Kisame stabilized his body, slowly lowered his arms, and held Samehada horizontally in front of him again.
The casual smile on his face softened a little, and there was a hint of seriousness in the tiny shark eyes.
"Interesting."
He looked at Ning Xue, his voice became a little deeper, and the casualness in his tone was replaced by something more solid.
"In terms of swordsmanship, I haven't encountered an opponent like you for a long time."
Ning Xue did not reply.
He just held Kubikiribōchō horizontally, his eyes locked on every inch of Kisame's movements, his fingertips tightened slightly on the handle of the knife, and he adjusted his grip.
The next moment, he moved.
He was as fast as a cheetah, dragging his broadsword behind him, plowing a long ravine on the ground.
When he was still a few meters away from Kisame, he suddenly struck out with his sword.
Kubikiribōchō, with a thick sound that broke through the air, went straight to the waist of Kisame.
Kisame's eyes caught the trajectory of the blade, and he raised his eyebrows slightly.
At this distance, it is impossible to cut him.
Sure enough... was this the first time I used this knife? I misjudged the attack distance.
With this thought in his mind, Samehada raised his head slightly and was ready to block.
He judged that the sword would miss about half a meter away from him, and then the opponent would reveal a flaw, and he would be able to counterattack.
However--
The next second, his pupils suddenly shrank.
At the handle of Kubikiribōchō, a transparent silk thread as thin as a hair reflected a faint light in the sun, connecting Ning Xue's fingertips, and the length of the silk thread just made up for the "out of reach" distance.
The broadsword accelerated suddenly at the moment when it was about to miss - Ning Xue flicked his wrist, Chakra Threads suddenly tightened, the handle of the knife changed its trajectory under the traction of the silk thread, and the blade cut into Kisame's side rib at an unexpected angle.
Kisame's response is extremely fast.
He didn't have time to think, and relied on his fighting instinct to stand up Samehada and block it by his side.
"Qiang--!"
Kubikiribōchō's blade struck Samehada's blade accurately, and the huge impact shook Kisame sideways for half a step.
The blade was bounced off and flipped around in the air, but Ning Xue's movements did not stop.
He exerted force on his wrist again, and Chakra Threads pulled back suddenly. As if being pulled, Kubikiribōchō drew an arc in the air and fell back into his hand.
Ning Xue turned around and used the inertia of pulling back to slash the sword horizontally again.
But this time, the blade struck from the other side, and the angle was even more tricky.
Kisame didn't have time to turn Samehada to the other side, so he could only make a quick decision, exerted force on his legs, and ejected backwards, narrowly avoiding the blow.
He landed on the ground and looked down at the corner of his clothes, where a long slender cut had been made by a blade.
If he had been slower for just a moment, the gash would have appeared on his waist and abdomen.
"This gentleman..."
Kisame raised his head, with a hint of unexpected approval in his eyes.
"The way you use a knife is really interesting."
Ning Xue turned his wrist lightly, wrapped Chakra Threads around his fingertips, and tightened his grip on Kubikiribōchō. The voice came from under the mask, calm and calm.
"Just getting some inspiration from your colleagues."
"Colleague?" Kisame tilted his head.
"Hidan."
Ning Xue added in a calm tone.
"His method of using ropes to extend the attack distance, I think... can be used as a reference."
Kisame was slightly startled when he heard this, then laughed softly and did not ask any more questions.
"Really... the learning ability of young people is really scary."
He whispered, with a hint of relief and admiration for this strange brain circuit in his tone.
But Ning Xue didn't give him more time to think.
He moved again.
Kubikiribōchō flew out of his hand, like a spinning Fuma Shuriken, flying straight towards Kisame's face with a harsh sound.
"Qiang!"
Shuriken inserts the sound into the ground.
Uchiha Itachi, who dodged the blow, looked at Uchiha Sasuke in front of him with a calm expression.
"My stupid Oudou-san..."
Itachi's voice was still calm, with that familiar, condescending calmness.
"Having listened to some rumors, do you think you know the truth?"
Sasuke did not answer the call.
But Itachi could clearly see that under those scarlet Sharingans, there were emotions that were completely different from those before.
It's no longer pure hatred.
It's no longer simple anger.
But... question.
"Let me ask you."
Sasuke spoke, his voice hoarse, but with an uncontrollable tremor.
"That night... was there a second person?"
Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What is hidden behind this genocide?"
Sasuke's voice gradually rose in pitch, and the last few words were almost squeezed out of his throat through gritted teeth.
"Answer me, Uchiha Itachi!"
Itachi said nothing.
He looked at Sasuke's eyes that were slightly red due to intense emotions and was silent for a long time.
Then, a rare wave of fluctuation flashed across his usually calm face.
and shock.
I wasn't shocked by Sasuke's tone, nor was I shocked by his anger.
Rather, he was shocked that this younger brother, whom he had trained with his own hands and who had been fed by hatred, finally started to think.
Instead of being led by revenge, he began to question the truth behind the genocide.
The corner of Itachi's mouth moved slightly, almost imperceptibly.
Then, he returned to his expressionless look, and his voice remained calm.
"... Who told you this?"
He did not answer Sasuke's question, but asked a question in return.
Sasuke did not answer.
He just stood there, his chest rising and falling violently, his eyes fixed on Itachi's eyes.
Those eyes were as scarlet as that night.