Though he had successfully forced Qingming back, Han did not continue his offensive. Instead, he charged forward to a distance of over ten meters and came to a halt.
He stood still, eyes fixed on Qingming, vigilance evident in his gaze.
There was no way around it; both the earlier sneak attack with kunai and the precise sword strike just now had made him keenly aware of the threat Qingming posed.
Thus, he dared not act rashly.
Now, he simply wanted to wait for his six teammates to arrive so they could collectively deal with Qingming.
It must be said that Han was different from many jinchūriki; despite his immense strength, he was remarkably cautious.
When he realized that facing Qingming alone might be dangerous, he immediately opted for a more conservative approach—waiting for his teammates' support.
However, while they could afford to delay, Qingming could not.
With the Sharingan's pupils subtly shifting, Qingming caught a glimpse of the six Iwa Shinobi rushing toward him along the path that Han had just forged.
Though Qingming was confident in his abilities, he knew he could not face seven jōnin simultaneously, especially with a jinchūriki among them.
Thus, he thought, I must retreat first!
With that thought in mind, Qingming sprang forward, launching himself backward with great speed.
Upon seeing this, Han did not hesitate for a moment and immediately pursued him.
He was cautious, but he was not cowardly; witnessing Qingming's attempt to escape naturally spurred him to follow.
A dense steam enveloped Han's body, and his red armor gleamed more brightly as the high-temperature steam surged against it.
His speed, enhanced by the armor, increased, rapidly closing the gap between him and Qingming.
Just as Han was about to catch up, Qingming suddenly turned his head, raised his hand to form seals, and unleashed an overwhelming mental pressure through his Sharingan.
"What?"
Feeling this pressure, Han's mind jolted, and his pupils constricted. Why did Qingming's Sharingan feel so terrifying?
He had encountered jōnin from the Uchiha clan before, and their three-tomoe Sharingan had never exerted this kind of pressure on him.
What was up with this young brat?
Thoughts flashed through Han's mind, filling him with confusion. However, no matter how he pondered, he could find no answers.
Forget it, no point in thinking too much.
With that, Han lowered his hat to block his line of sight, avoiding eye contact with Qingming.
This was the opening Qingming had been waiting for. The moment Han's vision was obscured, he swiftly changed his hand seals from the "Genjutsu: Binding Technique" to "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
If someone familiar with both techniques were to witness this moment, they would undoubtedly exclaim that it was impossible.
After all, these were two completely different forms of ninjutsu, and transitioning between them seamlessly was generally unfeasible.
Indeed, most people could not achieve such a feat.
But Qingming was different. He had mastered the "Genjutsu: Binding Technique" to the max level of LV5 (0/0), allowing him to control it at will.
Simultaneously, he had leveled up the "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique" to LV4, achieving a similarly high proficiency.
With his LV4 "Chakra Control" and the understanding of fire techniques gained from the perfected "Fire Release: Phoenix Fire Technique," he could execute a seamless transition between hand seals.
Thus, his "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique" was unleashed with unprecedented suddenness.
By the time Han sensed something was off, a massive fireball nearly three meters in diameter was already barreling toward him.
Recognizing the terrifying heat emanating from it, Han understood he could not withstand this attack.
At the last possible moment, he shouted as a torrent of high-temperature steam erupted from the gaps in his right arm's armor.
Using the thrust generated by the steam, he quickly maneuvered several meters to the side, narrowly evading the fireball.
Just when it seemed Qingming's plan would fail, he swiftly controlled the fireball to explode.
In the next instant, a wave of searing flames accompanied by a violent shockwave surged from behind Han.
In a split second, Han was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.
However, he quickly recovered, and from his swift movements, it was evident that he had not sustained any serious injuries.
Even the scorching flames had been mitigated by the steam armor enveloping him.
Qingming wasn't particularly surprised by this.
The fact that Han's armor could withstand such terrifying high-temperature steam made it understandable that it could also resist the fallout from the "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
Qingming glanced at the six Iwa Shinobi approaching rapidly from a distance and realized he could not linger any longer.
He flung several kunai attached to explosive tags toward the just-risen Han before turning to continue his escape.
Though it seemed he tossed them casually, it was quite the opposite.
Thanks to the incredible insight provided by his Sharingan, he aimed those kunai at the most inconvenient places for Han, ensuring he could not pursue immediately.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of violent explosions echoed behind him.
Moments later, he could hear the rushing sound of Han using steam to accelerate.
As Qingming listened closely and determined that Han was closing in, he would prepare to counterattack, always starting with a genjutsu.
This forced Han to shield his vision.
And if Han really took that action, Qingming would immediately switch tactics, launching ninjutsu or throwing ninja tools or setting traps instead.
In any case, he used various methods to prevent Han from getting closer.
Han was very wary of Qingming's Sharingan, so each time he was duped.
This resulted in Han being full of strength yet unable to unleash it, ultimately being led around by Qingming.
Of course, Han had considered countering, but every time he felt the pressure radiating from Qingming's Sharingan, he instinctively averted his gaze.
His instincts told him that if he were caught in a genjutsu, he would certainly face dire consequences, which left him unwilling to take the risk.
Moreover, the five tails seemed equally wary of Qingming's Sharingan, which further restrained his actions.
Thus, the two continued in a relentless chase through the forest, heading toward the location of Konoha's main force.
As for the six Iwa Shinobi behind them, seeing the standoff between Qingming and Han, they did not accelerate to provide support; instead, they continued to trail at a leisurely pace.
At first, Qingming was puzzled by their intentions, but after a moment of contemplation, he understood: they aimed to follow him to find Konoha's main force.
Realizing this, Qingming no longer paid them any mind.
The mere presence of these few shinobi confirmed his suspicions and proved that there was indeed someone watching them from the shadows, likely from Iwa Shinobi.
Consequently, the location of the main force could not be hidden; it was simply that their intelligence had not yet been updated.
In that case, what did it matter if they followed? It would merely allow them to discover the main force's position slightly earlier.
Perhaps they could even exploit the timing difference to eliminate these shinobi!
However, Qingming seemed to have forgotten one thing: there were also Iwa Shinobi pursuing from behind.
This would undoubtedly impact his plans.
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