"Wait, Minato, look over there!"
Mimura Hamaki said to Minato Namikaze, who had just arrived, his expression one of shock.
To the south, dozens of miles away, a vast bank of thunderclouds was clearly visible even from here!
What was happening over there?!
Mimura Hamaki remembered clearly that there had been nothing there just a short while ago. Where had those thunderclouds come from?!
"Lightning?"
Minato Namikaze looked uncertain. Silver-white bolts kept striking down from the thunderclouds, and the thunder only reached them after a long delay.
Could that be Kannabi Bridge, so far away?
What was happening over there?
Who could have caused such a commotion?
There was no way Kakashi and the others could have pulled off something like that!
This was insane. It couldn't be that the Third Hokage had personally gone to raid Kannabi Bridge, could it?
"Hamaki, help me throw out all the Flying Thunder God Kunai!"
After running through every possibility without finding an answer, Minato Namikaze decisively put the matter aside and spoke to the four remaining Konoha shinobi on the battlefield.
He was still too far from Kannabi Bridge.
He had to deal with the situation here as quickly as possible, then rush back to help!
Lightning struck!
Lightning struck!
Lightning struck!
Qingye's two lightning blades swung down without pause.
The Iwagakure Ninja on both banks of Kannabi Bridge, along with the reinforcements arriving from downstream, were constantly bombarded by the countless lightning bolts crashing down overhead!
No one could escape the thunderclouds' reach, and no one could dodge the lightning striking in an instant!
What had started as a one-sided battle, with hundreds of them surrounding just four opponents, had somehow turned into a desperate situation for their side!
"I'll take you down with me!"
In despair, the Iwagakure Ninja—unable to flee—roared and charged toward Qingye with savage expressions, launching a desperate assault!
"Lightning strike!"
Qingye felt as if he were playing whack-a-mole.
He swung his lightning blades down again and again, moving as quickly as he could and striking down the Iwagakure Ninja nearest to him one by one.
Every so often, a bolt veered slightly off course and struck the river.
An Iwagakure Ninja nearby, lucky enough to survive but left numb all over, was still reeling in shock. Just as he tried to charge again, Qingye raised a hand and sent another bolt crashing down!
Boom!
The spot where the lightning struck the river suddenly exploded, a flash of fire flaring amid flying spray!
"Hmm? What's going on?"
Qingye kept moving, glancing over in mild surprise.
Why had there suddenly been an explosion?
He hadn't seen anyone throw an Explosive Tag over there.
Before he could think further, a whistle of wind came from the distance. A huge boulder hurtled toward him.
One look at the attack told Qingye who was behind it. His lightning blade came down in the same instant, and a bolt cleaved the boulder to pieces in midair!
"You Konoha bastards, die!"
Kitsuchi had charged to within a few hundred meters of Qingye. The Iwagakure Ninja beside him helped raise an Earth Style Defense, trying to hold back the lightning from above.
At the same time, Kitsuchi finished forming his Hand Seals and slammed both hands against the ground!
Chakra poured into the depths of the earth, accompanied by Kitsuchi's booming shout:
"Earth Style: Earth Mountain Technique!"
The earth beneath Qingye's feet began to tremble!
It was as if some terrifying beast was about to burst out of the ground. The earth to Qingye's left and right suddenly rose!
Two half-spherical hills, nearly a hundred meters tall, thrust up from the ground and rapidly closed in on Qingye!
The astonishing sight made Qingye's eyelids twitch.
"That jutsu's this powerful, and Kitsuchi's bounty was set too low?!"
In the Underground Bounty Brokerage's bounty book, Kitsuchi was worth a hundred million ryō—barely three million dollars, the same as two bounties for Gari of Explosion Release.
But judging by the power of the Earth Mountain Technique, it could definitely suppress a Tailed Beast for a short time. A hundred million ryō was far too low!
Whoosh—
Chakra burst beneath Qingye's feet.
With his ocular powers amplifying him, his physical strength had doubled. He leaped dozens of meters into the air, then used one of the hills to propel himself upward several times, finally surging to its peak.
Boom!
The two hemispherical hills slammed together beneath him!
"Damn it!"
Kitsuchi cursed furiously.
That bastard had still managed to escape!
"Lightning Style: Falling Lightning!"
Standing atop the hundred-meter hill, Qingye slammed his lightning blades together. A bolt shot out toward the thunderclouds above.
The next instant, a thunderous crack echoed across dozens of miles, and a terrifying bolt crashed down on the Earth Style Defense above Kitsuchi!
The defense shattered in a single strike!
The hemispherical Earth Style barrier collapsed, burying Kitsuchi and his men beneath it.
"I need to hurry!"
Having temporarily dealt with Kitsuchi, Qingye swung his lightning blades even faster, quickly clearing out the remaining Iwagakure Ninja.
Suddenly, Qingye's eyes widened slightly, and he hurriedly checked the downward swing of his lightning blade.
In the direction of his gaze, Kakashi Hatake had just stumbled through the sea of flames, in a wretched state.
That was close! He'd nearly struck Kakashi too!
"Kakashi, what happened to your eye?"
Seeing that Kakashi could barely stay on his feet, Nohara Rin looked at him with deep concern.
"It doesn't matter. Has the bridge been destroyed?"
Kakashi panted heavily. His left eye was hastily bandaged, and blood streaked half his face. He had barely managed to make it here.
"The bridge has been destroyed."
Hyuga Himon sighed. "Once Qingye finishes off the remaining Iwagakure Ninja, we can retreat."
Having watched the battle from beginning to end, he didn't know what to think anymore. Qingye was simply unbelievable!
"..."
Kakashi looked up at Qingye atop the hundred-meter hill, his mind in a daze.
Could it be...
Had Qingye caused the sea of flames he had just crossed and the lightning bolts crashing down from the sky?
"Huh?"
Hyuga Himon's gaze sharpened. He spotted a figure hiding underground and shouted with all his might, "Qingye, watch your feet!"
Qingye also sensed the movement beneath him and tensed, darting backward at once!
The spot where he had just stood exploded an instant later, and Kitsuchi burst out of the ground!
After being buried by the Earth Style Defense jutsu, he had used Earth Release to slip underground, then crept through the hill to reach Qingye!
"You bastard! You've killed so many of my men—now die!"
Kitsuchi's right arm turned into a heavy stone fist, and he swung it at Qingye with a ferocious expression.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
They were only two or three meters apart. Qingye formed the Hand Seals in a flash. In an instant, the sound of a thousand birds rang out as nearly solid Lightning Style Chakra gathered in his right palm!
"Chidori!"
Using the Mangekyo's perception, Qingye tilted his head and dodged Kitsuchi's heavy punch. He surged forward at the same time, driving a Chidori through Kitsuchi's abdomen. His lightning-wreathed right hand emerged from the other side!
"Urgh... Cough!"
The electricity left Kitsuchi's body numb, and he couldn't stop himself from spitting up blood.
He lowered his head with difficulty, staring at the arm piercing his stomach and the young Konoha shinobi before him. Summoning his last strength, he raised his right hand, trying to kill this great enemy of Iwagakure.
Thud!
Qingye's left fist landed heavily on Kitsuchi's face, knocking him unconscious for good.
Below, Kakashi stared up at the top of the hill, his mind in a daze. The image seemed to burn itself into his memory.
Chidori!
He had only shown Qingye the jutsu two days ago, and Qingye had already learned it?
And he'd used Kakashi's own jutsu to defeat Kitsuchi—the son of the Third Tsuchikage?
When had Qingye, a peer of his, gotten so far ahead of him...?
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