The Second Hokage's Water Style Jutsu

"Shing!"

A blue light traced a semicircular arc through the air, effortlessly slicing through the neck of a Rock Ninja.

"That's another one!"

The masked youth in white turned around, panting slightly, then lashed out with a fierce kick, sending a Rock Ninja who had just burst from the ground flying into the distance.

Simultaneously, he pushed off the ground, his body flashing like lightning to catch up, piercing the ninja's heart with his blade before the man could even react.

"You're so strong..."

The black-haired youth who had come with him wore a wry, helpless smile. Two short blades danced around him, creating a wall of steel that emitted a sharp, whistling sound. Under such blade-wind, those Rock Ninja genin were essentially made of paper; a single hit meant broken limbs at best, or a mangled heap of flesh at worst.

The two were currently in the heart of the battlefield. A clash of over a thousand people was truly extraordinary; after the initial probing, the two great ninja armies of Konoha and Iwagakure had devolved into a chaotic melee.

Tactics were unnecessary here. Ninjas simply needed to form small squads and slaughter every enemy they laid eyes on.

Qi's teammates remained Kakashi, Obito, and Ling. This four-man squad had yet to encounter a situation they couldn't handle. As youths, improvement was a given, and it wasn't just Qi and Kakashi—Obito and Ling had also clearly made significant strides.

Kakashi, in particular, had developed a fighting style increasingly similar to the White Fang. In terms of ninjutsu, he specialized in Earth and Lightning, using the properties of these two elements to reinforce his taijutsu. The spoils he had obtained from the scrolls of two elite Iwagakure jonin last time had been immensely beneficial.

To be honest, Qi had wondered more than once what Kakashi would become in a decade if he never obtained the Sharingan.

This wasn't idle speculation. With himself now part of the team and many things having changed, he didn't believe Obito needed to sacrifice himself, nor that Kakashi needed to lose an eye.

It wasn't that he underestimated his enemies; rather, he possessed confidence, especially since he understood the strengths and weaknesses of those Rock Ninja. When the time came, he was certain he could slaughter the opposition without requiring any sacrifice from his team.

The butterfly effect was a mysterious concept, but in reality, it was just that. Qi never took it to heart. In a world so vastly different from the anime, the so-called "plot" held little inherent meaning. If he relied on his knowledge of the story to survive, he would die sooner or later.

Under these circumstances, he cared even less about changing the "plot"; he only cared about whether it would cause him harm.

At the very least, he felt that helping Kakashi and leading him down a different path would bring him no harm.

Besides, he didn't want to see Obito die. Human hearts were made of flesh and blood, and as comrades who had hacked through enemies together on the battlefield, he truly couldn't remain indifferent.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

Speak of the devil—just as Qi was pondering Obito's fate, the boy released a fire technique nearby, incinerating a group of Rock Ninja.

It was fortunate that the four of them were an elite squad with excellent coordination, allowing them to appear more relaxed in the chaos compared to others.

On the current battlefield, the number of Konoha corpses was no less than the enemy's. Both sides were being wiped out in organized units, squad by squad, as life after life was extinguished.

One misstep could lead to eternal regret, and here, a single person's mistake meant the entire squad suffered.

"Whoosh!"

The sound of air being torn apart rang out as a massive wave of shuriken rained down from above, a dark, suffocating cloud!

"Tch!"

Qi spat, gripping his short blade with a reverse hold.

"Vacuum Barrier!"

With a swing of his blade, the surrounding air began to flow violently. Through the friction of the cutting wind, he formed a wind-wall a short distance above the four of them. A series of "clanging" sounds erupted as the shuriken above were deflected, their momentum completely neutralized.

Even if they managed to fall toward the four of them, they no longer posed any threat.

However, this gave many Rock Ninja genin an opening to close in, as Qi's move had clearly provided them an opportunity.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"

Without hesitation, Qi fired a barrage of high-pressure wind bullets at them. The Rock Ninja, having tried to take advantage only to suffer for it, were instantly knocked over in a heap.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Beast!"

Kakashi seized the moment to follow up with a lightning technique. The crackling, electric beast wove through the Rock Ninja who couldn't dodge in time, circling them completely before dissipating into the air, still hungry for more.

What remained were numerous charred corpses.

"Does that count as yours or mine?"

He even asked Qi such a question.

