But how long would that take to take effect?
Tsuruya Kyuichi wasn't sure.
He glanced at the five disheveled juniors behind him, whose bodies, faces, and hair were all covered in frost, and Tsuruya Kyuichi felt it was time to talk.
The Kusanagi Sword was unsheathed, emitting a dazzling bright blue light, amplified by Separation Release Chakra.
Qingshui's entire body radiated a Chakra aura without restraint, completely unfazed by Tsuruya Kyuichi's cellular-level insects.
"Qingshui of the Separation Release from the Sand Village, we can talk. This war benefits neither of us. You've already been hit by my Explosive Bugs, and even if you kill me here, it's meaningless. I'm sixty-three years old now, and you're not even twenty. You're bound to become the Kazekage after Rasa dies. There's no need for us to suffer mutual destruction."
Tsuruya Kyuichi stood with one hand behind his back, exuding an air of high-mindedness as he spoke to Qingshui.
"Old man, it seems you still don't know how far Medical Ninjutsu has advanced in this era."
Qingshui sneered, forming a hand sign with his left hand before slowly opening it.
Amidst a soft green glow, all the Explosive Bugs that had invaded Qingshui's body were extracted using the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique before they even had a chance to develop.
Tsuruya Kyuichi's face slowly fell, his eyes filled with disbelief.
But no matter what, there was no need to talk now.
His strongest technique posed no threat to his enemy, and winning was now impossible. Since the opponent could counter his insect control jutsu, they definitely wouldn't let him go!
The key now was to figure out how to survive!
Explosive Bugs were useless against this person, but they were useful against others. If he could threaten the other Sand Village ninjas outside, making the opponent hesitant, there was still a chance.
But...
Tsuruya Kyuichi glanced around with his peripheral vision.
The large battlefield nearby had been cleared.
The ice wall, which initially only intercepted one side, had now become a massive crystalline ice cage.
Through the translucent ice, he could vaguely see the Blue Puppet outside, resembling a mouse, still continuously spraying the ice-forming substance in all directions.
From the very beginning, the opponent had restricted the battlefield environment, using intelligence gaps to deploy tactics, turning what was originally his home ground into the opponent's.
To escape, he would have to brave the opponent's attacks and break through the ice prison while the Blue Puppet continuously reinforced it, to create a glimmer of hope.
"I'll hold this guy off! You guys hurry and break the ice!"
Tsuruya Kyuichi instantly dodged a bright blue sword qi and shouted to his only five nephews.
"Old man, you're pretty quick to react, but you'll have to see if you can last that long first."
As if he had foresight, Qingshui instantly dodged the rising stone spikes on the ground, then transformed into Electrolight, holding the Kusanagi Sword, and lunged towards Tsuruya Kyuichi.
When Explosive Bugs could pose a threat, this old man, after successfully planting them on an enemy and retreating, could virtually kill any opponent.
Excluding this unique mechanism, his strength was still quite commendable.
His mastery of Fire Release and Earth Release was quite impressive. The nature of his Chakra was very similar to the Chakra on the Explosive Bugs, indicating that cultivating and manipulating these Explosive Bugs required the support of this special type of Chakra.
This reminded Qingshui of the Explosion Release from the Stone Village.
There were many similarities between the two, but Tsuruya Kyuichi hadn't developed Explosion Release. Instead, he used insects as a medium to gain this related ability.
Swarming insects filled the air, each one possessing more explosive power than an explosive tag. In terms of offensive power alone, this old man had already reached a level close to the peak of the Ninja World. There weren't many who could surpass him in terms of Ninjutsu. While his Taijutsu and battle awareness were slightly lacking, they were still decent, a bit weaker than Rasa and the current Pakura. He was a Kage-level expert.
His strength was formidable enough to ensure he could retreat safely from any opponent.
However, Qingshui also discovered his weakness during the fight.
The amount of Chakra.
Explosive Bugs require a large amount of Chakra to grow within an alien body to gain explosive capabilities. Currently, Tsuruya Kyuichi could only use his own Chakra to cultivate and mature these Explosive Bugs.
Even though his internal Chakra had an extremely high affinity with these bugs, and the cost of cultivating a single Explosive Bug wasn't high, to stop Qingshui in a short amount of time, he had to expend massive amounts of Chakra to rapidly breed and mature Explosive Bugs.
He had no choice but to do so, because Qingshui was simply too fierce.
