Killing

Whoosh~ whoosh~ whoosh~

Ishii Ichiro had just dodged the Kunai when several Shuriken flew over, faintly sealing off the space he could use to evade.

With no other choice, Ishii Ichiro could only swing the Kunai in his hand to block the incoming Shuriken.

Seizing the chance, Qian once again used the Body Flicker Technique, closing in on Ishii Ichiro at extreme speed.

After that, things developed just as they had moments ago—the two of them became tangled together again.

Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko kept Qian's instructions firmly in mind, staying near him the entire time and coordinating with him to interfere with Ishii Ichiro's movements.

"Damn it!"

Watching Qian's movements in the fight grow more and more practiced, Ishii Ichiro felt as if he had become the enemy's sparring partner, and he had no idea where to vent the fury filling his chest.

Just then, a Kunai came flying in from the side.

But the target of the attack was not Ishii Ichiro. It was Qian, who was immersed in battle.

"Look out!"

"Look out!"

Two warning cries rang out one after the other, almost at the same time.

Qian only felt a chill in his heart and hurriedly retreated backward.

Whoosh~

A Kunai sliced through the air, flying past right in front of his eyes.

From the corner of his eye, Qian glanced in the direction the Kunai had come from and saw a Middle-Aged Rock Ninja rushing toward him. Behind him, a Leaf Village Chunin was in pursuit.

The one who had shouted the warning first just now was precisely this Leaf Village Chunin.

Qian recognized him. He was the Chunin who had organized them to set up the defense not long ago.

Earlier, the other man had been running around putting out fires everywhere, and now he had made it here.

It was just...

Qian looked toward the Middle-Aged Rock Ninja who had just launched a sneak attack on him, his expression not looking too good.

If not for the other party pulling this move, he would still be farming Battle Experience from Ishii Ichiro right now!

"Sigh, how nice would it have been to let me slack off a little? You just had to force me to act."

That was right. Qian had already made up his mind to act.

The other party had clearly set his sights on him.

Under these circumstances, if he kept slacking off, what awaited him would be getting surrounded and attacked.

Since that was the case, he could only make the first move and gain the upper hand.

As for exposing his strength...

Then he would expose a little!

With a thought, Qian pulled out six Shuriken, then hurled them fiercely.

Three of them were used to seal off the enemy's retreat, three predicted his movement, and the remaining two shot straight toward the vital points of his chest and abdomen.

The Middle-Aged Rock Ninja seemed not to have expected Qian's counterattack to be so decisive, so his response was slightly stiff.

With this brief delay, the Leaf Village Chunin behind him caught up, and with a series of clangs, they fell into battle.

However, everything had its pros and cons.

Qian had stopped the other party from getting close, but he had also given Ishii Ichiro a chance to catch his breath.

Almost the instant he threw the Shuriken, Ishii Ichiro threw a Kunai at him at the same time.

Qian had no time to block and could only do his best to dodge.

With this dodge, Ishii Ichiro gained even more ample time.

Then Ishii Ichiro rapidly pulled back, completed his hand seals in the blink of an eye, slapped the ground, and unleashed a ninjutsu—Earth Release: Earth Fissure Palm.

In an instant, several cracks a zhang wide appeared. With his palm as the center, they spread rapidly in a fan shape toward Qian's position.

During this time, Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko tried to interfere, but because they lacked Battle Experience, they failed to seize a good opportunity, and the Kunai and Shuriken they threw all missed.

In the end, they allowed him to successfully unleash the ninjutsu.

Feeling the earth beneath his feet shake continuously and watching the cracks spread rapidly toward him, Qian's expression turned grave.

He raised both hands and completed his hand seals at the fastest speed of his life, using the Body Flicker Technique.

In the end, before the cracks swallowed him, he relied on his speed advantage and escaped the range of the ninjutsu.

It had to be said, this kind of ninjutsu that could create an earthquake effect was extremely unfriendly to ninja who could not fly.

If Ishii Ichiro's Chakra had not been limited, and if he had mastered this ninjutsu properly, Qian feared even standing would have become a problem, let alone sprinting at high speed.

