Oaths of a Comrade Who Would Never Abandon Anyone

As the Jonin leading this mission, Mikoto decided to sacrifice herself to give Qingshui and the others a chance to escape.

"Qingshui, I'm counting on you to look after Ayami and the others!"

As Mikoto spoke, she looked at Qingshui with an apologetic expression.

Qingshui hadn't needed to get involved in this mess. But because she'd asked him for help, he'd been dragged into Amegakure's plot against Konoha.

Even now, Mikoto was convinced that the whole thing had been planned by Amegakure.

That was why she felt so sorry to Qingshui.

Seeing what she was thinking, Qingshui made no move to leave. He simply formed hand seals and created a Shadow Clone.

"Minato, you three, follow my Shadow Clone and get out of here at once. Go find Lord Jiraiya and bring him back to save us!"

"Go!"

With no time to lose, Minato and the others hurried after Qingshui's Shadow Clone.

"Qingshui, why would you do this? You didn't have to get involved."

Mikoto looked conflicted as she watched Qingshui stay behind to face Hanzo of the Salamander with her.

"We're comrades. I'd never abandon one of my own. Have you forgotten?"

At Qingshui's words, Mikoto remembered how they'd once been ambushed by the enemy during the Second Shinobi World War.

The situation had been dire, so she'd told Qingshui to hurry and escape.

Back then, he'd said the exact same thing.

This moment was just like that one!

As memory and reality overlapped, Mikoto was deeply moved by the sight of Qingshui standing beside her.

"Then we'll face the enemy together. We'll make it home alive this time, too!"

"Leave alive? You have only one fate: to die by my hand today!"

Hanzo's cold voice rang out as he launched his attack.

Qingshui tightened his grip on his Ninja Sword and rushed to meet him.

Clang!

The sound rang out as Hanzo's chain-scythe clashed with Qingshui's Ninja Sword.

Qingshui had already mastered Konoha Style Swordsmanship, but his skill was still nowhere near Hanzo's.

When he was young, Hanzo had fought Mifune, a samurai from the Iron Country.

He had defeated Mifune with his swordsmanship.

After all, Mifune was a man fit to become the Iron Country's general. His swordsmanship was certainly no weak.

That alone showed how skilled Hanzo was with a blade.

So when Qingshui met him head-on, he was knocked back with a single strike.

Before Qingshui could regain his footing, Hanzo hurled his chain and wrapped it around him.

With Qingshui bound, Hanzo swung his scythe down from above.

The blade was coated in poison.

A hit would either kill him outright or leave him to die from the poison.

At the critical moment, Qingshui narrowly dodged Hanzo's scythe.

At the same time, he channeled Wind Release Chakra into his Ninja Sword, sharpening its cutting edge, and sliced through the chain holding him.

Hanzo's pupils contracted sharply.

He'd thought the obscure Qingshui was an unremarkable Ninja. Yet here he was, displaying such powerful Wind Release Nature Transformation.

With that kind of ability, he could be called an elite among the Jonin.

Hanzo couldn't help marveling at Konoha's deep reserves. Even a Ninja who'd never made a name for himself before had such strength.

Free of the chain, Qingshui didn't retreat. His Ninja Sword kept moving, driving toward Hanzo.

But now that Hanzo had seen what he could do, he wasn't about to meet him head-on. He dodged to the side and kicked Qingshui, sending him flying backward.

A moment later, a fierce burst of flames rushed at Hanzo. He quickly used the Water Body Flicker Technique.

It was Mikoto's attack.

She'd meant to take the opportunity to hit Hanzo with Fire Release, but he'd reacted in time and dodged.

Still, she'd stopped Hanzo from charging after Qingshui and taking him out first.

"Are you all right, Qingshui?"

"I'm fine."

As he spoke, Qingshui looked at Hanzo and marveled to himself.

As expected of the "Demigod," the pinnacle of the Ninja World today.

Truthfully, if he weren't worried that revealing his Rinnegan would draw the attention of Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara, would he really be in such a sorry state against Hanzo?

If he used all his abilities, he might not win outright, but he'd at least be Hanzo's equal.

And once he'd mastered all the Rinnegan's abilities, someone like Hanzo wouldn't be worth mentioning.

Unfortunately, reality was what it was.

Compared with Hanzo, Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu were the ones he needed to watch out for.

Black Zetsu was a monster who'd lived for over a thousand years. He'd even managed to have a heart-to-heart with Six Paths Madara.

Qingshui didn't want to suffer the same fate someday.

That was something better left to Uchiha Madara, who couldn't stand having someone behind him.

Although Uchiha Madara was old, who could say for sure that a warrior like him had no other means of taking action himself?

"Mikoto, Hanzo's too strong. If we want to deal with him, we'll have to use the same teamwork as before."

At Qingshui's words, Mikoto immediately understood what he meant.

Without hesitation, she formed hand seals and used Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique.

She exhaled a massive dragon of flame.

The Great Dragon Fire Technique was a B-Rank Fire Release Ninjutsu. Its range was far smaller than Great Fire Annihilation, making it better suited to fighting a single opponent like this.

With Qingshui's Wind Release boosting it, the fire dragon grew even more powerful. Its terrifying heat seemed capable of burning everything to ashes.

The air around them grew scorching.

Roaring, the fire dragon charged at Hanzo.

Faced with the Combination Ninjutsu from Qingshui and Mikoto, Hanzo showed no fear. His expression remained calm.

"Not bad Fire Release, but it's not enough!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, he used Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.

Hanzo was highly skilled in Water Release Ninjutsu. He was even considered the strongest Water Release user in the Ninja World today, having surpassed the Third Mizukage.

A huge water dragon appeared and roared toward the fire dragon.

Its power was every bit as great.

Boom!

The fire dragon and water dragon collided and canceled each other out in an explosion.

Hanzo had stopped Qingshui and Mikoto's Combination Ninjutsu all by himself.

The title of "Demigod" was well deserved.

The blast sent vapor rushing outward. The heat was so intense it could burn human skin.

But all three of them were formidable, so none was hurt.

A Ninja's physical abilities were far greater than an ordinary person's. It was almost as if they belonged to different species.

Meanwhile, Hanzo's subordinates weren't idle. They chased after Minato and the others as they tried to escape.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

Shadow Clone Qingshui wasted no time. He used the technique to attack the pursuing Rain Ninja.

His Water Dragon Bullet couldn't compare to Hanzo's, but it was more than enough to handle these Rain Ninja.

Even though there were Jonin among them.

The Jonin of a Small Ninja Village were no match for those from the Five Great Ninja Villages, and Qingshui was far stronger than an ordinary Jonin.

So the Rain Ninja could only scramble to dodge his attack.

"Minato, take this, then get Tomoki and Ayami out of here. I'll hold them off."

As he spoke, Shadow Clone Qingshui handed Minato a Fuma Shuriken.

It was a throwing weapon shaped like a Shuriken, but larger and more powerful.