The pungent smell of blood mixed with the icy scent of snow filled the clearing in the Awa Snow Forest, which had just witnessed a slaughter.
On the snow, the twisted, frozen bodies of several bandits silently spoke of the brutality of the battle.
The cold wind moaned as it swept through the treetops, stirring up fine snow powder in an attempt to bury the cruel traces left behind.
Natsuhi retracted her kunai, the blood droplets on the blade tip falling onto the snow and creating small red dots.
Her sharp gaze quickly swept across the battlefield. After confirming there were no more threats, she immediately turned around and, with a few leaps, arrived beside Chino, who was leaning against a tree trunk and her face as pale as paper.
"Chino!" Natsuhi's voice carried a trace of barely detectable urgency. She crouched down, her movements gentle yet swift as she examined the horrific wound on Chino's left leg.
The deep, bone-deep gash had edges that were curled outward, and blood was still slowly seeping out, staining the torn pants leg and the snow beneath her.
The intense pain and the massive psychological impact of killing for the first time caused the nine-year-old girl's body to tremble uncontrollably. The Ketsuryugan that had just radiated a sinister red glow had now returned to their original black color, but the lingering fear and confusion deep within them had not yet dissipated.
"Na-Natsuhi-sensei…" Chino's voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum, carrying a sob and a sense of fear.
"Don't speak, bear with it a little." Natsuhi comforted her gently. She quickly took out clean bandages and hemostatic powder from her ninja tool pouch, deftly performing emergency treatment.
The powder sprinkled on the wound caused a sharp pain, making Chino gasp sharply and bite down hard on her lower lip.
Heavy footsteps approached as Shunji and Hazuki gathered around.
The previous arrogance and disdain on Shunji's face had vanished without a trace. His brows were tightly furrowed as he looked at the horrifying wound on Chino's leg, then glanced at the bandit corpse not far away that had been pierced through the chest with a dreadful appearance. His expression was complex.
The image of that blood dragon was deeply etched in his heart.
The power this Ninja Clan's girl, whom he had disdainfully called 'pipsqueak' and 'greenhouse flower', that had erupted with at the moment of life and death was so cruel and powerful.
"Hey... are you okay?" Shunji's voice was somewhat hoarse, carrying an unprecedented seriousness, and even a trace of barely detectable respect.
He awkwardly averted his gaze, seemingly unaccustomed to this caring attitude.
"Yeah... still-still okay…" Chino sniffled, trying hard to force a smile, but it looked worse than crying.
Hazuki crouched on the other side of Chino, carefully helping Natsuhi support Chino's leg: "Chino-chan, just now... it was amazing! Was that the Ketsuryugan? It was just like a legendary Ninjutsu!"
Her gaze fell on the Star Ninja's forehead protector on Chino's forehead, her pretty face full of worry and admiration.
Natsuhi finished bandaging quickly and carefully checked Chino's pupils and mental state, confirming that it was only Chakra Exhaustion and overstimulation, without any more serious backlash, before she slightly relaxed.
"You did very well, Chino." She patted Chino's shoulder, her tone affirmative.
"Now, we need to clean up the battlefield, gather intelligence, and confirm if there are any other remnants."
"Hazuki, be on guard. Shunji, you are responsible for searching these bandits to see if there is anything valuable on them."
"Understood!" Hazuki immediately stood up, forming hand seals for perception, vigilantly scanning the surrounding dark forest shrouded in wind and snow.
Shunji nodded. Although his expression still didn't look good, his movements were without hesitation.
He forced down the discomfort brought by the smell of blood and walked towards the corpses, starting to search them carefully.
He kicked away a rusty machete, pulled out a few crumpled pieces of paper with hastily drawn route maps from one bandit's pocket, then untied a bulging, stained money pouch from another bandit's waist, which jingled.
When he tried to search the bandit killed by Chino's blood spear, his gaze fell on the terrifying penetrating wound and the congealed, dark red, viscous blood, causing his stomach to churn.
He took a deep breath of the cold air, forcefully suppressing the nausea, and continued searching.
"Sensei! Someone is approaching!"
