With a sudden rush, just as Karui was scanning her surroundings cautiously, a mist-nin, appearing to be in his thirties, abruptly appeared beside her. He spoke with uncertainty, "What was that just now?"
The man had gray-blue long hair, and a black cloth covered his right eye, with sealing symbols dangling from both earlobes. This was none other than Ao, the elite Jonin from the Mist Village, who had stolen a Byakugan from the Hyuga clan on the battlefield several months ago.
At that moment, beneath the black cloth over his right eye lay the Byakugan, granting him the abilities of insight, foresight, and perception. It was Ao's Byakugan that had revealed the location of the shadow clone of Qingming.
In essence, he was the catalyst for this confrontation.
After hearing Ao's words, Karui's expression turned serious. "Yes, just as you suspect, the one I fought earlier was merely a shadow clone of that 'Demon Blade' Qingming."
She paused for a moment, glancing around before continuing, "Ao, you're just in time. Quickly use your Byakugan to see where the real body is hiding!"
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Ao refrained from any further discussion, focused his energy, and activated the Byakugan concealed beneath the cloth.
Instantly, everything around him came into sharp focus in his mind, an exhilarating feeling of seeing through all obscurity.
However, remembering the task at hand, he quickly began to search for Qingming's whereabouts.
After two full minutes of scanning, sweat began to bead on his forehead, yet he still found no trace of Qingming.
Upon relaying this outcome to Karui, she shook her head decisively. "This isn't possible. He was right under my nose just now; even if he briefly slipped away and performed the 'Shadow Clone Technique,' he couldn't have gone far—unless..."
"Unless what?" Ao prompted.
"Unless he was just a shadow clone from the beginning," Karui replied hesitantly.
"What? That's impossible!" Ao reacted incredulously at first but soon realized that this was perhaps the only explanation left.
He couldn't accept that Qingming could evade the Byakugan's detection; he held an immense trust in it, even more so than many from the Hyuga clan. The thought that Qingming could escape its sight was unthinkable.
So, was the Qingming they encountered merely a clone?! But then, where was the real body? Was there some kind of scheme at play?
While both pondered this, chaos erupted among the Leaf ninja.
As the captain of the team and known as the "Demon Blade," Qingming was a figure of hope for many, and the tension in the air increased as they watched his every move closely.
Initially, when Qingming could not control Karui, disappointment grew among the team, as they began to lose faith in him.
As Karui began to dominate him, this distrust became even more pronounced.
When Qingming's clone was finally defeated, despair reached its peak.
However, when they realized that only a shadow clone had perished, hope flickered back to life, briefly reviving their morale.
But as Qingming's real body remained absent for an extended period, anxiety crept back into their hearts.
Ninja are human too; when they lose their pillar of support, fear and panic naturally follow.
Gradually, restlessness spread through the Leaf contingent.
Karui, keenly aware of this, decided to stop concerning herself with the absent Qingming and instead turned her attention toward the unsettled Leaf ninja.
Her plan was simple: to take advantage of their wavering morale and strike decisively to crush this unit entirely.
This way, even if Qingming had some trick up his sleeve, she could respond calmly.
As she launched her assault, the Leaf ninja indeed began to falter.
Fortunately, the two squads Qingming had brought from the forward base were elite forces; despite their low morale, they were not on the verge of collapse.
Of course, a part of this resilience was due to Uchiha Tiehuo, one of Qingming's loyal supporters.
He called out loudly, "Everyone, hold on! The captain will be here to support us soon!"
Although the others did not fully understand the situation, seeing his Uchiha clan insignia gave them a semblance of reassurance, boosting their spirits.
However, while others found some solace, Uchiha Tiehuo's situation was not so fortunate.
Ao had been searching for Qingming's location, and upon hearing Tiehuo's voice, he charged over, seemingly intent on capturing him to uncover Qingming's plans.
Evidently, he also suspected Qingming of having a scheme.
Unfortunately, everyone was unaware that the figure they had encountered was genuinely just a shadow clone of Qingming.
Meanwhile, Qingming's real body was indeed on its way to join the fray.
Minutes later, Qingming arrived at the battlefield.
The ocean had descended into chaos, with both sides locked in a fierce battle, nearing a pivotal moment.
The situation was dire.
Yet, despite this, Qingming did not rush to intervene. Activating his Sharingan, he began to quietly observe the unfolding scene.
After a brief moment, he withdrew his gaze, inhaled deeply, and plunged into the water, swiftly swimming toward Karui's location.
As the saying goes, "Capture the leader first!"
From his earlier observation and the memories transmitted from the shadow clone, he had concluded that Karui was the leader of these Mist ninja.
Thus, just as Karui had sought him out, he was now prepared to take her down to strike a blow to the morale of the Mist ninja.
However, unexpected developments often arise.
Just as he was about to close in on Karui, a figure suddenly plummeted from afar, crashing through the water's surface, and shot past him.
With the keen insight granted by his Sharingan, he instantly recognized the identity of the figure—it was Uchiha Tiehuo.
At that moment, Tiehuo was spewing blood, as if struck by something, and was plummeting toward the ocean floor.
Looking up, Qingming saw Ao's figure following closely above, right above him.
With the Byakugan activated, Ao was ready to search for Uchiha Tiehuo's whereabouts.
But the next moment, Qingming's expression changed dramatically, and he rapidly retreated.
Boom!
Water erupted around him.
A figure suddenly burst forth from the ocean's surface.
Swish!
The sound of a blade being unsheathed rang out.
A flash of cold light appeared.
A long knife whizzed across Ao's chest.
The fierce Wind Release chakra accompanying it tore through his clothing, leaving a shallow cut on his chest.
Had Ao not reacted so quickly and retreated immediately, the injury would have been far more severe.
"Is it you?" Ao exclaimed, stepping back several paces, clutching his chest, his voice filled with astonishment as he looked at Qingming.
Indeed, the one who had attacked was none other than Qingming.
The moment Ao activated his Byakugan, Qingming realized he could no longer hide and took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
Unfortunately, Ao's Byakugan had granted him sufficient warning, allowing him to evade most of the assault.
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