Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 79 Fire Release: Dust Concealment Technique

The snow was fierce and the wind was fierce, covering everything in silver. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but white, as if it were a silvery-white world.

This is the Land of Iron, located to the right of the Land of Commerce, near the sea. It is the only way to reach the Land of Water.

This country is exceptionally cold and covered in snow and ice year-round. The accumulated snow here is quite thick; one step can reach up to your ankles.

It sounded like footsteps treading on cornstarch, murmuring in this tranquility.

The wind is sharp as a blade, treating the earth like an anvil. Exposed skin in such a climate would feel like it was being chopped with a knife. To cope with this harsh environment, the warriors here all wear heavy armor to resist the cold winter.

To newcomers, this place is a hellish place, but for Aokiji, there is no place more suitable for him to perform and showcase his talents.

Here, his Ice Release power increased dramatically. Sensing the extremely low temperature around him, Aokiji felt that his previous B-rank ninjutsu could now unleash A-rank power.

It's no exaggeration to say that, fighting on his home turf, his strength could reach the level of a true Jonin.

This is why Aokiji dared to risk his life to save Tsunade.

Of course, aside from this factor, there are the following factors as well.

First, Aokiji is quite familiar with the ninjutsu of Kirigakure, since he has specifically trained in Water Release.

Secondly, his Ice Release is effective against Water Release.

Third, the enemy is in the open, while he is in the dark. Since the opponent is unaware of his abilities, Aokiji can catch them off guard.

It was precisely because of these reasons that Aokiji dared to carry out the rescue operation single-handedly.

The weather was cold, and when Aokiji exhaled a puff of white breath, it didn't dissipate immediately but lingered for a moment.

For a normal person, finding Tsunade's location in a vast expanse of white snow would be an impossible task.

However, this was no challenge for Aokiji; everything was under his control.

Ice Release: Eye of Ice.

This is a ninjutsu that creates ice crystals and uses the refraction of light to locate enemies. In other places, the range of this ninjutsu would be very limited, and it would consume a lot of chakra.

But here, the power of the Eye of Ice is amplified to an extreme. He can monitor any place with snow, and it consumes very little chakra.

This is one of the two A-rank Ice Release ninjutsu that Elder Itachi recently taught me.

Now that he's using it, it's finally come in handy.

The hand seals for the Eye of Ice are extremely complex, with as many as 54 seals, which is 10 more than the 44 seals for Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet. To execute the seals flawlessly in one go is not something that can be done easily.

Aokiji Hikaru spent a great deal of effort memorizing the 54 hand seals in sequence.

Fortunately, hard work pays off, and now is the time to put his skills to good use.

Chou-Shen-Mao-Zi-Hai-You-Chou-Wu-You-Zi...

Aokiji's hand seals were as steady and methodical as Kisame's, and he finally unleashed a set of fluid hand seals.

Ice Release: Eye of Ice!

Aokiji closed his eyes and carefully sensed Tsunade's position.

After a few minutes, he slowly lowered his hand seals, indicating that he had located Tsunade's position in the northeast. The location was far away, but he should be able to catch up if he moved at full speed.

Now that we've confirmed the location, we don't have to wander around like headless flies anymore.

Aokiji did not immediately take action, but instead formed several more hand seals.

A moment later, a long, sharp ice horn made of ice grew from the blue pheasant's forehead.

Ice Release, Horned Sword Technique.

Tsunade was too far away from him; if he obediently followed behind her, it would take a long time.

So, he came up with this ninjutsu.

He now has a long horn growing from his forehead, which looks a bit funny at first glance, but this horn can effectively increase his speed.

This is not just something Aokiji said randomly; it is based on scientific evidence.

For example, the long spine on the head of a swordfish that swims very fast in nature, and the pitot tube on the nose of a fighter jet.

By imitating this maneuver, Aokiji can effectively overcome air resistance, thereby increasing his speed and achieving the speed of an arrow released from a bow.

What is science? This is science.

Aokiji leaned forward, shifting his weight forward and lowering it. He gathered his strength in his legs, took long strides, and ran at a rapid pace. His strides were short but his frequency was extremely high, propelling his body forward like an arrow being shot out.

The speed of running propels the arms back, palms facing upwards, creating a wonderfully streamlined body shape while running, reducing air resistance.

Combined with the long icy horn on Aokiji's head, his speed was as fast as the wind and fire.

..............................

Amidst the heavy snowfall, several lightly dressed ninjas raced along, leaving the snow-covered trees far behind, only their clear footprints as their companions.

Tsunade was carried on the shoulder of one of the Hidden Mist ninjas. The long, bumpy ride caused her to furrow her brow, groan softly, and slowly wake up.

"What am I doing...?"

His head throbbed, and before he could recall what had happened, he heard a mocking voice.

"Oh my~ My Princess Konoha has woken up."

Tsunade found herself bound by ropes and instinctively tried to break free. Normally, she could easily break free with her abilities, but this time, for some reason, she couldn't muster any strength and felt extremely weak.

A Jonin from Kirigakure jokingly reminded him, "Don't waste your energy. You've been poisoned with a kind of Five-Spice Tendon-Softening Powder. You're a medical ninja, so you should know what this is."

Tsunade's face was ashen; as a medical ninja, she was intimately familiar with the vast majority of poisons.

