Bang!
White smoke rose from the "Qi Shuang" struck by Uchiha Tai's blade, transforming into a Kunai that fell to the ground.
At the same time, a short figure suddenly appeared three meters away from where the Kunai landed.
"Substitution Technique?"
Seeing this, Uchiha Tai immediately understood why the blade had felt wrong when it struck just now.
"Not bad. You're fairly alert—worthy of praise!" The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, but his expression looked nothing like praise. It was more like mockery.
The Substitution Technique was an escape technique that placed a chakra mark on another carried item. When danger arose, the user could use the chakra mark to leave that item behind and shift themselves a short distance away.
Although it was very convenient, the chakra mark had to be constantly nourished in ordinary times and had a limited duration. Therefore, the other party could not use the Substitution Technique again in the short term.
"Brat, you'll be dead next time!" He gave Qi Shuang across from him a long look.
On the other side, seeing that his young subordinate had escaped disaster with the Substitution Technique, Kamiya Ki was overjoyed. He immediately patted his chest and said, "You scared me half to death, kid!"
Then he quickly retreated to Qi Shuang's side and assumed a defensive stance toward the two Konoha ninja.
"Teacher Ki, you only got a little startled. I nearly died for real!" Qi Shuang said, still shaken, as he looked at the calm enemy across from him.
Ever since he had recognized the other party's Uchiha identity, he had been on high alert.
Especially when the other party had drawn his blade. Although Qi Shuang had not clearly seen his movements, he had still activated the Substitution Technique by instinct and narrowly escaped disaster.
If he had been even slightly slower, he might truly have died beneath the other party's blade.
The speed difference between a Jonin and a Genin was terrifying!
"I'll create dense mist to obscure the entire area and do my best to hold back that Uchiha Tai. Be careful!" After warning his young subordinate, Kamiya Ki immediately formed a series of hand seals.
"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique."
As he injected chakra into the river water, thick white mist rose once more, resembling white cotton candy and enveloping everything within dozens of meters.
Only, this candy had no sweetness. Instead, it carried a hint of murderous intent.
"Annoying!"
Seeing the heavy mist rise and conceal the two Kirigakure ninja, Uchiha Tai could not help cursing under his breath.
If the most troublesome techniques of Kirigakure were ranked, Mist Technique would definitely take first place.
Although this ninjutsu had no direct destructive power, it could obscure one's vision.
Unless someone possessed specialized sensory abilities, everyone else in this dense mist was no different from a blind person, forced to constantly guard against sudden attacks.
Meanwhile, the caster could retreat to defend or advance to attack. It was extremely convenient.
With his strength, he was not afraid of an ambush from that Kirigakure ninja, but he had also lost the chance to attack proactively.
Because he could not see, he could only passively wait for his opponent to come to him.
Not only that, but once the dense mist spread, he also lost the possibility of eliminating the Kirigakure brat in a short time.
Without a doubt, this would drag them into a drawn-out battle.
It would not matter in other places. He had more than enough patience to toy with these two Kirigakure ninja, one big and one small. But they were already very close to Kirigakure's forward camp.
A battle between both sides would inevitably create considerable noise. As time passed, he could not guarantee that the Kirigakure forces would fail to discover the fighting here.
By then, not only might he fail to defeat them, but he might also find himself in danger.
Thinking of this, he immediately instructed his companion beside him, "End this quickly! Don't deliberately search for that caster. Find the brat and kill him first!"
"Then I refuse to believe that guy won't come out!"
"Yes!"
The Konoha ninja beside him nodded.
Uchiha Tai's voice was loud, and he made no effort to hide it from his opponents. Thus, Qi Shuang and Kamiya Ki heard every word from the other side of the dense mist.
Qi Shuang understood that this was an open strategy!
He was not the caster, so he could not use the dense mist to conceal all his presence. His situation within the mist was therefore the same as that of the two Konoha ninja.
As long as they found his trail and stuck to him, he would have no chance to escape.
At the same time, besides intimidating him, the purpose of their exchange was to force Kamiya Ki, the caster, to reveal himself.
If Kamiya Ki continued silently guarding the side like a sword hanging over their heads, they would instead be unable to rest easy.
But if they could force him out, they would feel much more at ease.
Helplessly, Kamiya Ki secretly sent a message to Qi Shuang. "I'll do my best to hold back that Uchiha. As for the other one, you'll have to fend for yourself!"
"Whatever you do, don't die before I do!"
"Remember to make the battle as noisy as possible. If we can attract Kirigakure reinforcements, the two of us might survive!"
After saying this, he once again disappeared into the dense mist and launched a probing attack at Uchiha Tai.
It was not that he enjoyed picking a hard fight. It was simply that both opponents were at least at Chunin level, and with his abilities, he could only hold back one of them.
If he chose the Konoha Chunin and left Qi Shuang to face the Konoha Jonin, Qi Shuang probably would not last more than a few exchanges.
In the end, once Qi Shuang died, Kamiya Ki would face two enemies alone, making his chances of survival even slimmer.
Therefore, he could only choose Uchiha Tai as his opponent.
Presumably, this was also within the other party's expectations.
At present, their only advantage was the dense mist separating them. It could split the two Konoha ninja apart and also separate them from the Konoha forces, minimizing the danger.
The rest was a game of hide-and-seek in the dense mist: delay for time and wait for reinforcements.
Clang!
Kamiya Ki quietly circled behind Uchiha Tai and launched an attack.
Unfortunately, it was easily blocked by the other party.
Especially after seeing those red eyes, he dared not linger. He retreated immediately after striking, afraid that he would fall victim to the Sharingan's Genjutsu and become a dish delivered straight to the table.
After blocking his opponent's sneak attack, Uchiha Tai instructed his companion beside him, "That guy is here!"
"You go deal with the Kirigakure brat. He isn't the caster, so finding him should be easier than finding this one!"
"I don't want that brat to still be alive after I finish off this guy!"
Hearing the displeasure in Uchiha Tai's tone, his companion immediately nodded and replied, "I definitely won't disappoint you!"
With that, he plunged into the dense mist and disappeared.
Kamiya Ki did not try to stop him. The two sides seemed to tacitly choose their own opponents.
After his companion's footsteps faded into the distance, Uchiha Tai called loudly into the surrounding mist, "The last Kirigakure ninja who used the Mist Technique in front of me was caught off guard and killed with one strike after only ten moves!"
"I'm curious—how many moves can you last beneath these eyes of mine?"
Facing the taunt, Kamiya Ki remained unmoved. He continued focusing on capturing every movement of his opponent, waiting for a chance to strike.
Although he knew the Sharingan's reputation was formidable, he still had no choice but to face such a dangerous opponent.
Now, he could only hope that the explosion from earlier had attracted the attention of those on the other side of the hill and that Kirigakure would soon send someone to investigate.
Before you continue