Chapter 429: Golden Thread Shatters Ice Dragon

Mu Yue burst chakra in his hand and threw three kunai at the Mist ninja.

These three kunai had no nature transformation applied; they were just ordinary kunai, yet they made all the Mist ninja show wary expressions as they used various means to block the kunai's advance.

But just then, a kunai shot out from a large tree on their flank. Some noticed the sound of the kunai breaking through the air, but the kunai's speed was extremely fast, and because the distance was short, it instantly closed in on the Mist ninja.

Swoosh!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!

Mu Yue, using the Flying Thunder God kunai thrown by his shadow clone, instantly moved to the side of the Mist ninja and flung out a handful of shuriken.

"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"

Under the effect of the jutsu, the shuriken Mu Yue threw continuously multiplied, covering the Mist ninja like an impenetrable rain of arrows.

"Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome of No!"

The first to react was Minazuki Kan, who immediately condensed Ice Release chakra to create a thick ice wall around himself.

The other Mist ninja who reacted also used their own methods to defend or evade, but most of the Mist ninja lacked the ability to block the close-range shuriken net.

One Mist ninja swung his sword to block three shuriken but was pierced by more shuriken and died; another tried to dodge with the Body Flicker Technique but was too slow and was pierced through the body by shuriken.

Minazuki Kan frowned slightly. Two-thirds of the Mist ninja had died directly under Mu Yue's Shadow Shuriken Jutsu, and among those still alive, some were injured.

"He even sent out a shadow clone in advance to hide nearby."

Minazuki Kan thought that he had to defeat Mu Yue quickly, or else the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and his subordinates would all be killed by Mu Yue before long.

"Ice Release: Cold Wave!"

Minazuki Kan converted a large amount of chakra into Ice Release chakra, then burst it all at once, generating terrifying cold air around him.

Crack crack!

With Minazuki Kan at the center, the surrounding ground rapidly froze. Under his deliberate control, the living Mist ninja were not affected by the Ice Release chakra, but he paid no heed to the dead ones—they were all frozen solid. The ice surface quickly spread to Mu Yue's feet.

Mu Yue immediately entered the Fire Breathing Chakra Mode, releasing high-temperature flames to offset the incoming low-temperature cold.

"What kind of jutsu is this?" Seeing Mu Yue stand still and block his Cold Wave, Minazuki Kan was somewhat surprised.

However, Minazuki Kan didn't pay it much attention. He hadn't expected this jutsu to freeze a strong opponent; the cold air's speed was insufficient.

The purpose of releasing this jutsu wasn't to defeat Mu Yue with it, but to pave the way for the next jutsu.

"I should have gone back with Biwa Juzo and the others." Seisho Hiraku somewhat regretted following Minazuki Kan here.

He had originally thought that with Minazuki Kan's strength, they wouldn't encounter any opponents, but instead, a ninja resembling the Yellow Flash had popped up.

Seisho Hiraku could only hope that the enemy would be careless and not use Flying Thunder God to leave the range of the Cold Wave, so that Minazuki Kan might seize the opportunity to seriously injure him.

Thinking this, Seisho Hiraku fired a chakra sphere at Mu Yue to actively pin him down, and the other surviving Mist ninja also made their moves.

"I have to find a way to get close and cut him." Dōgen Tsukungawa did not act with the others; he stared intently at Mu Yue, who casually blocked attacks with Fire Release, waiting for Mu Yue to reveal an opening so he could land a blow.

A ninja dies when killed. No matter how strong Mu Yue was, his body wasn't made of iron. A single cut from Dōgen would either kill him or leave him crippled.

"Ice Release: Ice Dragon Kill!"

Minazuki Kan opened his mouth and spat out a large amount of Ice Release chakra, quickly forming an ice dragon beside him. Then, under his control, the ice chunks on the ground flew toward the ice dragon to enhance its power. The ice dragon instantly became enormous—so large that anyone looking at it would feel their own insignificance.

The ice chunks around Mu Yue did not fly toward the ice dragon but instead gathered together to form an ice spike that stabbed at Mu Yue.

"Good thing we're not in the Land of Snow; I feel like in the Land of Snow, this guy's strength would be increased by half out of nowhere." Looking at the massive ice dragon, Obito commented.

However, Obito thought the final result wouldn't differ anyway. Although the environment can affect a ninja's combat power, that depends on who it is. Enemies with the almighty Mu Yue the Sage stood no chance against Minazuki Kan, whether on a glacier or in a desert.

"No, this guy's target is us." Kakashi noticed that the ice dragon suddenly turned and charged toward them.

