"Qingyue!"
"That's right, it's me. Hurry up and leave. You'll only get in my way here. Get out of here and find reinforcements—make sure you bring Jonin!"
There wasn't much time. Even though I had killed one of them with a sneak attack, things would not go so smoothly from here on.
All I could do was hold back their attacks as much as possible, keep maneuvering, and hold out until my companions arrived.
"Got it! Father, hurry up and go! We'll find reinforcements!"
"No, you need to leave now. They're not weak. I can't leave a child here to buy time for us. Let me use the Gate of Death—"
"Brother Duy, you're holding me back. Leave, now!"
At this point, I could no longer worry about anything else. I only wanted them to leave quickly; otherwise, things would only get more troublesome.
"Let's go, Father. Qingyue is a ninja far stronger than us. We'll only hold him back here!"
At last, with Guy pulling him along, Might Duy gave me a deep bow before quickly leading the others away.
"Don't even think about running!"
Seeing Juzo Biwa raise his sword to stop their escape, I immediately stepped forward and blocked him with my blade.
In a direct clash of strength, the powerful force forced me to lower my stance and brace myself.
What a heavy sword. As expected of an Elite Jonin. I hadn't used chakra to strengthen my Dragon Saint Battle Aura, but this was the first time a contest of strength had been so difficult.
Lowering my body, I used a clever twist to knock my ninja sword away from his Kubikiribōchō. With my cloak concealing my hand movements, I swiftly threw out three Explosive Tags and retreated at top speed.
I raised two fingers on my left hand. Upon receiving the signal, the Explosive Tags detonated with a roar, kicking up a cloud of smoke.
However, he had only suffered light injuries. Carrying the Kubikiribōchō in one hand, he charged at me again.
He's an Elite Jonin, after all. It would have been strange if Explosive Tags had taken him down...
Just as I prepared to block with the Water God Style, my Observation Haki suddenly warned me. In the distance, Suikazan Fuguki's hair stood on end before firing needle-like hair senbon.
There was no way to deflect all of them with such numbers. I could only strengthen my Dragon Saint Battle Aura, enduring the senbon strikes while swinging my blade to use the Water God Style and knock aside Juzo's Kubikiribōchō.
The hair senbon rained down across my body. They failed to pierce my Dragon Saint Battle Aura, but the pain still made me grit my teeth.
After hurriedly pulling away, I glanced at Raiga Kurosuki on the far right, who held the Lightning blades, then spun and charged toward Munashi Jinpachi to my left rear, unleashing the Silent Sword.
The Exploding Blade Shibuki's battlefield control was far too strong. I had to deal with him first, or the rest of the battle would leave me too constrained.
Clang—
"What?!"
For the first time—since coming to this world, for the first time—the Silent Sword had been blocked. Its user had been stopped by the wielder of the twin blades Hiramekarei.
The two Hiramekarei blades merged into one. Blue chakra burned like Flame, and the massive energy overwhelmed me, sending me flying.
Exposed in midair, I saw Juzo leap up from the ground and swing his blade at me. Fortunately, Observation Haki had warned me in advance, giving me time to react.
I twisted my body slightly and narrowly avoided the Kubikiribōchō, then drove my extended leg into him with all my strength, kicking him back to the ground.
The distance between us returned to where it had started. I panted heavily, and looking at the six men before me, I could barely force a pleasant expression onto my face.
I never expected the Hiramekarei user, who was never even described in the main story, to be able to block the Silent Sword. Fortunately, he hadn't instantly amassed chakra and unleashed all of Hiramekarei's power. Otherwise, that blow would have split me in two.
I lowered my head to inspect my ninja sword. The last clash had already chipped its edge. It felt like it would shatter after a few more uses of the Silent Sword.
"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Qingyue, a Jonin of Konoha."
I should stall for time first. I can't attack rashly.
"A stalling tactic? Interesting. I'll play along. No matter how many Konoha scum come, the outcome will be the same."
The speaker was the user of the twin blades Hiramekarei. His spiky hair resembled a drill, and his entire face looked like that of a large ocean predator.
"I am Hōzuki Chiba of the Hōzuki Clan. You're quite the swordsman for someone so young! Kushimaru Kuriarare may have been the most useless one, but instantly killing him still proves your strength deserves recognition. You weren't using your full strength just now, were you?"
I still underestimated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. I didn't expect them to see through the fact that I was holding back so quickly.
"After all, we may fight again in the future. It wouldn't be good to reveal too much information now."
"You're still trying to conceal information while facing the six of us? I don't know whether to call you overly confident or recklessly ignorant. Fine, let your death teach you this lesson!"
The stalling tactic had failed. Chiba split Hiramekarei into two blades and charged toward me, firing several blue senbon along the way to guide my evasive route.
Against this kind of fighting style, the best response was naturally to take everything head-on. Feints of this level could not pierce my Dragon Saint Battle Aura.
Ignoring the blue senbon, I swiftly crouched down and grabbed a handful of mud and sand. When Chiba approached, I flung it at him to disrupt his vision.
"A cheap trick? Are you children playing?"
Just as Chiba prepared to respond to my attack, I changed direction and charged toward Munashi Jinpachi again.
Unfortunately, the turn this time was too sharp for me to use the Silent Sword, but it was enough!
Observation Haki suddenly warned me. Two bolts of Lightning, shaped like sharp fangs, struck from the side. Left with no choice, I strengthened my Battle Aura to block them, halting my charge.
After being blasted away by the two Lightning strikes, I immediately got to my feet, only to see Juzo with the Kubikiribōchō drawn behind his back, gathering strength as he appeared before me!
"Farewell, brat!"
The Kubikiribōchō tore through the air as it swung straight down. If I tried to block it head-on with my ninja sword now, the blade would likely break and injure me.
Seizing the moment, I lowered my ninja sword and moved face-to-face with Juzo. While he hesitated in confusion, I pressed my left hand against the Kubikiribōchō's blade and gave it a light, skillful push, successfully knocking it aside.
With Dragon Saint Battle Aura wrapped around me, I drove a rising knee into his abdomen. Juzo recoiled in pain and retreated two steps. I pressed my advantage and slashed at him, but he blocked it with the Kubikiribōchō.
At that moment, Munashi Jinpachi, who had been hiding at the very back, swung the Exploding Blade Shibuki at me. Its blade was already covered in Explosive Tags.
At this distance, is he trying to blow up Juzo too?
Observation Haki suddenly warned me. I erupted with chakra in one burst, strengthening my Dragon Saint Battle Aura to its limit as I fled at full speed. The next instant, a spherical ball of water appeared where I had been standing.
That was the Water Prison Technique. If I got caught by it, I would not be able to escape. Taking the Exploding Blade Shibuki's damage head-on would definitely leave me seriously injured.
"Such fast reactions. I truly underestimated you before, brat. Qingyue, was it...? My name is Juzo Biwa. Be happy—you have earned my recognition!"
Not a single one of his attacks hit me, and I've been chasing him around this whole time. He really has the nerve to say that...
Are Kirigakure ninja really this shameless? They're practically on par with the Uchiha Clan.
The Lightning blades struck again, two bolts racing toward me with incredible speed.
Even after taking the Lightning blades while covered in Battle Aura, I'm still a little numb. I absolutely can't take another hit, or my movements will slow down.
With that in mind, I immediately sidestepped the Lightning, but Jinin Akebino, wielding Kabutowari, suddenly charged at me!
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