"Whoever killed them gets the credit!"

Qi responded with a headache. He was increasingly regretting making bets with Kakashi; it was such a hassle.

"Kakashi, this isn't working! We have to break out! There are more and more Rock Ninja around us!"

Suddenly, Obito's voice came through.

Qi and Kakashi looked around and saw a constant stream of Rock Ninja emerging from the ground and between the rocks.

Looking at the Konoha side, they seemed unable to hold on, showing clear signs of retreating. Although the Konoha ninjas were still resisting stubbornly, they were at a massive numerical disadvantage. The Iwagakure army moved quite quickly, and their reinforcements always arrived faster than those of the Konoha forces.

"We can't retreat. If we retreat, we'll be scattered, and that will be the end of us!"

Qi thought for a moment and decided to use Ice Release. Although the chakra consumption was high, it was absolutely worth it given the sheer number of enemies.

"Kakashi, take Obito and Ling and move toward our own people. I'm going to give these Rock Ninja something big!"

"Understood."

Kakashi replied, knocking down a Rock Ninja as he moved toward the struggling friendly forces with Obito and Ling, saving lives while cutting down enemies.

"Heh, there aren't any jonin among you lot anymore, are there? I haven't even seen an elite chunin yet. Since your higher-ups want to play the numbers game, I'll let you play to your heart's content!"

With a sinister grin, Qi did not immediately resort to Ice Release, but instead began weaving the hand seals for a Water Release technique.

"Is this guy an idiot?"

Seeing the Water Release seals in Qi's hands, the Iwagakure genin who had surrounded him upon seeing him "isolated" were all stunned for a moment, yet they did not stop, instead swarming forward with the intention of killing him on the spot.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

With a dark chuckle, Qi activated this technique, which had been improved by the Second Hokage; though it shared the same name, its power was vastly different.

On the flat ground, a white tornado composed of water moved almost the instant the Rock Ninja rushed to surround Qi...

Those who were further away were fine, but those close by were like kites caught in the wind; once the water vortex swept them up, they immediately lost all sense of direction, fell unconscious, and were flung high into the air—and this water vortex was only growing larger!

"What is this!?"

"Is there such a thing as a Water Release technique like this..."

This bizarre scene instantly shocked the surrounding Rock Ninja and even drew the attention of more Rock Ninja from further away.

"It looks like it's about to explode, get away! Stealth Technique!"

"It's exactly you lot using the Stealth Technique that I want! Explode for me!"

Just as many of the Rock Ninja began to use the Stealth Technique, intending to submerge themselves into the ground, Qi let out a wild laugh and immediately triggered the offensive form of the Water Dragon Bullet Technique.

"BOOM!!!"

This was by no means the splashing sound of an ordinary Water Release technique, but a genuine explosion; the pressure accumulated by the constantly rotating water vortex was released all at once! Under the influence of this pressure, a massive wave of high-pressure water instantly surged across a distance of nearly a hundred meters!

Those Rock Ninja who had intended to use the Stealth Technique were truly unlucky; with half their bodies already submerged in the ground, they didn't even have time to scream before the water wave tore their bodies in two!

As for those who hadn't used the Stealth Technique but instead activated the Hardening Technique, they were much smarter; although they couldn't avoid being swept away by the waves, at least they were able to save their lives...

"This is the Second Hokage's Water Release technique!"

On a high ridge, among a group of Konoha ninja who had been observing this part of the battlefield, a cry of surprise suddenly rang out.

"It can't be wrong, only the Second Hokage's Water Dragon Bullet Technique looks like this!"

"What!?"

The exclamation stirred up a thousand ripples, and all the Konoha ninja present became clamorous.

"That's impossible, that's only a peripheral unit; the strongest among them are only elite chunin!"

There were many Konoha ninja who could use Water Release, but unfortunately, no one had been able to inherit the Second Hokage's techniques to this day, as the requirements were simply too high—even among true jonin, not a single one could be found who could master it.

Who would have expected that in such a frontline position, within a vanguard unit consisting of at most elite chunin, there would actually appear someone capable of using the Second Hokage's Water Release technique? It was truly astonishing!

"Immediately send men to support that unit!"

A Konoha ninja who appeared to be the leader reacted at once; he was a jonin and understood what kind of value this information held if it were true.

"If it really is that, this caster must be rescued; he cannot be allowed to die here!"