Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Seeing Yagura Karatachi's head tilt to the side, his eyes close, and his body go completely limp, the minds of the Kirigakure shinobi seemed to explode like a lit fuse.

"Lord Mizukage!"

Someone cried out, their voice filled with unbelievable horror.

They saw the Mizukage being pressed on the abdomen by the boy, pale red chakra being extracted from his body, and then the Mizukage fainting. They could only assume the boy was murdering him!

As a result, they all flew into a rage, and the intensity of their attacks suddenly multiplied.

Some abandoned all concern for their own safety, charging desperately at Yugito Nii. Even as their bodies were slashed with multiple wounds, they continued to push forward.

Others pulled out all the explosive tags from their ninja pouches, hurling them indiscriminately toward Uchiha Taiga.

Still others began weaving signs, recklessly unleashing their strongest ninjutsu without any regard for their chakra reserves.

Terumi Mei was even more furious, her voice exploding from her throat, sharp and piercing.

"What exactly are you doing?!"

Her hands crossed rapidly in front of her as her chakra surged wildly.

Alternating between Lava Style and Boil Style, globs of corrosive liquid and clouds of acidic mist surged toward Yugito Nii, their density and speed more than double what they were before.

She charged forward as well, no longer just providing ranged support. She intended to personally break through Yugito's defense, reach Uchiha Taiga, and rescue the Mizukage.

The rest of the Kirigakure shinobi behaved similarly, acting like madmen. Disregarding casualties, their eyes held only one thought: snatch back the Mizukage.

Some Kirigakure ninjas were sent flying by Yugito's palm strikes, crashing into the water, only to struggle back up and continue their charge. Others had their arms slashed by her sharp claws, bleeding profusely, yet they gritted their teeth and refused to retreat.

Some even tried to grab onto Yugito's legs, attempting to restrict her movements and create an opening for their comrades.

Yugito Nii's brow furrowed deeper and deeper. She had already been holding back, but these Kirigakure shinobi not only failed to appreciate it, they were becoming increasingly unhinged.

As a result, her own temper began to flare.

She was the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, an elite of Kumogakure, not someone's babysitter.

She could show mercy, but that didn't mean she was willing to be treated like a pushover. Thus, she began to put more force into her strikes. Consequently, the charging Kirigakure ninjas started suffering real casualties—some suffered broken arms, others fractured ribs, and some were beaten until they coughed up blood.

She glanced at Terumi Mei. The woman with two Kekkei Genkai was rushing toward her, hands already forming signs, Lava Style chakra gathering in her palms.

Yugito took a deep breath, preparing to strike with full force.

"Yugito, stand down."

Uchiha Taiga's voice came from behind her.

Hearing this, Yugito shot Mei a fierce glare, then leaped backward, using the Body Flicker Technique to withdraw from the battlefield.

She landed a few meters behind Taiga, crossing her arms and glaring coldly at the Kirigakure forces.

Mei wanted to give chase, but her footsteps suddenly faltered.

Her gaze met Uchiha Taiga's eyes.

Those white, glass-like, translucent eyes were looking at her calmly.

There was no killing intent, just a tranquil stare.

Yet for some reason, her heart gave an inexplicable jolt, as if something had seized it in a tight grip. Her body instinctively halted, feeling as though taking one more step would plunge her into a bottomless abyss.

Taiga glanced at her, then swept his eyes over the Kirigakure ninjas still struggling and groaning on the ground, and let out a soft sigh.

"Alright, it seems I have no choice but to resolve this using a method you people can understand."

He raised two fingers in front of his chest. His chest suddenly expanded, as if stretched open from the inside. His cheeks puffed out slightly, and a bone-chilling cold began to permeate the air. That chill didn't emanate from his body; rather, it converged from all directions, as if the entire ocean was answering his call.

Ice Style: Ice Age!

He puffed out his chest forcefully and exhaled a breath forward.

To call it a breath would be inaccurate, for what surged from his mouth was a torrent of snow-white, freezing currents.

The frigid current spread forward in a fan shape. Wherever it passed, the air froze, and moisture condensed into ice crystals that twinkled with fragmented light in the sky.

The speed of the cold current was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, it swept past the area where Yugito had been fighting, past the fallen Kirigakure ninjas, past Terumi Mei, past the Grand Elder, and spread toward the distant ocean surface.

The waves froze the instant the cold current arrived.

The rolling waves maintained their momentary posture; from the crest to the trough, from the spray to the foam, everything was frozen solid.

