Chapter 344

After the two Ice Dragon Kings, each ten meters long and with a twenty-meter wingspan, were formed, they dived down from the high sky toward the ground without mercy.

Their goal was only one—Lava ninja Roshi.

What kind of ninjutsu was this?

Facing the Ice Dragon King with full visual impact, all the ninjas looked at Mizunuki Ryosuke in disbelief.

Handsome white robe, gorgeous ninjutsu, powerful aura, noble identity...

All the ninjas on the battlefield were silent; they looked at Mizunuki Ryosuke, who was commanding the Ice Dragon King to fight, and a flash of awe flashed in their eyes.

After this battle, the name of this Fourth Mizukage would inevitably become famous in the ninja world.

The Cloud ninja side was rejoicing that it was fortunate that such a terrifying guy was their teammate.

And the Rock ninjas were all worried; facing such a "monster," could Roshi win?

No one could give a definite answer; the result of the battle between Kage-level powerhouses was not something they could speculate about at will.

No one knew what it felt like to be targeted by two "monsters" the size of a building at the same time.

But at this moment, Roshi knew that his situation was very bad, or it could be said to be very bad!

Laozi struggled to crawl up from the ground, checking the extent of his own injuries.

Fortunately, the Lava Cloak formed by his secret technique, Lava Release Chakra Mode, had absorbed half the damage; otherwise, he likely would have been kicked into a pulp by that terrifyingly powerful strike.

Even so, Laozi was in a bad way and had sustained significant injuries.

However, for certain reasons, injuries that would be considered critical for an ordinary person were still within the range of what Laozi could endure.

The defensive power provided by Laozi's Lava Release Chakra Mode was limited after all. This technique was not a purely defensive one; its greatest significance lay in the ability to counterattack with scorching heat using the properties of lava while "defending."

Because of this, once the Lava Release Chakra Mode was activated, Laozi was a hard counter to ninjas who excelled in close-quarters combat.

The general principle was similar to the battle between the Fourth Raikage and Uchiha Sasuke in the original story: although the Raikage could wound Sasuke every time, he would be scorched by Amaterasu with every attack he landed.

Ninjas fighting Laozi faced the same situation; to attack him, they had to make contact with the lava cloak covering his body.

Therefore, based on the properties of Lava Release, the direction of Laozi's own ability development was actually more skewed toward close-quarters combat.

Most of his ninjutsu also achieved their maximum effect only at close range.

Although Laozi possessed long-range ninjutsu like Lava Release: Scorching River Rock Technique, he was, on the whole, a ninja who excelled in close combat.

Consequently, to complement the use of Lava Release, Laozi had honed a formidable level of taijutsu.

Lava Release combined with excellent taijutsu was enough for Laozi to suppress 99. % of ninjas in the ninja world during close combat.

But unfortunately, Mizunuki Ryosuke was clearly among the 0. 1% that Laozi could not handle.

And because of their respective abilities, Laozi's internal estimate of his win rate was constantly dropping.

Ice and lava.

These two abilities were not inherently superior or inferior to one another. Or rather, the reason a hierarchy existed was not because of the abilities themselves, but because of the people using them.

The most direct way to judge the strength of a ninja was to look at their application of "technique."

Of a ninja's three core abilities—ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu—there was a reason ninjutsu was ranked first.

The same Fire Release, in the hands of a Uchiha clan jonin, could possess a terrifying heat of several thousand degrees Celsius.

Yet in the hands of a genin, it could barely reach two or three hundred degrees.

This was the fundamental gap in strength; a gap of "quality" that could not be bridged by mere quantity.

In the current contest between ice and lava, what the two were competing over was who was more "pure."

This purity was also the most basic unit of strength—a contest of "quality."

Clearly, the temperature of Laozi's lava could not compare to the cold of Mizunuki Ryosuke's Ice Release.

Laozi lowered his head, looking at his abdomen where he had been kicked by the Painful Sky Foot combined with the Ice Armor, a flash of gravity in his eyes.

The moment he was kicked, the Ice Armor and the Lava Cloak had made brief contact, causing Laozi's lava cloak to instantly solidify due to the low temperature of the ice.

