"Whoo~~~"
Staring at Ghost Lantern Zangetsu's lifeless body on the ground, Qingming exhaled a long breath.
Without a doubt, among the Jonin he had encountered, Ghost Lantern Zangetsu might not have been the strongest, but he was unquestionably the hardest to kill.
Due to the presence of many onlookers, Qingming had refrained from using the abilities of his Mangekyō Sharingan. Moreover, his lack of Lightning Release techniques meant he couldn't effectively counter Zangetsu's Hydrification Technique.
As a result, it had taken considerable effort to bring him down.
It was only thanks to Qingming's overwhelming strength and ample chakra reserves that he could crush Zangetsu with sheer power in such a short amount of time. Otherwise, the outcome might have been very different.
Shaking his head, Qingming pushed aside unnecessary thoughts and turned his gaze to the surrounding battlefield.
During his intense battle with Ghost Lantern Zangetsu, both sides' ninjas had moved away from the area but had kept a close watch on the fight.
Now, with Zangetsu defeated, the Konoha shinobi were naturally invigorated, their morale surging.
In stark contrast, the Mist shinobi showed signs of obvious unrest.
Despite their numerical advantage—still exceeding Konoha's forces by 50%—they no longer exuded the same confidence.
This was the impact of high-level combatants on the battlefield.
Qingming's gaze swept swiftly over the scene before landing on Blackwood Takeo, who was not far away, struggling to his feet and attempting to retreat to the safety of the Mist ninja ranks.
Takeo, injured by Qingming's earlier Rasengan, had been recovering and healing since then but was still far from regaining full strength.
Just in time, Qingming thought. After expending considerable chakra to kill Zangetsu, replenishing his reserves seemed like an excellent next step.
With this thought, Qingming's figure flickered, appearing before Takeo in the blink of an eye.
Startled by Qingming's sudden appearance, Blackwood Takeo froze mid-step, a look of despair flashing through his eyes.
But despair quickly turned to madness.
With a fierce roar, he raised the kunai in his hand and lunged at Qingming.
However, seeing this, Qingming didn't even flinch.
Just as the kunai was about to reach him, Takeo's body stiffened, his face contorted from rage into utter confusion.
Genjutsu: Sharingan.
In the instant their eyes met, Qingming had ensnared Takeo's consciousness within an illusion.
With his opponent immobilized, Qingming wasted no time and raised his hand, preparing to execute the Chakra Absorption Technique.
But at that very moment, two voices rang out simultaneously.
"Captain Takeo!"
"Stop!"
The sudden shouts made Qingming pause mid-action. He turned toward the source of the voices, spotting two figures rapidly approaching.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Several kunai flew toward him.
Qingming tilted slightly to the side, easily evading the projectiles.
But this was merely the beginning.
The next moment, both approaching shinobi completed their hand seals, unleashing simultaneous ninjutsu.
Water Release: Water Pillar Lance!
Water Release: Water Pellet Barrage!
A water pillar surged forward, aimed directly at Qingming's chest for a decisive strike, while a barrage of water bullets sought to block any escape routes, trapping him in place.
Their teamwork was flawless, a result of countless such maneuvers in the past.
But against Qingming, such tactics were woefully inadequate.
Without hesitation, Qingming formed a different hand seal. The Chakra Absorption Technique he had intended to use shifted into Water Release: Water Formation Wall.
In an instant, a wall of water rose before him, absorbing the impact of both attacks. Water splashed in all directions, but Qingming remained unscathed.
The two Mist Chūnin visibly faltered at this sight, but their resolve hardened when they glanced at the motionless Blackwood Takeo. Gritting their teeth, they continued their charge.
"Hmph!" Qingming snorted coldly.
With swift hand seals, he unleashed another Water Release jutsu—Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
Roar!
A massive water dragon materialized and lunged at the two incoming shinobi.
"Watch out!" one of them, positioned to the right, shouted in warning.
He leaped further to the right to avoid the dragon's path. His comrade followed suit, dodging to the left.
The water dragon crashed into the ground between them, sending up a torrent of spray but failing to harm either of them.
They had just begun to exhale in relief when a transparent wind blade streaked through the air, aimed at the right-side shinobi's neck.
Though he managed to dodge at the last moment, the wind blade severed one of his arms.
"Aargh!"
A short, sharp cry of pain escaped his lips.
"Keita!" the left-side shinobi shouted in alarm.
But before he could finish his warning, an ominous chill ran down his spine.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Qingming's figure standing directly behind him, sword in hand.
It was already too late.
Before he could move, the gleaming blade pierced his chest, puncturing his heart.
Thud!
A gurgle of blood erupted from his mouth as his life force rapidly faded.
Qingming, expressionless, pulled the blade free with a sharp motion.
The Mist shinobi's vitality drained away completely as he collapsed to the ground.
Turning to the remaining shinobi, now pale and missing an arm, Qingming's figure shimmered with blue light before vanishing.
The surviving Mist ninja, Saltzawa Keita, froze in fear, unable to react as Qingming's blade pierced his abdomen.
Keita glanced down at the sword embedded in him, then up at Qingming, his face twisted in desperation.
"You monster... let's die together!"
Even as blood pooled in his mouth, Keita forced out the words, preparing to activate the explosive tags hidden in his palm.
But before he could move, his mind was ensnared, his vision overtaken by Qingming's blood-red Sharingan.
Qingming shook his head at the entranced shinobi, then raised a hand and cast the Chakra Absorption Technique.
Massive amounts of chakra flowed from Keita's body into Qingming's palm, coursing through his chakra network and converting seamlessly into energy.
At Level 6, the Chakra Absorption Technique drained 2,000 points of chakra per second while fully converting it into the user's own. After depleting the target's chakra, it forcibly drew their physical and spiritual energy to synthesize more chakra.
Inevitably, any ninja subjected to Qingming's absorption was completely drained, and Keita was no exception.
Thud!
Moments later, Keita's withered body fell lifelessly to the ground.
Qingming retracted his hand, then turned and strode calmly toward Blackwood Takeo.
This time, no one dared to stand in his way.
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