"Illusion Technique! Mist Servant Technique!"
Hand seals formed!
As Chakra flowed, a surge of pure spiritual power burst forth and enveloped Tu He, who was consumed by rage.
In an instant.
After a brief distortion in Tu He's vision, Qifeng's appearance changed before his eyes, becoming the person he feared most at that moment—Orochimaru!
At the same time, blood-soaked Konoha Ninja filled with hatred emerged from every corner, wielding all manner of ninja tools and forming all kinds of hand seals as they locked onto him.
"Orochimaru!!"
Tu He roared, forcibly using his anger to conceal the fear in his heart.
One of the key points of using illusion techniques was that when an enemy was influenced by his own emotions, the illusion's power far surpassed its usual strength.
The greater the emotional turmoil of the person caught in it, the more formidable the illusion became.
Tu He was already wounded and filled with unwillingness after witnessing his companions' deaths. Now that he had fallen under Qifeng's illusion, he descended into a frenzied state.
Hand seals!
"Earth Release! Earth Tremor!"
Rumble—
Though Tu He was affected by the illusion, most of his strength remained intact.
As Chakra surged forth as if it cost nothing, this Earth Style Ninjutsu displayed tremendous power.
The entire ground began to rumble continuously. Towering boulders abruptly rose, while stretches of flat ground suddenly sank.
Even the terrain changed.
Qifeng, who had intended to seize the chance to attack, changed expression. He halted his advance and swiftly retreated.
A large-scale attack was highly destructive, and he had no intention of confronting it head-on now.
Tu He was like a wounded tiger at that moment. His savagery fully exposed, he bared cold fangs at everyone and rampaged about without any discernible pattern.
In Qifeng's eyes, Tu He looked just like a headless fly, wildly attacking empty ground.
He could only avoid the edge of his fury.
A husky running into a tiger?
Better hide first.
But in Tu He's eyes, his attacks had successfully driven back Orochimaru and severely wounded a great number of Konoha Ninja.
His hair disheveled, Tu He let out a wild howl, looking utterly insane.
Yet, he soon froze.
Because the Konoha Ninja he had driven back, suppressed, and crushed into powder appeared in his sight once more.
They had the same expressions, the same movements, and stood in the same places.
After a brief daze, a trace of clarity flashed through his crazed eyes. With a single turn of thought, he understood the reason.
He glared furiously at "Orochimaru" in the distance.
"Illusion technique!!" he ground out through clenched teeth.
"Orochimaru" merely grinned, revealing a chilling smile.
His hands had already formed hand seals, and though his voice was soft, it rang clearly in Tu He's ears.
"Illusion Technique! Hell Viewing Technique!"
Like Shadow Clones, countless "Orochimaru" figures "drilled" out from all directions around Tu He, each wearing a mocking smile.
Tu He's mind briefly blanked.
In the blink of an eye, he discovered that these "Orochimaru" figures had appeared beside him, forming a circle around him.
"Earth Release!"
Tu He had just intended to form hand seals and use ninjutsu when—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Those "Orochimaru" figures burst apart like balloons. Countless slick, writhing snakes of varying sizes rained down from above, covering the area around him, with quite a few landing directly on his body.
Faced with the snakes' sharp fangs, Tu He's body trembled instinctively. The shadow Orochimaru had left behind once again enveloped his heart.
Before he could react, the snakes tore open bloody gashes across his body, twisting their bodies and swaying their tails as they burrowed into him through those wounds.
For a time, disgust, fear, and revulsion filled his mind.
His hands frantically slapped at his body, showing no restraint whatsoever.
Blood immediately splattered everywhere. The snakes trying to burrow into his body were slapped, crushed, and strangled to death by his own hands.
But in Qifeng's eyes, Tu He's actions were nothing less than self-harm.
Every unrestrained strike that seemed to hit snakes was actually injuring himself. The blood spraying outward was not snake blood, but his own.
In an instant.
Tu He, already covered in blood, now looked even more like a bloody man who had crawled out of a pool of blood.