Just as Shunji pulled out a small scroll wrapped in oilcloth from a bandit's pocket, Hazuki, who had been maintaining a high state of alert, suddenly issued a warning.
Natsuhi sharply looked up, her gaze instantly piercing towards a steep mountain peak in the distance covered in thick ice and snow, towering like the fangs of a giant beast!
"Howl-!!!"
Almost at the same moment Natsuhi looked up, a long, wild, and penetrating wolf howl suddenly came from the summit of that snow peak!
The howl echoed through the empty, icy snow forest, carrying an arrogant and cold warning tone from a superior position!
The four members of the team instantly felt their hair stand on end!
Shunji and Hazuki immediately dropped what they were holding, moving to Natsuhi and Chino's side at the fastest speed, formed a defensive formation back-to-back, and aimed their weapons at the direction from which the wolf howl came!
Chino also struggled to stand up but was gently pressed down on the shoulder by Natsuhi.
The wind and snow seemed to become more violent at this moment. On several protruding black boulders halfway up the snowy mountain peak, four figures had unknowingly appeared, standing quietly!
They looked down from above, like snowfield eagles overlooking their prey, their cold eyes piercing through the wind and snow, firmly locked onto Natsuhi's team below. The leader was a tall Kunoichi.
She had striking amethyst-colored hair tied into twin tails that fluttered slightly in the cold wind.
She wore a uniquely designed, form-fitting combat suit with sleek lines, key areas protected by armor plates that shimmered with a faint blue metallic glow.
This was not traditional metal armor, as the surface of the plates shimmered with a faint Chakra light, which is clearly a type of Chakra Armor fused with Ninjutsu Technology!
Her arms were crossed, her delicate chin slightly raised, and her face held an expression of undisguised arrogance and scrutiny.
The three Ninjas behind her wore similar Chakra Armor, though the style was slightly different, leaning more towards a silver-gray color. Their helmets obscured most of their faces, revealing only cold, watchful eyes.
They stood like icy statues, silently flanking the purple-haired woman in front of them, emanating Chakra Fluctuations far more powerful than those of the bandits.
Without any warning, the four figures descended lightly from the hundred-meter-high boulder as if they were weightless snowflakes!
Their movements were swift and elegant, the Chakra Armor seemed to significantly reduce the effects of gravity. When their boots landed on a relatively flat, large snow-covered rock below, they only kicked up a few puffs of fine snow dust.
The purple-haired woman stepped forward, standing at the edge of the snow rock. Her cold gaze swept over the chaotic battlefield and the four alert figures below, finally settling on Natsuhi, who was at the front.
Her voice was clear but carried a bone-chilling coldness, piercing clearly through the wind and snow:
"Jonin of the Land of Snow, Kakuyoku Fubuki," she announced her name, her tone dripping with scorn. "By order of Kazahana Dotō-sama, we are pursuing these scum who have been rampaging across the border. It seems you've saved us the trouble and cleaned up the garbage for us?"
Her eyes scanned the corpses, finally landing on Chino, who was sheltered behind Natsuhi. When she saw the blood on Chino's leg and her pale little face, a faint, almost imperceptible, peculiar glint flashed in her violet eyes.
Natsuhi stepped forward, placing herself fully between the three Genin and the threat. The kunai in her right hand was held in a reverse grip, positioned defensively before her. Chakra circulated quietly within her, ready to be unleashed.
Her voice was steady, laced with skepticism: "Jonin Kakuyoku Fubuki. These bandits attacked villages in the northern part of our Land of Stars. They have been lawfully eliminated by our Star Ninja Team. This is Land of Stars's territory. For Ninja of your nation to cross the border without permission... are you seeking to provoke a war?"
Her reddish-brown hair whipped in the bitter wind, her gaze as sharp as a hawk's. Natsuhi stared directly into Fubuki's eyes.
Fubuki's lips curled into a cold, mocking smile, as if she'd heard something utterly ridiculous: "Land of Stars? Hah. You're nothing more than an upstart that swallowed up the Land of Demons' remnants. These bandits have repeatedly crossed into our Land of Snow to plunder, committing numerous bloody crimes. Their heads must be taken back by me to the Land of Snow, to serve as a warning!"
