Without any hesitation, Qingming activated his three-tomoe Sharingan to its limit. In an instant, everything around him slowed down.
He raised both hands, rapidly forming hand seals, and unleashed the ninjutsu—Water Release: Water Barrier!
A thick wall of water suddenly rose from the waves, shielding Qingming in front of him.
Almost at the same moment, the corrosive liquid of Dissolution Release that Kōmei sprayed splattered against the barrier.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—
A nauseating sound echoed as the water wall was quickly corroded and assimilated.
However, this bought Qingming precious time. Without a moment's hesitation, the instant he finished Water Barrier, he withdrew.
Yet, Kōmei would not let him escape so easily after finally catching an opening.
As soon as Qingming started to retreat, she charged after him, completing her hand seals on the way and executing a water jutsu that Qingming had never seen before.
Countless water chakra arrows coalesced through her palms, transforming the sea into an innumerable barrage of water arrows shooting straight at Qingming.
Swish, swish, swish—
Hearing the piercing sound of the arrows cutting through the air, Qingming remained unfazed.
With his Sharingan pushed to the limit, he spun his longsword like a windmill.
Accompanied by a series of "ding ding" sounds, all the water arrows aimed at him were deflected.
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Kōmei let out a cold snort and, without pausing, raised her hand again to form seals, launching another water jutsu.
This technique was similar to the advanced jutsu Water Release: Water Severing Wave developed by Hashirama Senju. She sprayed a powerful stream of water from her mouth, targeting him.
However, unlike Water Severing Wave, this jutsu did not possess any sustaining effect.
Consequently, thanks to the tremendous insight granted by his Sharingan, Qingming easily dodged the attack.
Yet before he could counterattack, Kōmei performed another set of hand seals, casting Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
Clearly, she intended to replicate her strategy against his shadow clones, using broad and continuous attacks to force him into a defensive position, hoping to expose a vulnerability and deliver a fatal blow.
But with the memories from his shadow clones, Qingming would not let her plan succeed.
Moreover, unlike his shadow clones, which could not afford a direct confrontation due to limited chakra, even though his chakra was somewhat depleted from the long journey, he was surrounded by so many Mist Shinobi and had the presence of Chakra Absorption Technique. He was not afraid of depleting resources in a contest of endurance.
As the original, he was also not afraid of injury. His Lv. 8 Sage Art even allowed him to ignore ordinary damage to a certain extent.
Given all this, Kōmei's plan to defeat him using the same tactics she employed against his shadow clones was sheer folly. Even her use of Dissolution Release and Boil Release would not help.
Thoughts raced through his mind as he gazed at the water dragon charging toward him. He stopped dodging.
With a clang, his longsword returned to its sheath.
He raised both hands, swiftly forming seals and opening his mouth to unleash the ninjutsu—Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!
A fiery line erupted from his mouth, transforming into a dragon of flames that surged upward, colliding with the oncoming water dragon.
Boom—
A thunderous crash resonated.
The fire dragon and water dragon collided with an explosive force, erupting into countless flames and water droplets that cascaded downward.
It was a stalemate!
In the battlefield, everyone, whether they were from the Mist or Konoha, instinctively thought the same thing.
Then, they were struck with surprise.
From a theoretical standpoint, water chakra should have an advantage over fire chakra.
Therefore, ninjutsu composed of these two types of chakra should logically display a counteracting effect.
Unless the user of the fire jutsu had a superior technique or a greater accumulation of chakra, they would typically be at a disadvantage.
Just as water can extinguish fire, fire can evaporate water; sometimes, a qualitative change can be achieved through a quantitative accumulation.
But the problem was that Qingming's Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique was not of a higher grade than Kōmei's Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique; in fact, it was even slightly inferior, with both sides utilizing a comparable amount of chakra.
By all accounts, Qingming's fire dragon should have been at a disadvantage.
Yet, the reality was a tie.
This was evidently unusual!
This was why everyone felt shocked.
However, the explanation for this outcome was straightforward: Qingming's mastery of Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique was simply too profound.
Perhaps Kōmei was a genius who could quickly grasp a jutsu, but unless she reached a level of monstrous talent—along with a bit of luck—she could not possibly master this jutsu to perfection.
Qingming, on the other hand, had the advantage of a proficiency panel. While he might not learn a jutsu in a few tries or even dozens, as long as he dedicated time and effort, he could undoubtedly grind it to perfection.
The effectiveness of a jutsu when mastered is not just a simple upgrade as shown on a skill panel; it reflects a difference in potential.
For instance, the speed of casting—jutsu that he had mastered to perfection could be cast instantaneously for those ranked C and below.
This allowed him to strike first.
Furthermore, mastering a jutsu to its utmost level meant that he had grasped all its techniques.
This superiority in technique enabled him to accomplish feats akin to using a feather to tip the scales.
It was these reasons that allowed him to hold his ground against Kōmei's earlier assault.
All these thoughts rushed through Qingming's mind in an instant.
Naturally, Kōmei was capable of considering similar matters.
Thus, while the onlookers were astonished, she understood the gap in their abilities all too well.
Simultaneously, her expression turned increasingly grim.
Initially, she thought Qingming's swordsmanship was already quite impressive.
After all, with the title of "Demon Sword," she had mentally prepared for it to some extent.
But now, what was this extraordinary mastery of ninjutsu?
That was fine for before; Qingming had only cast a few jutsu, and the moment he performed a single-handed seal had surprised her.
But now, with Qingming unleashing his full power, he revealed the depth of his skills all at once.
"Should I retreat?"
Suddenly, Kōmei felt a surge of this thought in her mind.
However, they had prepared for a long time to ambush Konoha's forward base in the Land of Waves.
If they retreated now, and Qingming and his team managed to intercept the main force and excel, their offense would be unforgivable.
In a moment, Kōmei found herself in a dilemma.
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