A New Path

"Is this... that child's power? To have such attainments at such a young age..."

Kongci grabbed a handful of air, and a thick clump of snowflakes materialized in his palm...

As the white storm descended, he and the two enemy Jonin instinctively separated. After all, in such interference, a single moment of carelessness meant death, and no one wanted to become a ghost due to bad luck.

Looking around, the scene was filled with a howling blizzard. Moreover, a slippery layer of ice had formed on the ground—not thick, but certainly not thin. Presumably, the enemies, like him, had to focus chakra on their feet to ensure they wouldn't slip accidentally...

"This is no longer the traditional fighting style of the Yuki Clan..."

Kongci smacked his lips with a sigh.

"This child is truly a genius of bloodline limits. If things go well, it seems the Yuki Clan might really be revitalized because of him..."

The blizzard was not a problem for him. Although the Sharingan was inferior to the Byakugan in terms of perception, maintaining combat visibility in this environment was still no issue; after all, the opponent's perception would only be lower than his.

What surprised him was the series of combat styles and techniques Qi displayed. This was completely different from the records of the Yuki Clan in the family intelligence. The only explanation was that Qi had embarked on a path entirely different from other members of the Yuki Clan.

"Screech!"

A flash of lightning suddenly appeared from the wind and snow, striking near his feet and interrupting his sentimentality...

"Damn it! Missed!"

A complaint that could hardly be called kind drifted vaguely from the other side...

"Well, let's deal with these two opponents of mine first..."

Kongci smiled slightly, temporarily setting aside his focus on Xiu and Qi. Under these circumstances, their enemies would only be more miserable; he had no need to worry.

"You two, it won't do if you don't aim properly. As Jonin, you must set a good example for other ninjas!"

With a hearty laugh, Kongci leaped lightly and vanished into the wind and snow...

On the other side, the opponents of Xiu and Qi were clearly even more frustrated than those two Jonin. If those two Jonin were merely being interfered with, then they—especially the young man fighting Qi—were suffering far more than that.

"This guy, could it be that this is a technique he created himself..."

Barely dodging the blade that had just slashed from behind, the young man no longer possessed absolute confidence.

Before carrying out the mission, he had already prepared himself with information regarding Qi, and what caught his attention most was the intelligence on the "Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals."

Using ice crystals for rapid spatial movement was undoubtedly a practical and dangerous ninjutsu...

Whether it was the instant kill of his three Chunin subordinates or the blade that had just slashed from behind, it had fully proven this point! The power of Kagetsu Qi's Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals was even more terrifying than he had imagined!

Not to mention the blizzard that made it impossible to see the surroundings, the layer of ice under his feet alone allowed Kagetsu Qi to appear from any point around him, while he could only defend passively! If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, his head would have been separated from his shoulders just now...

"I must leave this place; this is too disadvantageous for me!"

Having made up his mind, the young man began to judge his current position in his mind and tried to deduce the correct direction to leave.

Since his eyes were no longer reliable, he had to rely on his own senses to judge.

"Want to leave?"

A sinister voice came from beneath his feet.

"That won't be easy."

As the words were spoken, a bright blade light suddenly erupted from beneath the young man's feet, shooting straight upward. If it had landed, it would have undoubtedly resulted in him being cut in two.

However, the young man's reaction was not slow. The moment the voice sounded, he exerted force with both feet and leaped to the side.

"Screech!"

The blade, imbued with blue light, did not cut the target in two, but at such high speed, it still grazed the young man's shoulder. Instantly, a flower of blood bloomed on his shoulder, and blood sprayed wildly!

Fortunately, he dodged in time, and the wound was not deep; otherwise, one of his arms would have been crippled...

However, he seemed completely unaware of the pain. Instead, taking advantage of the attacker finally revealing himself, he swung his own blade!

"Good reaction!"

The attacker, Qi, naturally did not strike without reservation; he had already fully witnessed this person's reaction ability.

Holding the hilt with a backhand grip, he steadily blocked the opponent's blade. At the same time, he bent his leg and swept a kick toward the opponent's lower body—the legendary "nut-cracking kick"...

Simultaneously, the other hand holding the hilt pulled back directly, slashing fiercely toward the opponent's chest!

"Despicable and shameless!"

At such close range, Qi was surprised to find that the opponent's face had turned bright red...

However, anger was anger. The young man still exerted force, shifted his body to the side, and slid past Qi, avoiding the combo.

But he did not avoid the third strike, because Qi spun in place and slashed again. This time, the young man's short blade was directly snapped by Qi!

"Despicable? Did you take the wrong medicine?"

Qi snorted coldly, and his entire body sank into the ice layer right in front of the opponent.

"I am a ninja, not a samurai!"

It was true that he didn't know Earth Style, but as long as there was ice or water on the ground, he could achieve the same effect, or perhaps even better.

"Bastard!"

The young man who saw this scene was furious, but it also solidified his resolve to leave this place immediately. In this environment, he couldn't fight Qi at all. He didn't even have enough time to perform ninjutsu, because he would be attacked before he could finish his hand seals...

This guy's Ice Release is truly bizarre! The records in the intelligence reports are nothing like this at all!

"It's over there!"

Finally, he pinpointed the direction, leaped into the air, and dashed toward it like a gale.

At the same time, he formed a seal with his hands, and as his figure flickered, he transformed into a multitude of clones, breaking out in various different directions.

The Clone Technique, at least, wouldn't be interrupted so easily...

"You actually think you can run away like this? You're looking down on me, aren't you?"

Hiding within the space of the ice, Qi sneered repeatedly as he watched the man's actions. This was a technique he had cast himself, so for him, there was no interference whatsoever; through the ice layers, he could observe the detailed status of everyone within this range.

Moreover, even while hiding in a different dimension, he could still control his Ice Release. Ice Release was not such a simple thing; otherwise, how could it have shone so brilliantly in the Land of Water?

Just as his opponent began to rely on clones to break through, he had already finished forming his seals.

"Rise for me!"

As soon as his voice fell, under Qi's precise control, the ice layer beneath the young man's feet—both the original and the clones—underwent another transformation at that very moment.

At the same time, the wind and snow that had been roaring all around slowly ceased, replaced by all the moisture in the air surging toward the ice layer on the ground...

Just as Uchiha Kongci had said, from this moment on, Qi's cultivation of his bloodline had completely embarked on a new path, one entirely different from the traditional Yuki clan, and the knowledge he had learned from various powerful experts was the best tool he had to perfect this path.

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