Gari fixed his gaze tightly on the fmes ahead.

  As a seasoned demolitions expert, he wouldn't let his guard down until he saw the enemy's mangled, bsted corpse with his own eyes.

  g his fist, he prepared to follow up with a Landmine Fist at any moment.

  The sed, his expression shifted. A surge of cold chakra pierced through the heat of the fmes. He leaped back abruptly, shouting to his rades. "Be careful!"

  As he spoke, a rge, frost-covered hand shot out from the sea of fmes, smming into the spot where he had just been standing. The ground quaked, and cracks spread outward like a spider's web, ice crystals sprouting from each fissure.

  Hissing sounds filled the pce as the fire was suppressed, and the enemy's true form emerged.

  A giant made of ice rose from the fmes. The heat created steam that densed and fell, causing the fire to visibly shrink.

  Standing on the ground, Gari felt the refreshing ess of the water vapor, but his throat went dry as he stared at the massive figure before him.

  "The White Ghost..."

  Illuminated by the firelight, the gigantic, crystalline body of ice exuded a faint mist due to the temperature difference, almost like clouds surrounding it.

  But soon, it became encased in a yer of chakra armor, the energy visibly rippling across its surface like northern lights.

  The cold aura intensified, and frost began to form on the ground, spreading outward.

  The ice giant took a step forward, emerging from the fmes. A strong wind followed, extinguishing the remaining fire. The ground cracked us weight.

  Everyone could now see clearly: a massive, white figure that looked like a demod.

  Its form matched the in of its infamous name in intelligence reports—the White Ghost, a man who wielded a white giant to massacre enemies with divine-like power.

  "Gari, have you ever seen a titan?" Masashi's voice came from the head of the ice giant, loud enough for everyoo hear clearly.

  "Retreat!" Gari ordered, quickly assessing their tactical options. "Our explosive teiques won't be effective against something this size!"

  Their Explosion Corps was designed for special operations and assaults, not fhting beings of this scale.

  To deal with su oppo, you'd either need a massive army or someone like Kitsuchi or evehird Tsuchikage to intervene personally.

  "Too te to run now," came Masashi's voice from the head of Prometheus. Ign the admiring gazes of the two individuals beside him, he unched his attack.

  The training from Bck Zetsu had been fantastic—he no longer needed Sage Mode to operate Prometheus or to use its armaments.

  But for his move, Sage Mode would be necessary.

  With Sage markings appearing on his face, Prometheus drew a saber made of chakra from its back.

  The ice giant swung its sword down.

  Boom—!

  With a thunderous roar, the chakra-fed saber carved a deep trento the ground, stretg far into the distance.

  Uhe immense force, dirt and rocks erupted like rain. The spot where the saber struck exploded violently, the nd torn apart by sheer power. A shockwave of dispced air bowled over those who hadn't already started running.

  The Iwa ninjas caught iack were flung into the air like paper. Many died before they hit the ground, their bodies crushed by the sheer pressure of the attack.

  With just one swing of the sword, Masashi had reduced the Explosion Corps—inally numbering dozens—by nearly a third.

  The remaining ninjas scattered in panic, fleeing as if their lives depended on it. Some stumbled over the bodies of their fallen rades in their haste to escape.

  At this point, no one spared a thought for Deidara or Kurotsuchi.

  The blond boy, however, dispyed remarkable ce, pig up the stunned Kurotsuchi and bolting at full speed.

  From atop the ice giant's head, Masashi watched the fleeing Iwa ninjas and sighed in disappoi.

  "The power... still isn't enough," he murmured.

  Look at Madara—every casual swing of his bde came with at least a mountain as colteral damage. pared to that, he was far from impressive.

  "Captain, you're so cool!" Yumi's eyes were practically brimming with hearts.

  So violent! She loved it!

  Keita, meanwhile, ractically drooling with envy. The captain's jutsu was insanely powerful. This was true masity.

  If only he could learn it... though, realistically, probably not.

  What a pity...

  Suddenly, someo high into the air, desding toward the ice giant's head.

  It was Gari.

  He swung a fist downward, and with a deafening explosion, fmes erupted into the sky.

  When the fire and smoke cleared, the ice giant's head remained unscathed.

  Gari's Explosion Release teique couldn't breach the defense of Sage Art: Armament.

  With a casual movement, the ice giant flicked its hand, sending Gari flying like a ragdoll through the air.

  "Yumi, Keita, hold on tight," Masashi instructed.

  The two quickly adhered their feet to the ice surface using chakra.

  The ice giant began moving again, striding toward the Iwa ninja prodigy who rinting away.