Ice-sculpture-like waves appeared on the sea surface—some resembled galloping horses, some looked like gaping maws, and others appeared as inverted mountain peaks.

Each ice sculpture was crystal clear, refracting rainbow hues under the sunlight.

The bodies of the Kirigakure ninjas stiffened the moment the cold current swept past them.

They remained in their previous stances—some raising swords, some weaving signs, or holding the posture of just scrambling up from the ground.

Everything, in less than a second, was turned into an ice sculpture.

A transparent shell of ice covered the surface of their bodies, beneath which their skin took on a bruised purple hue. Their eyes remained open, pupils still retaining traces of anger and terror, as each person was frozen into a lifelike statue of ice.

The moment Uchiha Taiga exhaled the freezing air, Terumi Mei's body reacted instinctively.

Her hands rapidly wove signs in front of her, and Lava Style chakra surged from her body, forming a high-temperature barrier around her.

The barrier's temperature was incredibly high, baking the surrounding air until it warped and distorted.

The freezing air rushed in, crashing against the Lava Style barrier with a loud sizzling sound, filling the area with white steam.

The barrier flickered violently under the erosion of the cold air, its color shifting from bright yellow to a dull amber as cracks began to form along its edges.

Mei gritted her teeth and held on, frantically pouring out her chakra in a desperate attempt to keep the barrier from shattering.

But after the cold current passed, she was still dusted with frost and snow. A thin layer of ice had formed on her clothes, icicles hung from her hair, and her lips were purple from the cold. Her body trembled slightly, but she did not fall.

The two guards beside the Grand Elder reacted the instant the freezing air arrived.

Both wove signs simultaneously, using Fire Style to block the majority of the cold.

However, the Fire Style was quickly extinguished by the encroaching frost. The freezing air still managed to freeze over half of their bodies; their lower halves were encased in ice on the deck, and while their upper bodies could still move, their motions became stiff and sluggish.

Only the Grand Elder himself, as a wall of earth rose up, cast a jutsu that surrounded him with a ring of flames.

The flames were intensely hot, glowing a bright orange-red, and forced back all the approaching cold air.

Leaning on his cane, he stood within the circle of fire. His cloudy old eyes peered through the freezing mist, gazing at the frozen ocean before him and the Kirigakure ninjas turned into ice sculptures.

The cold current passed.

The entire world fell silent.

There was no sound of crashing waves, no howling wind, no battle cries, and no groans. There was only a dead silence, punctuated by the cracking sounds of the ice layer settling.

Uchiha Taiga lowered his fingers and exhaled a puff of white breath.

He looked at the frozen ocean before him and nodded in satisfaction.

As far as the eye could see, all the way to the horizon, the surface of the sea was completely frozen.

Not just a small patch, but the entire maritime region—from beneath his feet to the edge of the sky, from left to right—had transformed into a white tundra.

The frozen waves stood like statues on the ice, reflecting the sunlight so brightly it stung the eyes.

The Kirigakure ninjas who hadn't been completely frozen—whether it was Terumi Mei or the Grand Elder's two guards—now looked at Uchiha Taiga with eyes full of sheer terror.

It wasn't that they had never seen powerful ninjas or large-scale ninjutsu, but to freeze an entire ocean in an instant... what level of power was this?

Mei's hands were trembling—not from the cold, but from fear.

Looking at the boy before her, looking into his eyes that were as calm as still water, she felt true despair for the first time.

The scene remained silent for a long time.

No one spoke, and no one moved.

The Kirigakure ninjas frozen into ice sculptures stood quietly on the ice, serving as a silent warning.

Uchiha Taiga waited for a moment, feeling that it was enough.

He lowered his head, unrolled the sealing scroll on his back, and sealed the pale red chakra he had just extracted from Yagura Karatachi into it.

After finishing this and putting the scroll away, Taiga brushed the ice shavings off his clothes.

"I told you I harbored no ill will toward you. Now look, you've brought this upon yourselves."

He shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.

"Yugito, the job's done. Let's go."

He turned around and walked toward the merchant ship. Yugito Nii followed behind him, not even glancing at the Kirigakure forces, though her gaze lingered on Terumi Mei for a brief moment before pulling away.

"Wait."

An aged voice called out from behind.

Uchiha Taiga stopped in his tracks. Without turning around, he simply tilted his head, looking back from the corner of his eye.

The Grand Elder stepped forward, leaning on his cane. He stared at Taiga's back, his cloudy old eyes filled with complex emotions.

"You cannot just leave like this."

Taiga finally turned his head to look at the old man, a strange expression crossing his face.

"Are you serious?"