Qianyu's Shadow Clone carried the chakra-exhausted Kakashi away from the battlefield.
The clone didn't disperse or leave. It stood guard over Kakashi, just in case. A Kakashi without chakra was dangerously vulnerable.
Back on the battlefield, Qianyu's true body, now unburdened by Kakashi, fought with even greater ferocity.
But these Kirigakure ninja, forged in the bloody mist of their village's policies, didn't retreat. Witnessing their comrades' deaths seemed to excite them, fueling their desperate clash with Qianyu.
Qianyu's hands flew through seals. "Water Style! Water Severing Wave!"
This was a high-level water technique developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. A hyper-pressurized jet of water shot from his mouth, a sustained, linear blade that sliced through everything. It was one of the advanced techniques Qianyu had acquired from the system's shop for Yahiko, a set that included many of the Second's signature jutsu.
The high-pressure jet pierced straight through a dozen Kiri ninja. Qianyu whipped his head around. The water blade followed. Limbs and torsos separated. A crimson mist joined the real one.
The remaining Kirigakure forces scattered, breaking formation. No more clumps. They spread out, launching ninjutsu from a distance. "All-Reject."
The power of his left Mangekyō activated. Every incoming technique—fireballs, water bullets, streaks of lightning—fizzled, rejected into nothingness before reaching him.
The Kiri ninja faltered. Stunned. Qianyu was already forming another set of seals. "Water Style: Water Shotgun!"
Bullet-like blasts of water fired from his palms, strafing the scattered enemy line.
Kakashi watched Qianyu fight, his eyes filled with yearning. But… His hand went to the forehead protector covering his left eye. With this Sharingan, he could never fight like Qianyu again. Not with that relentless, chakra-intensive fury. Every technique had to be calculated now. Precise. Measured.
Qianyu was carving a path of carnage when a new voice cut through the chaos. "Ice Release: Thousand Flying Ice Needles!"
A blizzard of senbon, crystallized from ice, screamed toward him. Ice. Physical projectiles. His All-Reject couldn't fully negate them. Qianyu spun his ninjato, a whirlwind of steel that deflected every single frozen needle.
His gaze snapped to the left. A man stood at the forefront, long black hair adorned with ornaments, his eyes narrow slits as if perpetually closed. As he appeared, the surrounding Kiri ninja bowed their heads respectfully. "Mizukage-sama."
Qianyu's eyes narrowed. The Kage of Kirigakure. He hadn't expected the village's shadow to appear so soon.
"Blood-Eyed Asura, Qianyu," the Third Mizukage's voice was a frozen river. "Your audacity is staggering. To dare invade this place alone."
Qianyu slicked back his sweat-and-blood-soaked hair, a ghastly smile spreading across his face. "Yeah, I know. But it's because I don't see a single opponent here. Not even you. I came to vent. For my student."
Killing intent poured from the Mizukage's narrowed eyes. "Hmph. Arrogant words." A one-handed seal. "Ice Release: Annihilating Ice Needles!"
Similar to the last, but the air itself crystallized into a denser, faster, continuous barrage of ice senbon. "Water Style: Water Wall!"
Qianyu gathered chakra in his throat and spat a torrential waterfall. The water didn't just rise—it spun, a rotating cylinder around him, deflecting the endless ice needles.
The Mizukage's left eye slit opened a fraction. "The Second Hokage's techniques…" Tobirama Senju's water style was unique. Unmistakable. A normal Water Wall required grounding the chakra into the earth. This one moved, circled the user.
The Mizukage's right hand blurred through seals. "Ice Release Secret Technique: Shattering Crystal Prison!"
The water of Qianyu's rotating wall began to freeze. Not just the surface—from the inside out. Encasing him. Trapping him within his own defense.
Crackle. A flash of lightning. Qianyu vanished, reappearing twenty meters away with a Thunderclap body flicker. BOOM! The instant he left, the entire frozen column exploded into a million glittering, deadly shards.
"Your speed is indeed as reported," the Mizukage acknowledged coldly. "But not insurmountable." His hands came together in a final, complex seal. "Water Secret Technique! Water Mirror Technique!"
A mirror of perfectly still water manifested before him. And from its surface… a figure stepped out.
Qianyu's breath hitched. He knew this move. The signature technique of the future Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. It created a perfect mirror-copy. A replica that could use the same jutsu with the same power as its target. During the Fourth War, a reanimated Yagura had used it against Killer B and Naruto, creating copies that matched two perfect Jinchūriki blow-for-blow. The technique's potential ceiling was terrifying.
The copy moved first. A blur of motion straight for Qianyu. He let his Dōjutsu: Ten Thousand Rejections deactivate. A chance to fight himself? He wouldn't miss this.
"Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!" He spat a pinpoint, high-speed water needle from his mouth, aiming for the copy's head.
The copy didn't even flinch. Lightning crackled over its body—Thunderclap Chakra Mode—and it vanished with a crack, dodging the needle. Then it closed the distance. And used it. "Thunder Breathing: First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
CLANG! Qianyu brought his ninjato up just in time. Steel shrieked against steel. The impact vibrated up his arms. He stared into the copy's eyes. His own eyes. Cold, calculating. The speed. The power. It wasn't just mimicking the jutsu… it was using Full Focus Breathing. And that gaze… it had the Sharingan's piercing insight too.
Suddenly, the copy's head tilted. "Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!" A water needle shot point-blank at Qianyu's temple. He jerked his head aside. The needle grazed his cheek, drawing blood. He lashed out with a kick, forcing the copy back.
"Thunder Breathing: Fifth Form: Heat Lightning!" A blazing arc of a lightning-charged slash erupted from his blade.
The copy responded in kind. An identical Heat Lightning met his mid-air. The two attacks collided, canceling each other in a burst of steam and ozone.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Singing Projectile!" Four fiery dragons roared from Qianyu's mouth, attacking from above, below, left, and right simultaneously.
The copy formed a seal. "Water Style: Water Wall!" A rotating water cylinder sprung up around it, extinguishing the dragons. Then, without pause, it countered. "Water Style: Water Severing Wave!" A hyper-pressured water jet shot toward Qianyu.
He was a ghost of lightning, flickering away, the water jet tearing through the ground where he'd stood.
Watching from a distance, Kakashi's jaw hung open. He'd never seen such a technique. The copy… it wasn't just holding its own. It was matching Qianyu perfectly. Move for move. Power for power.
And Qianyu… A wild, exhilarated grin was spreading across his face. This copy was him. Every attack choice, every defensive move, it was like fighting his own shadow, his own instincts given form.
He was starting to enjoy this.
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