  Deidara was running at full tilt when he felt the tremors beh his feet intensify.

  Though he k was unwise, he couldn't help but gnce back.

  "My god..."

  He froze, wide-eyed and dumbfounded.

  The ice giant had already caught up to him with its long strides, its shadow falling over him like a mountain.

  "Deidara, surrender. Konoha treats its prisoners well." came the voice from above.

  If it were just him, he might have surrendered.

  The problem was, he wasn't alone.

  Kurotsuchi would just say something stupid if she were captured. That kid never knows when to keep quiet.

  Deidara believed ialent but had no faith in her judgment. If captured, she would definitely cause trouble.

  " you let my panion go?"

  Taking a ce, he shouted his question, unsure if the other side could even hear him.

  Masashi couldn't, but he was skilled at lip-reading.

  "Trying to py hero? You're too young for that. While I respect the se, no. She's important too, isn't she? Let me think... ah, the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, right?"

  "Ah? Deidara-nii, I've been reized!"

  "Shut up already..." Deidara groaned in frustration.

  His judgment of Kurotsuchi was, as always, spot on.

  Too stupid!

  For a moment, he felt utterly hopeless about the future of Iwa.

  Sing his surroundings, he realized escape was impossible. The giant blocked every possible route.

  And who knew where Gari had gone.

  "Deidara!"

  Hearing Gari's voice, he turned, only to be shocked.

  Gari, covered in blood, charged forward with a ferocious expression, smming a punto the ice giant's knee joint, triggering another massive explosion.

  The shockwave blew toward Deidara's position. Instinctively, he shielded Kurotsuchi with his back, using his Hardening teique to absorb the impact.

  The dull force of the bst sent his body flying.

  Deidara realized Gari's iion.

  Without looking back, he used the momentum to carry himself and Kurotsuchi far away, eventually disappearing into the forest.

  Outside the woods, Masashi didn't immediately pursue. Instead, he turned his gaze back to Gari.

  The earlier Landmine Fist hadn't breached the ice giant's armor but had caused some structural damage through its shockwaves.

  With another surge of chakra, the damage was instantly repaired, and the ice giant straightehe cracks sealed themselves with a crystalline sound.

  "You're such a nuisance," Masashi said. "Do you really not value your life?"

  "Don't uimate me," Gari replied, wiping the blood from his face. His stance was unsteady, but his eyes burned with fire.

  His initial sacrificial attack, bined with the ice giant's earlier flick, had already left him internally injured.

  Now, with his most ret strike, his injuries had worsened, leaving him no time to recover. Blood trickled from the er of his mouth, but he refused to fall.

  "Alright, I won't uimate you," Masashi said with a nod. "Your head is still worth quite a lot, after all."

  Once again, the ice giant drew its chakra bde, bringing it down in a sirike.

  ---

  "Sensei, what's the stro jutsu in the world?"

  "Isn't that obvious? It's my Dust Release. Train hard, and you might have the ce to learn it someday."

  "But shouldn't something that explodes be stronger?"

  "You'll think differently when you grow up."

  "Do other vilges have ninjutsu as powerful as your Dust Release?"

  "Hahaha! Of course not! Dust Release is the stro!"

  "Not even equally powerful ohen if we're s, why don't we just move to the Land of Fire and take over?"

  "Why do kids have so many questions? Focus on your training!"

  "Oh…"

  "e back here! I wasn't doalking. Ahem… well, there is something. If you ever see a ninja with red eyes who summon a giant samurai-like figure, you'd better run if you 't use Dust Release."

  As Deidara fled, a memory of this versation with his teacher fshed through his mind.

  Back then, he hadn't taken it seriously, almost fetting about it entirely.

  A ninja with red eyes and a giant samurai-like figure… hmm, it didly look like a samurai, but it sure wielded a bde like one.

  So explosions really weren't the stro… No wonder Iwa had been holed up in the mountains all these years.

  What kind of explosion would it take to destroy such monstrous ninjutsu?

  Had his beliefs been wrong all along?

  BOOM!

  Another deafening roar shook the ground violently, reverberating through his body and mind.

  "Aah!" A pained cry rang out from Kurotsuchi.

  Deidara skidded to a halt and turned around.

  After entering the forest, he had put Kurotsuchi down, and the two had fled together.

  Now, Kurotsuchi was struggling to get up from the ground, her face twisted in pain—she seemed to have hurt her leg.

  "Kurotsuchi!" Deidara rushed to her side. "What happened?"

  "Ugh… I twisted my ankle," Kurotsuchi whimpered, her eyes welling with tears. Her small hands clutched at the swollen joint.

