Withering

Having figured everything out, the injured Konoha shinobi quickly steadied himself. While remaining on guard, he taunted without restraint, "What a heartless captain! You're actually using your subordinate's life as bait to get a chance to kill me alone!"

"Could it be that you're so confident you can finish me off before that brat dies? Or is it that you never cared about..."

Before he could finish, another Kunai suddenly stabbed out from the side. He reacted swiftly and blocked the sneak attack.

Kamiya Ki once again returned empty-handed.

"Lost your temper?"

The injured man laughed recklessly and continued, "You never cared whether he lived or died, did you?"

Although the laughter was grating, Kamiya Ki, hidden in the mist, still did not answer. He continued searching intently for his next opportunity to strike.

The situation was clear. Whether it was him or the other Konoha shinobi rushing toward Qi Shuang, whoever killed their opponent first could turn back and save their companion.

Their contest was simply a race to see who could kill faster!

Meanwhile, enduring the agony of the ice needles piercing his body, the Konoha shinobi had already charged to the caster's side.

Looking at the terrified child before him, he raised his short blade with a mocking expression and said, "Brat, your technique is far too weak! Otherwise, there's no way I could have approached you so easily!"

"And there's one more thing. Didn't your teacher tell you that using ninjutsu recklessly in this heavy mist will expose your position?"

Before he finished speaking, he swiftly brought his blade down.

The blade fell from the top of his opponent's head without resistance, cleanly cleaving him in two.

"Huh?"

Seeing this scene, he froze.

He had never imagined that he possessed such strength that he could split a person in half with an ordinary ninja blade.

Immediately afterward, under his astonished gaze, the two halves of the body instantly transformed into two streams of clear water and flowed backward along his blade.

"Water Clone?"

He cried out in surprise, immediately understanding what had happened.

"Do you really think that, as a Mist shinobi, I don't know that using ninjutsu in this heavy mist will expose my whereabouts?"

At that moment, a childish voice of mockery came from above. He felt something falling from the sky.

At the same time, the two streams of clear water flowing backward along the blade released a burst of chakra.

"Ice Release: Ice Binding Technique."

Feeling a chill spreading from the blade, he looked down. The two streams of water had condensed into two icy ropes. One end sank into the water, its tip invisible, while the other climbed along the blade and coiled toward his arms.

Clearly, his opponent had used the clear water left behind by the Water Clone to perform a second technique.

In the blink of an eye, the frost ropes bound both of his hands around the hilt.

Sensing that he was in danger of defeat, he struggled with all his might and shouted, "You've got to be kidding! How could I possibly lose to a brat like you?"

The seemingly unbreakable frost ropes were immediately snapped by his struggle. One of his arms was freed.

At that instant, the object falling through the heavy mist above finally revealed its true form.

It was a person—a child.

Clearly, his opponent had chosen the moment when he was bound by the ice ropes and was using the heavy mist as cover to launch a surprise attack from above.

Unfortunately, although his opponent's plan was meticulous, he had overestimated the strength of his technique.

The two ice ropes were simply not enough to restrain him completely!

"Brat, you've underestimated me—and overestimated yourself!"

With no time to draw his Kunai, he clenched the freed left hand into a fist and punched upward at the child stabbing down with a Kunai.

"Haha... haha... hahahaha..."

"Brat, your arms are too short! Haha!"

Below, the Konoha shinobi laughed wildly. His fist struck its target before the opponent's Kunai could.

Because the boy's arm was shorter, he was hit by the fist first.

Before he had time to enjoy his triumph, the figure atop his fist shattered with a splash, breaking into a pool of clear water that poured over his face and completely extinguished his joy.

"Another Water Clone?" His smile froze on his face.

Not only that, he also noticed something unusual. The Kunai the opponent had held moments ago had not dissolved into water along with the clone. It remained intact and radiated an extremely dangerous aura.

Only when the Kunai fell before his eyes did he see that an Explosive Tag was wrapped around its handle.

He wanted to escape, but his other hand was still bound by the ice rope. He had no idea where the other end was fastened, and he could not move at all.

The explosive Kunai was already before him. Even if he could break free, it was too late.

Boom!

The Explosive Tag detonated completely!

Crimson flames appeared before his eyes. The deafening blast filled his ears, and a tremendous shockwave slammed into his body.

The ice rope around his hand shattered instantly. It could no longer hold his body back, and he was sent flying by the force of the explosion.

At that moment, a small figure burst from the water and rapidly charged toward his airborne body.

Immediately afterward, he suddenly felt a chill at his back. A cold presence filled his chest, completely masking the searing pain caused by the explosion.

Someone had braced himself firmly against his back at this critical moment!

Using his body as cover, that person had hidden behind him and avoided the direct force of the explosion.

However, the blast's impact was not to be underestimated. Neither of them could keep their footing, and both were shoved sideways by the shockwave.

The aftermath of the explosion soon subsided. The turbulent mist also returned to calm, and it had not been dispersed by the force of the Explosive Tag.

The Mist Technique had once again proven its formidable power in practice.

This was not mist that could be dispersed casually!

"Cough, cough, cough!"

A pained cough rang out.

Within the dense mist, one large and one small figure stood on the surface of the water.

The larger one was the Konoha shinobi; the smaller one was Qi Shuang.

Qi Shuang gripped a Kunai with both hands, driving it firmly into the Konoha shinobi's back. More than half the handle had even sunk in.

Bright red blood flowed along the Kunai, staining the man's clothes and Qi Shuang's arms red.

After a brief silence, the Konoha shinobi asked weakly, "You knew from the start that the second clone couldn't take me down?"

Qi Shuang replied coldly, "I never underestimated you, and I never overestimated myself!"

"That's why I never expected that Ice Release to restrain you completely. Nor did I expect the second clone to successfully catch you off guard and kill you!"

"All of that was to let that Explosive Tag achieve its maximum effect and pave the way for my final strike!"

With that, he expressionlessly released both hands and stepped aside. The Konoha shinobi immediately collapsed, kneeling on the surface of the water.

Fresh blood streamed into the river. A huge red flower of blood bloomed across the water, and the man was like its stamen. Even the thick mist could not prevent it from blossoming.

Unfortunately, it was about to wither.