A cold mist spread over the sea.
The surging waves had been frozen solid, preserving the shape of rolling spray as they rose and fell across the frozen surface, stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Ice Style: Thousand Killing Formation!"
A blue figure stepped on thin, brittle ice plates forming beneath her feet in midair, using them as footholds to stand in the sky.
One glittering point after another condensed in the air. Blades, spears, swords, and halberds forged entirely from ice poured down toward the frozen earth below like an endless rainstorm.
The girl looked beautiful as a dream and gentle as flowing water, yet the ninjutsu she unleashed was filled with chilling killing intent.
This was a near-savage feast of slaughter.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The explosions continued for a full minute before gradually fading.
Every ice weapon carried the explosive force of an artillery shell, blasting violently across the frozen sea.
Frozen hills collapsed. The ice-covered surface was gouged open with one pit after another, each several meters deep.
Countless mangled corpses lay scattered everywhere. Blood mist mixed with white fog, spreading across the frozen sea.
"Damn you!"
A black-clad ninja covered in blood roared furiously.
Around him were the torn remains of his companions. Ice crystals clung to the edges of their wounds, and the blood that spilled from them froze into beautiful crimson crystals the instant it sprayed out.
And the one who had caused all of this was the blue-kimono girl standing in midair on ice plates.
Irori.
As Yayoi's highest-grade puppet life-form, she not only possessed chakra reserves close to those of a tailed beast, she also possessed a chakra circuit called Ice Mirror, which closely resembled the Ice Style kekkei genkai.
Although what she used was Ice Style, her Ice Style was fundamentally stronger from the starting line than that of the Yuki clan from the Land of Water.
"Still alive?"
Irori's purple eyes remained calm, without the slightest ripple.
The hem of her kimono lifted slightly in the breeze, revealing a smooth, porcelain-pale calf.
Her exquisite artificial face was so beautiful it startled the heart, making one marvel at the creator's extraordinary craftsmanship.
"Go to hell!"
The black-clad ninja reached out and grabbed the ice beneath him.
Crack, crack.
The ice surface split apart. A massive chunk of ice more than ten meters wide was lifted with both hands. Then powerful chakra surged out, and he hurled the giant ice block toward Irori in the sky with all his strength.
Boom!
The ice block's own weight, combined with the speed of its charge, made the erupting force far exceed the mass of the ice itself.
And yet...
The pale powder of ice slowly dispersed. Broken chunks drifted down through the air.
Irori stood unharmed in the sky, her body utterly unmoved.
"Wha..."
The black-clad ninja's eyes widened.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Ice spears erupted from the frozen surface around him, crossing and piercing through his body, pinning him firmly to the ice.
His lips moved slightly. He spat out a large mouthful of blood, and the light in his eyes rapidly faded.
"What a pity, nameless ninja sir."
Irori sighed gently. Her graceful body in the blue kimono descended silently onto the ice.
Because she possessed chakra reserves close to a tailed beast's, the body that could contain such vast chakra naturally also possessed defensive performance beyond ordinary imagination.
Although it had not reached the level of a tailed beast, ordinary attacks would not even leave a scratch on her, let alone a wound.
Even without using Ice Style, she could defeat most ninja through taijutsu alone.
"Irori-hime!"
More than a dozen figures flashed over at high speed. There were three ninja and eleven samurai, all acting with respect.
They had personally witnessed Irori facing dozens of attacking ninja, releasing cold air with astonishing Ice Style ninjutsu and instantly freezing the sea into an ice plain, forcibly changing the battlefield terrain.
Then, with overwhelming force, she had completely crushed dozens of skilled ninja.
Even the enemy leader had been erased by her with ease.
This kind of strength was already outside the realm ordinary ninja could touch.
"Next, we sweep the next location. Also, inform the other squads not to advance alone. If they encounter strong enemies, leave them to me."
Irori spoke in a gentle tone.
"Yes!"
Although Irori's attitude was gentle, anyone who had seen the scene just now would never regard her as a harmless young girl. They would see her as a highly efficient combat weapon.
The ninja and samurai began moving, obeying Irori's orders.
Because of the Five Great Nations' recent series of actions, turmoil had begun breaking out within many small countries. This had forced many ninja from other nations into exile.
Most of these wandering ninja came from ninja clans, though none were powerful clans. Otherwise, they would not have been forced to wander in the first place.
As for these wandering ninja, if they were willing to join the Land of Night, they were allowed to stay. If they were not willing, they were driven away. If multiple warnings failed, they were suppressed.