  Is it because the ground's been shaking this whole time? Deidara said nothing, croug down and turning his back to her.

  "Kurotsuchi, get on."

  "Deidara-nii, just leave me and run. I'm not scared!"

  You might not fear the enemy, but I'm afraid for you! "Don't argue, just get on!"

  "Alright…"

  With her on his back, Deidara took off running again.

  Luckily, his training under ōnoki had been rigorous, and he knew how to manage his stamina effitly. He could hold out for now.

  As long as they escaped the monster chasing them, they'd be okay afterward.

  But…

  "Deidara-nii, what about the others?"

  "We 't think about that now. Let's hope they all mao escape."

  "And what about Captain Gari?"

  Deidara didn't respond.

  Kurotsuchi buried her face against his back, curling up like a frightened kitten.

  her of them spoke again.

  All they could hear was the terrifying sound of explosions behind them and the t fmes ing the forest.

  At the pce where Deidara had earlier fled with Kurotsuchi, the battle was already over.

  The ground was devastated—scorched bck, crisscrossed with deep fissures. Gari y motionless in the charred dirt, his body covered in severe burns. His broken bones had pierced his internal ans. Blood bubbled from his mouth and nose as he struggled to breathe.

  As a strong ninja, his life force was tenacious, but he was nearing his end.

  His vision blurred, yet his eyes remained fixed o ice giant standing in the distance.

  Ihe ice giant's head, Masashi observed Gari with a calm expression. Beside him, his two panions, who had beeed earlier, had fallen into silence.

  "Captain, why didn't he run?" Keita muttered sullenly, his earlier bloodlust repced by something close to respect.

  "Because of his vilge," Masashi replied, gng at him. "Those two kids who ran earlier? One is the Tsuchikage's disciple, the other his granddaughter. If we had captured them, Iwa would have been at a disadvantage duriiations."

  "But did he really o go this far? Is money more important than lives?"

  "It's because lives are more important than mohat he had to fight so hard," Masashi expined. "If circumstances ge and capturing them isn't possible, killing or crippling them is acceptable. That's the reality of our world."

  "Captain, we've beeoo long. Haven't those two already gotten away?"

  "Ever heard this saying?"

  "What?"

  "Having long legs is a huge advantage."

  The ice giant shifted dire and lifted its foot.

  Gari instinctively raised his hand, grasping at nothing.

  The moment, the grouh him was overshadowed.

  BOOM!

  The ice giant's massive foot stomped down, crushing Gari and the grouh him into oblivion. The impact sent tremors through the earth, creating a crater where a brave ninja had made his st stand.

  "I'll remember you, Gari of Iwa."

  The words echoed in the air as the ice giant resumed its march, stepping into the bzing forest ahead.

  Much of the fire had been Gari's doing—perhaps an attempt to stop the ice giant's advance. His final strategy to buy time for the children's escape.

  The forest burned fiercely, waves of heat rolling out. Even ihe ice giant's well-protected head, Masashi and his team could feel it.

  "Captain," Yumi said, her face pale with fear. Her hands gripped the icy walls for support.

  From her aa's perspective, the se beloure fire. An o of fmes that seemed to stretdlessly.

  The ice giant's lower half was engulfed ihe fire howled and cwed at its body, biting and snapping as if to devour it entirely. The extreme temperature trast made it seem as though the fmes themselves might leap higher, reag for them in their protected position.

  But Masashi, having chosen to master Ice Release, had already ated for such sarios.

  He didn't stop eling chakra.

  The ice giant swung its massive chakra sword once again.

  CRASH!

  With a sweep of its bde, aire swath of the burning forest rooted, creating a fire-free zorees ah flew through the air like toys tossed by a child.

  The ice giant stepped into this cleared area, parts of its outer yer melting slightly. But the intense cold radiating from it quickly restored what was lost.

  A terrifying stream of chakra surged within the ice giant's colossal body.

  Through the transparent ice, Masashi could clearly observe the flow and transformation of chakra within the giant.

  The once-dry air grew moist.

  The moment, water erupted from the ice giant's feet, spiraling upward like a tornado. Amplified by the giant's enormous size, the spiraling water took on the scale of a waterspout.

  A tsunami-like wave of water surged forward, swallowing everything in its path.

  The forest fire roared in protest as it was extinguished.

  Yumi aa's jaws dropped in astonishment, utterly dumbfounded.

  So ninjutsu… could be used like this. Their thoughts aligned in perfect sync.

  Masashi lowered his hands. In his perception, the two kids were still running, but their pace had slowed.

  No, it wasn't just slowing—one of them was injured and being carried by the other, as the two sources of chakra were now incredibly close together.