"Everyone, get over here!"
The Rock Ninja's movements all fell within Qi's view. Unlike Obito and the others, Ogata had once explained in detail his experiences fighting ninjas from various countries. Compared to Obito and the others, Qi understood the standard fighting methods of ninjas from each country much better.
Qi and Obito charged ahead quickly. In the blink of an eye, they were already within about twenty paces of the Rock Ninja—but that distance was often the most dangerous of all.
Because for a ninja, that was exactly the ideal range for unleashing a jutsu.
By now, quite a few Rock Ninja were rushing out of the various storehouses. Many of them were too far away to catch up for the moment, but even so, more than ten Rock Ninja had gathered in front of Qi and the others, and it was clear they had already finished forming their Hand Seals.
"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spear!"
A shout rang out just as Qi called to Obito and Ling. The Rock Ninja opposite them had already slammed their hands hard against the ground.
A series of cracking sounds followed as the earth split open. With the Rock Ninja combining their efforts, dozens of incredibly hard stone spears—at the very least—burst up from underground, covering the greatest distance the three could use to escape.
To be honest, this could hardly even be called Rock Pillar Spear anymore. Its greatest weakness was that it lacked power, but that weakness had vanished when the Rock Ninja performed it together.
"In your dreams! You think that's enough to kill us?"
Qi didn't dare hold back to conserve chakra now. He gave it everything he had.
The abundant water nearby also provided perfect conditions for him to save chakra while getting a better result. He stretched out both hands, and the water pooled across the ground immediately began gathering around him with a series of gurgling sounds, enveloping him, Obito, and Ling.
Whether it was Ice Release or Wood Release, their greatest advantage was that they often seemed less like ninjutsu. Wood Release users could combine their own bodies with Wood Release, and Ice Release users in the later stages could do the same. Sometimes, they could even use these techniques without forming Hand Seals.
The First had nearly dominated every powerful ninja of his era with Wood Release alone—not because it was all he knew, but because Wood Release was so powerful that he hardly needed anything else.
The Senju brothers represented the standard style of Konoha today: a jack-of-all-trades approach, with proficiency in nearly every type of ninjutsu. Yet in the end, they were still known for their respective styles—a bit of a pity. The Second Hokage's Space-Time Ninjutsu was second only to Madara's and the Fourth Hokage's.
But Qi had no time to admire the prowess of the greats. If he was even half a beat too slow, he'd be skewered like meat on a spit. The moment the water sphere took shape, his Ice Release was already in motion, turning the spherical wall of water into a wall of ice!
Thud...!"
A series of muffled impacts rang out. The ice wall Qi had built with all his strength was impressively sturdy. Every stone spear that shot out of the ground smashed against the ice sphere and shattered. Not a hair on the three of them was harmed.
But the most outrageous part was yet to come. Nobody knew how the weight of the ice sphere worked, but under the barrage of stone spears, it actually rose into the air and hurtled straight toward the group of Rock Ninja!
Sometimes, Qi really felt that learning Ice Release was just like learning English in his previous life. Until he'd accumulated enough, it was completely useless—but once he reached that point, he could use it with ease.
Just a month ago, Ice Release had been nothing but a chakra-wasting technique with practically no use to him...
"What kind of jutsu is that?!"
The Rock Ninja were astonished. The Land of Water was so isolated that even people from the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning found it mysterious, let alone the Land of Earth, which was tens of thousands of miles away. Most Rock Ninja went their entire lives without seeing what a Mist Ninja looked like, so they naturally knew nothing about the Yuki clan.
The Yuki clan had only been active in the Land of Water for about as long as one daimyo's reign. To people outside the Land of Water, even the Kaguya clan had a more renowned name...
"Scatter!"
Seeing the enormous mass hurtling toward them, the Chunin shouted again. This time, however, his voice was much darker.
"When did Konoha develop a jutsu like this? If possible, capture him alive!"
"As if I'd let you scatter!"
Qi smiled coldly inside the ice sphere.
"Split!"
The enormous ice sphere changed as soon as he spoke. With a loud crack, the entire sphere broke apart into countless razor-sharp ice shards that swept down toward the Rock Ninja below!
Anyone who tried to run now would meet one fate: they'd be pinned to the ground by the ice shards...
In an instant, the ice shards rained down from the sky, spreading from the outside inward. Many of the larger ones split in two as they flew, widening the area of their attack. With no other choice, the Rock Ninja stopped trying to scatter and instead dodged the shards or raised their weapons to block them.
At nearly the same moment, Qi and the other two landed on the ground.
"Obito, the granary! The Rock Ninja won't dare damage it!"
As soon as he landed, Qi drew the two swords on his back. He knocked several Kunai aside with a swing, then charged straight for the nearest granary.
"Okay!"
