Ice Release, the Kekkei Genkai specialized by the Yuki clan, as its name suggests, is a ninjutsu that allows control over ice.
Based on the ordinary ninjutsu skills of the Yuki clan, it's possible that Ice Release is formed by combining Water Release and Wind Release, hence, Ice Release has a very good affinity with Water Release.
Not only that, but the Yuki clan members who master Ice Release Kekkei Genkai can also merge their bodies into the ice mirrors they create, allowing them to quickly jump between mirrors, thereby relocating, launching attacks, and so on.
For an expert in Ice Release, this technique alone can play a crucial role on the battlefield; most people wouldn't even have a chance to react before being taken down by a member of the Yuki clan.
Utilizing the Great Waterfall technique unleashed by Hozuki Gengetsu, Kessho simultaneously froze the water with Ice Release and condensed ice mirrors to move rapidly.
Within three seconds, the entire Great Waterfall technique was completely frozen, and Kessho himself had already reached the sky, half his body emerging from an ice mirror, looking down at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi saw Kessho above him, frowned slightly, and immediately dodged to the side.
At the same time, Kessho formed a hand sign, and the frozen ice blocks began to tremble violently, accompanied by a loud crack, countless fissures appearing on their surface, like porcelain about to shatter, yet possessing a unique beauty.
"Ice Release: A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death," Kessho uttered the name of the secret technique.
As his voice fell, the ice blocks formed by the Great Waterfall technique completely shattered, turning into countless fragments that shot out in all directions.
This secret technique is identical in principle to the A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death used by Haku in later generations, except that Haku used water as the medium, while Kessho used ice.
Compared to Haku's technique, ice offers more powerful and sharper attacks, and the number of fragments released by the Great Waterfall technique was almost incalculable.
Kessho's body immediately slipped into an ice mirror, with only his reflection visible on the mirror's surface.
Even if fragments struck the ice mirror, they were not enough to destroy it.
As for Hozuki Gengetsu, there was even less to say; his Water Transformation technique could almost ignore any form of physical attack, unless lightning chakra was added to the physical attack.
Therefore, the fragments similarly could not harm him.
In other words, among the three present, the only one who had to directly endure the fragment attack was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed completely unprepared for the opponent's tactics and was unable to dodge in time; his entire body was pierced by a large number of fragments, like a beehive, and blood gushed out like a spring.
Hozuki Gengetsu was also pierced all over by fragments, but his body was now like water due to the secret technique; after the fragments passed through his body, the wounds quickly closed, leaving no problems.
He looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who resembled a beehive, and curled his lip.
After the barrage of fragments, the environment here was as if ravaged by a storm, with shattered trees, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, like a beehive, slowly melted, turning into a liquid resembling mud.
This was the Earth Clone Jutsu.
Hozuki Gengetsu could tell that this Hiruzen Sarutobi was the one who had emerged from the ground earlier, and the real Hiruzen Sarutobi was nowhere to be seen.
Kessho emerged from the ice mirror, scanning the area below, searching for Hiruzen Sarutobi's trace.
Suddenly, he felt a dark shadow flash in the corner of his eye.
He immediately turned his head and saw the shadow moving rapidly among the trees; the shattered trees swayed precariously but never fell, indicating that although the shadow was moving quickly, it used its strength very skillfully.
At this moment, the shadow leaped up, approaching Kessho in the air.
Only then did Kessho see clearly that it was a monkey, but not a wild one.
Despite its appearance, its eyes gleamed with wisdom, and its attire bore human characteristics.
Its body was covered in a large number of ice fragments, but they were blocked by strong muscles and could not penetrate.
This made Kessho's eyes widen involuntarily.
One must know that the power of that secret technique was astonishing; although the fragments looked small, with high-speed firing and overwhelming numbers, let alone human flesh, even most Earth Release techniques could not withstand it.
Yet, this monkey in front of him blocked it with just its body, which was incredible.
Just as Kessho was surprised, a person emerged from behind the monkey—it was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite tall, but in front of this monkey, he appeared much shorter.
Hidden behind, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not been seen by Kessho at all.