She thrust out a hand clad in a Chakra Armor Glove, pointing at the corpses on the ground, her tone brooking no argument: "Now, hand over the bodies. Consider it payment for your... efforts. We might just let you leave."
"Not a chance!" Shunji couldn't restrain his anger, a vein throbbing on his temple: "We risked our lives to take them down! Why should we hand them over to you?!"
"That's right! This is Land of Stars' territory!" Hazuki found her courage and shouted in support.
Chino pressed against Natsuhi's back, her small hand clutching tightly to her sensei's flak jacket. Her body trembled slightly from tension and exhaustion, but her large, dark eyes were fixed unwaveringly on the arrogant purple-haired woman on the rock.
Natsuhi's expression turned to ice: "Kakuyoku Fubuki, your demand is unacceptable. You will leave Land of Stars' territory immediately. Failure to do so will be considered an act of invasion!"
"Invasion?" Fubuki let out a short, derisive laugh, as if she'd just heard the world's greatest joke: "With just you?"
A fierce light erupted in her eyes. Her crossed arms snapped open, and her hands flew through a series of hand seals at a blinding speed in front of her chest!
A Chakra fluctuation erupted… far more powerful, pure, and bitingly cold than anything the bandits had mustered!
"Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm!"
With her cold cry, the temperature around them seemed to plummet another ten degrees instantly!
Moisture in the air was violently ripped out and condensed by the raging Ice Attribute Chakra!
Countless hexagonal ice crystals, glittering with a lethal cold light and with edges sharp enough to cut, materialized out of thin air. Densely packed, they instantly formed a massive, rapidly rotating storm of ice shards that shrieked through the air!
The storm's area of effect was enormous, covering most of the clearing.
Carrying a chill that could freeze souls and the force to pulverize anything in its path, it violently surged toward Natsuhi's team below!
The wind and snow were caught up in the vortex, adding to its terrifying spectacle!
"Fall back!" Natsuhi barked. Instead of retreating, she advanced!
She shoved Chino firmly toward Shunji behind her and took a decisive step forward to meet the terrifying ice storm head-on!
Her hands formed a hand seal!
"Mysterious Peacock Method!"
Huummm-!
A strange hum resonated from within Natsuhi's body!
A massive, magnificent, deep purple Chakra surged out like a volcanic eruption!
This Chakra did not spill out uncontrolled. Under her exquisite control, it instantly condensed and took shape!
A vivid, lifelike eastern dragon, entirely composed of condensed purple Chakra, majestically formed!
The dragon's body was long and sinuous, covered in the intricate illusion of fine purple scales. Its eyes glowed with spirit and imposing majesty!
The purple Chakra Dragon issued a silent roar. Its massive body swung with agile power, carrying an indomitable momentum as it slammed headlong into the oncoming ice shard storm!
Screeech- Crunch- Hiss!!!
The ear-splitting sounds of cutting, shattering, and melting instantly filled the snowy forest!
The purple Chakra Dragon's body violently collided with, scraped against, and annihilated countless sharp ice crystals!
The ice storm frantically tore and sliced at the purple dragon's form, exploding large bursts of purple light fragments and powdered ice crystals, like a brief but deadly firework display of purple and ice blue blooming amidst the wind and snow!
The purple dragon's massive body struggled to push forward through the storm. Every swing of its tail, every thrust of its claw, sent out powerful waves of Chakra Shockwaves, shattering and evaporating vast swathes of ice crystals!
Yet, the ice storm seemed endless. The faint light shimmering on Fubuki's Chakra Armor was clearly continuously amplifying her Ninjutsu's power!
A stalemate!
The violent collision of Chakra made the entire clearing tremble slightly. The settled snow was swept into the air by the raging currents!
"Attack!" Fubuki coldly ordered while maintaining the ice storm.
The three Yukigakure's Ninjas behind her, like hunting dogs unleashed, instantly surged down from the snow rock!
Their Chakra Armor glowed faintly, significantly enhancing their speed and strength. They moved as if weightless on the snow, their actions swift as the wind!
The three formed a triangular formation, deliberately bypassing the terrifying clash between Natsuhi and Fubuki, and charged straight towards Chino, who was being protected by Shunji and Hazuki!