"Indeed, it's me!"
In response to Qing's look of relief after surviving the attack, Qingming calmly replied.
As he spoke, he swung his long knife, letting a few drops of blood splatter onto the water.
His movements were casual, fully embodying a sense of confidence that came from being in control.
Since the surprise attack plan had already failed, Qingming decided not to rush. Instead, he revealed himself openly, hoping to bolster the morale of his own side.
As expected, upon his appearance, the surviving Konoha ninjas immediately lit up with renewed energy.
This was the role of a leader in a chaotic battle; as long as the banner that was Qingming remained standing, his subordinates wouldn't completely collapse.
Suddenly, a splash echoed through the air.
Uchiha Tiehu finally surfaced from the water, clutching his chest and calling out to Qingming, "Be careful, his strength is formidable!"
"Understood."
Qingming nodded in acknowledgment.
"Now's the chance!"
Ahead of them, seeing Qingming's gaze diverted, Qing thought to himself that this was a great opportunity and quickly threw his kunai.
Swish~
A subtle whistling sound pierced the air.
Qingming caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye and skillfully swung his long knife, accurately deflecting the kunai away.
Qing didn't mind this; he swiftly formed hand seals with both hands, opening his mouth to unleash a ninjutsu—Water Release: Water Chaos Waves!
Although this was merely a basic C-rank ninjutsu, it required only the simple hand seals of 'Chen—Chou—Yin' to perform, making it perfect for a surprise attack.
Initially, Qing had thought he could catch Qingming off guard.
However, he was taken by surprise when, almost simultaneously with his water ball, Qingming also exhaled a fireball.
Unbeknownst to Qing, while deflecting the kunai, Qingming had already completed the hand seals with his left hand.
In this critical moment, he unleashed his own ninjutsu—Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Sizzle~
The fireball collided with the water ball, producing a sharp, piercing sound.
Consequently, a large volume of steam erupted, rapidly spreading throughout the area.
With vast combat experience, Qing quickly thought of using the environment to his advantage.
Thus, he formed hand seals at lightning speed and promptly executed the Mist Village's signature technique—Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!
At this moment, Qingming had the chance to interrupt him.
However, he had been coveting this technique for quite some time, and the opportunity was just right.
So, he chose not to disrupt Qing and instead concentrated fully on his Sharingan, observing the sequence of Qing's hand seals and the general flow of chakra.
As Qing completed his seals and executed the technique, Qingming simultaneously learned it as well.
This was the copying ability of the Sharingan.
Qingming glanced at his status panel and indeed saw a new skill added—Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique: lv1 (1/200)!
Similar to his earlier acquisition of Wind Release: Wind Blade, the successfully copied ninjutsu was automatically at the entry level, requiring no trial and error.
Though his current chakra reserves wouldn't have been taxed too heavily by learning such a technique, saving any hassle was always a plus.
As these thoughts flitted through his mind, Qingming closed the panel and looked around.
At that moment, his vision was engulfed in a thick white mist, even his sensory abilities were slightly suppressed.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
Suddenly, the faint whistling of kunai sliced through the air from the side.
Qingming's ears perked up, and he swung his long knife, accurately blocking all kunai attacks.
Once again, silence enveloped the area as Qingming remained patient, waiting for his opponent to make a move.
"Ah!"
Abruptly, as Qingming waited patiently, a familiar scream pierced through the air.
His expression shifted, and in a flash, he darted towards the sound, appearing in front of Uchiha Tiehu, who was not far away.
There, he saw Tiehu, already seriously injured, now with another kunai embedded in his arm.
As Qingming approached, Tiehu wanted to say something, but the next moment, his face transformed into one of sheer terror.
"Die!"
A chilling voice emerged from behind Qingming.
At that moment, Qing lunged forward, wielding a kunai aimed directly at Qingming's back.
However, Qingming seemed to have anticipated this. He leaped forward, evading the attack while simultaneously turning around 180 degrees.
"What?"
Qing was shocked and attempted to retreat.
But just then, Qingming executed his Instant Sword Technique.
A blue light enveloped his body, merging him with the long knife, and in an instant, he appeared in front of Qing.
Whoosh~
A flash of the knife appeared.
Just as it looked like it would slice through Qing's neck, Qing swiftly raised his kunai to block the strike.
Clang~
A crisp sound of metal clashing rang out.
Qing was unable to withstand the force and was sent flying backward.
Qingming pursued relentlessly, striking with his long knife again and again, forcing Qing to retreat repeatedly, leaving him without any chance to counterattack.
Qingming's assault intensified, and gradually, Qing struggled to keep up.
In one moment of distraction, Qing suddenly came back to his senses, only to find Qingming's long knife right in front of him.
He had no time to think and hurriedly lifted his kunai to defend himself.
Yet, to his surprise, the long knife seemed to pass through his kunai like an illusion, and behind that phantom, another long knife followed.
It appeared to adjust its attack angle based on Qing's defensive movement.
At this point, it was too late for him to block.
Realizing he had been hit, Qing internally muttered, "This is bad," and abruptly tried to retreat.
Seeing this, Qingming sneered and said, "Now you want to run? It's too late!"
As he spoke, he exerted force in his wrist, making his long knife move even faster.
Slash~
The sound of a blade slicing through flesh echoed as blood splattered on Qing's chest.
He looked down to see a deep wound had suddenly appeared on his torso.
This injury was far more severe than the shallow scratch from before; it was deep enough to expose white bone beneath.
"Ugh~"
Feeling the excruciating pain in his chest, Qing suppressed a scream, only letting out a muffled groan before using the last of his strength to create some distance.
Noticing this, Qingming prepared to move in for the kill.
But at that moment, a water dragon appeared from the side, charging straight at him.
"Water Dragon Jutsu?"
Qingming's heart stirred; he abandoned the opportunity to finish off Qing and swiftly dodged the incoming water dragon.
Swish~
A blue silhouette emerged, shielding Qing.
It was none other than Terumi Mei.
She gazed at Qingming with eyes full of caution.
Even though she had learned some of Qingming's abilities from her encounters with the shadow clone, witnessing him so effortlessly defeat Qing left her struggling to believe it.
In response, Qingming could only think that Qing had acted too hastily and underestimated him.
Qing had set a trap using Uchiha Tiehu, but he hadn't expected Qingming to turn the tables and seize the initiative.
Had it not been for the low level of his Instant Sword Technique, limiting his movement speed, he could have claimed Qing's life with the initial counterattack.
Even so, he had still managed to severely wound Qing in their subsequent exchanges.
Unfortunately, Terumi Mei had arrived just in time.
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