However, because there were too many ninja who needed to be suppressed, and many of them came from the sea, entering through ports, Yayoi had no choice but to send out Irori, this great killing weapon.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
As an artificial life-form, Irori's Ice Style was extremely suited for combat in watery environments.
Sending her to suppress ninja coming from the sea was the most suitable choice.
"Irori-hime, we found the invaders' base. It is there."
The one speaking was a female ninja from the Aburame clan, Aburame Shion.
She was about twenty years old and wore the Aburame clan's signature large black coat. Covering her eyes was a black eye mask that left the eyes exposed.
Although most of her face was hidden by the coat's high collar, one could still vaguely sense that she was a striking beauty.
As a genius ninja of the Aburame clan, she was currently controlling a large number of insects, letting them fly through the air and take charge of intelligence gathering for this operation.
Originally, Shion, as an elite of the Aburame clan, had been very proud.
But after following Irori during this mission, she had been thoroughly convinced by Irori's elegant yet violent, beautiful yet cold-blooded fighting style.
At this moment, she stood on the surging sea and pointed to a small island ahead, more than three kilometers in diameter.
It was covered in dense forest, with a large mountain at its center.
It was an excellent hiding place.
Especially since the surrounding fog was thick. If they approached carelessly, it would be very easy to lose visibility and step into traps set by the enemy.
Only by relying on the secret insect jutsus had Shion, after spending considerable effort, finally located the enemy's base.
Around them, aside from Irori, there were also many ninja and samurai from the Land of Night. All of them were eager to move.
It was as if they would swarm forward and seize the island the moment Irori gave the order.
"Should we attack directly, Irori-hime?"
A samurai in heavy armor stepped forward and asked.
He gripped the katana in his hand tightly. Chakra flowed along the blade, clearly showing that he had mastered chakra infusion.
"No. There are many enemy traps outside, and several enemies have unknown strength. Forcing our way in without detailed intelligence would cause unnecessary casualties. All of you, fall back. I happen to have a jutsu I want to test."
As she spoke, Irori's figure shot upward through the air.
Ice plates still formed beneath her feet, but because she moved too quickly, she looked as if she were stepping directly on the air as she climbed into the sky.
The people below looked at one another, not understanding what Irori meant.
Then, at that moment, everyone suddenly shivered.
"Hey, the air around us... did it get colder?"
One ninja trembled, hoping this was only his own illusion.
"Yes. Even wearing insulated armor, I feel a bone-piercing chill."
A fully armed samurai also spoke of what he felt, proving it was not an illusion.
It felt as if the heat in the surrounding space had suddenly been extracted by someone.
"This level should be enough... The enemy has more than five hundred people?"
Irori arrived above the island. Her purple eyes looked down at the several-kilometer-wide island below, and her soft pink lips breathed lightly.
But if one sensed carefully, the temperature around her lips had dropped to an extremely terrifying level.
Large amounts of icy air were being inhaled through her mouth, entering her body through her breathing passage.
And with her breathing, the temperature of the surrounding air began to drop rapidly.
An enormous amount of chakra erupted violently from her body, freezing the air itself.
She clapped her hands together.
Boom!
Pale blue chakra completely ran wild from inside her body, sweeping madly in every direction and raising a cold, white storm.
"Let all things freeze."
"Ice Style: Frost Heaven Demon Realm!"
Her voice was gentle as water, yet it was a note that brought death.
An icy aura condensed in the sky.
At first, pieces of crystalline snow fell from above. Then they fell faster and faster. In only a few seconds, they turned into a raging blizzard.
Cold wind howled. White snow covered everything.
The blizzard formed from cold air was like a flood that would end the world, pouring madly toward the earth.
The sky was dyed the pale white of snow and ice. A gray cold mist completely covered the sunlight, and shadows swallowed the island, plunging the place into eternal night.
The lonely island hanging in the sea below froze first around its surrounding waters, then its sand, earth, trees, mountain, and even the stone fortress built by the ninja on the island. All of it was stained with the white of despair.
In less than half a minute, the island and the surrounding stretch of sea became a massive ice sculpture standing upon the ocean.
Grand and magnificent.
Like a masterpiece carved by nature itself.
The ninja and samurai of the Land of Night at the perimeter widened their eyes in horror.
In the brief moment they had been stunned, the island they might not have been able to capture even with sacrifices had been completely frozen, transformed into an unparalleled sculpture of ice.
Not only the island, even the surrounding sea had been frozen by the cold.
Because the seawater beneath their feet had also solidified into ice, no longer rising and falling with the waves.
"Let us return. The sweep is over. For the next three months, the ice here will not thaw."
