Clang!
A crisp sound of metal clashing resounded.
The long blade and kunai collided, sparking fiercely.
As the two locked weapons, several shurikens from other Mist Ninjas flew in from behind and from the side, aiming for Qingming.
Sensing the danger, Qingming immediately broke away, dodging out of the shurikens' trajectory.
However, the Mist Ninjas were relentless; seeing him dodge, they threw more shurikens.
Wait, not only shurikens—there were kunai among them.
As Qingming's Sharingan rapidly analyzed, he noticed several explosive tags attached to some of the kunai.
Without hesitation, he instantly locked onto these kunai, flipping his hand, and in a flash, matching kunai appeared between his fingers.
The next second, he threw these kunai, perfectly intercepting and deflecting the ones with explosive tags.
As for the shurikens, Qingming dodged them as he threw his kunai.
Boom, boom, boom!
The kunai with explosive tags landed on the sea surface, causing a series of explosions, the brilliant fire flashing as vast amounts of seawater were thrown up, cascading down like heavy rain all around.
Qingming's three-tomoe Sharingan scanned the area, locking onto the Mist Ninjas who had attacked him through the rain.
In a flash, he used Instant Sword Technique and appeared before one of the closest, who happened to be only a chunin.
Judging by the slightly youthful face, it was clear this Mist Ninja was likely a talented prodigy within the Village Hidden in the Mist.
Perhaps it was precisely because of his talent that he dared to join the assault on him.
But Qingming had faced many such "talents" before.
With these thoughts flashing briefly in his mind, Qingming slashed out with his sword, subtly preparing to use Illusion Sword Technique as he launched the attack. The moment the Mist Ninja reacted, Qingming activated the technique.
Mizuki Kojima felt his vision blur as if the angle of Qingming's swing had changed. He was just about to adjust his defense accordingly when he suddenly remembered the companions Qingming had killed before. A glimmer of realization struck him.
He resisted the urge to change his defense.
Qingming's eyes narrowed, impressed: "Interesting."
The next instant, the sword and kunai clashed with a crisp clang of metal.
Feeling the terrifying force behind the kunai, Mizuki Kojima was forced back, but his eyes shone brightly.
At this moment, he felt as if he had seen through Qingming's tactics, feeling a surge of exhilaration.
Qingming, keenly aware of Mizuki's mental state through his strong perceptive abilities, was puzzled: "Was it really just blocking one attack? Why so excited?"
What Qingming didn't know was that Mizuki mistakenly thought he'd seen through Qingming's Illusion Sword Technique. If Qingming had known, he likely would've scoffed.
If Illusion Sword Technique were so easily seen through, the high-ranking Mist Ninjas wouldn't struggle against him so helplessly.
Perhaps, this is simply what one could call "the frog in the well."
Compared to average people, Mizuki might be talented, but he was far from being a true prodigy among the real elites of the ninja world.
Perhaps only after experiencing a crushing defeat would he truly wake up and strive to improve... or give up.
And now, Qingming thought, this was an excellent opportunity.
But he wasn't interested in teaching Mizuki a lesson.
Just as Mizuki blocked the blade, Qingming's left hand shot forward, a dense blue chakra ball forming in his palm.
Then, he thrust it toward Mizuki.
Overwhelmed by a feeling of extreme danger, Mizuki didn't even have time to react before the Rasengan slammed into his abdomen.
Splurt!
A mouthful of blood spewed from Mizuki's mouth as he staggered back several steps, temporarily putting distance between himself and Qingming.
But this was not a reprieve. In the next moment, Qingming's sword glinted with cold light as it slashed again, this time aiming for Mizuki's neck.
Sensing the danger, Mizuki tried to evade, but it was too late. "No—"
His voice was abruptly cut off.
Qingming withdrew his blade, flicking off the blood without sparing Mizuki another glance.
But while Qingming remained indifferent, others did not.
Seeing the critically injured Mizuki, a middle-aged Mist Ninja who had just thrown a kunai at Qingming lost control, shouting, "Mizuki?!"
The grief in his voice was palpable, chilling to hear.
Clearly, there was a deep connection between the two.
Yet, none of this mattered to Qingming.
With a single glance at the grieving Mist Ninja, Qingming seized the moment of distraction, activating Genjutsu: Sharingan to control him.
A kunai instantly shot through the air, piercing the man's throat.
Splash!
The middle-aged Mist Ninja collapsed, clutching his neck, and fell into the sea.
Everything had happened so fast that, until both were dead, the other Mist Ninjas who had been preparing to attack only just realized what had happened.
They exchanged glances and attacked together.
Compared to before, they had now drawn slightly closer, clearly wary of Qingming's rapid assaults.
Despite their caution, however, even together they could not gain any advantage over him.
In their combined assault, Qingming's movements appeared effortless.
In just a short time, two more fell by his hand.
Finally, the Mist Ninjas could hold out no longer.
"Retreat!"
Someone yelled the order, and immediately, all remaining Mist Ninjas began to fall back toward their distant ships.
Qingming watched them flee, ignoring the others as he targeted a straggler among them.
At first, a few Mist Ninjas attempted to help, but when Qingming killed yet another, they no longer looked back.
The Mist Ninja left behind looked at his retreating allies, despair filling his eyes.
He wanted to fight back, but Qingming didn't give him a chance.
After a dozen moves, Qingming found an opening, using Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique to bind him.
In a flash, Qingming's body blurred with Instant Body Technique, appearing behind the Mist Ninja before delivering a sharp blow to his neck.
The Mist Ninja rolled his eyes back and collapsed into unconsciousness.
Qingming caught hold of him by the collar to prevent him from falling into the sea.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Uchiha Tetsuka and the others gathered around him.
Qingming glanced at them, noting with approval that only two had been lost.
Though the Mist Ninjas were not as formidable as those intercepted by his shadow clone, they were still strong.
To have sustained so few losses over such an extended fight was commendable.
Glancing at the unconscious Mist Ninja in Qingming's hand, Uchiha Tetsuka asked, "Captain, what should we do next?"
Hearing this, Qingming looked out at the four Mist Ninja ships on the horizon and replied in a firm voice, "We'll return first, then decide our next move."
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