Obito knew the situation was urgent. He immediately pulled Ling along and followed. The ice shards had all fallen, and the Rock Ninja were rushing toward the three of them in a swarm. A moment's delay meant death.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A Rock Ninja Genin had just rushed up to them. Without a second thought, Obito launched a Fireball Jutsu at him. The orange-red flames forced the man to dodge, while Ling's charming face had turned fierce. She flicked her hand and sent a Kunai fitted with an Explosive Tag flying at him, blasting the Rock Ninja away.
But the man rolled several times across the ground before staggering back to his feet, showing just how skilled the Rock Ninja were at the Hardening Technique.
It was basically the same as saying you shouldn't pick a fight with the Uchiha Clan over Fire Style... Everyone had their specialty...
That brief delay was just enough for the three of them to make it into the nearest granary.
It was a supply depot, but there was no doubt that the granary was more important than the weapons storehouse. Ninjas had all sorts of things they could use to kill people, but there was no substitute for food. Without supplies, what the hell could they fight with?
"Damn it!"
The Chunin hadn't expected these Konoha brats to be so "shameless." Anger finally appeared in his eyes.
"A few of you, come in with me! We'll kill those brats using the strange jutsu. Capture them alive if possible!"
It seemed Qi had guessed right: the Rock Ninja really didn't dare damage the granary...
Of course, he hadn't expected them to be so interested in his Ice Release, either.
But the first opponents they faced weren't the pursuing Rock Ninja. They were the guards inside the granary, all of whom had received strict orders not to leave, in case anyone tried to destroy it.
"Konoha ninja! Die!"
The three had barely stepped into the granary when a flash of steel came straight at them!
"There really are guards!"
Qi was at the front, so he was naturally the first to face the attack. He reversed his grip on his sword and held it across his body, blocking the strike.
The eyes that met his were just as murderous as his own...
"A Genin? Then die!"
A glance at the man's uniform and a feel for his movements were all it took for Qi to tell he was only a Genin. He had nothing to fear.
The twin swords Uchiha Xiu had given him really were excellent. They were several grades above a Kunai in quality. After their weapons clashed just once, Qi's sword was completely unharmed, while the man's Kunai had been chipped.
"Hyah!"
Even so, the Rock Ninja Genin showed no fear. He simply switched to another Kunai and charged again.
They said the Rock Ninja were extremely loyal to orders and would risk their lives the moment an order was given. It seemed to be true. The man knew he was outmatched, yet he didn't hesitate for even a moment.
If Konoha was powerful because its ninjas were exceptional fighters on average, then the Rock Ninja were probably powerful because of their unity. Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Kirigakure and Konoha had the most rogue ninjas, while Iwagakure and Kumogakure had the fewest.
"Obito, guard the entrance. Get inside!"
After shouting over his shoulder, Qi sent Wind Style Chakra through the blade and charged forward again. This time, the outcome was certain. His sword easily sliced through the man's Kunai and then cut across his chest, drawing a wide spray of blood.
But that wasn't the end. Qi firmly believed what Ogata had told him: until the enemy was dead, the fight wasn't over. He followed up immediately with a second strike, lopping off the Rock Ninja Genin's head and ending the brief battle.
That was when several Rock Ninja rushed in through the entrance, including the Iwagakure Chunin.
"Brat, what kind of jutsu is that? You're not from Konoha, are you?"
Aside from the Mist Ninja, the other three great villages had all made defeating Konoha their top priority. Iwagakure was no worse than the others when it came to gathering intelligence on Konoha, so the Chunin had naturally come to that conclusion.
"I'd have to be sick in the head to tell you..."
Qi kicked the Rock Ninja he'd just killed out of the way, then regrouped with Obito and Ling. The three of them stood together, firmly occupying a corner where the food was piled highest.
That food now mattered not just to the Rock Ninja army's stomachs, but to their very lives as well.
"It doesn't matter if you keep your mouth shut. Once you fall into our hands, whether you talk or not will be up to us."
The Iwagakure Chunin grinned, his face twisted into a menacing sneer.
"Don't think I don't know what you're planning. No reinforcements are coming. We'll find your companions soon enough."
The bastard had seen through them from the very beginning. No wonder he'd brought so few people inside; the others must have gone looking for Kakashi. But...
"As long as you're here, sir, we haven't failed. My companions aren't the sort of people ordinary Genin can deal with."
Qi gave a sinister grin and glanced around.
"I'm really curious—if this place burns down, will Iwagakure execute all of you?"
As if in response, Obito quickly formed several Hand Seals for Fire Style and scanned the area, as though deciding where to start the fire.
"Brat, if you do that, you'll die too!"
The Iwagakure Chunin's expression instantly darkened. If these kids really went ahead and did something so reckless, he wouldn't get off lightly.
For a moment, he regretted his decision. Maybe he shouldn't have tried to capture them alive. This granary full of food was more important than anything else now...
"Dying here would still be better than falling into your hands."
Qi laughed, looking even more relaxed.
Now it wasn't just Qi. Obito and Ling had realized it too: these people really did care about the food. Obito had made up his mind to set the place on fire if they couldn't hold out any longer. He wanted to see whether the Rock Ninja would kill them first or put out the flames!