The Melee Begins

"Kill!"

Over a dozen Rock Ninja threw kunai and unfurled scrolls; in the blink of an eye, a dense swarm of kunai surged forward, many of them rigged with Explosive Tags.

Simultaneously, a flash of lightning erupted behind them as an equally large group of Cloud Ninja brandished various weapons, charging past the Rock Ninja like a lightning bolt to strike at the Sunagakure and Konoha ninja ahead.

"Well met! This one is mine!"

The battles of jonin were not something Qi could involve himself in, but this chaotic skirmish at the chunin level was exactly what he had been craving. Seeing the massive wave of kunai sweeping toward him, he let out a wild laugh, surged past the Sunagakure ninja in front, and met the attack head-on.

"Ice Release: Flowing Ice Barrier!"

Gurgle...

A series of bubbling sounds erupted from the ground, growing louder until they roared like a waterfall. One after another, massive sprays of water burst from the earth and, in an instant, crystallized into layers of ice, covering the entire space in front of the Sunagakure ninja like a flowing river!

In terms of pure defensive power, Ice Release was perhaps three parts stronger than Wood Release!

And the Qi of today was no longer the rookie who had been forced to defend with everything he had—and nearly collapsed—against a single shadow clone of the Konoha jonin Shiro Aoki!

Just like that, before the stunned eyes of the Rock Ninja, their entire volley of kunai was blocked, every single one, by the continuously emerging, flowing ice wall amidst a cacophony of clanging sounds.

What made their eyes pop out even further was that even the kunai strapped with Explosive Tags couldn't damage the ice wall in the slightest. Despite the constant roaring of explosions, they achieved nothing beyond kicking up a cloud of ice shards.

This was the benefit of a Kekkei Genkai; difficult to master, yes, but once the effects were realized, the power was undeniable, making them incredibly difficult for ordinary ninja to deal with.

The three great ocular jutsu were prime examples of this; even the most unassuming Byakugan, once trained to a high level, was terrifyingly powerful, leaving even the high-level genjutsu cast by the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan with no choice but to suffer.

However, while the ice wall blocked the Rock Ninja's kunai, it could not stop the charge of the Cloud Ninja. The Cloud Ninja possessed almost no defensive techniques; their combat style was one of relentless offense. In the blink of an eye, the Cloud Ninja had bypassed the ice wall and were closing in on Qi below.

This was due to Qi's insufficient cultivation. Unlike the basic Ice Crystal Wall, the Flowing Ice Barrier was meant to be a fluid, shifting wall of ice. Had Qi possessed the ability to manipulate it fully, half of these Cloud Ninja—who were at most elite chunin level—would have been shredded by the swirling ice before they even reached him.

Though the Yuki Clan did not belong to Kirigakure, the ninja of the Land of Water shared a common lineage in their style—each move more vicious than the last. They would never pass up an opportunity to kill, and as for "honorable combat," that was nothing but a load of nonsense.

If not for Earth Release being the natural counter to Water Release, Qi possessed enough techniques learned from Kirigakure to deal with these Rock Ninja who were on his same power level.

The scroll from that former Anbu leader had been filled with Kirigakure assassination techniques that made Qi shudder just reading them. While Konoha possessed the strongest Anbu in the ninja world, in terms of sheer deviousness and cruelty, Konoha couldn't even compare to the freaks of Kirigakure.

"..."

Looking up at the charging Cloud Ninja, Qi knew he couldn't win a head-on clash and immediately retreated, vanishing into the ranks of the Sunagakure ninja in the blink of an eye.

He couldn't win, but that didn't mean the Sunagakure ninja couldn't.

When Sunagakure ninja clashed with Konoha or Rock Ninja, they generally came out on the losing end, but when they clashed with Cloud Ninja, they were absolutely in their element!

The Sunagakure ninja, who had been itching for a fight, saw the Cloud Ninja charging in pursuit of Qi and could no longer restrain themselves. With strange cries, they surged forward, brandishing their weapons and racing toward the Cloud Ninja.

For years, the Sunagakure ninja had never experienced the satisfaction of having a natural elemental advantage; this time, this group had hit the jackpot and were ready to enjoy it.

The Sunagakure and Cloud Ninja—two groups separated by such distance that they rarely had the chance to fight—finally had a rare "sparring session" through these elite chunin who specialized in their respective village's primary elemental releases.

Screams rang out the moment the two sides made contact. Whether Cloud or Sunagakure, they poured their full strength into that first collision, hurling their weapons and their elemental jutsu at one another.

