"Now I finally understood why no one was willing to make enemies of the Uzumaki Clan! They were practically a damn rock!"
Mingye gritted his teeth. The Five-Element Divine Beasts had no will of their own; they only counterattacked those who struck them. Their purely defensive forms were what made them so disgusting. Deciding not to overthink it, he gathered sage chakra in his hand and charged straight at the mirror image. The reflection made the exact same move, even using the same sage art. Their attacks collided like two snakes battling for supremacy.
"Snake Bite."
Watching the mirror image unleash the attack, Mingye dearly wanted to find out whether its poison also came from Ryūchi Cave like his own. But he knew this was no time to play around. He kicked at the opponent's cheek, and while the mirror image blocked, it gathered chakra in its mouth.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."
The moment he recognized the ninjutsu, Mingye vanished from where he stood, evading the blast of wind. Yet the mirror image could teleport as well, perfectly copying his ninjutsu. Its hand transformed into a sharp spear and stabbed toward him. Mingye ducked low to evade, formed seals, and slammed a sage art directly into its abdomen. The mirror image completely ignored the attack and continued its assault, only to suddenly freeze in midair.
"It's my clone, but it can't use chakra the way I can! You're asking to be blown up!"
Mingye directly infused sage chakra into the mirror image's body. The instant it circulated its chakra, the sage chakra erupted. As his words fell, the mirror image exploded, all its chakra gathering in the sky. Seeing this, Ara hurriedly shouted a warning.
"Move!"
Chirp—
Without another word, Mingye teleported away. The entire area turned into a sea