Chapter 34 : Fubuki Yuki

Trapped in the ice, the man was immobilized, his face still expressionless behind the icy prison.

Surrounded by dozens of ninjas from the Yuki clan, the aura emanating from the man seemed to grow, releasing black energy that spread through the cracks in the ice.

"Hyōton - Ice Spears!" Observing the fissures in the ice prison, the Yuki clan ninjas wasted no time and launched several ice spears at the man who was about to break free.

Crack!

"Aaaaaaah!" Emerging from the ice, the man let out a thunderous scream accompanied by a powerful shockwave of black energy from his body. The ice spears shattered just a few meters from him, leaving the ninjas and the audience deeply astonished.

Without staying in place any longer, the man disappeared from everyone's sight and reappeared behind the referee, delivering a devastating punch identical to the one he had delivered to his previous opponent.

If there were any doubts, now it was certain, this was a declaration of war against the Yuki clan!

As the referee was propelled a few hundred meters away, a Yuki clan ninja appeared in his path to catch him.

Intercepting him, the ninja skidded a few meters before stopping, halting the referee's momentum. Unfortunately, the referee was dead from the impact of the punch.

In perfect coordination, the Yuki clan members distanced themselves from the man while maintaining a strategic position, keeping him at the center of their formation.

For now, the man had demonstrated strong Taijutsu skills, leaving the Yuki members to rely on ninjutsu to fight him from a safer distance.

"Hyōton - Demonic Ice Mirrors!"

Creating hundreds of ice mirrors encircling the arena, the Yuki clan members each entered a mirror, making their reflections appear in the other empty mirrors.

With hundreds of ice mirrors around him, enclosing him in an ice dome, the man didn't panic. He simply screamed even louder, creating chakra explosions from his body.

It was chaos. The audience began to realize the danger the man posed and started fleeing the arena as quickly as possible.

Renji Senju, who was in the stands, watched with amazement at the man's chakra level. The quantity and nature of this chakra were abnormal in every way.

Staying in place to see the fight continue, he didn't want to leave. Even if he could see an opportunity, he would like to participate in this exciting battle too!

This was what he had been missing all this time, a real opponent! His blood boiled with anticipation.

Watching the Yuki clan ninjas fight in perfect coordination, sending ice stakes, kunai, and all sorts of techniques from their clan, Renji hadn't noticed that he was now the last spectator in the stands... if you didn't count the other child who was sleeping peacefully a few rows away...

Very surprising given all the chaos and noise of the fight happening just a few hundred meters away from them.

But as the Yuki clan ninjas tried to kill the enemy, the man seemed unfazed. Moving between the Yuki's attacks, he easily reached the edge of the ice dome.

Accompanied by a powerful shockwave, his body pierced the mirror and shattered the nearby ones into a thousand pieces.

"Damn it! Kill him!"

"Hyōton - Ice Golem!"

Creating several ice golems surrounding the man once again, the Yuki clan members watched as the golems broke one by one, unable to offer any resistance against him.

The man was just too strong, and turning, he saw the ninjas who had gotten a bit closer to him and sped towards them at full speed.

Like a wild beast without any emotion, he killed the ninjas one punch at a time.

He was a monster!

But as the man was about to deliver a blow to one of the Yuki in front of him, several stakes emerged from beneath the ninja and struck him in the chest, sending him rolling on the ground.

"Doton - Earth Spikes!"

It was Renji who had intervened, smiling. He had followed the man's movements from the beginning of the fight, and although he was fast, he was mostly predictable.

Rising slowly, the man looked emotionlessly at Renji, emitting more and more of his aura.

Large drops of sweat appeared on Renji's forehead. This time, it was a real opponent!

Fortunately for him, he wasn't alone. Accompanied by about fifty Yuki, Renji was filled with euphoria.

In the stands, the young boy who had been sleeping since the beginning of the chaos began to wake up slowly, yawning. With perfectly defined facial features, he seemed to be about ten years old.

"Well... I fell asleep again..." As he looked around, he ran his hand through his hair, styling his spiky black hair back. "Is the fight over already?"

Boom!

"Huh?" Turning towards the sound of the explosion, he saw his clan members being killed by an opponent emitting a macabre and disgusting aura.

"Well, well. This arena is finally getting a bit interesting..."

In the arena, Renji continued to stay at a safe distance, using his ninjutsu to reach the man. The other ninjas also began to grasp the man's behavior and movements, managing to keep him away or dodge him.

The fight seemed to finally show a winner.

The man's aura began to diminish and weaken gradually. His movements became slower, hindered by a layer of frost on his body.

As Renji and the Yuki felt victory within reach, the man's body started to waver, losing balance. But as he fell towards the ground, an invisible force held him a few centimeters from the ground.

Then, a snake-like figure about ten meters long appeared before the shocked eyes of all the ninjas present. As the man melted into the beast's body, the visible aura continued to grow and spread from the creature.

The beast's head resembled nothing like a snake's. There was just a white Noh mask with the kanji "zero" inscribed on it.

Its purple color and black aura made most of the ninjas present shiver in fear.

This beast resembled nothing they had seen or heard of before.

It was a monster!

As the two sides seemed to gauge each other, the monster wasted no time and rushed in a fraction of a second towards the Yuki clan members. Moving like a snake between golems and ice spikes, the monster extended several humanoid arms from its body, stretching endlessly towards the nearest ninjas.

Grabbing the closest ninjas, it absorbed their chakra, leaving only empty, dry corpses behind.

Screams of horror echoed through the arena as the serpent monster continued its devastating rampage. Renji, now aware of the danger, leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the humanoid arms trying to grab him.

But as one arm continued to stretch towards Renji, the boy in the stands suddenly appeared, sword in hand, cutting the arm and saving Renji.

The young boy had a manic smile on his face. His chakra-infused blade could easily sever the arms reaching for him.

"Fubuki, cut off its arms!" ordered a Yuki clan member upon spotting the young boy in the arena.

Responding with an even broader smile, Fubuki moved at superhuman speed, seeming to become invisible to everyone, even the monster.

The arms that were supposed to grab the clan members were cut without seeing how.

Renji felt completely outmatched by this newcomer who seemed to be no older than him. As the arms fell one by one, Fubuki's silhouette was never visible.

The Yuki clan was known for their ability to use ice techniques, but compared to the Senju clan, that was all they had. Now seeing a child his age surpassing him so much in strength left him impressed and excited.

This was what he wanted to become—a member recognized by his clan for his strength.

But as he tried to catch a glimpse of Fubuki, the monster didn't stop and reattached the parts of its body that were being cut off. More and more arms emerged, this time targeting the ninja who was cutting around it.

And as the monster focused on Fubuki, the remaining Yuki clan members quickly regrouped, their hands forming complex signs as they prepared to launch a powerful combined attack.

"Hyōton - Ice Avalanche!" A massive wave of ice formed, rushing towards the monster at high speed. The temperature in the arena dropped drastically, ice crystals forming in the air as the attack gained momentum.

This attack aimed to bury the monster under tons of ice once and for all!