"Kid, you're playing with fire..."
Qi's words, combined with Obito's constant goading, had truly enraged the Iwagakure Chunin.
He was a distinguished Elite Chunin, yet one moment of carelessness had let some brat threaten him. The sheer nerve of it!
In a shinobi village, reaching Elite Chunin rank meant becoming one of the village's true elite, part of its core forces. This was no ordinary Chunin rank that anyone could attain simply by putting in enough time. It marked a vast divide between levels of shinobi.
In a second-rate shinobi village, an Elite Chunin would basically be the head of a clan. In the hierarchy of shinobi, this was the first rank that truly marked someone as a master. Even the famous Anbu of the Five Great Shinobi Villages were made up primarily of people like this.
After all, Jonin were an extremely scarce resource. Whether you were a Special Jonin, an ordinary Jonin, or an Elite Jonin, the fact remained that the great villages had deep reserves, while all the Jonin in the other second-rate villages combined might not equal the number in a single major village.
The Iwagakure Chunin was furious. Given his position, he was someone of some standing in Iwagakure, yet this brat had mocked him. If the bastard weren't carrying such a valuable secret technique, he'd have killed him on the spot...
But now that he thought about it, he had managed to piece together some clues about Qi's identity. The reason was simple: he, too, came from a bloodline clan. Bloodline clans in every country had always shown a "universal love" for gathering intelligence on other bloodline clans, regardless of borders...
So he decided that, despite how angry Qi had made him, he would take him alive. After all, a dead captive was worth far less.
"Let's go!"
He turned and glanced at his subordinates on either side.
"Kill the brat who can use Fire Style. I'll handle this bastard!"
He hadn't forgotten that Obito was the greatest threat to the grain depot.
That order also meant that their pointless negotiations had finally collapsed. The Iwa Ninja didn't waste any words. They first used the Hardening Technique to cover their bodies, then advanced slowly alongside the Elite Chunin, closing in on Qi, Obito, and Rin.
They were careful, their gazes shifting constantly between Qi and Obito. Clearly, the slightest opening from the three of them would trigger a devastating attack. After all, the restrictions applied to both sides. For Qi and the others, destroying the grain depot was a last resort, too.
"Qi..."
Obito swallowed nervously. He could feel the pressure. At least, these men were nothing like ordinary Genin.
"Finally, we're fighting..."
Qi, on the other hand, let out a breath of relief. Having followed Ogata for so long, his nerves were far tougher than Obito's. He had faced worse situations before; it was just that this time, his opponents were Mist Ninja.
"Obito, protect Ling. That's your only job."
"What are you planning to do? Don't be stupid. You're not thinking of taking on all these enemies by yourself, are you?"
Obito felt that he really couldn't make sense of Qi. He was terrified of dying, yet he was bold enough to do anything. He was scared, but reckless all the same.
"If we were outside, of course I wouldn't do this. But we're inside the grain depot."
Qi slid the sword on his back into its sheath, then quickly began forming Hand Seals as he explained to Obito,
"The way I fight is different from yours. You can't help me."
As if to prove his words, Qi finished forming the seals. Watching the Iwa Ninja slowly approach, he murmured,
"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique..."
In an instant, mist rapidly filled the entire grain depot. Obito was soon startled to find that everything around him had turned completely white. He could just barely make out Ling beside him, but Qi, who had been in front of them, had vanished completely.
This was the art of killing in the mist that Qi had learned from the Mist Ninja, one of the basic combat skills of the Kirigakure Ninja. Of course, those who mastered it at a high level were exceedingly rare. It was easy to learn the basics, but that didn't mean it was easy to master.
"What is this..."
Obito and Ling weren't the only ones surprised. The Iwa Ninja were just as startled. After all, the Iwa Ninja had practically no experience fighting the Mist Ninja. Most of them were familiar only with the Sand Ninja and Konoha's fighting styles. They had only heard of the Mist Ninja from their elders.
"So you're a brat from Kirigakure!"
The Iwagakure Chunin, by contrast, reacted calmly. He studied the changes around him without a hint of alarm. If an Elite Chunin got worked up over something like this, it would be ridiculous.
"Kid, you're from the Yuki Clan of the Land of Water, aren't you? If I remember right, your clan was wiped out by the Daimyo of the Land of Water a few years ago."
"You know about the Yuki Clan?"
Qi's voice came from somewhere in the white mist, faint and difficult to place, though he couldn't hide his surprise.
He had been away from the Land of Water for so long, and this was the first time he'd met someone who could identify his bloodline at a glance.
"What's so strange about that? For bloodline clans like ours, knowing about other bloodlines of the same kind is only natural!"
Fused nature transformations existed in nearly all the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Iwagakure, too, had a bloodline called Explosion Release, as well as a special unit known as the Explosion Corps. This Chunin was himself a wielder of Explosion Release.
For bloodline clans that possessed fused nature transformations like theirs, the Yuki Clan might not be famous, but it wasn't unknown to them.
"So this is the Mist Ninja's art of killing in the mist? It's my first time seeing it. I hope you're skilled enough not to disappoint me, brat."
The Iwagakure Chunin gave a cold laugh, constantly trying to sense Qi's exact position. The Mist Ninja were notorious for their underhanded fighting style, and he had no intention of getting caught off guard.
Still, he didn't think Qi was capable of threatening his life. The art of killing in the mist was only a basic technique. The Silent Killing Technique was the true pinnacle. Once mastered, it could even take down a Jonin. Qi clearly wasn't at that level; otherwise, he wouldn't have hidden in the grain depot and relied on its cramped quarters to use the art of killing in the mist.
"Easy to say. But can you find me? I know this sounds a little boastful, but if you can't find me, I'll just have to kill you one by one. For example..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qi had appeared behind an Iwa Ninja. Without a word, he raised his blade and brought it down!
"Ah!"
There was no suspense. The Iwa Ninja was cleaved in two by a slash infused with Wind Style Chakra, managing only a single scream...
What a joke... When he'd first trained in this technique, he'd honed his skill through hard-won experience, risking his life against the Mist Ninja who had been hunting him!
And the Anbu leader who knew Ogata had even recorded every method needed to master the Silent Killing Technique in the scroll. With his current Chunin-level strength, if he couldn't kill an ordinary Iwa Ninja, he might as well bash his own head against a block of tofu!
But that scream had also given away his position. Almost at the same moment, several Kunai flew straight toward him, while the other Iwa Ninja charged in.
But they were doomed to be disappointed. They could only judge his location by sound; their eyes were useless. Qi, however, was different. The art of killing in the mist was a skill unique to the Kirigakure Ninja because they knew how to clearly sense their surroundings in the fog.
So while the Iwa Ninja had only just managed to turn and charge, Qi had already left his spot and vanished without a trace...
"What are you doing!?"
The Iwagakure Chunin's angry roar rang out. He didn't care at all that he had revealed his own position.
"Didn't I tell you to kill that brat? Everyone, stand back-to-back, gather together, and move slowly. With this kind of technique, he'll usually attack from behind. If he attacks from the front, there's nothing to fear!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint whooshing sound came from behind him, and something struck him hard in the back...