The argument between Konan and the others had no effect on Qingshui and Pakura's fight. By now, Pakura was getting a little anxious.
Qingshui's strength had exceeded her expectations. Her plan to win with a rapid, fierce assault now seemed impossible.
Of course, she couldn't simply admit defeat. Instead, she tried to think of a way to turn the tide.
As it happened, she still had one Jutsu she hadn't used.
But she had only developed it recently, and she hadn't mastered it yet.
If she made a mistake, she might not only fail to defeat Qingshui but end up injuring herself—and possibly even put her subordinates at risk.
So she hesitated.
While Pakura was debating whether to use her new Jutsu, Qingshui prepared to end the fight.
He dodged another attack from her fireball, then retreated to put some distance between them.
At the same time, he held his sword in one hand across his chest and began to swing it like a willow branch swaying in the breeze.
Konoha Ryūyanagi!
This was the Genjutsu sword technique Kosuke had taught Qingshui earlier. It was an S-Rank Jutsu, and learning it had taken him more than a month in total.
And that was with the help of his Shadow Clones. It showed just how difficult S-Rank Jutsu were to learn.
Fortunately, hard work paid off. Just yesterday, he had finally mastered it.
Now was the perfect chance to use it against Pakura.
Because this technique had one great advantage: it required no Hand Seals!
The next moment, countless leaves dancing in the wind flashed before Pakura's eyes, and Qingshui's figure vanished.
At the same time, she found herself unable to move.
This was the telltale sign that she had fallen under the Genjutsu in Konoha Ryūyanagi.
Given Pakura's skill, she immediately realized that Qingshui had used Genjutsu.
Surprised that Qingshui knew such powerful Genjutsu, she hurried to dispel it herself.
But it was already too late.
The moment the Genjutsu broke, Qingshui was already in front of her, bringing his sword down in a slash.
Blood spilled everywhere!
The fight was over!
When they saw Pakura fall, her three subordinates' faces changed at once.
Teacher Pakura had lost to an unknown opponent?
They felt as if they were dreaming.
But no matter how unwilling they were to accept it, Pakura really had been defeated by Qingshui.
"Teacher Pakura!"
Seeing Pakura lying on the ground, bleeding profusely, they rushed over to check on her, leaving their mission target, Okubo Yahiko, forgotten off to the side.
In contrast, Konan and Yahiko cheered.
"Yeah! I knew Big Brother Qingshui wouldn't lose!"
"Big Brother Qingshui is so strong!"
Even Nagato was swept up in the excitement, a smile appearing on his face.
But compared to Konan and Yahiko, he was a little more reserved.
"I-I'm fine," Pakura said as her subordinates gathered around her. But from the looks of things, she clearly wasn't.
"I lost. I didn't expect you to be this strong. We'll abandon the mission."
She was proud, but she could accept defeat.
Qingshui smiled and nodded, then walked over. Pakura's three subordinates immediately blocked his way, their faces wary.
"We've already abandoned the mission. What else do you want?"
"Don't be so wary. I'm a Medical Genin. I can treat your teacher. Her condition is far from good."
At that, all four of them stared at him in disbelief.
"You're a Medical Genin?"
Everyone knew that Medical Ninjas had excellent Chakra Control and could learn highly difficult Medical Ninjutsu.
But when it came to fighting, Medical Ninjas weren't any good. They needed their teammates to protect them on missions.
And yet the person who had defeated even a Kekkei Genkai user like Pakura was a Medical Ninja?
And a Genin, at that!
It made no sense. It wasn't even ninja-like.
Faced with their skepticism, Qingshui smiled and nodded. Then he went to Pakura and began treating her.
When Pakura saw that Qingshui really knew Medical Ninjutsu, she looked at him with a complicated expression.
She could only think that the world had gone mad!
Medical Ninjas could fight this well now?
Qingshui had no idea what Pakura was thinking, and he didn't care. He focused on treating her.
Pakura held a high position in Sunagakure, after all. She was an extremely rare Jonin with a Kekkei Genkai.
And this was the Peaceful Era after the Second Shinobi World War.
So naturally, he couldn't just kill her. He had held back earlier, only leaving her gravely wounded.
Of course, the main reason was that treating Pakura after seriously injuring her would maximize Qingshui's rewards.
After all, he was bound to the Medical Ninja System.
Qingshui would never deliberately injure a comrade just to treat them afterward.
He wasn't a demon, after all.
Still, happening to do it once or twice now and then was fine.
As long as he didn't do it too often.
And since Pakura was from another Ninja Village, he had no qualms about doing this to her.
Before long, Qingshui had finished treating Pakura.
[Completed treatment of Pakura. Reward: one Golden Orb.] [Congratulations! You have obtained Scorch Release: Kasenpō.]
In an instant, a wealth of information about Kasenpō filled Qingshui's mind.
It was a Jutsu Pakura had developed from Scorch Release, and its power was terrifying.
But Qingshui soon noticed a problem.
Although he had obtained Kasenpō, he couldn't use it at all without the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai.
Qingshui now had All-attribute Chakra, but his Chakra had previously been limited to Water Release.
In the past, when he obtained, for example, Fire Release Ninjutsu, he could still force himself to use it even without mastering Fire Release's nature transformation.
He simply couldn't use it as smoothly as Water Release Ninjutsu.
That was because Chakra attributes were relatively easy to acquire through training.
Basically, Jonin could master several Chakra attributes.
But Scorch Release was different. It was a Kekkei Genkai—you either had it or you didn't.
It was possible to obtain one through training, but the difficulty was far greater.
If the first was as easy as the multiplication tables, then the second was no easier than advanced calculus.
If only Pakura had been a little stronger—strong enough to reach Kage Level.
After all, treating someone at Kage Level would earn him a Color Orb, and the reward it gave him might very well be Scorch Release itself.
That would be far better than simply obtaining a Jutsu from a Kekkei Genkai.
If Pakura had been able to hear Qingshui's thoughts, she might have said, "I'm sorry I couldn't satisfy Lord Qingshui."
At that moment, Pakura, now healed by Qingshui, looked at him and asked,
"Are you really just a Genin?"
She could just about accept that Qingshui was a Medical Ninja. After all, some Medical Ninjas were still capable fighters.
But the idea that Qingshui was only a Genin was much harder to accept.
She was a Jonin of Sunagakure. Could she really be inferior to a Konoha Genin?
"I have no reason to lie to you. I really am just a Genin."
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