r18novel What is the plan in Chapter 247?
What is the plan in Chapter 247?
"Ice Release: Dragon-Slaying Tiger!" At the cost of damaged shoulder armor, the Wolf Fang Avalanche technique was finally completed.
A tiger formed of solidified ice leaped from the snow, pouncing on Sasuke from the side. It was a tricky angle; if Sasuke chose to avoid the attack, the ice tiger would continue its charge downwards, directly into the crew members who hadn't yet retreated. If he fought back, in order to form hand seals, he would have to abandon his attack and actively distance himself from the avalanche to avoid being interrupted by a sneak attack.
An ordinary teenager would probably have panicked by now, but Sasuke showed no emotion. He simply threw out a few harmless kunai and shuriken and then fell downwards.
He wasn't simply falling; he formed hand seals mid-air and unleashed a massive fireball upon landing. Under the avalanche's control, the Ice Tiger swung its claws, intending to shatter the fireball at the cost of some of its strength, hoping to buy time for its allies. However, a sudden gust of demonic wind blew, causing the fireball to grow larger and larger, eventually engulfing the Ice Tiger. The Ice Tiger shattered unwillingly.
"Mind your own business." Sasuke's left hand flashed with lightning. His Chidori was fully charged after the Great Fireball. With the power of the Chidori Sharp Cry Spear, it would be more than enough to cut down an Ice Tiger.
"You came here just so I could lend you a hand?" Naruto, who hadn't moved, glared at his good friend.
"I just wanted to borrow your Flying Thunder God Technique, not to let you blow this wind. I can handle that. Forget it, just send me over. I've already found the armor's weakness." Sasuke retorted defiantly, his gaze inevitably glancing at Naruto's opponent. That burly man had already been embedded in the ice several times; if it weren't for the armor's ability to withstand some damage, he certainly wouldn't have been able to break free.
Melee combat is so frustrating against ranged attacks, especially when the ranged attacker has plenty of chakra.
"Yes, yes, how can you beg someone like that?" Naruto complained, but the technique was activated as soon as Naruto put his arm around Naruto's shoulder.
The distant snow ninja arrived instantly, positioned to the opponent's left rear. Sasuke charged forward, wielding Chidori. His Sharingan revealed the panicked expression of the hastily attacked enemy. Chidori's strength lay in its powerful single-target attack; the chakra armor's support was utterly futile. Once the taiji armor plate on his left arm, harder than anywhere else, shattered, the blunt force against the snow ninja vanished. Chidori pierced the core structure beneath the armor plate, the lightning striking him and sending him tumbling off the cliff.
"Big brother!"
The huge commotion naturally triggered a chain reaction. The enemy female ninja with the best view saw the avalanche from the sky and instinctively tried to catch the person, but ended up getting her face covered in giant ice spikes.
"You're fighting, why are you looking around? Don't be ridiculous!" Finally seizing the opportunity, Sakura leaped up and delivered a heavy punch to the female ninja, using the impact to shatter the core on the female ninja's back and end the battle.
"Everyone has become stronger." Naruto, who had been observing the whole thing, smiled and casually waved his hand horizontally. Horizontal wind blades, fixed in a certain direction, continued to push forward, leaving broken cracks on the iceberg wall.
The armor, supposedly immune to ninjutsu attacks, let out a mournful cry of despair, its core finally exploding. The burly man watched in horror as the approaching wind blades threatened to slice him in two, but with a wave of his hand, the blades vanished. He collapsed to the ground, drenched in cold sweat. This was the first time he'd ever encountered a situation where his chakra armor had been overloaded to the point of exploding; the opponent's chakra reserves were simply outrageous!
Brilliant battles often happen in an instant, and given that neither side seemed evenly matched, the opponent's swift defeat was to be expected. The newly emerged Team 7 returned triumphantly with their spoils, the one who fought Sakura suffering the most severe injuries, while the one who fell from the cliff was lucky enough to land in the snow, suffering only a broken left arm and no other major injuries.
"Do you need my help?" Naruto felt a little sorry for Sakura, who was busy treating her after the fight.
However, he was met with a glare from Sakura, "If you can't even handle this much exertion, what kind of medical ninja are you? Don't get in the way."
Naruto had no choice but to obediently roll away.
"Now, shouldn't we explain the situation, Mr. Asama?" Given that the enemies were either knocked unconscious or terrified, Kakashi turned his attention to his client. He was truly fed up with clients who provided false information.
"...I'm sorry, I had no choice but to do this."
It was another classic apology scene, another classic explanation of his predicament. Kakashi sighed inwardly. Admittedly, ninja missions always present various challenges, but why did he always encounter this situation? Last time, he unwittingly facilitated a peace negotiation; the time before that, he unwittingly shielded a small country from disaster; and this time it was even more outrageous—the other side actually wanted them to escort the heir of the Land of Snow's legal system to restore the country.
Does defeating the current ruler mean the country will return to the princess's control? Can a decade-long slump be resolved overnight? But he couldn't save Xiaoxue's father back then, and he couldn't refuse this mission that was essentially a kidnapping.
"So, Yuki-nee really is a princess." Naruto pretended to know nothing and reminded everyone present, "You just said you hoped Princess Yuki would go back to inherit the throne. Did you ask for her opinion?"
Yukie had been running away all along, even being brought aboard the ship by slingshot. Asking her would only yield negative answers. Everyone knew this, but Santayu knew it all too well. But the people of the Snow Country were on the verge of starvation. Sending him away from his homeland had exhausted the resistance's savings. He had spent so much time searching for her and had done everything in his power to care for Princess Yukie—wasn't it all just to use this small act of kindness to move the princess?
It was because the princess was running away that he recommended the scenery of the Land of Snow to the director and hired ninjas from Konoha to bring the princess back, which he believed was the most reliable guarantee.
This time, we can only succeed, we cannot fail!
"As long as we can defeat Fuuka Nutō and make the princess the new monarch, I, Asama Santayu, am willing to risk my life to protect Her Highness! Please join us in rebuilding our strength!" Santayu immediately knelt down before Yukie.
However, these words of loyalty did not elicit any positive response from Yukie. She only became more sorrowful and said coldly, "I refuse."
"But the people of the Snow Country..."
"What does that have to do with me? No matter how hard you try, you can't defeat the raging waves!"
"Ahem." Naruto broke the suffocating atmosphere once again, saying, "Those three Snow Ninja, they're Fuuka Nutō's subordinates, right? We've taken care of them, defeating Nutō shouldn't be a problem, but..."
"Mr. Asama, I'm not quite sure how a country operates, but defeating one person shouldn't solve all the problems, right? Have you and your companions come up with a way to resolve the Snow Country's predicament besides defeating the Raging Waves?"
The usually eloquent San Taifu was suddenly stunned and didn't know how to respond.
"Sister Xuehui, are you ready to take over a country?"
"...How could I possibly have prepared?" Yukie's answer sounded somewhat guilty; she truly had no intention of returning to her hometown.
Naruto spread his hands helplessly and said, "Look, aren't we just going to act recklessly without thinking things through? Even if we Konoha ninjas defeat the Raging Waves, can you really make the Land of Snow a better place?"