One Against Three

The Ice Dragon charged forward with ferocious momentum, and Haku, who followed closely behind, seemed to be gathering strength through his high-speed dash. The next Iaido Slash from the enemy was bound to be earth-shattering.

Chojuro, who considered himself fierce, let out a roar that to Ino sounded more like a puppy's yelp. He then drew the Ninja Blade from his back, combining the two swords into one massive blade resembling a flatfish. This was Kirigakure Village's Ninja Blade, the "Twin Swords: Hiramekarei!" Among the Seven Ninja Swords of Kirigakure, Hiramekarei was the largest in size. After absorbing the user's Chakra, it could unleash Chakra Light Blades and Chakra Light Stabs, making it the only one of the seven swords capable of long-range attacks.

With the Ice Dragon leading the charge and the two Kirigakure ninjas flanking from the sides, they formed a wedge-shaped assault, targeting Ino's weakness in close combat.

Using Water Release on an endless lake provided a significant advantage, while employing other Release Techniques would be too costly.

The enemy's fierce approach made Ino worry that the Water Formation Wall alone wouldn't be enough for defense, forcing her to create earth out of thin air.

She and her Shadow Clone each performed a Ninja Technique.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A deafening "boom" echoed.

First, the three-meter-high Water Formation Wall was frozen solid by the Ice Dragon, and in less than a fifth of a second, it was shattered into pieces. The scattered ice crystals glittered dazzlingly under the sunlight.

However, the collision with the Water Formation Wall had drained most of the Ice Dragon's energy. When it crashed into the Earth-Style Wall, although the impact created a web of cracks, the Ice Dragon was already struggling.

The Earth-Style Wall was left pockmarked from the collision. Chojuro let out a loud shout, raising Hiramekarei high like a sledgehammer and smashing it into the upper third of the Earth-Style Wall.

The earthen wall collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Ino's two defenses were breached one after the other.

Chojuro, having expended considerable energy in that strike, was pushed back by the "Exploding Water Colliding Wave" unleashed by the Shadow Clone.

Haku moved like lightning, stepping on the water's surface as he continued his assault.

Haku's left foot stomped hard on the earthen wall, using it as leverage to increase his speed. He completely abandoned his own defense, and the Samurai Sword in his hand emitted a blinding white light. A dazzling Iaido Slash aimed straight for Ino's neck.

What greeted him were three Kunai flying in a triangular formation, each with an Exploding Tag tied to its handle.

"Huh?" Midway through the Kunai's flight, Ino noticed something was off.

The Kunai pierced through Haku's body, but there was no explosion—they simply passed through him as if he were air.

An illusion! Damn it! Ino cursed under her breath.

These Kirigakure ninjas really didn't play fair! They must have had some method to bypass the Illusionary Maze ahead. What seemed like two enemies before her was actually three, as Ranmaru was also present. She was now fighting one against three!

Haku's blade came thrusting from the diagonal rear. Her two Shadow Clones were already at their limit holding off Chojuro and couldn't provide further assistance. She had to rely on herself.

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"

Ino didn't know if Ranmaru's Kekkei Genkai could distort her vision. She spat out a silver water line, sweeping it across the diagonal rear in a fan-shaped area.

"Crack, crack, crack!" The sound of several Ice Mirrors shattering echoed. Her judgment had been off, and she could only slightly shift her body in the critical moment.

"Thud!" A pitch-black longsword pierced through her left shoulder.

Ino gritted her teeth, her left hand gripping Haku's blade tightly, allowing the sharp edge to cut into her palm, preventing him from withdrawing the sword. Haku valued this weapon immensely, willing to risk his life to retrieve it.

A flaw had appeared in what was originally a tight battle plan, and Ino, who was being ganged up on by three people, finally found an opportunity.

Neither Ino nor Haku were particularly strong; both were relatively weak, but at this moment, strength didn't matter.

Unable to hold back any longer, she unleashed the Chakra she had been accumulating, took a deep breath, and then exhaled several powerful gusts of wind in Haku's direction.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"

This was a B-rank Wind Release Ninjutsu from the Yamanaka Clan's collection. In the Wind Release system, C-rank techniques were rare, and any technique with significant lethality was at least B-rank in difficulty.

The two were too close, and Ino's Vacuum Sphere unleashed a massive amount of Chakra, firing like bullets in a dense barrage directly at Haku.

Haku was like someone hit by a shotgun at close range, with multiple wounds across his body. At the critical moment, he used his left arm to shield his face, resulting in a deep, bone-exposing hole in his left arm from the Vacuum Sphere. His shoulder, thigh, and calf were all injured, and his white kimono was instantly stained with blood.

In the final moment, he pulled out his sword and thrust it forward.

Ino quickly used Water Instantaneous Body to twist her waist and dodge, but she was still a beat too slow. Haku's thrust left a bloody wound on her abdomen.

Ranmaru's Red Eye's obscuring effect had completely disappeared. Both Ino and Haku were types with low strength and poor Body Techniques but high speed. They clashed rapidly on the water's surface, exchanging over twenty moves.

Ino had another wound on her right leg, while Haku's left arm had completely lost sensation, hanging limply at his side.

Ignoring his own injuries, Haku reversed his grip on the sword and, as if seeking mutual destruction, thrust his Samurai Sword toward Ino's left eye.

Ino, now fully enraged, allowed the blade to pierce her palm and then forcefully pushed it away.

"Learned a couple of sword techniques on the fly? But you're still my defeated opponent!" Ino had already figured out that Haku's sword techniques were limited to a downward slash, an upward thrust, and Iaido—likely taught by Zabuza—while the rest of his techniques were mediocre.

Despite her injuries, Ino lifted her left foot and kicked Haku hard in the chest. This kick directly aggravated the wound in Haku's abdomen caused by the Vacuum Sphere, causing blood to gush out like an arrow. Haku let out a pained scream.

This kick was the final straw. Haku was sent flying seven or eight meters, floating on the water's surface, bleeding profusely. He tried twice but couldn't stand up.

Ino had taken a slash to her abdomen, a wound on her right leg, and her left palm had been pierced through.

In less than five minutes of combat, she had rendered Haku unable to fight, though she herself was heavily injured.

She quickly cleaned her wounds, applied medicine, bandaged herself, and used a Shadow Clone to protect her main body as she retreated.

On the other side, Chojuro showed no intention of pursuing, only protecting Haku and creating distance.

Faced with a companion who was more delicate than a woman, Chojuro was at a loss, unsure of what to do.

Help with bandaging the wound? Would that involve tearing open the clothes? Would I end up seeing something I shouldn't? "I'm fine," Haku said, stronger than he had expected, seemingly ready to draw his blade and fight again. But Chojuro couldn't let him fight in this condition. If he continued, he might bleed to death.

Ranmaru emerged from the air, his face filled with anxiety, but he didn't know how to treat the wound either.

Ino shouted into the air, "Hey, senior, this guy from the Yuki clan has lost his ability to fight. Let him leave."

In the next moment, Haku's figure grew hazy and soon vanished, leaving only Ino, Chojuro, and Ranmaru on the field.