In that fleeting exchange, Laozi knew in his heart that his lava was far from a match for Mizunuki Ryosuke's ice.

Before the fight began, Laozi had been full of passion, believing his strength could lead the Rock Village out of its predicament, but reality had quickly doused him with a bucket of cold water.

In terms of "quality," Mizunuki Ryosuke's ice had achieved absolute suppression.

Not only that, but the most fatal factor was Mizunuki Ryosuke's augmentation with Yang Release: Strength of a Hundred.

These two combined were essentially spelling the end for Laozi.

Originally, even if his Lava Release was countered, Laozi could have used his taijutsu to maneuver.

But there is a saying: "One force overcomes ten techniques." In the face of absolute power, even if Mizunuki Ryosuke's taijutsu technique was not as refined as Laozi's...

... hanks to the absolute power suppression brought by Yang Release, Laozi's taijutsu looked like a joke in Mizunuki Ryosuke's eyes.

Unless Laozi had mastered the Leaf Village's Eight Inner Gates, trying to defeat the Strength of a Hundred with taijutsu alone was a pipe dream.

What to do?

Before Laozi could even catch his breath or think of a battle strategy, an attack like a violent storm descended upon him once more.

"ROAR!!!!"

Two terrifying, hideous icy behemoths swooped down at Laozi from the left and right without mercy.

Looking at the fangs and claws revealed by the two Ice Dragon Kings simultaneously, Laozi knew his ordeal had only just begun.

But at this point, he had to fight even if he knew it was futile.

Thinking of this, a crimson light erupted from Laozi's body once again.

Instantly, Laozi's body, trailing a red exhaust, met the two Ice Dragon Kings.

Behind the two Ice Dragon Kings, Mizunuki Ryosuke stood with his arms crossed, watching with great interest as he manipulated the dragons to tangle with Laozi.

The game of "Hero" vs. "Evil Dragon" was destined to become nothing more than a play for the "Demon King" to pass the time.

Seeing Mizunuki Ryosuke and the Rock ninja Laozi begin their fight, the others naturally moved to relocate, taking the "critically wounded" with them.

"The patient's condition is critical; surgery is required immediately."

"I need you to take me to a place where no one will disturb us, right now."

Nekonosuke said to Bee and Toroi at his side. Seeing this, Bee nodded immediately.

With the life of the Third Raikage at stake, Bee naturally dared not take this lightly.

"Alright!"

Immediately, Bee and Toroi lifted the Third Raikage on a stretcher and prepared to rush away from the battlefield.

"Wait!"

Nekonosuke hurriedly called out to stop them.

"There's still one more here."

Nekonosuke pointed his paw at the half-dead Third Tsuchikage Onoki lying on the ground.

Seeing this, Bee and Toroi frowned.

In their eyes, the Tsuchikage Onoki was an enemy; naturally, their priority at this time should be to save the Third Raikage.

As for Onoki...

What did the life or death of an enemy have to do with them?

Nekonosuke seemed to see through their thoughts and immediately said with a serious, professional air.

"I am a doctor. In a doctor's eyes, there are only patients!"

"I will not allow any patient to die before my eyes."

A look of righteous indignation flashed across Nekonosuke's cat face.

But in reality, as he spoke, he was grumbling inwardly: "What kind of damn humans, what does it matter to me if he lives or dies? If it weren't for the Mizukage's orders, I wouldn't bother with this old geezer on the ground."

That's right, the reason Nekonosuke had suddenly "recovered his medical ethics" was entirely because the rescue order issued by Mizunuki Ryosuke included the Third Tsuchikage Onoki.

Seeing this, Bee and Toroi exchanged glances, a look of seriousness and admiration flashing in their eyes.

They were clearly unaware of Nekonosuke's inner thoughts and instead secretly admired his "medical ethics."

"We understand."

Bee and Toroi nodded in unison and took the Third Tsuchikage Onoki along as well.

And so, two men and one cat, plus two critically wounded patients, immediately rushed away from the battlefield.