Slash!
The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed in the air.
Qing Ming's blade struck true, stabbing straight into the back of a Mist Hidden jonin.
The man froze briefly as he felt life ebbing away from him. Then, without hesitation, he mustered his last bit of strength, pulling an explosive tag from his pocket and activating it instantly.
Ahead, the Leaf jonin who had been restraining the enemy saw this and quickly leaped back, shouting a warning to Qing Ming:
"Careful! He's got an explosive tag!"
Hearing this, Qing Ming wasted no time. With a light step off the ground, he withdrew his blade and retreated a fair distance away.
In the next instant, a deafening explosion rang out.
Scarlet flames erupted, engulfing the Mist Hidden jonin entirely before spreading outward. However, as it was just one explosive tag, its reach was limited, failing to harm either Qing Ming or the other Leaf jonin.
Both men instinctively shielded their faces with their hands, blocking the incoming shockwave. Once the chaos subsided, they exchanged a brief look of understanding before each sprinted off in separate directions.
By now, more than twenty minutes had passed since Qing Ming had freed himself to fight unrestrained. During this time, he had assisted the other Leaf jonin in killing three Mist Hidden jonin.
This drastically shifted the battle in favor of the Leaf side.
The reason was simple.
Each time Qing Ming eliminated an enemy, it effectively freed up an equally skilled ally.
These freed-up jonin would then join other battles, ensuring that their comrades would not fall behind or be overwhelmed by their adversaries.
Meanwhile, the remaining Mist Hidden jonin found it increasingly difficult to extricate themselves from their fights.
This provided Qing Ming with the opportunity to continue his deadly work, systematically targeting other Mist Hidden jonin.
It was a snowball effect, with the momentum heavily favoring the Leaf side.
With Qing Ming killing more high-ranking enemies, the Mist Hidden forces began to falter at an accelerating pace.
Eventually, there would come a point where even without Qing Ming's direct intervention, the remaining Leaf jonin could band together to defeat the Mist Hidden jonin.
At that moment, the Mist Hidden forces would undoubtedly collapse entirely.
Once this happened, whether Qing Ming decided to shift his focus to the lower-ranked Mist Hidden ninjas or continue to hunt down their jonin, the remaining Mist Hidden troops would face overwhelming odds.
Neither Qing Ming, a superior jonin, nor the other Leaf jonin could be countered by the Mist Hidden's lower-tier forces.
Thus, total collapse was inevitable.
And that point was now drawing near.
Despite the Mist Hidden's formidable display, their decision to split into two separate units weakened each group significantly.
In this current battle, while the Mist Hidden forces had plenty of mid- and low-ranking ninjas, their jonin count was notably lacking compared to two days ago.
The three powerful ninja from the Yuki Clan, for instance, had gone with Oe Yuki to assault the Black Stone outpost from the sea.
This left the current contingent of Mist Hidden jonin weaker in both number and quality.
In contrast, Sano Nobuhisa had brought nearly every jonin from the Black Stone outpost to this battle, ensuring a favorable high-level power balance for the Leaf side.
The difference became more apparent as Qing Ming systematically killed five Mist Hidden jonin and gravely injured another.
Now, it was only a matter of identifying which jonin's defeat would be the final straw to break the Mist Hidden forces' resolve.
With that in mind, Qing Ming surveyed the battlefield, his gaze locking onto a particular Mist Hidden jonin.
This ninja was a grotesque sight, with pale white bone spikes protruding all over his body. In his hands, he wielded a bone sword, using an almost dance-like taijutsu style to relentlessly attack Uchiha Shisui.
That's right—it was Uchiha Shisui.
Shisui had been called to join this ambush operation as well.
The Mist ninja attacking him was easily identifiable.
Although Qing Ming didn't know his specific identity, the iconic Shikotsumyaku ability made it clear that he belonged to the Kaguya Clan.
The techniques he displayed were none other than the Kaguya Clan's six dance secrets: the Dance of the Willow and the Dance of the Camellia.
His nimble movements and extraordinary attack speed were a testament to the excellence of these techniques.
However, Qing Ming had faced even more formidable members of the Kaguya Clan before and had killed two of them. As such, he didn't find this ninja particularly intimidating.
Determined, Qing Ming positioned himself on the battlefield's edge. Spotting an opening, he joined the fray.
Shisui, already nearly on par with the Kaguya jonin, found his burden greatly alleviated with Qing Ming's assistance.
Kaguya Kotaro, the Mist jonin, immediately felt the pressure. He could barely manage against one pair of Sharingan—facing two was far beyond his capabilities.
Ironically, the Kaguya Clan, long accustomed to being targeted by Uchiha ninjas wary of their Sharingan's abilities, now found the tables turned.
For once, they were the ones being overwhelmed.
Without hesitation, Qing Ming slashed his blade toward Kaguya Kotaro's back.
The sharp aura of wind chakra enveloped the blade, radiating a lethal intent that Kaguya Kotaro could feel even without seeing it.
Yet Qing Ming's timing was impeccable. Kotaro had no chance to block and could only attempt to dodge.
But this retreat came at a cost—it left him entirely on the defensive.
With his Sharingan, Shisui would undoubtedly seize this opportunity to press the advantage.
From there, Qing Ming and Shisui could finish him off within minutes.
Perhaps realizing the dire situation, Kaguya Kotaro's inherent Kaguya Clan instincts—their bloodthirsty madness—were triggered.
Instead of dodging, he chose to take a slash from Shisui's blade in exchange for activating another secret technique of the Kaguya Clan—the Dance of the Larch!
Suddenly, Kotaro began spinning rapidly like a deadly top. His protruding bone spikes transformed into lethal weapons, aiming to shred both Qing Ming and Shisui.
Even Shisui, with his three-tomoe Sharingan, struggled to track Kotaro's movements and was forced to dodge.
Qing Ming, while capable of following the movements with his Mangekyo Sharingan, refrained from activating it, opting to evade instead.
But Kotaro seemed determined not to let them escape. As soon as they dodged, he pursued them relentlessly, still spinning like a deadly buzzsaw.
Faced with this relentless assault, both Qing Ming and Shisui found themselves momentarily on the defensive.
Yet neither man showed any sign of concern.
The reason was simple—they knew Kotaro's burst of power had its limits.
Once this surge of energy was exhausted, their opportunity would come.
And when it did, the outcome of this battle would be entirely in their hands.
Thus, both calmly bided their time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
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