"Cloud Ninja?"
After glancing at the huge crater behind him, Xiu's teacher turned his gaze back to the enemies before him. He counted eight of them in all, two of whom were clearly giving off the aura of jōnin.
"Although Konoha has ninja who know Lightning Release, they don't fight like this. You're Cloud Ninja, aren't you?"
He gave a strange smile.
"Are you trying to start a war?"
"If I'm not mistaken, you're Uchiha Kongci, right?"
The young man smiled and pointed to his Forehead Protector.
"I don't think there's any point in guessing. Look, we're Konoha ninja too."
"Kid, don't make such a childish joke in front of me. You'll die."
Uchiha Kongci's eyes had already transformed into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Tell me who you are, and you might live. Cloud Ninja showing up in Konoha Village is no small matter."
"I think it's more amusing how you keep saying 'Konoha.' I'm surprised the Uchiha Clan is so 'devoted to duty.'"
The young man took a small step back.
"You're a real jōnin, so of course I'm no match for you. But you aren't my target, and I'm not your opponent."
As he spoke, the two ninja behind him who had the aura of jōnin stepped forward. Their undisguised attitude made it clear to Kongci that they were his opponents.
"Fine, have it your way. Your corpses will be evidence enough."
Kongci licked his lips, his gaze growing dangerous.
"At last, the task the clan head gave me is getting interesting."
"I'm sure you'll be satisfied. Then, Mr. Huiyue, shall we begin as well?"
"Zii!"
A sharp, piercing whistle split the air. Qi answered with action instead of words. He swung the short blade in his hand, and the Wind Style Chakra along its edge began to produce a series of effects, eventually forming a huge blade of wind that swept straight through the enemy formation...
It was a technique he had only recently mastered, one way of expressing Chakra Nature Transformation.
Everything in the wind blade's path was torn apart and shredded, proof enough of Qi's control over chakra.
"What a fierce attack!"
That slash kicked off the battle. The two jōnin charged at Kongci, while the other six—except for one who rushed at Uchiha Xiu—all charged at Qi.
"Hmph!"
When the two jōnin charged him, Kongci struck first. With a flick of his hand, Shuriken attached to steel wire spread out from all sides and closed in on them. At the same time, he formed hand seals!
"Rumble..."
A tremendous explosion engulfed the entire area. Waves of scorching heat swept in every direction. Everyone but the three of them dodged at once, and the attack formation aimed at Qi and Xiu was disrupted before it could even begin...
"What an impressive move. The Uchiha Clan's Shuriken and Fire Style are truly powerful..."
Staring at the scene in amazement, Qi finally had a clearer idea of the Uchiha Clan's strength in this area.
"There! Kill him!"
Suddenly, four ninja charged out of the smoke one after another. Without hesitation, they swung their blades at Qi!
They were clearly elite. The chaos hadn't injured them; it had only thrown their formation into disarray.
"Qi, I hope you don't mind me calling you that. You really are as the reports described: your strength has improved incredibly fast. Even though we're enemies, I admire you for that."
A figure suddenly dropped from above. Qi swung his blade back, and their weapons clashed with a sharp clang. They fought at close quarters, and for a moment, each could see the other's face clearly. His attacker was the young man.
"I mind very much!"
They both put their strength into the clash and sprang apart. Qi flung several Kunai at him, each with an Explosive Tag tied to it...
"Rumble!"
The Kunai exploded one after another, swallowing the young man and catching several ninja who tried to circle around for a sneak attack. One of them was unlucky enough to be blasted away, his body mangled beyond recognition...
"How does he suddenly know how to use Shuriken... Don't come any closer. All of you, fall back!"
The young man's eyelid twitched. He waved a hand, stopping the three who remained.
With a flick of his blade, he knocked away another Shuriken Qi had thrown, then pointed to Uchiha Xiu, who was fighting one of his comrades in the distance.
"Go kill the other Uchiha ninja!"
"Yes, sir!"
The three answered and left Qi behind, heading toward Xiu.
"Do you think this is a teahouse? You can come and go as you please?"
Qi gave a cold laugh, flung another Kunai with an Explosive Tag at the young man, and kicked off the ground. In an instant, he had blocked the three.
Ogata had prepared far too many of these for his Shuriken training lately. It looked like they were finally coming in handy tonight.
The three answered Qi without a word, sending dozens of Kunai flying at him. This time, several of them also had Explosive Tags tied to them...
Explosive Tags were every ninja's favorite...
Boom!"
The Explosive Tags burst one after another, blasting the place where Qi stood into a mess...
"Hm?"
A ninja suddenly felt something graze his face, leaving a sharp sting.
"What's this... a shard of ice?"
He reached up and saw what had cut his skin: a thin shard of ice. It soon melted in his hand...
"Watch out!"
The young man's voice came from behind them, urgent and anxious!
"He's behind you! This is an Ice Release secret technique, Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals! The one in front of you is an ice mirror!"
But it was too late. By the time the young man had spoken his final word, an ice spike had pierced the back of each of the three ninja's heads. With a series of thuds, they all collapsed, dead on the spot!
"Damn it! Useless fools!"
The young man hurried over, but he was already too late. At last, he dropped his polite façade and cursed.
"So you can curse after all? I thought you'd always be that disgusting, effeminate pretty boy. White Face, you're next."
Having dealt with the three in one go, Qi was in high spirits. He turned and charged at the young man, swinging both blades.
"White Face, tell me your name!"
"..."
The young man's face twitched.
"Qi, I have to remind you: you're paler than I am..."
That was true enough. His skin was naturally brown, so the name White Face didn't suit him at all...
"Paler than your mother!"
Qi was instantly exasperated. The young man's retort made him feel like an idiot...
How had he forgotten that many Cloud Ninja had brown skin?
"Wind Water Ice Formation, Triple Chain Kill!"
Annoyed, Qi finally unleashed for the first time the fighting style he had been developing amid a string of intense battles: a path of Taijutsu that was truly his own, combining the Kaguya Clan's Taijutsu with Yuki's techniques.
As he swung both blades, the air around him began to plummet in temperature. Water and ice, together with wind blades capable of slicing an ordinary person into countless pieces, combined to churn the space around him into a vast white haze!
"Die!"
With that shout, the frigid air current he had created with his own chakra burst like a balloon inflated to its limit!
In an instant, the entire street became a silver world!
All six others caught in the scene, friend and foe alike, were engulfed!