"Yellow Flash?!"
Upon seeing the sudden figure that appeared behind him, Shou's pupils constricted, and he couldn't help but exclaim.
Indeed, the newcomer was none other than Minato Namikaze.
Accompanying him were a Jonin from the Nara clan and another from the Yamanaka clan.
This meant that Konoha now had seven Jonin present, while the Iwa Shinobi's command post was just a short distance away.
Though the Iwa Shinobi guards included Jonin, and the Iwa Shinobi in charge were also Jonin, their overall strength was still inferior to Konoha's.
After all, the prowess of Minato Namikaze was well-known; without elite Jonin-level strength, they couldn't pose any threat to him.
With a sweeping glance, Minato took in everything around him. His attention was immediately drawn to a heavily protected room not far ahead.
With a guess forming in his mind, he quickly turned his gaze toward Qingming. However, before Qingming could respond, Hinata Akihime spoke up first, "The target is inside that room!"
She pointed directly at the room.
At this point, it didn't matter whether the enemy could hear them; given the current situation, if the enemy still couldn't guess their intentions, it would be utterly foolish.
Receiving this affirmative response, Minato wasted no time and instantly vanished, rushing towards the Iwa Shinobi lower ranks.
Intimidated by the 'Yellow Flash,' the surrounding Iwa Shinobi unconsciously took a half-step back.
Just then, a booming voice came from behind, "What are you afraid of? Charge with me!"
At this moment, an Iwa Jonin dashed out from the room, weaving through the Iwa Shinobi crowd, and charged straight at Minato.
"Lord Kuroki!"
Among the crowd, several Iwa Jonin called out, quickly following his lead.
Kuroki was the overall commander of Iwa Shinobi's attack on Konoha's Fuyuki Town base, and his strength lay between a regular Jonin and an elite Jonin.
On his own, he was certainly no match for Minato.
However, his appearance bolstered the courage of other Iwa Shinobi, causing many to charge alongside him toward Minato.
This presented some trouble for Minato.
Additionally, as these Iwa Shinobi Jonin took action, the rest of the Iwa Shinobi also began to assault the Konoha ninjas in the area.
In an instant, the corridor became extremely crowded.
In such circumstances, no one dared to use high-powered ninjutsu for fear of accidentally harming their allies.
This situation was particularly beneficial for Shou!
The narrow space already favored his explosive release, and now that Qingming couldn't use ninjutsu, he felt even more emboldened.
Indeed, his target remained Qingming.
Although Minato's arrival surprised him, he didn't forget about Qingming, who was within arm's reach.
As the battle commenced, he immediately threw a right hook aimed at Qingming's jaw.
A gust of wind rushed toward Qingming, who tightened his abdomen, leaning backward just in time to narrowly evade the attack.
However, at that moment, an explosive sound rang out.
Qingming watched as the air in front of him was shattered by Shou's punch, followed by a shockwave that propelled him backward.
Thud, thud, thud~
Qingming retreated several steps, feeling a heaviness in his chest.
Clearly, the close-range shockwave had injured his internal organs.
However, this level of damage was trivial for someone with a physical constitution of thirteen; a little rest was all he needed to recover.
As Qingming steadied himself, preparing to regain his breath, Shou didn't give him the opportunity and charged forward again, throwing another punch.
Sensing the vast explosive chakra coalescing on Shou's fist, Qingming dared not take it head-on, swiftly stepping back to create distance and evade the blow.
Initially, he thought Shou would use the same tactic to shatter the air, affecting his balance.
To his surprise, Shou didn't do so; instead, he easily dissipated the chakra in his fist, rendering this punch ordinary.
Then, he charged forward quickly, closing the distance to Qingming and throwing another punch.
Seeing this, Qingming's eyes flickered with disappointment.
If Shou had indeed chosen to shatter the air, he could have taken the opportunity to retreat and completely distance himself from the opponent, making up for the lost advantage from his previous kunai throw.
Unfortunately, Shou, with his rich combat experience, recognized the advantages of his approach and chose to "go easy" this time.
As a result, Qingming could only continue to bear the price of his earlier choice, remaining passive and striving to evade Shou's attacks.
However, Qingming didn't rush.
As the saying goes, "A single effort leads to victory, while repeated efforts lead to failure."
Qingming didn't believe Shou could sustain such a high-intensity assault indefinitely; once his momentum slowed, the opportunity for Qingming would arrive.
Boom, boom, boom~
The continuous sound of explosions echoed.
Qingming evaded while Shou's punches landed on the walls, explosive chakra surging out and creating large craters in the walls.
At that moment, Qingming suddenly noticed a fleeting expression of pain on Shou's face, followed by a slight delay in his movements.
However, such a small flaw, in Qingming's Sharingan, was glaringly clear.