Minazuki Kan smirked. He was, after all, a ninja. His initial request for a one-on-one duel with Mu Yue was only because he was excited to encounter another Ice Release user from a different country for the first time. In a real fight, he would definitely use any means to achieve victory.

He wasn't stupid. Although the ice dragon's attack range was large, hitting Mu Yue, who had Flying Thunder God, was still too difficult. Instead of aiming at Mu Yue, it was better to directly smash toward Kakashi and the others, forcing Mu Yue to take his ice dragon head-on.

"Eight Inner Gates: Sixth Gate, Gate of Joy, open!" Might Dai opened the Sixth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates upon seeing this.

"Uncle Dai, no need to rush yet." Kakashi shook his head and tried to dissuade him.

Minazuki Kan's attack was clearly not simple; opening only the Sixth Gate would certainly not be enough for Might Dai to block it.

Of course, there was no need for Might Duy to block it; Muyue was still present.

If Muyue were not present, Kakashi would have ordered everyone to scatter immediately. Not to mention them in their exhausted state—even at their peak, they might not be able to block such a terrifying attack.

But with Muyue there, and with multiple enemies on the scene, Kakashi chose to trust Muyue's judgment.

If Muyue had any plan, he would have stated it directly long ago; since Muyue said nothing, it meant everything was still under Muyue's control.

Because Kakashi and the others carried Muyue's Flying Thunder God kunai, Muyue directly used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to their side.

Minazuki Kan showed an expression of "just as I thought."

"You lost because you weren't ruthless enough." Minazuki Kan believed he had won.

At this point in the battle, Minazuki Kan had realized that in terms of individual combat power, he was no match for Muyue; if it were a true one-on-one, he would most likely lose.

But there was no "if." In reality, he had the help of four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, plus his own chūnin and jōnin subordinates, while Muyue only had injured and exhausted followers.

If their positions were swapped, he would choose to retreat.

Not only for himself, but for the bigger picture—if a few jōnin or chūnin died, more could be dispatched from the village; but if a powerhouse like him died, it would have a considerable impact on the entire battlefield.

"Step back a bit; there might be a lot of ice shards coming." Muyue gathered chakra and said with a smile to his disciples.

Kakashi and the others nodded and retreated a few meters.

Then Muyue looked at the massive ice dragon about to strike, switching from Flame Breathing to Rock Breathing to enhance his physical capabilities.

Muyue pushed Rock Breathing to its limit, activating the Transparent World. Then he placed his left hand in front of him and his right hand behind his waist, extending his index and middle fingers.

Seeing this stance, Might Gai's eyes lit up instantly, recognizing that Muyue was about to use the incredibly powerful Golden Horizon.

"He can use that move even on such a huge ice dragon." Might Gai wore an excited expression.

He had no doubt about Muyue's ability and was eager to see what brilliance Muyue's Golden Horizon would unleash against such an opponent.

"Golden Horizon!"

After activating the Transparent World, Muyue could precisely use every ounce of strength. With everything in place, he erupted with chakra and suddenly dashed forward.

Just as the dragon and Muyue were about to meet, all the ninjas on the field stared intently at that figure charging toward the dragon.

In front of the massive dragon, Muyue appeared tiny, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, overestimating its own strength.

At the moment of intersection with the dragon, Muyue, in a drawing-a-sword posture, swung a slash with his fingers.

A beautiful thin golden line flashed.

Bang!!

A huge explosion sounded; white ice chips and dust rapidly spread, and ice blocks of various sizes shot outward in all directions.

Boom!!

The immense impact caused the ground to explode, leaving craters. The scattered shockwave rustled the surrounding leaves and blew the ninjas' hair backward.

Minazuki Kan stared at the center of the explosion in disbelief. The originally enormous ice dragon had vanished, leaving only scattered ice fragments.

"Impossible. My full-power Ice Dragon Kill was broken head-on, and with taijutsu." Minazuki Kan found this fact hard to accept.

His huge ice dragon was shattered by someone using taijutsu; how could simple taijutsu have such power?

"It's the same taijutsu as that green kid's, but the power is worlds apart." Seitai Hōhei couldn't help but gasp.

Might Gai's Golden Horizon had already given them enough shock. The first time, it almost one-shotted Fuguki Suikazan; the second time, while surrounded by multiple opponents, it tore through the defense net, broke the Executioner's Blade, and knocked Juzo Biwa unconscious.

But compared to Muyue's Golden Horizon, Might Gai's was merely a small witch meeting a big witch—if it were Muyue's Golden Horizon, not a single one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would survive.

Although surprised, Minazuki Kan still maintained the composure of a strong warrior. He immediately tried to use the Body Flicker Technique to relocate and then flee.

