Recovering his thoughts, Qingming fixed his gaze on Guideng Zhan Yue, who was entangled with two shadow clones not far away.
After consecutively eliminating two opponents, Qingming's momentum had reached its peak. Even someone as formidable as Guideng Zhan Yue couldn't help but feel a chill under such an intense stare.
Dodging swiftly to evade the joint attacks of the two shadow clones, Guideng Zhan Yue quietly pulled away, glancing at the battlefield around him.
Due to their numerical superiority and overall higher individual combat capabilities, the Kirigakure forces held a clear advantage at this point.
Confirming this, Guideng Zhan Yue resolved to keep Qingming occupied here.
As long as he could hold Qingming at bay until the others, or even the other battlefields, secured victory, they could claim success—even if they ultimately failed to kill Qingming.
After all, war was never about the efforts of a single individual.
However...
Turning his attention back to Qingming's two shadow clones, Guideng Zhan Yue thought to himself:
"Before that, I need to deal with these two nuisances."
While he was confident, he wasn't reckless.
Qingming's ability to defeat both Yamada Shinichi and Takeshima Ichiro made it clear that his strength was formidable. Based on their prior exchanges, Guideng Zhan Yue dared not underestimate him.
Thus, eliminating the two shadow clones before engaging Qingming was crucial for two reasons.
Firstly, it would reduce the pressure he faced later on. Fighting one-on-one was far preferable to taking on three opponents at once.
Secondly, destroying the shadow clones would deplete Qingming's chakra.
When a shadow clone is dispelled by force, only a small portion of its chakra returns to the original body. This is far less efficient than when the technique is voluntarily ended.
With this in mind, Guideng Zhan Yue acted decisively, lunging toward one of the shadow clones.
The targeted shadow clone wasted no time, forming hand seals and unleashing a jutsu—Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
In an instant, numerous fireballs shot forth like bullets, aiming to force Guideng Zhan Yue to retreat.
Simultaneously, the other shadow clone prepared to strike, ready to follow up with an attack as soon as Guideng Zhan Yue dodged.
For some time, this coordinated strategy had effectively kept their opponent in check.
However, to their surprise, this time Guideng Zhan Yue chose not to retreat.
Charging straight into the barrage of fireballs, Guideng Zhan Yue focused intensely, dodging left and right to avoid the incoming projectiles.
The fireballs grazed dangerously close to his body, and a single mistake could have injured him. Yet, he pressed on undeterred.
As he approached the shadow clone unleashing the Fire Release technique, the clone increased the intensity, releasing even more fireballs.
The closer the distance, the harder it became to evade.
Finally, Guideng Zhan Yue failed to completely dodge and was struck by three fireballs.
Yet, the expected scene of flesh being scorched never occurred.
As the fireballs hit his body, the impacted areas and the surrounding flesh turned into liquid.
It was none other than the Guideng clan's secret technique—Hydrification Jutsu!
The liquid absorbed the fireballs, causing some damage that made Guideng Zhan Yue frown slightly, but there were no lasting effects.
Reforming his body, he appeared completely unharmed.
Indeed, the Hydrification Jutsu granted complete immunity to physical attacks and offered exceptional resistance to most ninjutsu.
Even Fire Release techniques, which naturally counter Water Release, couldn't inflict significant harm.
The only drawback was that defending against such attacks consumed more chakra than other types.
That said, the Hydrification Jutsu wasn't invincible.
From what Qingming knew, Lightning Release techniques were particularly effective against it.
Rather than overpowering the technique itself, Lightning Release's paralyzing effect disrupted the user's ability to fully liquefy their body.
In other words, Lightning Release could interrupt the Hydrification Jutsu.
Unfortunately for Qingming, he hadn't yet developed lightning-based chakra nature and didn't know any Lightning Release techniques.
Knowing this, Guideng Zhan Yue dared to take the risk of closing in on the shadow clone.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to withstand its attacks, not with another shadow clone lying in wait for him to make a mistake.
If Lightning Release had been an option, a single misstep on his part would have spelled certain doom.
But after confirming Qingming's lack of Lightning Release ninjutsu, he decided to gamble—and it paid off.
Now within striking distance, Guideng Zhan Yue wasted no time. Swinging his short blade with lightning speed, he slashed at the shadow clone.
Unable to evade, the shadow clone's throat was cut.
Poof!
With a puff of chakra smoke, the shadow clone dissipated.
All of this happened in an instant.
Neither Qingming nor the other shadow clone had the chance to intervene—they could only watch as it unfolded.
"Huuh…"
Guideng Zhan Yue exhaled lightly, retracting his blade before turning to face Qingming and the remaining shadow clone.
His expression was calm, as if he'd just performed a trivial task.
If Qingming hadn't noticed the stark change in his breathing patterns before and after the move, he might have been fooled.
Now, however…
It was time to act.
Exchanging a glance with the remaining shadow clone, Qingming didn't need to issue any orders. The clone charged forward, seemingly intent on engaging Guideng Zhan Yue in close combat.
This was a stark departure from the earlier strategy of long-range attacks.
However, as Qingming saw it:
Times had changed.
Earlier, the goal was to stall for time and minimize risk to the shadow clones due to their inherent fragility.
Now, the priority was to create opportunities.
The clone's potential sacrifice was a small price to pay if it meant opening a window to defeat Guideng Zhan Yue.
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