Outrageously Stable (Seeking Collection, Recommendations, Monthly Votes)

"Genjutsu! Mist Servant Technique!"

Hand seals complete!

With the flow of Chakra, a surge of pure spiritual energy erupted, enveloping Tu He, who was consumed by rage.

In an instant.

After a brief distortion in Tu He's vision, the figure of Qifeng before him transformed, becoming the very being he feared most in that moment—Orochimaru!

At the same time, blood-soaked Konoha Ninjas, brimming with hatred, emerged from every corner, gripping various ninja tools and forming different hand seals, all locking onto him.

"Orochimaru!!"

Tu He roared, forcing his inner fear down with a surge of anger.

One of the key principles of using genjutsu: when an enemy is swayed by their own emotions, the technique's power far exceeds its usual strength.

The greater the emotional turmoil within the target, the more devastating the genjutsu becomes.

Already wounded and seething with the grief of watching his comrades die, Tu He fell under Qifeng's genjutsu, plunging into a frenzied state.

Hand seals!

"Earth Style! Earth Tremor!"

Rumble—

Though affected by the genjutsu, Tu He still retained most of his combat strength.

As Chakra surged forth recklessly, this Earth Style Ninjutsu packed considerable power.

The ground began to roar incessantly, jagged rocks thrusting upward while flat surfaces suddenly sank.

The very terrain shifted.

Qifeng, who had been planning to seize the moment to attack, changed his expression, halted his advance, and retreated.

A large-scale assault was devastatingly destructive, and he had no intention of clashing head-on with it right now.

At this moment, Tu He was like a wounded tiger—ferocity bared, snarling at anyone who approached, rampaging wildly without any semblance of strategy.

In Qifeng's eyes, Tu He resembled a headless fly, lashing out at empty space.

He could only choose to avoid the brunt of it.

A husky facing a tiger?

Better to stay out of the way.

But in Tu He's vision, his attacks had successfully driven back Orochimaru and heavily wounded countless Konoha Ninjas.

With disheveled hair and wild shouts, Tu He seemed utterly unhinged.

Yet, soon enough, he froze.

Because those Konoha Ninjas he had driven back, suppressed, and crushed into dust reappeared before his eyes.

Same expressions, same movements, same positions.

After a brief moment of shock, a flicker of calm passed through his frenzied eyes. A single thought was all it took for him to grasp the truth.

He glared at the "Orochimaru" not far away.

"Genjutsu!!" he hissed through gritted teeth.

But "Orochimaru" simply grinned, revealing a chilling smile.

His hands were already forming seals, and a faint voice, though soft, rang clearly in Tu He's ears.

"Genjutsu! Hell Viewing Technique!"

As if by Shadow Clone, countless "Orochimarus" emerged from all directions around Tu He, each wearing a mocking grin.

Tu He's mind briefly wavered.

In the blink of an eye, these "Orochimarus" had already appeared beside him, forming a circle and closing in.

"Earth Style!"

Tu He tried to form hand seals for a jutsu, but—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

These "Orochimarus" burst like balloons, and a torrent of slimy, smooth snakes of varying sizes rained down from above, covering the area around him, with many landing directly on his body.

Faced with snakes baring sharp fangs, Tu He's body instinctively trembled. The shadow Orochimaru cast over him once again loomed large.

Before he could react, the snakes visibly tore open gashes on his body, writhing and wriggling their tails as they burrowed into him through the wounds.

In an instant, disgust, fear, and revulsion overwhelmed him.

He frantically slapped at his body, holding nothing back.

Blood splattered as he personally crushed, choked, and ground the snakes trying to burrow into him.

But in Qifeng's eyes, Tu He's actions were nothing short of self-harm.

Every unrestrained slap that seemed to hit a snake was actually self-inflicted, and the blood spraying out wasn't the snakes'—it was his own.

In an instant.

Tu He, already drenched in blood, now looked more like a man who had crawled out of a pool of gore.

The difference was that before, the blood on him had belonged to others. This time, it was his own.

His face turned deathly pale. His steps faltered, and he stumbled, dropping to one knee.

As his blood drained away, the flow of Chakra within him grew chaotic, snapping him free from the illusion.

He lifted his head and looked at Qifeng, who stood on a jutting rock not far away. A bitter, unnameable feeling welled up in his heart.

Now, he had finally calmed down.

Without blood supplying oxygen to his brain, the feverish rush in his head had subsided.

But he wasn't relieved, because he could clearly feel his own condition.

Weak. Exhausted. Defeated.

An emotion he had failed to control had been quietly seized by Qifeng, who used it as a foundation to weave an illusion, reducing him—someone who still had some fighting strength—to this state.

Resentment!

But what could resentment do?

Qifeng clasped his hands together again.

His lips moved, and he lightly uttered a few words.

"Illusion! Binding Technique!"

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Wooden shackles materialized out of thin air, and chains like white bones coiled out from within, wrapping around Tu He's wrists, ankles, waist, neck, and many other places. The bone-white chains were covered in fine, dense barbs. At the slightest movement, they would pierce into his marrow with agonizing pain.

His arms were spread wide, his legs pressed together, standing stiff and frozen in Qifeng's line of sight.

What made it even more despairing was that Qifeng never once showed any intention of getting closer to him.

He just stood there, watching from afar, smiling. The distance between them became the most hopeless chasm.

Nonsense.

Of course Qifeng wouldn't get close. Others might not know Tu He's strength, but Qifeng had just witnessed him tangling with Orochimaru with his own eyes. How could he not understand?

Just look at the surroundings—this was a masterpiece born from the hands of this seemingly gravely wounded Iwa-nin.

Who knew what other trump cards he might have hidden?

Qifeng stood still, watching quietly.

This standoff lasted for a moment. Tu He's eyelids grew heavy and slowly drooped. Crimson blood filled the hollow beneath his feet, and the clear "drip, drip" of falling blood rang out, starkly jarring in the silence.

Qifeng thought for a moment, then clenched his right hand in the air.

"Bone Release! Bone Stab Technique!"

A pale, sharp bone slid out from his arm, and he gripped it tightly.

He pushed off the ground and hurled it with force.

Psh!

The bone pierced into Tu He's chest.

"Explode!"

The next second.

Psh! Psh! Psh!

The sound of piercing rang out without end. Countless fine bone spurs burst forth from inside Tu He's body, skewering him into a white bone hedgehog that looked just like Qifeng.

Only after doing all this did Qifeng quietly let out a breath.

He should be dead for sure.

Just as he took a step forward, a sharp pain stabbed into his mind, as if his head were about to explode, unbearable.

But the pain came and went quickly.

His body was covered in cold sweat, and his face had turned somewhat pale.

He helplessly twitched the corner of his mouth. "Illusions really do a number on the brain."

Between the mental drain, the construction of the illusion, the grasp of the situation, and all the factors that needed to be considered, illusion techniques were an incredibly brain-intensive way to fight.

Having defeated two Iwa-nin in a row, even with the boost from the Experience Card, Qifeng felt his brain was running low.

But these two battles had made him fully understand the power of illusions.

The key point was that the way illusions worked truly suited his combat philosophy.

No need to get close. No dangerous physical contact. Slowly grind the opponent down. This fighting style was just too stable.

Stable to the point of being terrifying.

He took a few breaths, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and took a deep drag.

With the nicotine's sting, bitterness flooded his mouth.

He recovered a bit.

Jumping down from the rock, he walked over to Tu He's corpse.

Qifeng showed a hint of surprise.

"Red light? It's faint, but it's definitely red light."

Red light—meaning a Red Corpse—signified a Quasi-Kage!