Five-Fragrance Muscle-Softening Powder is a poison with five kinds of fragrances. Once the effects of the medicine take hold, the muscles and bones throughout the body become weak and sore. After several days, although one can move normally, one cannot exert any chakra. Even a ninja of the Jonin level would be limp and unable to exert any strength after being poisoned by this poison.

Tsunade glared at her with murderous intent and said angrily, "Why did you attack us?"

Having run for such a long time, the Kirigakure Jonin spoke without panting, saying easily, "What other reason could there be? A ninja's job is nothing more than being employed. Hehe, someone has paid a lot of money to kill you Konoha ninjas. As for you, consider it an unexpected bonus."

Tsunade frowned, probing, "Who is it?"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that, as it involves the employer's privacy."

Even with victory in hand, the Kirigakure Jonin was very professional and wouldn't say anything unnecessary.

He actually told a little lie just now. Their main purpose this time was to capture Tsunade and the others. They received orders from their superiors to capture Tsunade alive.

As for being employed, it was just a coincidence, and I was just earning some pocket money on the side.

"You must take me there."

"Where else could we go? Of course, back to our Hidden Mist Village. Someone as important as you isn't someone a nobody like me can handle privately. But I can roughly guess that they're probably going to use you to exchange for something important with Konoha, or perhaps..."

At this point, the Kirigakure Jonin grinned, his eyes gleaming with a lewd grin, and his tone was full of wicked amusement: "Let's do some human experiments with you."

Human experimentation is a terrible term, and Tsunade was prepared for the worst, as she was unfortunately caught.

But upon hearing those words, he couldn't help but feel timid, a chill ran down his spine, and his body trembled slightly.

Tsunade's smugness did not escape the eyes of the Kirigakure Jonin, a sadistic smile appearing on his lips: "You should know that you are a direct descendant of that Shinobi God, and you possess the Wood Release technique that can quell chaos within you. It's impossible for us in Kirigakure not to have designs on you."

Becoming a prisoner of war usually doesn't end well, especially for female ninjas, whose fates are extremely tragic, worse than death. Tsunade dared not imagine what the consequences would be for them.

It takes at least two days to get here from Konoha. Right now, the only thing that can save her is probably a miracle from a god or Buddha...

Unfortunately, Tsunade never came into contact with religion, did not believe in it, and even scoffed at it, thinking it was nothing but a deceptive trick.

She had seen many examples of people who became rich through murder and arson, yet remained poor through chanting Buddhist scriptures.

As a staunch atheist, she believes that gods and Buddhas would never care about the life or death of someone like her.

Therefore, rather than suffer humiliation, disgrace one's ancestors, and cause losses to the village, it would be better to die...

Tsunade realized this, and a resolute glint flashed in her clear, bright eyes.

I'll find a chance to commit suicide. I've heard that biting your tongue can lead to suicide, but I don't know if it's true or not, or if it will hurt.

If all else fails, just find a wall and play dead...

Tsunade has already started thinking that way.

She disbelieved in gods and Buddhas more than anyone else, and she didn't believe that gods and Buddhas would perform miracles to save her.

Even if it exists, it must be in a dream.

For example, the current situation.

"boom."

The explosion came suddenly, with a thunderous roar, causing the ice cliff to collapse and an avalanche to tumble down.

Being buried alive by an avalanche in the face of such a sudden event is no joke.

Caught off guard, the Hidden Mist ninjas were slightly flustered, but thanks to their strong mental fortitude, they quickly calmed down, swiftly dodging the avalanche's icy attack. Then, they involuntarily looked in the direction of the avalanche, and soon, a black-haired, black-eyed ninja with a cold expression came into view.

With a spiky hairstyle and a tuft of black hair on his forehead, he has a stern and aloof demeanor when he is not smiling. A second glance from him can't help but remind one of an iceberg that never melts.

It was clear that the avalanche that had just occurred was closely related to this boy.

Upon seeing this face, Tsunade was more surprised than anyone else present.

Mainly because Tsunade was very familiar with his face.

How did he end up here?

While everyone's attention was focused on the boy, they did not notice the creature lurking beneath the snow, quietly approaching.

"Who is this brat?!"

The Hidden Mist Village ninja carrying Tsunade had barely spoken when he suddenly sensed something was wrong. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late.

With a "whoosh," a hand suddenly sprang out from the snow and grabbed the leg of the Hidden Mist Chunin.

"Ice Release: Heart-Slaying Decapitation Technique".

In an instant, Aokiji dragged the misty figure underground, leaving only its head exposed, and then jumped out of the snow.

Ice Release: Heart Decapitation Technique, as the name suggests, is a ninjutsu similar to Earth Release: Heart Decapitation Technique. When he faced Jiraiya, he thought this move was good and borrowed it slightly. Because the difficulty was only D-rank, Aokiji did not find it too difficult to improve it.

Tsunade crashed heavily to the ground, tilting her head back with wide eyes, looking at Aokiji, who seemed to have descended from heaven, with a mixture of surprise and delight.

Upon seeing a figure suddenly dart out, the nearby Hidden Mist Village ninjas quickly realized what was happening.

Damn it, that was a clone!

Because of the avalanche, coupled with the sudden appearance of the shadow clone, their entire attention had been drawn to it.

They immediately surrounded and attacked Aokiji.

Faced with the encirclement, Aokiji remained calm, having anticipated this. His hands were already in hand seals, and he took a deep breath, his cheeks puffing out like a toad's.

"Fire Release: Dust Concealment Technique".

(End of this chapter)