You Explode, I Explode Too

"He's so young, yet he's already strong enough to take down that Sumoshi brat—and he doesn't even look like he broke a sweat. Konoha's geniuses really are something else."

"But, unfortunately, this is where your luck runs out!"

The Explosion Release ninja Gari sneered.

There was no shame in this kid losing to him.

Who's got time for your nonsense?

Qingye didn't bother replying. Lightning crackled along the Tachi in his hand as he charged forward and swung.

It was still Uchiha Style: Lightning Sword.

"That's the Sharingan?!"

Gari was about to strike back when he caught a glimpse of the crimson glow in Qingye's eyes. His heart tightened, and he immediately looked away.

At the same time, he focused the Explosion Release Chakra throughout his right arm and sent a mass of violent Chakra hurtling forward.

"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"

Gari shouted. Without looking directly at Qingye's Sharingan, he didn't even try to dodge the incoming Tachi. Instead, he drove a terrifying punch straight at it.

Boom!

The punch missed, and the force of the Explosion Release detonated in midair.

This is bad!

After hastily dodging that attack, Qingye's heart sank.

Gari, the Explosion Release ninja, truly lived up to his reputation as a renowned elite Jonin of the Shinobi World. He'd reacted instantly, even to Qingye charging at full speed.

He'd not only looked away to avoid Qingye's Sharingan Genjutsu, but had also counterattacked with Explosion Release, forcing Qingye to abandon his slash.

If that strike had landed, it was anyone's guess whether it would have killed Gari—but Qingye would definitely have been badly injured by the explosion.

The Iwagakure Ninja at the nearby outpost could arrive at any moment. If Qingye was badly hurt here, there would be no escaping.

"So you're a genius of the Uchiha Clan."

Gari chuckled and licked his lips, his gaze fixed on Qingye with unconcealed greed. "And you've even got a three-tomoe Sharingan. I could sell you to the Underground Bounty Brokerage for a bounty of at least twenty million ryo!"

Twenty million ryo!

Even for him, that was worth the reward for more than a dozen S-rank missions.

"Heh!"

Qingye couldn't help laughing.

This guy was already thinking of cashing him in.

Twenty million ryo?

Not even one million. Who did he think he was fooling?

Qingye began weaving Hand Seals. "I'm taking your fifty million today!"

"?"

Gari froze.

Fifty million?

Wasn't that his own bounty at the Underground Bounty Brokerage?

This Uchiha brat knew about it too... Could he also be a regular at the Underground Bounty Brokerage?

While Gari was still distracted, Qingye completed his jutsu. A net crackling with blue lightning flashed toward him.

"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"

Gari didn't dodge. Repeating his earlier move, he smashed the lightning net head-on with an explosive punch.

"Explosion Release: Earthquake Fist!"

He flooded both arms with Explosion Release Chakra and slammed his fists into the ground, one after the other. A chain of explosions tore toward Qingye.

Qingye swiftly retreated, weaving Hand Seals as he went. His chest swelled, then he blasted out scorching Fire Release Chakra. A fire dragon more than ten meters long roared toward Gari.

Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!

It was the strongest Fire Release jutsu Qingye had mastered so far.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"

Gari reacted just as quickly, raising an Earth Flow Wall to briefly hold back the raging fire dragon.

As the dragon neared the wall's breaking point, Gari followed up with an Explosion Release punch. It blasted through the wall, and the terrifying explosion scattered both the shattered earth and the fire dragon behind it.

"..."

Qingye panted slightly. Now he was truly in trouble.

Against Gari, an Explosion Release ninja with the strength of an elite Jonin, his opponent's combat experience, reaction speed, and ability to adapt were every bit as good as his own.

Even if Qingye had a slight edge in speed, Gari simply refused to fight him at close range!

And Gari's specialty, Explosion Release, was a Kekkei Genkai formed by combining Fire Release and Earth Release. That greatly weakened the advantage of Qingye's Lightning Release!

"Qingye, enemy reinforcements are almost here!"

Hyuga Himon, who was fighting elsewhere, suddenly shouted. A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead. "That Chakra presence is terrifying! That person... it's Kitsuchi!"

Kitsuchi, the supreme commander of the Iwagakure front, had come in person!

"Kitsuchi?!"

Qingye's expression changed.

There was no way he could face an opponent like that at his current strength!

If Kitsuchi arrived while Qingye was still tied up here, there'd be no chance of escape!

Gari, however, looked disappointed at the news. "Kitsuchi's actually coming? What a shame. I was hoping to keep your corpse and sell it to the Underground Bounty Brokerage."

So much for the twenty million ryo.

Still, that troublesome Uchiha brat really was difficult to deal with.

After several rapid exchanges, Gari still hadn't gained the slightest advantage!

"Die! Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Qingye shouted as he rapidly formed Hand Seals.

Gari sneered. What good would a mere Great Fireball do? He prepared to counter it with Explosion Release: Landmine Fist, but after completing his Hand Seals, Qingye didn't release any jutsu at all.

Instead, he pulled Explosive Tags from his ninja pouch. The stack was thick as a finger.

When he saw Qingye throw the whole stack at him, Gari's expression changed at once. Had the brat gone insane? That wasn't how you used Explosive Tags!

There had to be more than a hundred of them!

"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"

With a full-power strike, Gari barely managed to withstand the Explosive Tags' earth-shaking blast. The shock wave nearly made him spit up blood.

"It's not over!"

Qingye pulled a scroll from his ninja pouch and undid the seal.

Poof!

Ten whole stacks of Explosive Tags!

Explosion Release, huh? You like explosions, huh?

You explode, I explode too. You use Explosion Release to blow me up, and I'll bury you under a sea of Explosive Tags!

Gari's face turned green!

As Qingye hurled one stack of Explosive Tags after another as if they cost nothing, Gari used the fastest hand speed of his life to complete his jutsu.

"Earth Release: Multiple Earth-Style Wall!"

Wall after wall surged up from the ground. Almost simultaneously, Explosive Tags by the hundred detonated with a thunderous roar!

The thick walls shuddered violently. Gari could only brace both hands against the ground, desperately adding layer after layer of earth.

Suddenly!

Crack!

A fissure split the wall in front of him!

A long spear of lightning pierced through the Multiple Earth-Style Walls. Its dazzling blue light reflected on Gari's stunned face as it ran straight through his body.

"Th-this is..." Gari coughed up blood, his eyes wide.

The damn brat had mastered a Lightning Release jutsu of this caliber too—and pierced through his Multiple Earth-Style Walls in a single strike?!

"Lightning Release: False Darkness. It's my strongest Lightning Release jutsu." Qingye circled around and plunged his Tachi into Gari's heart.

Only when Gari finally shut his eyes, full of resentment, did Qingye breathe a sigh of relief.

He'd spent five hundred Explosive Tags, but at least the fifty million ryo was his now.

Without wasting another second, Qingye rushed to the other side and swiftly finished off the remaining Iwagakure Ninja. "Kurenai, go blow up the outpost. Himon, find out where the enemies are and get ready to retreat!"

"Understood!" Yūhi Kurenai sprinted toward the outpost on the mountaintop.

"Got it!"

The veins at the corners of Hyuga Himon's eyes bulged as he pushed his Byakugan's long-range vision to its limit.

"Enemy reinforcements are coming from both sides!"

"Wait, why's there another person over there?"

Hyuga Himon looked toward somewhere to the southwest. "Who's that? They're moving in the opposite direction from us. They've gone underground—is that Earth Release? Wait, where did they go?!"

The Chakra presence heading south was moving farther away. Once the person sank underground, their Chakra presence had vanished into thin air!