Fortunately, it was all over.

Qian looked at Ishii Ichiro in the distance, whose face looked as if he were constipated, and without the slightest hesitation, immediately charged over.

Arriving even sooner than he did were the three kunai he had thrown.

Ishii Ichiro had sharp eyes. He spotted the Exploding Tag tied behind one of the kunai and immediately retreated.

Boom—

Fire flared, and the Exploding Tag detonated.

A shock wave visible to the naked eye spread rapidly outward with that kunai at its center.

The commotion was so great that the surrounding battlefield fell silent for a moment.

But Qian paid none of it any mind. Since he had decided to act, he would not hesitate in the slightest.

Under the cover of the flames from the Exploding Tag, he closed in on Ishii Ichiro.

Then, just as Ishii Ichiro thought he was about to press into close combat again, Qian suddenly stopped. His hands flew, and in the space of a breath, he formed six seals: Rat–Tiger Seal–Dog–Ox–Rabbit–Tiger Seal.

Taking a deep breath, Qian gathered Fire Release Chakra in his throat and spat it out hard.

The next moment, fireballs like balsam seeds appeared one after another, dancing through the air as they shot toward Ishii Ichiro.

Putting aside how effective the ninjutsu was, in terms of spectacle alone, it was absolutely among the flashiest, perfectly matching the Uchiha clan's style.

However, Ishii Ichiro was in no mood to admire the scene.

The moment he saw Qian forming seals, he had felt an ominous premonition.

Now, that premonition had come true, but all he could do was dodge.

Fireball after fireball came flying in. Ishii Ichiro dodged left and right, and in the end, he managed not to be completely engulfed by the flames.

But injury was unavoidable.

When the flames went out, many parts of his clothes had been scorched black, and several blisters had appeared on his face.

This was only because Qian's Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique was not very high level, the flames it created were of ordinary power, and he had not activated the Sharingan to assist him, making precise strikes impossible. That was why the other party had only suffered light injuries.

Otherwise, with such a good opportunity, even if he could not kill him outright, he could at least have inflicted heavy damage.

Fortunately, he still had a follow-up move.

Before the chakra inside him had even settled, Qian began forming seals again.

Seeing this, Ishii Ichiro panicked and was about to use ninjutsu to escape.

But before he could move, a tyrannical surge of Spiritual Power rushed into his mind, causing the image of Qian throwing kunai to appear before his eyes.

Ishii Ichiro had no time to think. Instinctively, he dodged to the side.

But in the next instant, a heart-piercing pain came from his chest. Ishii Ichiro lowered his head and saw a kunai embedded in his heart.

In the final moment of his life, Ishii Ichiro struggled to raise his head and look at Qian. Seeing that Qian's arm had yet to fall, he murmured, "Genjutsu, huh..."

That was right. Just now, Qian had used genjutsu on him.

However, it was not Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique, but the Mind Reflection Technique, which had a name but little substance.

Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique required the cooperation of the Sharingan. Although Qian intended to reveal some of his strength, that did not include the Sharingan.

So naturally, he could not use that technique.

That left only the Mind Reflection Technique.

Although this technique had a name but little substance, and its main function was to assist the evolution of the Sharingan, it did have some genjutsu effects in the end.

It could disrupt the target's senses to a certain extent, thereby affecting the target's judgment.

Just now, he had made Ishii Ichiro see the false image of him throwing kunai in advance. Only after Ishii Ichiro dodged did Qian truly make his move.

In the end, he completed a one-hit kill.

And the reason Ishii Ichiro had been hit without the slightest resistance was entirely because Qian's mastery of this technique was too high.

At level 3, close to level 4, it was the skill with the highest Proficiency among all his abilities.

Although the effect when used did not reach the level an Rank A genjutsu should have, it was no weaker than ordinary Rank C genjutsu.

It was only normal for Ishii Ichiro to be caught by it.

After all, who could have imagined that a mere Genin like him would have mastered so many skills?