The ice clone stood his ground, waiting as the figure walked up to him.
"Heh, you've got quite a flair for the dramatic."
"I can't help it. I don't want the rain getting on me. It's super uncomfortable, you know?" came the reply from within the steam. The figure, clad in a black cloak and wearing a fiery red mask, let out a light chuckle and retorted, "It's only been a month since we last saw each other. How come you feel more and more like an ice cube? Even your voice is chilly."
"Give it some time, and you'll become more and more hot-tempered," the ice clone replied. "This is the deeper influence of the plates' power. I call it... the second stage."
"Is there a third stage?"
"Logically speaking, yes. When we gradually adapt to the overflowing power of the plates, we will no longer be affected by it. That is the third stage."
"Heh, isn't that just like the three stages of seeing a mountain? How boring. Let's get down to business."
The man snapped his fingers. The fiery red mask on his face suddenly erupted into a ball of flame and retracted into his body, revealing a face identical to the ice clone's.
"Next, allow me, the Fire Clone, to take over from Hanzo and lead the people of the Land of Rain to glory!"
This was the new clone Kaito had created after fully comprehending the Flame Plate. He had been made during Kaito's gathering with his clones last month. He had been active within the Land of Rivers, helping the Village Hidden in the Silver River complete several difficult missions, after which Kaito had dispatched him to the Land of Rain.
"...I have a feeling you're already being affected by the plate. How can you say something so embarrassing with such a straight face? And," the ice clone corrected, "we are completing this mission together, not you alone."
"Well, I actually think I can handle this by myself. You could go investigate the movements of the Kara organization. They don't seem to have been very quiet lately."
"We have the Nine-Tails now; there's no need to worry about them. We just need to follow our plan step-by-step," the ice clone urged. "Hurry up, let's merge."
"Alright, alright. I've only been out for a month. I haven't had enough fun yet," the Fire Clone sighed, snapping his fingers again.
In an instant, the Fire Clone transformed into a towering torch of fire, so intense that even the pouring rain couldn't suppress it in the slightest. The torch lasted for less than two seconds before it voluntarily contracted, solidifying into a bright red plate—the Flame Plate from within the Fire Clone's body.
The ice clone remained calm, extending his hands as if he had expected this, and caught the Flame Plate. A wave of frost energy then burst forth, enveloping the plate and quickly absorbing it into his body.
The Flame Plate and the Icicle Plate shone in response to each other within him, their powers intertwining and erupting with even more frost and fire energy.
On the outside, one side of the ice clone's body burst into raging flames while the other froze into solid ice, yet the two extremes appeared strangely harmonious. This wasn't the first time they had tried merging two plates into one clone, but only the Flame Plate and the Icicle Plate could coexist so peacefully. Kaito speculated it was because both ice and fire were related to temperature—one raised it, the other lowered it.
The ice clone—no, it would be more appropriate to call him the Ice-Fire Clone now.
He moved his body slightly, and the flames and frost vanished in the blink of an eye, returning him to his original appearance.
"Mmm, power is just surging from my body. I feel like I'm invincible." The Ice-Fire Clone clenched his fists, cracked his neck, and his eyes gradually grew more reckless. He lifted his foot and stepped forward slowly, leaving behind a row of scorched footprints and a row of frozen ones.
...
In a nearby forest, a group of Amegakure ninja wearing straw raincoats lay hidden.
One of them was Kanda. He spoke softly to a middle-aged man with a scar on his face. "Yamaki, remember your mission. From now on, you are a rogue ninja who has committed a crime in Amegakure. You've heard that the Spark Sanctuary can protect you, so you're going there to seek refuge. Do you understand?"
"Lord Kanda, I understand," the scar-faced Yamaki replied, swallowing nervously. "But... are you sure the sanctuary will take me in?"
"They will," Kanda said with absolute certainty. "I've been observing them for a long time. The sanctuary simply doesn't have the manpower to properly verify the identities of outsiders. So if you say you're tired of conflict and just want to live out the rest of your life in peace, they'll definitely take you in."
"And to make it look real, we'll be 'pursuing' you from behind." Kanda pointed to the squad members behind him. "As soon as we see that you've successfully entered the sanctuary, we will immediately show ourselves and make trouble for them."
"In order to protect its own rules and save face, the sanctuary will definitely protect you and clash with us. Then we'll have a reason to take them down. Haven't you always hated those cowards in the sanctuary who are afraid of death? This is a perfect, seamless opportunity!"
Yamaki was convinced. He nodded repeatedly. "Alright, I understand. I'll do my best to play my part. We'll definitely succeed in crushing them!"
"Mm, that's the spirit." Kanda patted his shoulder, then abruptly slashed his arm with a kunai, leaving a shallow wound. As Yamaki stared in horror, Kanda explained, "This is just to make it look more realistic. Now, go."
"Oh, right!" Yamaki's expression returned to normal. He pressed his hand against the wound on his arm, nodded at Kanda, and then stood up and left.
About five minutes after Yamaki had gone, Kanda waved his hand. "Let's move out! This time, we must catch that rogue ninja and arrest him, dead or alive!"
"Yes, sir!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
They moved like a volley of arrows, darting through the curtain of rain, following the tracks Yamaki had left behind. However, after they crossed a river, they found that Yamaki's tracks had vanished.
"What's going on? Did Yamaki change his mind and actually defect?" one of the squad members asked, confused.
Kanda pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "No, Yamaki doesn't have the guts to do something like that. The heavy rain must have washed away his tracks."
"Yes, a downpour this heavy could easily cover up any tracks," the other members agreed.
"Alright, we'll just continue toward the sanctuary. Yamaki has probably gone straight there."
"Yes, sir!"
They pressed on and soon reached the edge of the forest in front of the sanctuary. There was still no sign of Yamaki.
"Perhaps he's already gone inside."
After waiting for more than ten minutes with no movement from the sanctuary ahead, Kanda couldn't help but frown.
"Go. Two of you, go and ask about the situation. Be careful not to reveal Yamaki's identity."
"Yes, sir!"
The two chosen men stepped out from the forest together.