However, Muyue had anticipated his intention. As soon as Minazuki Kan tried to retreat, he was forced back by wind blades released by Muyue's Shadow Clone.

Having failed to escape in time, Minazuki Kan completely lost any chance to run, because Muyue was already in front of him.

"Ice Style: Ice Rock Dome of Nothingness!"

Seeing no hope of escape, Minazuki Kan made a final effort, creating an ice wall in front of himself.

Crack!

Mu Yue's fingers pierced through the ice wall and through Mizutsuki Kan's body, finishing him off completely.

It wasn't that no one wanted to stop Mu Yue, but with Mu Yue erupting at full speed, they simply couldn't intercept.

"How could this be… Lord Kan actually…" Mizutsuki Kan's subordinates couldn't help but lose focus at the sight.

Although Mizutsuki Kan had many flaws, his strength was indeed formidable; they never expected that Mizutsuki Kan would be killed so easily by Mu Yue.

"I have to train even harder. This kind of power is the true Golden Horizon!" Might Guy's desire to train blazed up.

Compared to Mu Yue's Golden Horizon, his own Golden Horizon was far too weak; both his body and his mastery of the technique still needed improvement.

"This move really is incredibly powerful—probably the most fearsome taijutsu in the entire ninja world. I wonder how it compares to the Third Raikage's Mightiest Spear," Kakashi lamented inwardly.

The Third Raikage's taijutsu was a Lightning Release Ninja Body Technique; his Hell Spike was renowned as the Mightiest Spear in the ninja world. But Kakashi felt that the Golden Horizon might be no weaker than Hell Spike.

Thinking of this, Kakashi's head ached. How could they fight in the coming civil war like this? If Might Guy's Six Gates and Rock Breathing Chakra Mode became his normal state, they'd probably need all three of them to gang up on him for a chance at winning.

"Die!"

In this final moment, Togino Ejito finally made his move. Seizing the opportunity when Mu Yue's arm pierced through the ice wall, he suddenly erupted and slashed toward Mu Yue's neck.

Swoosh!

Mu Yue's body vanished from the spot. Togino Ejito's large blade slammed hard into the ice wall, sending a shower of ice chips flying.

The next instant, Mu Yue suddenly appeared beside Togino Ejito, a kunai in hand, and stabbed it into Togino Ejito's heart.

Togino Ejito stared at Mu Yue in confusion, then fell with doubt in his eyes. Even in death, he couldn't understand how Mu Yue had instantly moved beside him, especially since there was no Flying Thunder God kunai here.

"Sometimes dead people can be pretty useful." Mu Yue glanced at Mizutsuki Kan, who was already stone dead.

When he killed Mizutsuki Kan, he had casually left a Flying Thunder God formula on his body.

After watching Mu Yue kill Mizutsuki Kan and then kill Togino Ejito as easily as slaughtering a chicken, Seitei Hira couldn't help but touch his back. Only then did he realize that his clothes were already soaked with sweat.

Without hesitation, Seitei Hira turned and ran. At that moment, he had lost all will to fight.

Seitei Hira thought he still had a chance to live. Although he couldn't outrun Mu Yue, he could outrun the other Kirigakure ninja.

Seitei Hira's idea was quite good, but unfortunately, he was up against Mu Yue.

By the time the Kirigakure ninja realized something was wrong and tried to retreat, two shadow clones had sealed off their positions and killed the fleeing ninja. As for Seitei Hira, he was caught up by the real Mu Yue, who struck him in the chest with a Rasengan, killing him instantly.

After killing all the enemies, Mu Yue quickly cleaned up the battlefield, sealing the ninja swords and the bodies of Mizutsuki Kan and the others into scrolls.

Mu Yue did not intend to hide this battle like he had before.

First, both the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and Mizutsuki Kan were heavyweights on the eastern battlefield; Konoha would pay close attention to them.

Second, Mu Yue's publicly known strength was already not low, so he no longer needed to restrain himself and hide as before. He could let his achievements spread to increase his fame.

A ninja who clearly possesses great power yet still holds back and deliberately keeps a low profile would only draw more suspicion.

Mu Yue's concealment wasn't mindlessly pretending to be weak; he wanted to hide in a way that fit his identity, strength, and persona, so that no problems would be discovered.

After finishing up, Mu Yue led his disciples back to the camp. With his current strength, he still couldn't completely ignore everything on the battlefield, because no matter how powerful a technique was, it still needed chakra to use.

After returning to the camp, Mu Yue checked his panel. The rewards for his disciples' life missions had been settled.