He estimated that in less than a hundred moves, he would be finished here.
How could there be such a strong person in the current Ninja World?
"Hurry!"
In just a short moment, Tsuruya Kyuichi was struggling. Clutching his arm, which had a hole burned through it by a Separation Release ray, he shouted.
Five young ninjas in various colored clothes were frantically attacking the ice with Ninjutsu.
These few were quite strong; the oldest one or two even had Jonin-level strength.
Logically, even if the ice was thick, someone with their strength should still be able to break it.
However, the Blue Jerboa outside was continuously spraying freezing rays, sealing up any cracks that appeared in the ice.
At this rate, they wouldn't be getting out anytime soon.
"Damn it!"
Tsuruya Kyuichi truly regretted it now.
He had spent years in seclusion developing Ninjutsu, finally achieving a strength comparable to the clan leaders of the Warring States period. He had thought that after coming out, if not reorganizing the clan, he could at least become a honored guest of the Daimyo and the current great ninja villages, and enjoy the life of a prominent figure in his later years.
He did indeed become an honored guest, but after only a few days, he found himself embroiled in the complex political maneuvering between the Daimyo and the Ninja Villages, which has now escalated into armed conflict.
Didn't Senju Hashirama's ninja village system state that the Daimyo and the ninja villages were supposed to be co-dependent, mutually checking and supporting each other?
Now, the Daimyo might not die, but he himself is very likely to!
And not only might he die, but the remaining few sprouts of the Tsuruya Clan might also be buried here with him!
What the hell is this situation?!
He had considered surrendering, but he felt that the other party wouldn't agree.
Because even now, Tsuruya Kyuichi still believed Rasa was dead, and that the conflict between them was irreconcilable.
Qingshui also had no intention of reconciling; instead, he planned to capture him alive.
This insect manipulation technique was still very valuable.
Konoha Village has the Aburame Clan, and Stone Village has the Kamizuru Clan. Although the latter has declined, its legacy still remains.
Insect manipulators are capable in both offense and defense, with unpredictable abilities. Whether for infiltration, reconnaissance, or tracking, they are exceptionally useful and versatile, making them worth cultivating.
If he could be captured, then coercing or enticing him to hand over this insect manipulation technique would be good.
If not, then he would simply be killed, and the Mind Control Heart Technique would be used to extract as much as possible from his memories, attempting to reconstruct it. Then, the corpse would be sealed and given to Sasori to turn into a Human Puppet, thereby still acquiring this technique.
"Separation Breathing: First Form – Ion Cut!"
The Kusanagi Sword drew a perfect arc in mid-air, slicing through countless Explosive Bugs rushing towards Qingshui. Then, streaks of high-temperature plasma sword energy shot out, scattering in all directions.
Swathes of flying Explosive Bugs fell to the ground before even reaching Qingshui. Many others headed towards the five young Tsuruya Clan ninjas.
"Not good!"
The older man in red reacted first, quickly slapping his hands on the ground. The others also hastily made their moves, either defending or dodging.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
"Violent Wind Palm!"
The five of them unleashed their techniques, managing to block the attack relatively well.
Then, several more sword energies struck, forcing them into a desperate state.
This time, it wasn't as smooth, and soon someone was injured.
"We can't drag this out any longer!"
Feeling his Chakra almost depleted and recovering slower and slower, Tsuruya Kyuichi gritted his teeth, then pulled out a Kunai and cut off a large piece of flesh from his arm, throwing it out to feed the Explosive Bugs.
This method was very effective, greatly enhancing the Explosive Bugs' flying speed, explosive power, and resistance to impact. If that were all, it wouldn't be a big deal, but doing so could very likely cause the Explosive Bugs to run wild and backfire due to the special Chakra contained in the user's blood.
In that case, he would be devoured first by these Explosive Bugs.
So, he didn't dare to throw too much.
"Oh? Interesting."
Qingshui raised an eyebrow, and the Kusanagi Sword in his hand danced again.
"Separation Breathing: Fifth Form – Wind-Lightning Separation Blast!"
Inside the ice prison, a storm seemed to erupt—a storm caused by countless plasma blades!
It was as wild as a plasma cloud gone wild due to solar winds, but each plasma blade, while possessing scorching high temperatures, also had the swiftness and sharpness of Wind Release.
"Third brother!"
The red-clad ninja looked at his clansman, who had been caught in the aftermath and had no place to dodge, ultimately losing an arm, and cried out in sorrow.