In an instant, the two groups were tangled together, followed by flying flesh, severed limbs, and rolling heads!

For a ninja, taijutsu was an absolutely essential component, as most combat was, in reality, taijutsu-based. Who had enough chakra to use ninjutsu non-stop? The foundational status of taijutsu was unshakable; anyone who looked down on taijutsu-specialists did so at the risk of their own life.

This was especially true for the Rock and Cloud Ninja. Due to the nature of Earth and Lightning Release, their combat styles were heavily skewed toward taijutsu; otherwise, the White Fang wouldn't have been known for carrying a short blade to stab people.

Wind Release was also known as the elemental release requiring the fewest hand seals among the five basics, and with its superior cutting power, it was lethal in close-quarters combat, sitting somewhere between the extremes of Earth and Lightning.

Thus, the contact between the Cloud and Sunagakure ninja was a brutal slaughter. In the very first exchange, six corpses hit the ground. Due to the elemental disadvantage, the Cloud Ninja suffered more—of the six unlucky souls, only two were Sunagakure, while four were Cloud.

The Sunagakure ninja killed by the Cloud Ninja looked as if they had been hit by cannonballs, with massive holes blown through their bodies, dying before they could even draw a breath.

But the Cloud Ninja killed by the Sunagakure were even worse off. At least the Sunagakure ninja left behind relatively intact bodies, but the fallen Cloud Ninja were almost all disemboweled, their organs strewn about, their bodies hacked and slashed into pieces by the Sunagakure ninja until they were scattered across the ground.

The most miserable was a Cloud Ninja who had traded jutsu with a Sunagakure ninja. The Sunagakure ninja had merely been blown back with a few broken bones, but the Cloud Ninja had been shredded into a pile of minced meat by Wind Release; his own parents probably wouldn't have been able to recognize if that pile of gore was their own flesh and blood.

The Sunagakure's advantage over the Cloud Ninja no longer needed to be stated.

"Haha! That feels good! Kakashi, let's go kill the Rock Ninja!"

Qi watched the Cloud and Sunagakure ninja locked in a bloody brawl and felt a rush of exhilaration. Even though the Cloud Ninja outnumbered the Sunagakure, the elemental disadvantage alone was enough to keep them occupied for a long time.

Beside him, Kakashi gripped his short blade, his eyes fixed on the Rock Ninja ahead with a menacing glint. Clearly, he agreed with Qi's assessment; he wasn't keen on fighting the Cloud Ninja either—it was far too exhausting.

"Slaughter those Konoha ninja!"

The Rock Ninja seemed to share the same sentiment. Operating on the principle of not "stealing opponents" from their allies, they targeted the four Konoha ninja: Qi, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.

Before Qi and the others could move, the Rock Ninja charged forward with savage grins. Reflected in the sunlight, even their teeth seemed to shine with the same cold light as their weapons.

"Keep leaking, I love it!"

With a strange, high-pitched shout, Qi smirked and began weaving hand seals with one hand. Kekkei Genkai were just so convenient; truly, so convenient...

"Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

Though the range wasn't vast, it was enough to shroud all the Rock Ninja in white mist. It appeared on the field once more, affecting not only the Cloud and Sunagakure ninja fighting nearby but nearly even Minato and the other elite jonin, though it posed no real threat to them.

"What kind of hellish jutsu is this!?"

A Rock Ninja swung his weapon in frustration. The sudden wall of white blinded them, which was deeply unpleasant for people who spent their lives dealing with stone.

"Is it a Water Release jutsu? Everyone, use Earth Release together and kill them!"

"Good idea, too bad you won't get the chance!"

A short blade shimmering with the hue of wind-attribute chakra suddenly emerged from the mist, slicing through his neck with a sharp whoosh. Clearly, not every Iwagakure chunin was an elite, nor were they all as familiar with Kirigakure's combat style as the Rock Ninja Qi had encountered previously.

In an instant, Qi followed his blade, launching an assault on this group of Rock Ninja amidst their screams. He targeted those attempting to weave hand seals first, essentially severing their hands with a single strike. As for those trying to group up, he unleashed Ice Release, manifesting a massive amount of ice crystals to strike from beneath the ground.

The various sounds these men made provided Kakashi with perfect positional cues. His silver-glinting short blade followed the trail of gasps and wails, continuously reaping the lives of the wounded Rock Ninja.

The coordination between Qi and Kakashi was, at this moment, absolutely perfect—seamless!