A few minutes later.
Qingming returned to the battlefield.
This time, he didn't conceal his presence but directly flew over the battlefield.
"There's someone in the sky!"
At the first moment, a Mist Ninja noticed his figure and quickly shouted a warning.
"Be careful, it's Ghost Sword Qingming!"
Another person spoke up.
Clearly, this person had recognized his identity.
Upon hearing this name, the Mist Ninjas on the battlefield all looked up at him, some filled with wariness, others with curiosity, and some openly with provocation.
In any case, there were various reactions.
Their abnormal behavior was quickly noticed by the Konoha Ninjas as well.
Thus, they also looked up at the sky.
However, unlike the Mist Ninjas who seemed flustered after recognizing his identity, the Konoha Ninjas were filled with excitement.
After all, they had heard of the famous Konoha Twin Stars, who were said to be powerful Jonin.
At a time like this, they would be thrilled even if a mere Genin arrived, let alone a strong Jonin.
After all, the pressure they were under was immense. If it weren't for the will to keep fighting, they would have collapsed by now.
Now that Qingming, a powerful Jonin, had arrived, it would ease their burden to some extent.
And since Qingming had arrived, what about the other reinforcements? Were they close?
Thinking of this, they couldn't help but feel a renewed sense of hope, and their spirits, on the verge of collapse, were once again strengthened.
This was the power of Qingming. Even if he hadn't taken action yet, the Konoha Ninjas could hang on for a few more minutes just because of his presence.
Qingming scanned the crowd below, taking in their expressions, and without wasting any words, he immediately dived down, lowering his altitude and throwing a shuriken.
Upon seeing this, the Mist Ninjas were momentarily stunned. They had expected him to unleash a powerful jutsu or even come down directly given his aggressive charge.
But this?
It was just a shuriken?
They had tensed up for nothing!
On the other side, the Konoha Ninjas were equally puzzled. Even if you're throwing a shuriken, why not throw more than just one? What's the point of only tossing one?
However, just as they were thinking this, Qingming suddenly raised his hand, rapidly forming the hand seals: 'Chou—Xu—Chen—Zi—Xu—Hai—Si—Yin' in quick succession, and performed the 'Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.'
In the next instant, the shuriken he had thrown split into shadows, multiplying from one to two, from two to four, and from four to eight...
In almost the blink of an eye, dozens, even hundreds, of shurikens appeared in the sky.
This was the first time Qingming had performed this technique in front of so many people.
He wasn't afraid that Sarutobi Hiruzen would know about it.
Indeed, this technique was originally developed by him.
However, Qingming had also developed it based on the 'Shadow Clone Technique.'
Now that he had perfected the 'Multiple Shadow Clone Technique,' developing a similar ninjutsu by drawing inspiration from his predecessor wasn't a big deal.
Others knowing about it would simply admire his talent and not jump to any wild conclusions.
Moreover, Sarutobi Hiruzen was generally a kind-hearted person who liked helping the younger generation, so even if he found out, he likely wouldn't say much.
Thus, Qingming could use this technique without hesitation.
Below, the ninjas watched as countless shurikens rained down from the sky. Both Konoha and Mist Ninjas instinctively thought of dodging.
But soon, the Konoha Ninjas realized that all these shurikens avoided them, targeting only the Mist Ninjas.
And indeed, that was the case.
Had it been three days ago, Qingming wouldn't have been able to achieve this, but in the past three days, he had gained almost 600,000 chakra points.
He allocated all of these chakra points to the 'Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique' and 'Chakra Feather Cloak,' 300,000 points to each, raising their levels by one tier.
Specifically, the 'Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique' went from lv4 (625/2000) to lv5 (625/5000), and the 'Chakra Feather Cloak' went from lv4 (1330/2000) to lv5 (2330/5000).
The jump from lv4 to lv5 was a significant milestone. After crossing that threshold, the technique underwent a qualitative change.
This transformation granted Qingming much stronger control over the shuriken clones.
Additionally, with his high vantage point, he could clearly see the positions of everyone below, allowing him to specifically target the Mist Ninjas while avoiding the Konoha ones.
However, although this move seemed impressive, its lethality was rather limited.
After all, he wasn't trying to sneak attack this time, and the Mist Ninjas, at the very least, were all Chuunin, so they wouldn't be killed by just a few shurikens.
However, his attack undeniably disrupted the Mist Ninjas' rhythm, giving the Konoha Ninjas some much-needed breathing room.
Moreover, this attack was merely the beginning.
In the sky, after completing the 'Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique,' Qingming wasted no time and immediately increased his altitude, just avoiding a few of the Mist Ninjas' counterattacks.
Then, he waited for the right moment and dove once again, this time even faster than before.
As he neared the target, he quickly formed hand seals and unleashed another ninjutsu—'Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!'
This, too, was an area-of-effect technique.
Puff~ Puff~ Puff~
Fireballs, resembling phoenix flower seeds, shot out from his mouth, racing toward the Mist Ninjas below like bullets.
If the shurikens could be blocked head-on, these fireballs would require the Mist Ninjas to dodge.
It wasn't that they couldn't counter the fireballs with ninjutsu, but it would be too costly.
After all, Qingming had released over a hundred fireballs at once. If each ninja had to use ninjutsu to defend, the chakra expenditure would be enormous.
However, by dodging, they immediately gave the Konoha Ninjas a chance to strike. Some used the opportunity to recover their chakra and rest, while others directly launched counterattacks.
In short, they weren't as passive as before.
This was exactly Qingming's goal.
His aim was never to kill the Mist Ninjas, but simply to buy time.
Of course, there were some clever Mist Ninjas who had figured out his plan, but knowing the issue didn't mean they could solve it.
Although they drew more manpower and continued to attack Qingming to try and stop him from impacting the battlefield, Qingming, having maxed out 'Wind Style: Wind Wings,' was far beyond their expectations in terms of both flying speed and aerial agility.
Thus, they were utterly unable to catch him.
However, to prevent their collapse, Qingming didn't push too hard.
Typically, once the Konoha Ninjas below had enough time to recover, he would fly to another small battlefield and repeat the same tactics there.
Similarly, once the Konoha Ninjas at that location had regained some stamina, he would return to this battlefield.
In short, his strategy could be summed up in one word—delay!
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