"He's finally here!"
Unlike Qingming's astonishment at the figure standing on the waves in the distance, Xuefeng breathed a sigh of relief.
When he was assigned this mission, his superiors had informed him that if he was unable to match Qingming in battle, he should try to draw the fight out and away. He hadn't understood why at the time, but now it made sense—there had been a backup plan in place, likely because they were wary of Qingming's interference.
Now, even if Qingming rushed over immediately, it would be impossible to stop an attack like this.
With this massive wave crashing down, Konoha's two passenger ships were doomed. As a result, the troops advancing against Konoha's northern defenses wouldn't need to worry about being flanked.
While Xuefeng's thoughts raced, Qingming turned back to him with an icy look.
Xuefeng's face stiffened as he forced himself to ignore the pain in his chest and arms. He stomped his right foot on the ice.
Crack!
The ice shattered, revealing a large hole, and Xuefeng fell straight through, disappearing into the sea below as his presence quickly vanished.
Swoosh!
Qingming flickered to the edge of the hole, looking down at the empty ocean where Xuefeng had been. He knew now that it wouldn't be possible to kill him today.
He could wait nearby, hoping to catch Xuefeng as he resurfaced. But could he afford to stay here? Qingming glanced at the massive wave about to engulf the battlefield.
The answer was clear.
A flash of green light appeared as Qingming activated Flash Sword Technique, transforming into a blur and heading straight toward the main battlefield—more precisely, toward the Hidden Mist Anbu operative.
Pushing through the panicked crowd, Qingming dashed across the waves, rapidly closing the distance between himself and the Hidden Mist Anbu.
Yet the Anbu member didn't pause his jutsu, even when he saw Qingming approach.
Eventually, the wave crashed down, submerging the entire battlefield. The ninja, having been alerted in advance, managed to scatter, but the boats left behind—both Konoha's two passenger ships and Hidden Mist's battleship—were all swallowed by the torrent.
If it had just been a matter of flooding, that would be manageable; they could retrieve the ships and clear out the water. However, the waves held a spiraling current, dragging down and tearing apart the vessels almost instantly.
Clearly, the Mist's objective here was not to kill Konoha's ninja but to destroy their ships.
To ensure complete destruction, the Mist operative had even sacrificed their own battleship.
This act had unmistakably severed the Mist forces' retreat options. Without a ship, Qingming's party would no longer prioritize reaching the battlefield; instead, they'd likely target the Mist ninja who were stranded with them.
Trapped without escape, the Hidden Mist forces would be forced into a fight to the death. With Qingming's power, there was no doubt that the Mist ninja would bear the brunt of that decision.
In other words, this sudden Hidden Mist Anbu operative had already resigned to sacrificing their allies to complete the mission.
Qingming couldn't help but recall someone with a similar ruthless style and a talent for such grand-scale jutsu.
"The tailless tailed beast... Is it you?"
Qingming considered the possibility as he closed in on the Hidden Mist Anbu operative.
Whoosh!
A flash of his blade sliced toward the Anbu's neck.
At that instant, the Anbu finally reacted, ducking low to narrowly dodge Qingming's strike.
Before Qingming could swing again, the operative kicked at his abdomen.
Qingming jumped back, evading the kick, then another green flash as he activated Flash Sword Technique again, appearing at the Anbu's side, slashing once more with his blade.
Clang!
A metallic clash rang out as the Mist Anbu had somehow drawn a long sword from their back, meeting Qingming's attack.
Through the eye holes in the Anbu's mask, Qingming glimpsed golden irises. Yet within them, he saw no emotion, only a distant detachment, as if nothing in the world could affect this man.
That expression almost made Qingming think he was dealing with a member of the Root Organization—a ninja who had fully reduced himself to a tool for carrying out missions.
If this operative was truly Kisame Hoshigaki, that comparison wasn't far off. Kisame, after all, would do anything to complete his mission, making him not so different from the emotionless ninja of Root.
But while Root operatives required curse marks, brainwashing, and rigorous "self-annihilation" training to reach such a state, Kisame had done it through sheer force of will, suppressing his emotions until he, too, became a tool.
In terms of which method was superior, the answer was clear.
Crackle!
The friction created sparks as Qingming and the Hidden Mist operative both pressed their blades forward, locked in a stalemate.
Suddenly, Qingming's pupils narrowed as he activated Sharingan Illusion.
The Anbu operative immediately closed his eyes, withdrawing his sword, and pushed off the water's surface, rapidly retreating.
Qingming's blade swung forward, striking and shattering the Anbu's mask, revealing a face that resembled a shark.
Who else could it be but Kisame Hoshigaki?
"Kisame Hoshigaki?"
Qingming called out.
Hearing his name spoken by a stranger, Kisame froze—a natural reaction, but one that was deadly in the midst of a fight.
Seeing his opening, Qingming took a step forward, his blade flashing, aimed straight for Kisame's heart, gleaming with a deadly glint.
But Kisame, an elite jonin, reacted instantly. He realized he'd fallen into a trap the moment Qingming moved.
There was no time to block, so Kisame took a step back, raising his arm to let Qingming's blade strike flesh instead.
Thud!
The blade pierced Kisame's arm, wedging against bone.
A flicker of pain crossed Kisame's face before he quickly suppressed it. Leaping back, he put several meters between himself and Qingming.
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