With a 'bang,' the monkey transformed into a staff and was embraced by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
At this moment, Kessho realized that this monkey must be a summoned beast, and a very powerful one at that, with a body as indestructible as Vajra.
At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi swung the staff heavily, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Kessho.
However, although this speed was fast, in Kessho's eyes, it was still too slow.
On a nearby ice mirror, Kessho's figure appeared; the Kessho who was about to be struck by the staff instantly vanished, and what was smashed was only the ice mirror where he had just been.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not have a Sharingan, making it difficult to catch Kessho's figure rapidly jumping between ice mirrors.
However, his dynamic vision was also excellent, so it was only difficult to catch, not impossible; he still vaguely saw Kessho dodge with astonishing speed and dive into that ice mirror.
Hiruzen Sarutobi speculated in his mind that although Kessho's movement speed was very fast, it still required other conditions.
There were closer ice mirrors, but he specifically moved to that one.
This meant that only that particular ice mirror met Kessho's movement conditions, allowing him to move quickly and evade his attack.
Just then, Hozuki Gengetsu on the ground also launched an attack; he once again unleashed the Great Waterfall technique, and this time, the scale of the Great Waterfall technique far exceeded the previous one!
In that instant, Hiruzen Sarutobi saw that Hozuki Gengetsu's appearance was different from before; his body had turned bluish-green, and his form had become strange, more like a shark than a human.
Yes, Hozuki Gengetsu's appearance at this time was exactly that.
This was the ability of Samehada, one of the seven ninja swords created by the Hidden Mist Village.
Unlike other ninja swords, Samehada is a living blade with its own consciousness.
No one knows how it came to be; there are rumors that it has intricate ties with the Three-Tails, but no one can prove this point.
Perhaps only the Second Mizukage, who was responsible for its creation, knows some inside information.
Samehada's special ability is to absorb physical chakra, store it in its cells, and provide it to its wielder when necessary, stimulating cell activity to rapidly heal injuries.
It can even merge with its wielder, turning the wielder into a half-human, half-fish existence.
In this form, the wielder possesses the exact same abilities as Samehada and can utilize the powerful chakra within Samehada's cells to greatly enhance their Water Release abilities.
The Great Waterfall technique that Hozuki Gengetsu was able to use earlier, surpassing his previous attempts, was due to the chakra provided by his fusion with Samehada. Qidian Novel Network.
Hiruzen Sarutobi in the air had no space to dodge and could only take a deep breath, exhaling a large amount of flames.
Using the impact force, he simultaneously suppressed the impact of the Water Release and kept himself afloat in the air, preventing himself from being swept into the Great Waterfall technique.
Under the scorching heat, a large amount of water evaporated, and the rising steam made the sky hazy, blurring Hiruzen Sarutobi's figure.
The water surface Hiruzen Sarutobi impacted with his Fire Release was only a part of the Great Waterfall; the remaining water flowed in all directions and was immediately frozen by Kessho's Ice Release.
Kessho moved between the ice mirrors again, flashing into one.
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was between Kessho's current ice mirror and another ice mirror.
Noticing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not hesitate, violently throwing the Adamantine Staff and falling to the side himself.
"Don't think you can escape!" Kessho roared, his figure shifting again.
The ice mirror he was in was smashed by the Adamantine Staff, causing him no harm, but Hiruzen Sarutobi did not have the monkey's protection.
"Ice Release: A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death." So, Kessho used this secret technique once more; the frozen ice blocks shattered with a loud bang, and countless fragments surged in all directions, including towards Hiruzen Sarutobi.
This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was also pierced like a beehive, and his figure became distorted.
Seeing this, Kessho knew it was also a clone and wasn't surprised, as the opponent wasn't that careless.
However, upon seeing the way the opponent disappeared, Kessho's expression changed drastically, because it was a Lightning Release Shadow Clone.
Lightning Release is the most active chakra nature; to train it into a stable Lightning Release Shadow Clone requires extraordinary chakra control.
But what surprised Kessho wasn't this, but the Fire Release Hiruzen Sarutobi had used earlier.
