All this oppression, all this despair—sometimes it only needed a single spark to ignite change.
Fine, then. Hyūga Shigeo would be that spark himself.
The next morning, Tsunami, still worried for her father, followed the old man Tazuna to the bridge.
Everyone took their places and resumed work. Shigeo sat lazily in his wooden chair, yawning as usual.
As time passed, a dozen rough-looking men appeared on the bridge. Some carried hammers, others axes, all sneering like street thugs as they swaggered forward.
"It's them! Those ruffians—Gato's men!" Tsunami cried out anxiously from the bridge.
Shigeo remained in his chair, a short distance away from the work crew.
If these thugs wanted to reach Tazuna, they'd have to get past him first.
From afar, the gang spotted Shigeo slouched on his chair, looking utterly bored, and burst into laughter.
"There he is! The punk who beat our guys last night. Today, he's dead meat!" one of them snarled.
Without hurrying, they strutted closer.
One thug kicked the leg of Shigeo's chair. "Hey, brat! Heard you've got a death wish. We'll drag you off and execute you in public—show everyone who really runs this town!"
He reached out to grab Shigeo—only for a sudden kick to crash into his gut.
The man flew backward in a perfect arc and splashed into the sea below.
The others froze, then roared in anger and charged.
Shigeo simply turned his chair slightly, spun, and unleashed a flurry of kicks.
In an instant, all ten of them lay sprawled on the ground—spitting blood, missing teeth, groaning in agony.
Shigeo hadn't even stood up. His expression didn't change once.
Onshore, townsfolk stopped in their tracks. Some ran closer, whispering in awe. Even little Inari, who had been playing near the docks, ran up onto the bridge, staring at Shigeo with shining eyes full of admiration.
The thugs fled in panic, stumbling off the bridge.
Barely fifteen minutes later, six men landed on the bridge with a heavy thud—each wearing a shinobi forehead protector.
"It's… it's Gato's hired ninja!" someone gasped.
Tsunami clutched Inari tightly, trembling. The workers froze mid-swing, and Tazuna's face turned pale as he eyed the newcomers.
The six chunin formed hand signs in unison.
Streams of water surged from both sides of the bridge—some like roaring columns, others exploding like cannon shells, all filled with killing intent.
"Ahh!" Tsunami and Inari screamed. From their view, those waves looked enormous—enough to crush them flat.
But even as their screams mixed with the roaring water, Shigeo merely smirked.
"Fools," he murmured.
Onshore, despair swept through the watching crowd.
"It's over! I told you we shouldn't defy Gato! Tazuna's doomed! The bridge will never be finished!"
Then—impossible brilliance filled their eyes.
The massive waves froze midair.
In a blink, they turned into a colossal dome of shimmering ice that arched gracefully over Tsunami, Inari, and Shigeo like a translucent umbrella.
"What—what is this? How can water freeze like that in a warm country like ours?!"
The crowd gaped.
Beneath the frozen canopy, light refracted through the ice, scattering rainbows across the bridge. Tsunami and Inari stared upward, stunned—the crystalline arcs glittered like jewels.
The six enemy shinobi exchanged wary looks, then shouted together:
"Suiton: Dai Engai no Jutsu! (Water Release: Grand Flood Technique!)"
Shigeo chuckled, raised a single hand, and answered with his own technique:
"Suiton: Dai Engai!"
The sea roared as an enormous waterfall-like surge erupted at his call, colliding head-on with theirs.
For a moment, the bridge shook under the clash of titanic waves.
But chakra was power—and Shigeo's was unmatched.
His wave devoured theirs, crashing down with the force of a storm. The six chunin barely had time to react before icy energy rippled through the torrent. In the blink of an eye, their own water froze solid, trapping them inside a glittering prison of Hyōton (Ice Release).
"Wh—what—?" one managed to gasp before frost engulfed his throat.
Panic flickered across their eyes. They tried to heat their bodies with chakra, but it was useless.
From his seat, Shigeo merely twitched his finger—tiny spikes formed inside the ice, lancing through their bodies.
Crack—crack—crack!
All six froze in place, crimson blooming within the ice like dying flowers.
Silence.
It was over.
Two water techniques, one exchange—and they were all dead.
Tsunami and Inari opened their eyes slowly, realizing there was no impact, no drowning rush.
What they saw instead were frozen corpses suspended in crystalline pillars of ice.
A shiver ran through them.
Then—sharp crystalline spikes erupted from behind Shigeo, hurtling toward him.
"So you finally decided to show yourself," Shigeo muttered.
He turned and exhaled.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!)"
Flames and ice collided midair, steam exploding outward.
From the mist, a slender figure emerged. A youth in a mask, elegant and graceful, yet hesitant.
Her voice was soft but uncertain:
"…You're… Hyūga Shigeo?"
Shigeo smiled faintly. "It's been a long time, Haku."
He looked around the mist-shrouded sea. "And Zabuza? He must be close, right? Come with me, Haku. This kind of life doesn't suit you."
Her eyes widened.
At that instant, the ocean surged—killing intent rising like a storm.
A massive cleaver blade whirled from the waves, slicing toward Shigeo with terrifying speed.
"Zabuza Momochi…" he whispered, turning his gaze toward the sea.
The blade struck—its power enough to crush a boulder—
but the boy on the bridge didn't even move.
"Look out!" Inari screamed.
Shigeo caught the giant blade mid-swing with one hand.
With a graceful twist, he used its momentum to spin twice in the air and landed lightly on the bridge.
The massive Kubikiribōchō (Executioner's Blade) now rested in his grasp.
Zabuza's brows furrowed. "No wonder six chunin couldn't touch you… So the rumors were true. Hyūga Shigeo—
the man who killed Jūzō Biwa, the previous wielder of my sword."
(End of Chapter)
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