The other three were also covered in blood and seriously injured.
But for them, it wasn't all bad news.
Qingshui's powerful attacks had made the previously solid ice prison somewhat shaky.
This was their last chance!
Qingshui coldly scanned the five people, then used his sensory abilities to assess Tsuruya Kyuichi's state. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, his figure transforming into a flickering Electrolight, closing in.
"Separation Breathing: Second Form – Separation Dance!"
Tsuruya Kyuichi was startled, quickly retreating and leaving countless obstacles with Earth Release in front of him, narrowly dodging the sword energy emanating from the Kusanagi Sword's blade.
But the next second, this ancient and exquisite longsword, whose hilt had been modified by Qingshui, suddenly extended, reaching out into the distance.
This Kusanagi Sword had the ability to extend its range!
"Separation Breathing: Seventh Form – Separation Mirror!"
A bright mirror, like a full moon, rose, enveloping the entire ice prison.
Tsuruya Kyuichi had no choice but to create a thick sphere with Earth Release to protect himself.
The next instant, both the circular mirror and the earthen wall shattered simultaneously.
Tsuruya Kyuichi's clothes were tattered, and wounds burst open all over his body, bleeding profusely.
The five young Tsuruya Clan ninjas, dressed in various colors, had their tendons severed and were knocked unconscious by Qingshui, lying on the ground.
"Still resisting? These few should be the only remaining juniors of your clan, right?"
Qingshui held his sword to the red-clad ninja's neck and spoke to Tsuruya Kyuichi.
The latter glanced at the blood on his body, then looked up at the Explosive Bugs swarm, which was flying chaotically, having lost its original rhythm.
"Of course I'm willing to surrender, but these bugs won't agree. Qingshui-kun, I hope you take my juniors and leave here as soon as possible. The Explosive Bugs swarm is about to go berserk and will soon backfire on my body. You've already won!" Tsuruya Kyuichi said helplessly.
"You had to use a forbidden jutsu that would backfire just to find a sliver of hope from me? They're just mere bugs."
Qingshui snorted lightly and raised his left hand.
"Wind Release: Air Current Condensation!"
Powerful air currents surged, frantically condensing and compressing in Qingshui's palm.
This was a Ninjutsu Qingshui had developed himself in the past to improve the efficiency of his aerodynamic devices, allowing him to condense and compress a large amount of air in a short time.
The change in air currents affected the flight of the Explosive Bugs, forcing them to lower their altitude. They then shrieked and roared even more fiercely at Tsuruya Kyuichi, their bodies rapidly swelling and glowing, on the verge of exploding.
Tsuruya Kyuichi hastily rummaged through his tattered Ninja Tool Pouch for broken bandages and haphazardly wrapped them around himself.
"It's your flesh and blood that's causing these things to riot?"
Qingshui pondered for a moment and understood the crux of the matter. Then, he twitched his fingers, re-controlling the air currents to isolate the scent around Tsuruya Kyuichi.
Good heavens, having lost their target, these already maddened Explosive Bugs became even more frantic, swarming chaotically in the air.
"These bugs, once they receive any attack or stimulus, will explode simultaneously," Tsuruya Kyuichi whispered.
"Tsk, what a hassle."
Though he complained, Qingshui instantly appeared beside Tsuruya Kyuichi, green light condensing in his hand, and he slapped it onto the old man.
This was Hemostasis Jutsu, but with the Grand Funeral Seal added – this Sealing Jutsu was developed by Chiyo over two years, after she fully digested the Sealing Jutsu knowledge obtained from Konoha Village, integrating the village's past research on Shukaku's patterns.
This Sealing Jutsu is currently the highest-level and most effective seal in Sand Village. Chiyo rated it as having an effect close to high-level Sealing Jutsu like the Five Elements Seal, possessing the ability to seal Tailed Beasts.
It's hard to say for Tailed Beasts as strong as the Nine-Tails, but at least, according to Bunbuku, this jutsu made Shukaku very uncomfortable, and the influence he experienced from Shukaku was greatly reduced.
Using it now to seal an old man, as long as the opponent isn't the Ninja World's top Sealing Jutsu master, there's no possibility of breaking it in a short time.
So sleepy, I fell asleep halfway through writing and almost didn't finish.
By the way, today's triple team dungeon dropped two 140 ultimates, and neither of them was useful
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