As the sun rose and set, a week passed in the blink of an eye.
One evening, on the western side of Youjin Port, in the midst of a battlefield, Qingming faced the siege of three Mist Ninja Jonin. Holding his long sword, blue light occasionally flickered from his body, and he moved at high speed.
He walked effortlessly between the three of them, almost like a leisurely stroll.
In fact, it was exactly like that.
As his body underwent another transformation, his neural reflexes had been enhanced once again. Combined with the powerful insight granted by his three-tomoe Sharingan, these three enemies, even though they were true Jonin, were no longer a threat to him.
Simply using his 'Instant Sword Technique' was enough for Qingming to deal with them.
As for why he was here facing these three, it was simple—he had been called up.
Just as he had predicted, Nara Keiko didn't give them much rest. Nearly the day after he developed 'Shadow Sword Technique,' personnel from the base began to be pulled out one after another. Qingming was among the first batch of people selected, and the battlefield he was sent to was Youjin Port, where the fighting was the most intense.
Youjin Port had become the key stronghold for Mist Ninja's invasion of the Fire Country. Although two months ago, it was overwhelmed by Qingming and other Konoha Ninjas, forcing the Mist Ninjas to retreat into the port, the situation had since shifted. The Mist Ninja had half-heartedly abandoned their other occupied areas and concentrated their forces on four breakthrough points, turning Youjin Port into their largest base in the Fire Country.
Thus, the battle here was fierce, and that's why Qingming and other elite Ninjas had been sent here.
For the past five days, Qingming had been fighting Mist Ninjas at the port.
As a well-known Ninja, he was treated specially by the Mist Ninjas. Whenever he appeared, at least three or four Jonin would be sent to encircle him.
Since the situation at the port was well understood by Konoha's command center, and there were also reconnaissance personnel in their ranks, Nara Keiko didn't assign him a reconnaissance task. Instead, he fully utilized Qingming's combat strength to tie up several of the Mist's Jonin.
Qingming, too, was happy with this arrangement, as he was looking for opponents to help him perfect his 'Shadow Sword Technique.'
Since then, he had clashed with the Mist Jonin, using their attacks to refine his technique, and at the same time, experimenting with its combinations with the 'Instant Sword Technique' and 'Illusion Sword Technique.'
Just like now…
He dodged an attack from one of the Mist Jonin and immediately used his 'Instant Sword Technique' to quickly close the distance to another one.
In the next moment, he gripped his sword with both hands and swung it out.
Upon seeing this, the Mist Jonin's expression changed.
In his line of sight, Qingming's long sword split into three, each heading in a different direction, aiming for his neck, chest, and shoulder.
If this had happened five days ago, the Mist Jonin would have thought this was an illusion, with only one strike being real.
At that time, Qingming had only practiced this technique for two days and didn't have a real opponent to train with, so its level was still low. When used, one could easily tell it was different from the 'Illusion Sword Technique.'
But now, after a week of practice, Qingming had already merged the two techniques to some extent. A regular person would be unable to distinguish whether the sword strikes were real or not.
At least, the Mist Jonin before him couldn't tell the difference.
Thus, he didn't dare to casually block and was forced to retreat.
Seeing this, Qingming didn't pursue.
The reason was simple—another Mist Jonin's attack was already incoming.
He saw a kunai coming toward him from his right through his peripheral vision, and Qingming slightly leaned back, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Before the enemy could continue their assault, he turned to face them.
In an instant, his blood-red Sharingan filled the Mist Jonin's vision, emitting subtle mental fluctuations.
"Genjutsu?!"
The Mist Jonin's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly closed his eyes, retreating once again.
Qingming didn't hesitate at all and immediately activated 'Instant Sword Technique' to follow.
Crack!
The Mist Jonin suddenly stopped, stamping his foot and brandishing his kunai, aiming for Qingming's carotid artery.
It was clear that if this strike landed, Qingming, even with his strength, would not survive.
However, Qingming remained unfazed.
His pupils contracted slightly, and the heightened insight from his three-tomoe Sharingan made the Jonin's every move seem slow to him, presenting no threat whatsoever.
Qingming leaned his body slightly, avoiding the attack while simultaneously shifting his foot to reach the Mist Jonin's side.
In the next moment, 'Shadow Sword Technique' was unleashed.
Swish~ Swish~ Swish~
Three sword strikes flashed through the air, just like before, slashing from three different directions at the Mist Jonin.
The Mist Jonin, sensing the danger, quickly swung his kunai to block two of the attacks. As for the third...
Clang!
The sharp sound of metal colliding rang out.
The Mist Jonin who had attacked earlier quickly moved to intercept, using his kunai to block Qingming's third strike.
At the same time, the Jonin who had been forced to retreat earlier seized the opportunity and threw several shuriken, targeting Qingming's vital points.
Noticing the incoming shuriken, Qingming didn't have time to block them, so he could only dodge.
Taking advantage of the opening, the three Mist Jonin once again split up and encircled Qingming, resuming their siege.
Thus, the battle entered another cycle.
What had just transpired seemed to have never happened as Qingming and the three continued their engagement.
The Mist Jonin were highly coordinated. Even though Qingming was holding them off for now, the outcome would be the same as before—he would be able to suppress them for a while, but eventually, they would break free without taking too much damage.
Of course, this was because Qingming wasn't going all out.
He had no intention of doing so.
Since he wanted to use his opponents to refine and explore the various applications of the 'Shadow Sword Technique,' he naturally couldn't just finish them off in one blow.
That would not only bring him more trouble but also be meaningless.
Thus, this stalemate suited him just fine.
After all, Qingming wasn't in a hurry to end this engagement.
However, just because he wasn't in a hurry didn't mean the Mist Ninjas weren't.
It was difficult for the Mist Command to accept that Qingming had been tying down several of their Jonin for so long.
Though these Jonin appeared ineffective against Qingming, that was because Qingming was strong enough to suppress them, preventing them from fully utilizing their abilities.
In other battlefields, these Jonin could influence the balance of a small area.
As Konoha's support units grew stronger, the Mist was under increasing pressure, and high-level combat forces had become scarce.
Now, the Mist Command could hardly afford to have these Jonin tied up by a single opponent like Qingming.
Faced with this situation, the Mist Command decided to take decisive action to neutralize the threat Qingming posed.
However, neutralizing him wasn't as simple as it seemed.
Qingming wasn't a fool and wouldn't just let them surround him without resistance. He also possessed flight ninjutsu, so if they gave him the chance, he could easily escape.
Thus, the Mist Command had to plan carefully.
After careful consideration, they decided to exploit a time gap.
As Qingming and the three Mist Jonin clashed, battles in other areas began to cease earlier than usual.
To avoid detection, they didn't halt for too long.
To deceive Qingming, the battles closer to his area continued to rage as they always had.
Taking advantage of this, the Mist Jonin who had stopped fighting moved swiftly to regroup. They split into several teams and advanced stealthily toward Qingming's location.
The Mist Command's plan, although simple, was effective.
If they managed to complete their setup, it would be troublesome for Qingming.
But Qingming's sharp perception quickly noticed something was amiss.
For example, the three Jonin in front of him seemed to be deliberately stalling for time.
Realizing this, he didn't hesitate and immediately activated the 'Guardian Seal' on his forehead and opened his Byakugan.
Instantly, everything within a kilometer radius came into view.
Thus, the Mist Ninja's plan was exposed to Qingming.
There was no way he could miss it—those massive chakra signatures coming from all directions were too obvious.
After only a brief moment of thought, Qingming immediately understood the Mist's intentions.
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