A jumble of thoughts flashed through Uzuki Cangwu's mind. Looking at Qin Yu, whose expression was still calm, he froze and said, "I have a feeling Qin Yu isn't that simple."
"His attack clearly missed. Why is he still so calm?"
As Uzuki Cangwu spoke, he looked up at the sky.
The sight before him nearly made his eyes pop out of their sockets.
Centered on the gorge, it was as if an invisible giant hand were rapidly stirring the thunderclouds that blanketed the sky.
They formed something like a colossal funnel.
Jagged bolts of lightning slithered through the clouds, growing more and more savage.
The oppressive atmosphere gradually spreading through the area gave the impression that a storm was about to break.
He had a vague suspicion that Qin Yu had already learned Falling Thunder and had hidden in the basin, all for the sake of the attack unfolding before them.
This was bad!
Uzuki Cangwu clenched his fists. He knew that once this attack struck, its power would be nothing short of astonishing.
Otherwise, Qin Yu wouldn't have gone to so much trouble.
Feeling his heart pound, Uzuki Cangwu was so tense that his nerves were about to snap.
Why could Qin Yu still stand outside, acting as if nothing were happening?
What a terrifying state of mind.
"Kid, have you run out of tricks?" A sneered. "Not enough chakra left?"
"If you can't go on, then it's our turn."
Seeing that Qin Yu still didn't move, A's expression darkened. He barked, "Get him! Surround him from all sides. I refuse to believe he can still turn the tables!"
"Kill him!"
Dozens of Cloud Ninja erupted into action.
The Lightning Release and Great Fireball from earlier had thoroughly humiliated them.
Now that Qin Yu was low on chakra, this was the perfect chance to kick him while he was down.
Three hundred meters. Two hundred meters!
Ten, thirty, fifty, seventy!
Qin Yu silently counted them, sensing the changes in his chakra's nature and feeling it resonate with the thunderclouds above.
The thunderous power building in the sky made even Qin Yu's heart tremble.
"You brat, quit your tricks and die!" One Cloud Ninja reached him first.
Rather, dozens of Cloud Ninja were closing in from all directions, each looking at him like a piece of meat in a bowl.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Spear!"
"Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"
"Lightning Release: Thrust!"
Their roars echoed wildly through the heavens and earth.
Blinding bolts of lightning transformed into various attacks and shot straight toward Qin Yu.
Watching Qin Yu stand there as if he hadn't noticed, Shizune couldn't hold back. She hurried forward.
"They're here! Everyone, reinforce the barrier with all your strength, or we'll all die!" Uzuki Cangwu bellowed.
Everyone was stunned.
The next instant, as the attacks closed in, lightning flashed around Qin Yu and he vanished into thin air like a phantom.
"Lightning Style: Body Flicker Technique!"
Someone with sharp eyes recognized it at once.
A tensed and hurriedly looked toward the small peak in the distance.
The sight before him shook him to the core.
"Damn it, something's wrong with the sky! Run!" A shouted urgently.
He sensed something in the clouds that filled even him with dread.
At last, he understood why Qin Yu had stood motionless, not reacting at all.
It had all been a trap!
"You won't get away. It's true that I don't have enough chakra to take you all out at once. I needed a large-scale attack with immense destructive power and a speed that would make it impossible to dodge, so I decided to borrow the power of the thunder." Qin Yu stood atop the peak.
The lightning concealed within him was now revealed in all its glory.
The swirling thunderclouds crackled with lightning, which converged and took the shape of a colossal Thunder Kirin!
"Goodbye, you adorable idiots."
The instant the words fell, Qin Yu moved.
He thrust his right hand downward. The Kirin formed from the vast, accumulated lightning let out a roar that shook the sky.
Thunder tore through the heavens, and lightning filled their vision.
Boom!
The Kirin swooped down. It moved so fast that the Cloud Ninja couldn't react in time.
Crash!
Lightning exploded outward with power rivaling a Tailed Beast Bomb.
The entire gorge was instantly engulfed in lightning. Trees and rocks alike were pulverized.
The lightning surged skyward, even punching through the clouds overhead.
Several minutes passed before everything finally settled.
The vast gorge was left in ruins.
No!
It would be more accurate to say that the gorge had completely disappeared. The land was now a charred, flat expanse of red earth.
The trees and rocks were gone without a trace, and even some of the hills had been leveled.
As for the Cloud Ninja, not even their bones remained.
A few of the luckier ones who had managed to use defensive techniques in time might have been left with an arm or a leg.
The enormous battlefield lay in utter devastation.
"Am I dreaming?"
"If not for this cave, we'd have been done for."
"Are you blind? What cave? If Senior Uzuki hadn't spotted the signs beforehand and told us to reinforce the barrier with everything we had, we'd all be dead too."
"The barrier could have held off the Cloud Ninja's attacks for two days, and even it was breached. That Lightning Release was the most terrifying and powerful forbidden technique I've ever seen."
The Konoha Ninja looked shaken, grateful to have survived.
They knew the attack had been aimed at the Cloud Ninja.
But even after witnessing something so astonishing with their own eyes, they were still terrified.
Especially when they saw the Cloud Ninja blasted to pieces. Their backs were already soaked with cold sweat.
"Damn you! You damn brat, you dared to set a trap and kill my men!" A and Killer B emerged from the ruins.
They looked a little battered, but hadn't suffered any serious injuries.
Some Cloud Ninja who had been near them hadn't joined the encirclement, so they had managed to rescue them in time.
Still, including A and Killer B, only seven of them remained.
It was a staggering contrast to their imposing numbers when they had first arrived.
Who would believe it without seeing it with their own eyes? Despite the huge disparity in numbers,
the Cloud Ninja led by the AB Duo had been wiped out by a single Chunin, with over a hundred elite soldiers killed in an instant.
"Those who kill are bound to be killed. Didn't they deserve it?" Qin Yu said with a smile.
At the sight of his gentle smile, a chill ran up the spines of not only the Cloud Ninja but the Konoha Ninja as well.
"Fine. Very well." A's expression darkened. After repeating the words twice, he shouted, "You caught me in your trap once. I won't fall for it a second time."
"You've used three techniques this powerful. Even with your incredible chakra, you can't keep this up for long. Today, I'll see what else you've got that could possibly let you beat me."
"Once I get my hands on you, I'll crush your bones and teach you just how mighty the Cloud Ninja are—and that no one can defy us!"
Before you continue