Sizzling sounds echoed as Iwakana Yōjin narrowly evaded a lethal strike from Qingming, but in the process, Qingming inflicted a deep gash across his waist.
Seeing this, Fukui Ichirō rushed forward to rescue him, engaging in a fierce battle with Qingming.
Qingming remained steadfast in his strategy. After quickly shaking off Fukui Ichirō's entanglement, he redirected his focus back to Iwakana Yōjin.
Initially, the duo of Iwakana and Fukui had a chance to contain Qingming, but as Qingming relentlessly targeted Yōjin, the latter's condition deteriorated rapidly.
Gradually, Yōjin could no longer serve as a deterrent; instead, he became a burden that restricted Fukui Ichirō's performance.
It was clear that if this continued, both would inevitably fall to Qingming.
Fukui Ichirō was the first to realize this. He thought to himself, "I can't let this go on; I need to find a way to create some distance."
With that in mind, he discreetly signaled to Iwakana Yōjin to look for an opportunity to withdraw from the battlefield.
Simultaneously, he intensified his offensive to draw Qingming's attention.
Though Qingming didn't fully understand their intentions, he could make an educated guess.
Thus, he had no intention of letting them have their way.
He decisively tightened his grip on Iwakana Yōjin, making it even harder for Fukui Ichirō to disengage.
As time passed, the three fought on, but Fukui Ichirō and Iwakana Yōjin could never escape unscathed.
Whether it was Yōjin being unable to free himself or Fukui Ichirō being in danger, Yōjin was reluctant to leave him alone against Qingming.
After several minutes of relentless fighting, their situation grew increasingly perilous, and finally, a new Iwagakure shinobi arrived on the scene.
As soon as this newcomer appeared, he unleashed a "Lightning Release: Thunderclap" directed at Qingming.
With a deafening roar, Qingming's consciousness plunged into a hallucination, as if he were witnessing a storm of lightning snakes dancing wildly.
Clearly, this was a rare Lightning Release genjutsu triggered by auditory stimuli.
As soon as Qingming heard the sound of the thunder, he was already ensnared in the illusion.
However, the Sharingan possessed natural resistance to genjutsu, coupled with Qingming's impressive mental attribute of fifteen points, which allowed him to easily shake off its effects.
The moment he regained his awareness, his first sight was of Iwakana Yōjin lunging at his throat with a kunai.
Not only him—on his left, Fukui Ichirō also thrust his kunai toward Qingming's neck.
At that critical moment, Qingming fully activated his Sharingan, his neural reaction speed skyrocketing to its limit. He first unleashed a hypnosis technique, seizing control of Iwakana Yōjin.
Then, while dodging Fukui Ichirō's assault, he extended his left hand to snatch the kunai from Yōjin's grip, swiftly reversing it to strike back.
With a thrust, the sound of steel penetrating flesh echoed.
Qingming had reversed the kunai in his left hand, accurately plunging it into Fukui Ichirō's chest.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye, and Qingming's actions seemed almost instantaneous.
Fukui Ichirō glanced down at his chest, seeing his palm grasping the kunai embedded within, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"You—"
Fukui Ichirō wanted to say something but found the words stuck in his throat.
He had considered the possibility that Qingming might dodge his attack or even counter, but he never anticipated that Qingming's counter would be so swift, so immediate.
Not just him; even the newly arrived Iwagakure shinobi hadn't expected this turn of events.
Only moments before, he had been impressed by the seamless teamwork of Yōjin and Fukui Ichirō. Yet, in a flash, Qingming had broken free from the illusion and swiftly retaliated, killing one of them.
Everything unfolded too rapidly for his brain to process.
But Qingming had no intention of waiting around for him to catch up.
After taking down Fukui Ichirō, Qingming wasted no time; he flicked his right hand upward, then lunged forward, stabbing his short sword deep into Iwakana Yōjin's abdomen.
Severely wounded, Iwakana Yōjin finally awoke from the hypnosis, instantly feeling a searing pain in his gut.
However, staring at the looming figure of Qingming, he ignored the agony and immediately swung his kunai toward Qingming's throat.
Yet, to his shock, he discovered that the kunai had vanished, leaving him to stab at empty air.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Qingming holding a familiar kunai, thrusting it into Fukui Ichirō's chest.
"This—this is my kunai," Iwakana Yōjin stammered, his mind racing to comprehend the sudden turn of events.
He felt as though he had missed a century's worth of action, unable to reconcile the chaotic scene unfolding before him.
Swish—
Qingming yanked the kunai from Fukui Ichirō's chest and, with a swift motion, sliced through Iwakana Yōjin's throat.
Only then did Yōjin start to piece together what might have happened.
But it was too late.
Thud! Thud!
The sound of two heavy bodies hitting the ground echoed as Fukui Ichirō and Iwakana Yōjin collapsed, lifeless and unblinking.
Ignoring the bodies of the two men, Qingming turned his gaze toward the young Iwagakure shinobi who had just attempted to cast a genjutsu on him.
Indeed, Qingming's first impression of him was that he was young.
From his appearance, he couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen years old. To reach the rank of jōnin at such a tender age suggested that he was a prodigy in Iwagakure.
Yet this genius flinched and took an involuntary step back the moment Qingming's eyes fell on him.
Seeing this, Qingming narrowed his eyes and smiled, saying, "Thank you for your assistance. If it weren't for you, I might not have been able to kill those two so quickly!"
As he spoke, he glanced at the two corpses on the ground.
Indeed, without this young shinobi's unexpected intervention, it would have been challenging for Qingming to eliminate the two men, even considering his absolute advantage.
While he had gained the upper hand, turning that advantage into victory wasn't a simple task, especially when it came to killing both.
There were still many Iwagakure shinobi around who could intervene, and even Yōjin and Fukui could have fought back at the cost of one sustaining injury to allow the other to escape.
Thus, theoretically, it would have been tough for him to take down both.
But who could have anticipated this new shinobi would interfere?
His genjutsu had offered Iwakana Yōjin and Fukui Ichirō a fleeting glimpse of the opportunity to kill Qingming, prompting them to act recklessly without considering their own safety.
As a result, Qingming snapped out of the illusion too quickly, and they could barely react before he countered and killed them.
However, to claim that the young Iwagakure shinobi had helped Qingming would be a gross mischaracterization.
It was simply that Yōjin and Fukui had been under Qingming's pressure for too long. When that pressure suddenly lifted, they relaxed too much.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have fallen so easily.
But why would Qingming say such things?
It was simple: to mess with the young shinobi's mindset.
Since he had flinched upon making eye contact, it was clear that his resolve wasn't particularly strong—at least not for the moment.
Given this, Qingming naturally intended to take advantage of it.
With that thought in mind, Qingming continued, "By the way, do you have a grudge against them?"
As soon as he spoke, he noticed the young shinobi's face turn an unhealthy shade of dark red, and he responded in a huff, "Nonsense! Who's helping you? I—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Qingming suddenly activated his Sharingan, unleashing a hypnosis technique.
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