After defeating an enemy, he looked around at the thousands of people and rushed toward an sunagaure-nin who was not proficient in taijutsu.
For those who are proficient in [Strange Force Fist], it is most convenient to deal with rookies in taijutsu, because they only need to land a single punch to instantly defeat the opponent.
He blasted out with a punch, but before the punch hit, Chao Yanqian suddenly discovered something his target looked exactly like Hoshinohara.
Illusion!
Although everything appeared very real, Chao Yanqian immediately judged that he had fallen into an sunagaure-nin's genjutsu. Because Hoshinohara had been sent to the front lines against sunagaure, it was absolutely impossible for him to appear here.
Now that he realized he had been caught in a genjutsu, Chao Yanqian didn't hesitate. He directly punched "Hoshinohara" in the face, smashing half of the illusion's face.
At that moment, a surge of chakra suddenly entered Chao Yanqian's body, and he instantly felt clarity. As the illusion dissipated, "Hoshinohara" reverted back into the sunagaure-nin already dead beyond saving.
In large-scale battles, the most dangerous enemy is often the genjutsu specialist. Although a genjutsu user's direct attack power is weak, by cooperating with others, they can interfere with opponents with simple illusions, allowing their comrades to seize the chance to kill.
Chao Yanqian was not proficient in genjutsu. If he had encountered a master illusionist, it would have been impossible to break free so quickly. Therefore, the best way to counter this tactic is to have one or two comrades nearby, so that even if one falls into a genjutsu, teammates can immediately help release them.
The reason why ninjas value their comrades so highly is because a trustworthy companion can often save your life at a critical moment.
Not only Konoha except for sunagaure, once known as the "Bloody Mist" other hidden villages also promote trusting companions. Trust builds a ninja's sense of belonging to their village, and in battle, it enables perfect cooperation.
"Thanks!" Chao Yanqian thanked the Konoha ninja who had helped dispel the illusion, and then scanned the battlefield for the genjutsu user.
"Chao Yanqian, why are you here?" the Konoha ninja asked in surprise, clearly recognizing Chao Yanqian.
"Tsunade-sensei has already arrived. Even if I stay in the rear treating the wounded, I can't save many. On the contrary, killing a few more sunagaure-nin on the battlefield will reduce Konoha's casualties," said Chao Yanqian.
"A medical ninja with such strong combat abilities... besides Tsunade-sama, it seems only you fit that description!" the Konoha ninja said excitedly.
"Enough talk. Let's kill the genjutsu user first," Chao Yanqian said, rushing toward the illusionist.
He took out a special kunai, burst forward using chakra at his feet, and stabbed kunai piercing through the illusionist ninja's throat.
At that moment, Chao Yanqian suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet soften, as if he were stepping into mud, making it difficult to move.
Chao Yanqian recognized this jutsu: [Antlion Jutsu], a powerful Earth Release technique. It was a highly effective control jutsu capable of trapping and suffocating opponents by pulling them into the ground, simulating hell itself.
At the same time, another sunagaure-nin began weaving hand seals.
[Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet]
Faced with the coordinated ninjutsu of two sunagaure-nin, the old Chao Yanqian would have had no choice but to await death or hope for rescue.
When multiple ninjas combine their jutsu, the results can be devastating. Countless historical records show that even many powerful shinobi have fallen to coordinated attacks.
But now, this kind of ninjutsu was no longer fatal to Chao Yanqian.
"Whoosh!"
He flung his special kunai behind the genjutsu user and instantly activated [Flying Thunder God Technique], teleporting to the kunai's location and delivering a punch to the back of the illusionist ninja.
"It's space-time ninjutsu!"
"This kid... he's learned the Flying Thunder God Technique too!"
News about Bo Feng Shuimen mastering space-time ninjutsu had already spread across the ninja world. However, very few people only the high command of sunagaure and their support forces knew that Chao Yanqian could also use [Flying Thunder God Technique].
This highlights the importance of intelligence. If the enemy had known from the start that Chao Yanqian could use Flying Thunder God, they would have launched preemptive strikes at any special kunai thrown.
Chao Yanqian's mastery of [Flying Thunder God] was still far inferior to Bo Feng Shuimen. He could not teleport continuously like Bo Feng Shuimen, nor did he have Bo Feng Shuimen's god-like reaction speed. If the enemy obtained this intel, it would be hard for Chao Yanqian to continue using it effectively in battle.
However, with more and more battles, enemy villages would inevitably gather this intelligence and adjust their strategies accordingly.
Such is the nature of ninja warfare. Once your abilities are exposed, you become a target. But ninjas constantly grow, and every elite has hidden cards they keep until the most critical moments.
Why were other villages wary of Hiruzen Sarutobi, despite him lacking a bloodline limit?
Because the Third Hokage was a master of all five basic chakra natures and had mastered all of Konoha's existing ninjutsu outside bloodline techniques. Even knowing all of Hiruzen's abilities didn't make him any easier to defeat.
Sometimes, even when you understand your opponent's strength, you still can't beat them.
Just like now facing a group of sunagaure-nin of chūnin and genin level, Chao Yanqian, cooperating with a few Konoha ninjas, easily cut them down. The kunai blade flashed brilliantly under the sunlight.
Boom!
Suddenly, the ground trembled. Two massive hemispheres rose from beneath the earth, forcing Gamabunta back to the summoning world.
This was the ultimate Earth Release secret technique of Kitsuchi: [Mountain Jutsu]. In the original story, Kitsuchi used it to temporarily block the advance of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Knowing that his chakra nature was earth release, Chao Yanqian had long coveted the secret Earth Release techniques of sunagaure.
He once considered training a spy to infiltrate sunagaure and steal their secret techniques. But this plan was quickly abandoned cultivating someone like Kabuto Yakushi wasn't easy, and Chao Yanqian lacked the means to raise such a spy.
Later, they thought about using Uchiha abilities to infiltrate, but they didn't manage to obtain Obito's eyes.
With his current strength, Chao Yanqian could potentially awaken a second chakra nature through training. However, his chosen path was combining Sage Mode with various ninjutsu, and energy was limited. Thus, he had to give up training other chakra types for now.
Although he didn't obtain Obito's eyes, there was still another opportunity to capture Earth Release secrets from sunagaure it would just take a few years.
No matter how long it takes, Chao Yanqian could wait.
From being a powerless cannon fodder to earning the respect of Konoha ninjas, the one thing Chao Yanqian had in abundance was patience.