After eliminating the four unexpected guests, Qingming returned to Shenyuan Hui's side.
Seeing Qingming approach, Shenyuan Hui struggled to get up and asked, "Did you take care of them?"
"Yeah."
Qingming nodded and replied, "They were four Iwa-nin."
"Iwa-nin?"
Shenyuan Hui pondered for a moment and said, "They must be a reconnaissance team from Iwagakure. Considering the time, they should be closing in on us now."
Qingming agreed with his assessment. By calculating the time, it was indeed true that the Iwa-nin on the outskirts were likely tightening the encirclement.
This indicated that the area was no longer safe, and they needed to leave quickly.
Without any hesitation, Qingming expressed his thoughts clearly, then asked, "Can you walk now?"
Shenyuan Hui stood up, moved his body a bit, coughed lightly while holding his chest, and said, "As long as I don't exert myself too much, I should be able to."
Upon hearing this, Qingming nodded and said, "Good, let's head out then."
"Sure."
Shenyuan Hui nodded, sighed lightly, and said, "I wonder how the main force is doing."
Qingming heard his murmur but didn't respond.
In his view, it wouldn't be easy for the main force to escape this time. Since they couldn't hold off Han, it was almost certain that the enemy would intercept the main force.
Even though Han was just one person, without sufficient preparation, it would be very difficult for the main force to deal with him.
Although Han was alone, the average tactics wouldn't work against a Jinchūriki. Thus, the middle and low-ranked ninjas in their group would be of little help.
Moreover, those ninjas could even become shields for Han, preventing Konoha's Jonin from attacking recklessly.
In this way, stalling for some time wouldn't be too hard.
Originally, the encircling forces from Iwagakure were already about five kilometers away, and it wouldn't take them long to reach the area now.
Once surrounded, a large-scale battle would be inevitable.
In fact, a chaotic battle may have already begun.
Indeed, while Qingming was killing Kojiro and tending to his own injuries, Han had already caught up with the Konoha main force.
He then withstood the attacks from several Konoha Jonin, crashing through a combined defensive ninjutsu cast by two Jonin and plunging into the crowd.
Those low-ranked ninjas had never seen such a scene before.
They were so intimidated by the brutal aura radiating from him that they couldn't even bring out seventy percent of their strength before they even attempted to fight back.
While that didn't matter, as even if they went all out, they wouldn't be able to break through Han's Tailed Beast cloak defense.
However, the decreased reaction speed made it even harder for them to dodge Han's rampaging charge.
Moreover, because there were no allies around them, Han could unleash his full power. Within a short time, he inflicted significant casualties on the main force.
In contrast, the Konoha Jonin were somewhat restrained since they were surrounded by their own people and dared not attack freely.
This allowed Han to become increasingly unbridled.
Ultimately, it was Nara Suishui, leading the team with several members of the Nara clan, who managed to momentarily restrain Han by using the "Shadow Imitation Technique."
Seizing the opportunity, the low-ranked ninjas quickly distanced themselves from Han and pressed forward, while the majority of the Jonin focused their attacks on Han.
Nevertheless, Han dodged as much as he could and withstood the rest, continuing to pursue the Konoha main force and preventing their escape.
As a result, the back-and-forth skirmishes slowed the progress of the Konoha main force.
Eventually, the encircling forces from Iwagakure arrived. Although they didn't completely encircle Konoha's main force, they managed to engage them.
With this, it wouldn't be easy for Konoha to escape unless they abandoned a significant number of people, making it virtually impossible to break free.
This still didn't guarantee an escape.
Thus, after careful consideration, Nara Suishui ordered the troops to hold their ground and engage the enemy.
This led to a chaotic melee where ninjas from both sides were mixed together, making Han cautious about attacking recklessly, which finally slowed the casualties of Konoha ninjas.
Although this meant they couldn't escape, Nara Suishui calculated that if they could hold out for another fifteen minutes to half an hour, reinforcements from the Tiger Mountain camp would arrive.
At that time, they would have a fighting chance.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Before Qingming and Shenyuan Hui could reach the battlefield, they already heard the sounds from afar.
There were metallic clashes from the shinobi tools, the booming explosions of explosive tags, and the cries of injured ninjas from both sides.
In short, the air was filled with a cacophony of sounds.
Qingming and Shenyuan Hui exchanged glances and instinctively quickened their pace.
However, as soon as they stepped onto the battlefield, several shuriken were shot towards them.
Qingming's ears perked up, and he quickly turned his head in the direction of the sound.
In an instant, the trajectories of the shuriken flew into his vision.
He swiftly dodged all the incoming attacks.
Not only that, but he also took the opportunity to lock onto the ambusher, a Chūnin from Iwagakure standing on a nearby tree branch.
In the moment their eyes met, the Iwa-nin sensed something was wrong.
But it was already too late.
With a thought, Qingming activated the Hypnosis Technique. The Iwa-nin's body suddenly stiffened, and Qingming threw a shuriken.
"Whoosh!" The shuriken shot out, reaching the Iwa-nin at an incredible speed and accurately piercing his throat.
After sustaining this critical hit, the Iwa-nin finally broke free from the hypnosis, but by that time, he couldn't make a sound.
He staggered a few steps before finally falling from the branch.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking rang out as the Iwa-nin's head struck the ground, instantly snapping his neck.
Until his death, his eyes were filled with resentment.
Qingming shook his head and chose to ignore him, turning instead to Shenyuan Hui and asked, "Your injuries haven't healed yet. Should I escort you to find the medical team?"
"No need."
Shenyuan Hui directly refused, saying, "The situation is quite dire now, and the others need your help more. Don't waste time on me."
"Is that so?"
After a moment of contemplation, Qingming nodded, "Alright, be careful."
With that, he drew his short sword and swiftly moved to a bare rock not far away, slashing down with his sword.
In an instant, blood splattered everywhere.
Then, a figure appeared: an Iwa-nin who had been using the "Iwa Concealment Technique."
He had been hiding there all along; it was unclear whether he was avoiding battle or coordinating with the Iwa-nin on the tree branch.
In any case, as soon as Qingming arrived, he discovered the hidden opponent.
Not only him, but even Shenyuan Hui, the injured ninja, sensed the presence of the Iwa-nin.
However, both chose to remain silent.
This resulted in Qingming's sudden attack catching the opponent completely off guard, and he was swiftly dispatched.
Of course, even if the Iwa-nin had been prepared, it wouldn't have mattered.
The gap in strength between them and Qingming was not something that could be bridged by a mere moment of preparation.
After sheathing his short sword, Qingming nodded at Shenyuan Hui before stepping into the battlefield.
Following his lead, Shenyuan Hui waited a moment, estimating that Qingming had dealt with the enemies ahead, before stepping onto the battlefield.
Though he didn't want to be a burden to Qingming, he wouldn't foolishly refuse to take advantage of the situation.
It was reasonable to assume that the path Qingming took would be safer than others. Following in his footsteps would certainly save him some trouble.
Such an opportunity was not one to be missed.
Thus, the two moved forward, one after the other, into the chaos of battle.
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