In an instant, Qingming realized this was an opportunity.
Without hesitation, he slightly shifted his body to avoid a vital point and thrust his sword forward, aiming directly at Shou's heart.
Having had two previous encounters with Shou, Qingming understood that he couldn't strike at non-critical areas, as that would only result in an exchange of injuries.
After all, a human body cannot withstand the impact of explosive release.
Thus, every attack of his had to target the opponent's vital areas.
Sure enough, seeing the sword thrust toward his heart, Shou hesitated, abandoning his attack to dodge.
Had he not evaded, Qingming would have surely dealt him a grave injury; but if he chose not to evade, he would certainly die. Thus, he had no choice but to dodge.
With that dodge, Shou's previous sequence of pressure and offense collapsed completely.
Thus, the tide of battle shifted!
Qingming wasted no time; as soon as Shou evaded the first thrust, he immediately unleashed a second, followed by a third, and then a fourth thrust.
His sword struck like a torrential wind, linking together seamlessly, with each thrust aimed at Shou's vital points, leaving him no room for counterattack.
In an instant, Shou could only defend passively.
Perhaps it was just a fleeting illusion, but he felt that compared to their last encounter, Qingming's swordsmanship seemed to have improved once again, putting even more pressure on him.
Time passed minute by minute.
At a certain moment.
Sla~
A sharp blade sliced through flesh, leaving a bloody mark on Shou's body.
Feeling the stinging burn on his arm, Shou's expression turned grim. He thought, "I can't go on like this; I need to find a way to break his attack rhythm."
Shou's gaze swept to the walls on either side of the corridor. With tremendous effort, he leaped back, narrowly dodging Qingming's subsequent thrust.
Then, without pausing, he condensed his chakra and threw a punch at the wall beside him.
Boom~
A dull explosion echoed.
The wall was blasted into a huge crater, dirt and debris scattering, blocking Qingming's pursuit.
Cough, cough~
Qingming coughed twice and quickly scanned his surroundings. Confirming that several teammates were not nearby, he promptly raised his hand to form seals, instantly casting a ninjutsu—"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
In the midst of the smoke, just as Shou was about to retaliate, a scorching heat suddenly approached from the front.
In the next moment, an enormous fireball, occupying the entire corridor, came flying toward him.
Shou muttered a soft "not good," and his feet pushed off the ground, rapidly retreating.
Simultaneously, he quickly formed hand seals, ultimately executing the ninjutsu—"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall."
He slammed his right hand onto the ground and pulled it up, creating a sturdy stone wall that sealed off the entire corridor.
Boom~
A muffled explosion rang out.
Through the stone wall, a heavy thud reverberated, and the floor beneath them trembled violently, causing dust to fall from above, making one wonder if the ceiling would collapse.
Such a loud commotion naturally attracted everyone's attention, and the battles in the area momentarily paused.
Crack~
The sound of something cracking caught Shou's attention.
He turned to see the stone wall that had blocked the corridor suddenly develop a crack in the center.
Crack, crack~
The crack rapidly spread and expanded, soon covering the entire stone wall.
It won't hold.
A thought raced through Shou's mind.
Consequently, he no longer wasted chakra maintaining the ninjutsu, launching himself backward in a flash.
Crack~
The familiar sound echoed again.
In the next moment, the stone wall completely shattered, disintegrating into countless fragments.
Soon after, a torrent of flames erupted from the other side of the stone wall, accompanied by intense heat, surging toward Shou.
However, Shou had already distanced himself, and the flames ultimately failed to harm him.
But before he could catch his breath, a wind blade suddenly shot out, slicing through the flames and directly toward him along the corridor.
Yet, upon seeing the wind blade, Shou didn't display any panic; instead, a smile of "as expected" appeared on his face.
Clearly, he had anticipated that Qingming would seize the opportunity to unleash the "Wind Release: Wind Blade."
Given that he had already suffered from that move, he would certainly be on guard against it.
Considering the situation, the corridor was filled with high-temperature flames, making it impossible for Qingming to approach.
Thus, using the wind ninjutsu for a sneak attack was the best strategy and the optimal timing.
Sure enough, Qingming's choice aligned perfectly with his expectations.
But knowing this, dodging was not difficult.
As Shou observed the angle of the wind blade, he twisted his body to evade it effortlessly.
However, just at that moment, a figure shrouded in faint azure light dashed through the flames, coming into view.
In the next instant, a pair of blood-red eyes consumed his entire field of vision, pulling his consciousness into an endless abyss.
"How… is this possible?"
As his awareness faded, Shou uttered four words in disbelief.
"There's nothing impossible."
Qingming's voice echoed softly from the front.
In the next moment, his short sword thrust out, piercing straight through Shou's heart. Even in his final moments, Shou never awoke from the illusion.
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