Szzzt—
An ear-piercing scrape rang out.
Kushimaru Kuriarare suddenly drove the long needle into the ground, then yanked hard with his left hand. The Steel Wire strung through the air snapped shut in an instant.
Pff—pff—
Several strands of Steel Wire bit into the flesh around Qian's neck, forming a strangling snare around him while also trapping the Kirigakure Jonin fighting him.
However, as a cloud of chakra smoke burst apart, Qian turned into several sections of wooden stake. There was not the slightest trace of blood on the Steel Wire.
Clearly, Qian had used the Substitution Technique long ago and had not suffered any injury at all.
By contrast, the Kirigakure Jonin who had been fighting him had his heart sliced open by the Steel Wire. A massive gush of blood sprayed out, instantly dyeing the ground red.
Only then did clarity return to his eyes, but it was already too late.
Terumi Mei and Ao looked at his corpse, their expressions extremely ugly.
Kushimaru Kuriarare and the other Kirigakure Anbu merely froze for a moment, then stopped paying any attention to him and turned to attack Qian again.
Seeing this, Terumi Mei and Ao could only sigh helplessly and continue cooperating with them in the attack.
But after that lesson, Terumi Mei and Ao became even more cautious when they made their moves. Sometimes, even when a good opportunity appeared, they were unwilling to take the risk.
That gave Qian far more room to maneuver, and the pressure on him lessened considerably.
And so, the battle continued in this strange atmosphere.
Soon, another half hour passed.
The effect of Qian rushing over to provide support began to show.
As Terumi Mei and the others were pinned down by him, the Leaf Village Jonin who had been fighting