Irori descended from the sky. Her face was slightly pale. Clearly, releasing such a powerful jutsu had not emptied her stamina and chakra all at once, but it was still an ultimate-level release jutsu that could not be used casually.
"Oh... oh."
The ninja and samurai dazedly came back to their senses. Their minds had been shaken too deeply by what they had just seen. In the end, they did not even know when they had returned to camp.
◎
"Irori really is a capable child. The northern border should be stable for a while now."
The intelligence regarding Irori's feat of freezing the island quickly reached Yayoi in Yomi Castle.
Inside the tenshu pavilion, he looked at the information written in the report and revealed a satisfied smile.
In only half a month after being sent out, Irori had suppressed every last wandering ninja clan attacking from the northern waters of the Land of Night. Her efficiency was extremely high.
Her final feat of freezing the island was even more inspiring. For the current Land of Night, it was undoubtedly a powerful shot of confidence.
At the same time, it also spread the Land of Night's name, attracting more people to migrate there.
Whether it was population or outside ninja clans, only true strength could create a siphoning effect.
Right now, the Five Great Nations were racing against time to carry out reforms. They would take the largest share, but Yayoi felt that following behind them and drinking some of the soup was still possible.
Catching up to the Five Great Nations was not something that could be done in the short term. He had to remain realistic, respect objective laws, and fight a long war.
Moreover, Yayoi knew that the establishment of ninja villages would inevitably bring internal consumption.
No matter what, hatred between ninja clans would not disappear in a short time. There would definitely be opposition factions inside, waiting for a chance to cause chaos. The only question was when it would erupt and how great the final losses would be.
However, considering that each of the Five Great Nations had powerful figures capable of deciding matters with one strike, even if there were losses, they would not damage the foundation.
"Speaking of which, my husband, between you and Irori, who is stronger?"
Because Irori was out carrying out a mission, the only one accompanying Yayoi in handling official documents at this moment was Kichō.
She saw the contents of the intelligence report and suddenly became curious about who was stronger, Yayoi or Irori.
"Well..." Yayoi thought briefly, then smiled openly. "Although it is true that I created Irori, if we truly fought, unless I completely perfect Chakra Armament Mode, lasting thirty exchanges against her would already be my limit. Irori's strength is not limited to Ice Style."
When creating Irori, Yayoi had undoubtedly poured in an enormous amount of time and energy.
It could be said that she was his first and most flawless masterpiece.
Even before consuming a large portion of the Seven-Tails' chakra, Irori had already been a puppet life-form with excellent performance.
After consuming the Seven-Tails' vast chakra, whether in Ice Style or physical strength, Irori reached an even higher realm.
If Irori's current body could tolerate devouring even more tailed beast chakra, her performance could continue rising.
Therefore, aside from Ice Style, Irori's taijutsu was also outstanding.
If someone thought that bypassing her Ice Style attacks would allow them to subdue Irori in close combat, they would face despair unlike anything they had ever known.
However, Irori's abilities had already been raised to the limit by him. If he wanted Irori's performance to continue improving, he would need to further activate Irori's body.
But to do that, he first had to produce a higher qualitative change in the activity of his own chakra.
In the end, everything he had was built upon the active chakra he refined from himself.
If he were to compare it to something similar, the effect of this active chakra had a certain similarity to Yin-Yang Release.
At present, the abilities of Yin-Yang Release surpassed his active chakra.
Only after another qualitative transformation would his active chakra be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Yin-Yang Release.
Or even surpass it.
"That makes sense. Still, it is hard to believe that Irori is a puppet creation. But is it really all right to expose Irori's strength like this?"
Kichō smiled and sighed. Inwardly, she envied Irori for possessing such powerful strength.
Especially since, as a "daughter," Irori's true physical age was older than Kichō, her "mother."
Because of that, whenever Kichō faced Irori, her "daughter," her mood was often very complicated.
"It is fine. Compared with truly powerful people, the commotion Irori created... can only count as children fighting? Interesting, but not much more than that."
Yayoi smiled without concern.
Even after releasing her ultimate jutsu, all she had done was freeze an island a few kilometers across and the surrounding sea.
Uchiha Madara's Susanoo had split several mountains with a single sword stroke, severely injured the Seven-Tails, and almost instantly defeated a tailed beast.
And that had only been an ordinary attack in Susanoo's state. Yayoi did not believe Madara's Susanoo had no jutsus that could be used together with it.
The reality was simply that awful.
Irori was very strong.
But at the same time, she was still not strong enough.
However, for protecting the current Land of Night, her strength was exactly right.