Realization

On the other side, Qi Shuang and the others moved in the direction where many Mist Ninja were gathered, led by Ao.

Although quite a few Konoha Ninja appeared to block them along the way, they were quickly dealt with by the combined efforts of the four, and their advance was not hindered in the slightest.

From this, Qi Shuang roughly understood that this new team he was on had a combat capability far exceeding the squad he had been in previously.

No wonder they were assigned to such high-intensity combat missions by their superiors.

Taking Ao, the squad leader, as an example, the Chakra aura emanating from him was clearly stronger than Kamiya Ki's, and he estimated that he was not far from becoming a Jonin.

As for the other teammates, Zabuza and Mei Terumi had graduated a year earlier than him. This meant they had been active on this battlefield for a year longer than him.

Especially Zabuza, known as the "Demon," who killed without even blinking, as if he were slaughtering chickens, with effortless ease and no emotional fluctuation.

Even Mei Terumi, who appeared delicate and graceful, performed throat-slitting actions with practiced skill, far beyond what he, a "rookie" who had only been on the front lines for a few months, could compare to.

The weakest member of the entire team was himself.

Although Qi Shuang had been forced to kill two people when he encountered Uchiha Tai's squad previously, he was, after all, a modern person educated in civilization and still not accustomed to this savage battlefield where human lives were treated as worthless.

He still found it difficult to accept killing and couldn't bring himself to do it.

Each time, he only severely wounded his opponents, leaving the finishing blow to the other three.

After helping with a few "finishing blows," the others seemed to have noticed something.

Zabuza continued to do as he pleased, paying him no mind.

Ao, however, frowned and kindly reminded him, "Kid, this is a battlefield. If you're not careful, the next person to die could be you!"

"You show them mercy, but they might not show you any!"

"If you don't want to die young, then put away that laughable bit of sympathy of yours!"

Qi Shuang nodded and said with a wry smile, "I know it's wrong, but I just can't harden my heart to kill them completely. I always feel a lingering sense of guilt!"

Hearing this, Ao glanced at him playfully, saying meaningfully, "Kid, the moment you officially became a ninja, you crossed the gates of hell!"

"Did you really think ninja was a profession of mercy?"

As he spoke, he pointed to the corpses lying haphazardly on the ground and said solemnly, "Stop thinking about guilt or no guilt! We are already steeped in sin!"

"Captain Ao is right, little brother!"

Beside him, Mei Terumi hooked her arm around Qi Shuang's neck and pulled him close, teasing, "Although none of these people were killed directly by you, you can't escape responsibility for each of their deaths!"

"Your hands are already stained with blood, so stop putting on that disgusting act of false piety!"

Hearing this, Qi Shuang's heart tightened.

He slowly raised his hands, only to see that bloodstains were still not dry between his fingers. It was as if every bloodstain contained wronged souls crying out and questioning his hypocrisy.

At this moment, the sounds of explosions, fighting, and crying around him seemed clearer than ever before.

In the once murky air, he seemed to smell a strange, increasingly strong aroma.

He knew it was the smell of blood he had been trying to avoid accepting, the smell of sin!

"Since my hands are already full of sin, then let me be unforgivable!" he said with a helpless, wry smile.

The path of a ninja was irreversible. If he didn't want to die, then others had to die.

As his thoughts shifted, his uneasy heart seemed to find a true belonging, his soul felt as if it had undergone a baptism, and he felt like he had truly integrated into this world.

He had become a true ninja!

"Very good, very good!"

Seeing the change in his new teammate's eyes, Ao nodded and said to the other two subordinates, "Later, if there's anyone left with just a breath of life, leave them for him to finish off!"

"Understood!"

Zabuza nodded without saying more.

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

Mei Terumi immediately patted her small chest excitedly, "It's rare to have such an interesting little brother, I'll definitely take good care of him!"

Then, as if she had found a new toy, she playfully called out to the young boy beside her again.

"Right, little brother Qi Shuang!"

Qi Shuang unhooked the small arm around his neck and gave the little girl standing close to him a glare, saying, "We were classmates, you're probably not even older than me?" "Little classmate Mei!"

He emphasized the word "little."

Mei Terumi hugged her small arms and pouted, "I don't care, I'm stronger than you, I graduated before you, I went to the battlefield before you, I'm your senior, and I should be your older sister!"

Hearing this, Zabuza beside him twitched his lips, his expression somewhat unpleasant, as if recalling an unhappy past.

Qi Shuang's face immediately fell, and he didn't dare to argue further.

Because he knew that if he continued to argue, he would get beaten.

Last night, he had already witnessed Zabuza getting beaten for arguing with Mei Terumi over a trivial matter.

He was no match for Mei Terumi anyway, and it would be a one-sided beating. He had no masochistic tendencies.

Therefore, he could only remain silent.

Ao, standing beside them, felt a headache coming on. He waved his hand, reminding them, "Stop arguing! There are more and more Konoha ninja around here! Everyone, stay alert!"

It seemed that because the Kirigakure ninja were gathering here, the Konoha ninja were also mostly moving this way to "meet the enemy."

The deeper they went, the more intense the fighting became. Explosions were everywhere, and occasionally a few kunai would fly from some direction, though it was impossible to tell if they were from enemies or allies.

Just as Qi Shuang and the others were about to charge into the core area of the battle, four Konoha ninja covered in blood suddenly darted out from the side, blocking their path.

Judging by their panting, they must have just come from a fierce fight.

"Kill these damned Kirigakure bastards!" The leader's eyes were completely white, and veins bulged at the corners of his eyes. He appeared to be a member of the Hyuga clan. He shouted, immediately charging forward.

Ao, who was at the front of the group, didn't hesitate at all. His fingers flew, and he quickly formed a hand seal.

"Water Release: Iron Cannonball!"

He took a deep breath, his chest puffing out, and then spat a water ball towards the four opposing ninja.

The water ball grew as it flew. In just a moment, it was the size of a washbasin, and in the blink of an eye, it was in front of the Konoha ninja.

"Scatter!"

The Hyuga clan member at the front shouted, and the other three immediately spread out.

With a loud boom, the azure, washbasin-sized water ball smashed into the open ground, leaving a crater about a meter in diameter.