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  In the dim alleyway, a wall of ice, shimmering with a pale blue light, blocked the Kumo captain's grasping hand.

  "Ice Release?"

  The captain stared at the ice wall in surprise.

  "You're quite knowledgeable," Shin said with a smirk, his eyes fixed ohree Kumo Shinobi like a predator sizing up its prey.

  "Hmph, I'll shatter this ice wall!"

  The captain eled Chakra into his fist and puhe ice wall.

  His attack resembled Tsunade's monstrous strength, but it was weaker.

  His fist struck the wall, causing barely a tremor.

  "Weak!" Shin muttered.

  He wasn't trying to be insulting; he gehought the captain was weak.

  Ehe captain called out to his rades, and they unleashed a triple Lightning Release attack.

  Electricity crackled as they eled lightning through their hands, using the earth as a duit to attack Shin.

  But the lightning strikes were blocked by the ice wall.

  "Lightning Release: Double Lariat!"

  The captain focused lightning Chakra into his elbow and smmed it into the ice wall. Cracks spread across the surface.

  It was a Nintaijutsu teique, a bination of Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, simir to the Chidori, but using the elbow instead of the hand.

  "Not bad. You mao crack the wall. You're quite strong."

  Shin looked at the captain with an appreciative smile.

  "You're asking for it!"

  The captain couldn't stand Shin's patronizing attitude.

  "Ice Release: Ice Dragon Bullet Bomb!"

  Shin's hands moved in a blur, f hand seals with incredible speed. Six seals in two seds.

  An ice dragon emerged, r towards the captain. It smmed into him, sending him flying, then tis trajectory towards another Kumo Shinobi.

  The ice dragon opes jaws and swallowed the Shinobi whole, freezing him solid.

  Crack!

  The ice dragon shattered, and the frozen Shinobi within crumbled into a pile of ice shards.

  "O. Ice Release: Ice Spear!"

  Several ice spears materialized before Shin, then shot towards the st Kumo Shinobi, pierg his heart and limbs.

  "Is that ooo?"

  Kushina poi the captain, who had bee flying by the ice dragon.

  "Not yet, but he's as good as dead."

  An ordinary Shinobi would have been killed by the impact, but this was a Kumo Jōnin, a master of Nintaijutsu.

  His body was more durable, so he was still ging to life. But he was barely alive.

  His bones were broken, his internal ans ruptured. He was better off dead.

  "Wh-what happened?"

  Nawaki stammered, finally snapping out of his shock. He stared at the se in horror.

  The Shinobi who had been swallowed and frozen by the ice dragon... it was too much for him.

  He had seen blood before, but nothing this gruesome.

  "As you see, they were Kumo Shinobi. They attacked us, aaliated. Why are you so shocked, Nawaki? Don't you have any guts?"

  Shin shook his head at Nawaki.

  Nawaki was bewildered. Shin, Kushina, and Mikoto seemed unfazed. Was he really that weak-minded?

  Kushina and Mikoto had witnessed far mruesome ses. They were somewhat desensitized to violence.

  "Let's wait for the Anbu," Shin said, sitting down.

  The otion wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. The Anbu would have noticed.

  Besides their main duties, the Anbu were always lurking in the shadows, proteg Konoha.

  Unless it was in a remote training ground or the forest, any signifit disturbance would attract their attention.

  This ractically the ter of the vilge. Attag here was foolish.

  Shin frowhey had just returo Konoha, and these Kumo Shinobi had attacked them. It was strange.

  "Shin, what are you thinking?" Mikoto asked.

  "I'm thinking their real target might not be us."

  This wasn't a good pce for an attack. It was too close to the Hokage Tower, and the security was tight. Attag here would attract attention.

  Or perhaps that was their goal. To distract Konoha's forces while their aplices carried out their true objective.

  If Shin's guess was correct, their real targets were Kai and Akiko.

  He was right. That was their pn. Sacrifice three of their own to distract Konoha while the others captured their targets.

  Shin and his team hadn't been part of the inal pn. When they formuted their pn, Shin and his team weren't even in Konoha. They had inteo attaawaki to draw attention.

  Nawaki was the grandson of Hashirama Senju. He otential threat, so they wao eliminate him. And even if they couldn't kill him, they could use him as a distra while their aplices captured Akiko and Kai.

  The three Kumo Shinobi had been surprised to see Shin and Kushina.

  They had doheir research before infiltrating Konoha.

  They knew Shin and Kushina weren't in the vilge. Their targets were Akiko and Kai.

  But seeing Shin and Kushina, they decided to capture them as well.

  Then... they became test subjects for Shin's new Ice Release Jutsu.

  Nawaki had been lucky. If Shin and his team had returned a day ter, he might be dead.

  Of course, he didn't know how close he had e to death.

  "Shin, you think their real goal was to kidnap Akiko and Kai?"

  Kushina and Mikoto were surprised by Shin's theory.

  "It's just a guess. I'm not sure."

  But he was at least eighty pert sure.

  "Should we go save them?" Nawaki asked.

  "How? If Shin's right, it's too te. They must have already made their move. I hope Akiko's okay," Kushina said.

  She didn't care about Kai, but she still hoped Akiko was safe.

  Shin also hoped Akiko was fihe ails hadn't been transferred yet. If something happeo Akiko, he and Kushina would be in trouble.

  Minato had left with them. Hopefully, he was strong enough to protect them.

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