly contacted Konoha?" Six-Tails Jinchuriki Hozuki Nagare sneered disdainfully.
A glared stubbornly but retorted, "That was just my way of tricking Konoha!"
Hozuki Nagare chuckled coldly, "You didn't just leak our agreed cipher codes, but also our planned deployment strategy. What a thorough job hypnotizing them indeed!"
"How could you find out all that?" A felt alarmed, then turned furious toward Jiraiya. "Did you sell us out, you bastard? We were supposed to fight against Mist together!"
Jiraiya twitched his lips bitterly. "You two can't even keep your word without backstabbing each other—who do you think I am, a fool?"
As expected, once the battle started, none of the intelligence he'd received proved useful at all.
"You dare speak ill of Kumogakure's honor!" A boosted the output efficiency of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, swinging his arm—a lightning dragon—at Jiraiya. "Raikō Ken (Thunder Blade)!"
"Do you even possess something called honor?" Jiraiya shot back sarcastically. He hardened his long silver hair, letting it cover his body like armor, with sharp tips sticking out like spines—just like a giant hedgehog.
[Needle Jizo!]
A instantly recognized the defensive technique's counterattack property, but he wasn't the type to retreat—he lunged forward without hesitation.
Boom!
Jiraiya flew backward like a bouncing ball while A stumbled back with blood gushing from his right fist, bone faintly visible beneath the torn skin.
Suddenly, a tiny droplet drifted silently behind A. Then—it exploded like a bomb.
At a distance, Hozuki Nagare reshaped his right hand back from its pistol form, watching the resulting shockwave ripple outward with a smirk. "Don't act surprised—you're not some soft target, after all!"
As if on cue, the moment he finished speaking, a figure burst from the ground below and charged straight at him without hesitation.
Hozuki Nagare didn't have time to dodge and was smashed into a puddle of liquid by A's punch.
"Moron! Hydrification Jutsu doesn't stand a chance against Lightning Release!" A barked coldly as the liquid transformed into a swirling water sphere around him.
"That hurts! But you should know, I'm not just using Hydrification Jutsu!" Hozuki Nagare chuckled. "[This Acid Mist Cage] combines Six-Tails' Boil Release with Hydrification Jutsu. I hope you can endure it!"
"Hmph! Nothing special!" A endured the pain and wildly unleashed his Lightning Release inside the cage.
Even though it wasn't pure Water Release, the Lightning Release still packed a powerful suppressive punch.
"Hmm～"
"Ow!"
While the two were locked in mutual torment, a massive toad suddenly fell from the sky and crushed them both beneath its weight.
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