"What?"
Seeing Qingming dive toward them once again, Ao's pupils contracted sharply, filled with doubt and confusion.
From Ao's perspective, after the previous assault with poisoned kunai, Qingming shouldn't have been able to launch another attack so quickly.
Yet the reality was undeniable—Qingming was attacking again after only a brief interval.
This left Ao utterly perplexed.
But since he couldn't figure it out, he chose to stop dwelling on it. Composing himself swiftly, he issued a calm and decisive order:
"All units, prepare to defend!"
The distance between the two sides rapidly closed, and Qingming was just about to enter their attack range.
Suddenly, the chakra wings on Qingming's back flared, pivoting his body a full ninety degrees. With a powerful beat of his wings, he soared away into the distance once more.
Indeed, Qingming was planning an attack, but that didn't mean he would recklessly charge in and face the enemy head-on.
Such an approach wasn't bravery—it was sheer foolishness.
Qingming had never lost sight of his ultimate objective: to delay the enemy for as long as possible.
Given that goal, he could continue employing the "cry wolf" tactic to drain the enemy's focus and stamina.
Though this time his approach was more aggressive, and the risks were undoubtedly greater, strategy still had to guide his actions.
As Qingming flew away again, the Mist shinobi instinctively relaxed a bit, only for Qingming to swoop back toward them moments later.
In an instant, the Mist shinobi were back on full alert.
This time, Qingming entered their attack range and provoked them into striking, only to retreat again shortly after.
The distance he maintained gave him plenty of time to evade. Qingming skillfully maneuvered out of harm's way without sustaining a single injury.
The Mist shinobi, however, had wasted another attack.
Afterward, Qingming hovered at a distance, neither leaving nor closing in, maintaining an infuriating presence that kept the Mist shinobi on edge.
Eventually, Ao ordered his team to resume their advance.
But before they had gone far, Qingming approached them again.
The Mist shinobi were forced to halt.
This time, however, they resisted his baiting tactics. Even as Qingming entered their attack range, they held their ground without attacking.
"Heh~"
Seeing this, Qingming chuckled softly and said, "Impressive, holding your composure like that."
With those words, Qingming's figure traced an arc in the air, once again encroaching upon their attack range.
This time, instead of retreating immediately, he ventured deeper, coming within just twenty meters of the group.
At this range, they could launch several rounds of attacks with ease.
Unable to hold back any longer, the Mist shinobi attacked on Ao's command.
First came a flurry of kunai, followed by ninjutsu, and finally, a few Mist shinobi closed in, attempting to ensnare Qingming with specialized weapons and wires.
Unfortunately for them, none of these moves escaped the insight of Qingming's Sharingan.
Rather than getting entangled with his opponents, Qingming swiftly dodged or blocked their strikes before retreating to the sky.
Thanks to the Sharingan, Qingming could clearly see that after just two rounds of this tactic, several Mist shinobi were already showing signs of frustration.
As the saying goes: "Strike while the iron is hot; falter, and momentum wanes; persist, and morale collapses."
If Qingming repeated this a few more times, the Jonin among the Mist shinobi might still retain their fighting spirit, but the Chunin and Genin would likely falter.
They wouldn't say it aloud, but hesitation would creep into their movements when the time came to act.
In the chaos of battle, even the slightest hesitation could prove fatal.
Likewise, that single moment of doubt could be all Qingming needed to escape unscathed.
The hesitation of one or two individuals wouldn't matter much. But if it spread to most of the team, Qingming's chances of survival would increase dramatically.
With that thought in mind, Qingming paused briefly before initiating his third assault.
With a powerful flap of his wings, he surged forward at breakneck speed, covering forty meters per second as he closed in on the Mist shinobi.
Seeing this, Ao's expression darkened, and he shouted, "Everyone, attack!"
In the next instant, a barrage of kunai, some laced with poison and others strapped with explosive tags, filled the air.
Qingming's Sharingan spun rapidly, capturing the trajectories of every single projectile in a heartbeat.
Drawing the long blade from his waist, he parried and deflected the incoming kunai with swift, precise strikes.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted, sending fiery balls of light into the sky.
Enveloped in a faint blue glow, Qingming emerged from the inferno, expertly utilizing the shockwaves from the explosions to propel himself faster toward the Mist shinobi.
"Attack! Keep attacking!"
The three leading Jonin barked out orders as they quickly formed seals to unleash their own techniques.
One of them launched a "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet", summoning a massive water dragon to strike Qingming head-on.
Another unleashed three water projectiles shaped like short spears, arranged in a triangular formation to restrict Qingming's movements and force him toward the water dragon.
It was clear these two had coordinated their attack.
As for the third Jonin, he utilized an uncommon fire technique from the Mist Village.
In an instant, a stream of fire erupted from his mouth, rapidly expanding into what resembled a giant flaming flower meant to engulf Qingming entirely.
Qingming's eyes gleamed with interest at the sight of this technique. He considered copying it with his Sharingan, but there was no time.
Faced with this multi-pronged assault, Qingming remained calm. He raised his left hand, forming seals at lightning speed, and took a deep breath.
Simultaneously, he gathered a large amount of chakra, converting it into wind nature before exhaling forcefully.
Suddenly, a powerful gale howled forth, forming a tempest that swept toward the incoming attacks.
This wasn't just any technique; it was the C-rank Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
Simple yet effective, this technique relied on sheer chakra output to overwhelm opponents.
As a relatively low-difficulty wind jutsu, the power of Great Breakthrough scaled directly with the amount of chakra infused into it.
With Qingming's near-lv6 chakra control and mastery of this technique at its peak, he unleashed it with a staggering 3000 chakra points—a third of a standard chakra pool.
The resulting Great Breakthrough was devastating.
Every attack in Qingming's path, be it ninjutsu or weapons, was blown away. Not only did they fail to harm him, but they couldn't even get close.
The crisis was resolved effortlessly.
However, just as Qingming relaxed slightly and lowered his left hand, an intense sense of danger erupted within him, sending chills down his spine.
Acting purely on instinct, he beat his wings and veered to the side.
Slash!
A thin, needle-like weapon grazed his left arm, leaving a shallow but painful cut.
Qingming realized that the senbon had been aimed directly at his heart. If not for his quick reaction, it would have been a lethal strike.
The close call left Qingming shaken, a cold sweat running down his back.
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