This area was filled with a large amount of water vapor, and the now exploding Lightning Release Shadow Clone would release powerful lightning.
Even with poor conductivity, such a powerful lightning transmission would cause a certain degree of paralysis.
Kessho, submerged in the ice mirror, would not be affected, but Hozuki Gengetsu below was not so lucky; his body felt stiff for a moment.
Although it wasn't a major problem, in a ninja battle, it could be somewhat fatal.
Hozuki Gengetsu's expression remained relatively calm; fused with Samehada, he possessed extremely strong survival abilities.
As long as it wasn't an injury that blew him to smithereens, Samehada's powerful chakra was enough to heal him.
He believed Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know this.
What Hozuki Gengetsu hadn't anticipated was that Hiruzen Sarutobi indeed didn't know Samehada could provide recovery capabilities comparable to a Tailed Beast, but he also didn't plan to only take down one person, so the techniques he used were naturally different.
Two Hiruzen Sarutobi emerged from the ground; one used Lightning Release, and the other used Fire Release.
A powerful lightning beam and a twisted fire dragon intertwined with each other.
The consequence of the simultaneous clash of the two most active chakra natures among the five elements was—
With a 'boom,' a massive explosion instantly occurred in this area.
A huge impact spread in all directions, shattering trees, rocks, and even the ice mirrors created by Ice Release.
Kessho and Hozuki Gengetsu had no time to react and were swallowed by the earth-shattering explosion.
"Cough, cough—" As the explosion gradually subsided, Hiruzen Sarutobi's figure was revealed.
He was protected by a barrier formed by dozens of Adamantine Staffs.
When he released the Adamantine Barrier, due to the massive loss of stamina, his breathing became heavier, and he ended up choking on the dust.
"Sarutobi, you've really gone too far; this old man was almost caught in it." As this voice sounded, the Adamantine Staff transformed back into the Monkey King's form.
He didn't look too good either; only fragments of his fur coat remained, and his fur was almost scorched.
Of course, with his indestructible body, he hadn't suffered serious injuries.
"My apologies, partner." Hiruzen Sarutobi's breathing slowly calmed down.
The Composite Ninjutsu: Lightning Fire Rampage he had used had almost leveled the area in front of them.
No, more than that, it had created a deep crater, pulverizing even the rocks, but something else still remained.
A shattered ice fortress stood not far away, and inside, Kessho and Hozuki Gengetsu were covered in blood, all from the burns caused by the explosion.
Both were still shaken, having never expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to be able to use such a powerful ninjutsu; it was something no one had ever witnessed.
However, it seemed Hiruzen Sarutobi's consumption was also considerable, which was only natural.
This Composite Ninjutsu could definitely be called an ultimate technique.
If its consumption wasn't significant, Kessho and Hozuki Gengetsu would probably have chosen to flee immediately; staying would simply be courting death.
Under the immense chakra provided by Samehada, Hozuki Gengetsu's injuries began to heal.
He glanced at Kessho, who had already lost his combat ability.
Hozuki Gengetsu dared not attack directly; if not for Kessho's protection just now, he would have been blown to smithereens in the violent clash of Lightning and Fire Release, and even Samehada's recovery ability wouldn't have saved him.
Therefore, he couldn't leave the severely injured Kessho and go fight Hiruzen Sarutobi on his own.
While he wasn't exactly a good person, he understood loyalty.
"You still have special secret techniques." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Hozuki Gengetsu, whose injuries were rapidly healing, and frowned slightly.
He could feel that Hozuki Gengetsu's chakra was still abundant, but his own chakra also had plenty left.
Even one or two more attacks like the previous one would be no problem.
Originally, Hiruzen Sarutobi's greatest ultimate technique was the Five Great Elemental Bomb, which released all five elemental ninjutsu simultaneously.
That power was comparable to a Tailed Beast Bomb.
If it had been the Five Great Elemental Bomb, Hozuki Gengetsu and Kessho might have been reduced to ashes.
If he hadn't been worried that the excessively immense power would implicate his comrades, he wouldn't have chosen the less powerful Lightning Fire Rampage, even though this ninjutsu also produced significant effects.