The difference was that the blood on him before had belonged to others, while this time, it was his own.
His face turned exceptionally pale. His feet unsteady, he staggered and dropped to one knee.
As blood drained from his body, the flow of Chakra within him became chaotic, allowing him to break free from the illusion.
He raised his head and looked at Qifeng, who stood atop a jutting boulder in the distance, his heart filled with an indescribable bitterness.
At last, he had calmed down.
With insufficient blood carrying oxygen to his brain, the feverish sensation in his head subsided as well.
But he was not happy, because he could clearly sense his own condition.
Weak, exhausted, despondent.
The emotions he had failed to control had been quietly seized by Qifeng, who used them as the foundation to construct an illusion. As a result, Tu He, who had still possessed some fighting strength, had become what he was now.
Unwilling!
But what could unwillingness change?
Qifeng brought his hands together once more.
His lips moved as he lightly uttered a few words.
"Illusion Technique! Binding Technique!"
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Wooden shackles appeared out of nowhere, and chains resembling white bones emerged from them, wrapping around Tu He's wrists, ankles, waist, abdomen, neck, and many other places. The bone chains were covered in fine barbs. Any slight movement would bring pain that seemed to pierce straight into his marrow.
His arms were spread wide, his feet pressed together, and he stood rigidly in Qifeng's view.
What drove him to even greater despair was that Qifeng had never shown the slightest intention of approaching him again.
He merely watched from afar, smiling as he watched. The distance between them had become the most despairing chasm for Tu He.
Nonsense.
Of course Qifeng would not approach. Others might not know Tu He's strength, but having personally witnessed his fight with Orochimaru earlier, how could Qifeng not understand?
Just look at the surroundings. This was the handiwork of an Iwa-nin who appeared to be seriously wounded.
Who knew whether he still had some other trump card?
Qifeng stood there and watched quietly.
This stalemate lasted for a moment. Tu He's eyelids grew heavy and slowly drooped. Crimson blood filled the depression beneath his feet, while droplets continued to fall with crisp dripping sounds that seemed especially abrupt in the silent surroundings.
After thinking for a moment, Qifeng clenched his right hand in the air.
"Bone Release! Bone Stab Technique!"
A pale, sharp bone slid from his arm and was gripped tightly in his hand.
He pushed off with his feet and hurled it with all his strength!
Squelch!
The white bone pierced into Tu He's chest.
"Burst!"
The next moment.
Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!
The sounds of piercing came without end as countless fine bone spikes erupted from Tu He's body, directly skewering him into a white bone hedgehog identical to Qifeng.
Only after doing all this did Qifeng quietly let out a breath.
He should be completely dead now.
Just as he took a step forward, a stabbing pain drilled into his mind. It instantly felt as though his head were about to explode, the agony unbearable.
However, the pain came quickly and faded just as quickly.
His entire body broke out in cold sweat, and his face became somewhat pale.
Qifeng helplessly tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Illusion techniques really strain the brain."
The mental expenditure, the construction of the illusion, the grasp of the situation, and all the other factors that needed consideration made illusion techniques an exceptionally brain-intensive form of combat.
After defeating two Iwa-nin in succession, even with the Experience Card's boost, Qifeng felt that his brain was no longer enough.
But these two battles had made Qifeng fully understand the power of illusion techniques.
More importantly, their combat style truly suited his fighting philosophy.
No need to get close, no dangerous physical contact, just slowly grind the opponent to death. This style of fighting was simply far too safe.
Steady to an outrageous degree.
After taking a few breaths, he pulled out a cigarette from his clothes, placed it between his lips, and took a deep drag.
Along with the nicotine's stimulation, bitterness filled his mouth.
He recovered a little.
He jumped down from the rock and walked over to Tu He's corpse.
A trace of surprise appeared on Qifeng's face.
"Red light? It's faint, but it really is red light."
Red light, in other words, a Red Corpse, represented a Quasi-Kage!
Before you continue