Hokage Rock Arson Incident

"Bang bang! Bang!"

Smoke and dust filled the air over the ground. Amidst the rustling fallen leaves, a long leg swept out, striking a thick tree trunk with a sharp whistling sound. The lush, leafy tree swayed and slowly toppled.

Heavy dust rose from the ground once more.

"Swish swish swish!"

Several Kunai shot into the thick dust with piercing sounds, only to be swatted away by a pair of delicate hands.

"Useless!"

A gust of wind howled, and a slender figure burst from the smoke and dust, her target clearly fixed on the small figure crouching on a tree branch.

"Tsk!"

Qing Xuan let out an annoyed huff. Seeing the clear Byakugan charging at him, he flipped off the tree trunk and fled in disarray.

Byakugan is really useful!

He thought to himself, his single Tomoe eyes constantly scanning left and right, analyzing his surroundings.

The genius of the Hyuga branch family is terrifying. Her execution speed is too fast. No wonder she has Chunin potential at such a young age.

But it ends here!

His rapidly running legs suddenly stopped. Qing Xuan leaned to the side, dodging a soft blow swung from behind him, and pushed off the ground with one hand, tracing a beautiful arc.

A lock of long hair drifted past his eyes, carrying a faint, elegant scent of unknown flowers.

Just as the two passed each other, several blue Chakra Threads suddenly erupted. Like a rapidly expanding fish tail, they snapped shut, intending to envelop the girl before him.

"Chakra Threads?"

Hyuga Kikyo's heart tightened. During their previous exchange, Uchiha Qing Xuan had already demonstrated impressive throwing and taijutsu skills, but she hadn't expected him to have other tricks up his sleeve.

But don't think you're the only one with hidden cards!

The bulging veins in her Byakugan eyes suddenly narrowed. The girl's body froze mid-air before she struck the opening stance for Hyuga Eight Trigrams Palms.

Such control over oneself made even the two Jonin observing from the sidelines gasp in admiration.

Gentle Fist itself was an offensive style that gathered Chakra in the palms. Combined now with the near-unavoidable palm speed of Eight Trigrams Palms, if Qing Xuan had no counter, he would soon face a storm of attacks!

"It's over..."

Just then, Kakashi shook his head and sighed, then pulled down his forehead protector, covering his left eye which was rotating with three Tomoe.

His words were so certain that Asuma, who was watching, was taken aback.

It's over? Who lost? Why didn't I see it?

Can you stop doing that all of a sudden? It makes me feel so stupid...

As his words fell, the Chakra Threads tightened rapidly, binding Hyuga Kikyo, who was frozen in her opening stance mid-air, securely.

The expected Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms did not appear. In fact, a look of confusion crossed Hyuga Kikyo's face the moment she was bound. Her dazed expression made the usually cool young lady appear somewhat cute.

"You..."

Even after Qing Xuan used the Chakra Threads to place her back on the ground, the genius of the Hyuga branch family hadn't snapped back to reality.

In that moment, she had indeed been preparing to use Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Under a flurry of strikes, the Chakra Threads could have been severed instantly. She was confident she could land the remaining dozens of palms on Qing Xuan, decisively winning the match!

But, just as she was about to strike, her Chakra had suddenly been cut off at that instant!

"What exactly did you do?"

Hyuga Kikyo was bewildered. Throughout the entire fight, she hadn't given Qing Xuan any chance to touch her.

Qing Xuan smiled slightly and casually tossed out a small, light purple porcelain bottle.

"Ah!"

Shizune, who was watching from the side, suddenly exclaimed and hurriedly checked her Ninja Tool Pouch.

"I used Chakra Threads to secretly take her poison," Qing Xuan grinned, like a mischievous child who had successfully played a prank. He then slowly began to lecture, "You know, fully utilizing your opponent's teammates is one of the essential qualities of a ninja!"

Essential my foot! Ninjas don't have that kind of quality at all!

Kakashi scratched his messy hair, no longer wanting to comment.

Meanwhile, in Hyuga Kikyo's eyes, the disbelief and shock slowly gave way to calmness.

To think my defeat was due to my teammate?

If it were before, I would have been very unwilling!

But after going through a series of missions, I really agree with Qing Xuan's words. A ninja's battle knows no bounds. A straightforward, honorable confrontation is the most foolish approach. It not only endangers oneself but could also drag down the entire team!

"I lost," she said, calmly admitting her defeat in this battle.

Her frankness, however, made Shizune beside her feel uneasy.

She enjoyed medical ninjutsu and also liked tinkering with poisons, but today her poison had been used against her teammate. How could anyone not feel guilty?

"What a potent neurotoxin! You know, we of the Hyuga Clan are sensitive to Chakra flow, but I didn't detect it at all before."

A cool voice sounded by Shizune's ear. She didn't detect any blame in it, only genuine admiration.

This young lady knows how to play the game!

Qing Xuan watched the other person win people over, sighing inwardly. She appeared aloof and unapproachable, but in reality, she understood human relationships.

"What are you spacing out about now?"

A faint smell of second-hand smoke drifted over from beside him. Asuma's nonchalant figure appeared before Qing Xuan.

"The fight is over, we should find a place to practice the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques."

Qing Xuan ducked, trying to avoid his arm slinging over her shoulder, but Asuma's arm was too long, and she didn't manage to dodge.

I don't need you to teach me the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques? Anyone from the Uchiha Clan would be more dedicated than you, wouldn't they?

Despite Qing Xuan's disdainful gaze, Asuma wasn't annoyed at all. This roguish guy seemed to have plenty of tolerance for children.

He looked up at the sun, which was gradually growing hotter, and grinned. "Is it almost noon already? How about I treat you to a meal?"

Qing Xuan immediately became happy.

"I want to eat Ichiraku Ramen!"

Meanwhile, facing the direct stares of the two ladies, Kakashi showed no gentlemanly demeanor whatsoever.

This slacker seemed to not notice their gazes as he also looked at the sun in the sky. "Is it that late already? Then, dismissed! Don't forget to gather at the Anbu tomorrow!"

After saying that, he ran off directly.

This caused both girls to roll their eyes repeatedly.

And over with Qing Xuan, a situation suddenly arose. Just as Kakashi was making his escape, Asuma was also taken away.

The reason was deliberately setting fire to the Hokage Rock!

Good heavens!

Upon hearing this, Qing Xuan was completely dumbfounded. Only the Hokage's foolish son would dare to pull off such a hardcore way to skip out on a bill.

Kakashi was far inferior to Asuma in terms of methods!

It's just a meal, is it really necessary to go this far?