Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Three Meatballs solve a war
**Boom!**
A deafening thunderclap echoed across the battlefield, shaking the air with an ear-splitting roar. The sky above crackled with electric energy as a blinding blue lightning bolt illuminated the entire landscape, momentarily stealing everyone's vision.
The powerful surge of electricity shattered the defensive Water Release: Water Wall jutsu, erected by over a dozen Hidden Mist shinobi. Their technique crumbled instantly under the relentless force of the incoming lightning, offering them no protection.
Countless piercing lightning senbon rained down from the heavens, each bolt striking its target with pinpoint accuracy. The Mist shinobi barely had time to react before their bodies convulsed violently, overloaded by the sheer voltage coursing through their nervous systems.
The combination of the high-voltage current and the raw, ripping force of the attack made it impossible for their bodies to hold together. Flesh burned, bones shattered, and in the next instant—
**Bang!**
Their forms exploded into a crimson mist, disintegrating and merging with the seawater below. The once formidable group of Mist shinobi had been reduced to nothing but blood fog, staining the battlefield.
For a brief moment, those who witnessed the spectacle could only stare in disbelief. The sheer brutality of the attack was overwhelming.
The only fortunate outcome was that the Thunder Release: Spiraling Sphere had primarily targeted the Hidden Mist forces. Otherwise, even Konoha's Four Violet Flames Formation barrier, reinforced by elite ANBU, might have been instantly breached.
Without a chakra-infused water source to sustain it, the barrier flickered for a moment before stabilizing once again.
Qin Yu landed amidst the devastation, his gaze shifting to the massive crater before him—a deep, jagged scar in the earth spanning several hundred meters in diameter. Around its edges, smaller craters pockmarked the ground, remnants of the lightning senbon's devastating precision.
Two legendary swords—Kiba, the Twin Lightning Blades—lay embedded at an angle in the shattered ruins, still crackling with residual electricity. As for the Mist shinobi who once wielded them? Their remains had long since been washed away by the tides.
Seeing this, the Konoha ninja gaped in stunned silence. Their expressions were frozen in a mix of awe and disbelief.
It had only been a short while since the previous battle against the Hidden Cloud.
Back then, a single Kirin had wiped out hundreds of Cloud shinobi.
Now, facing dozens of Mist shinobi, another devastating Thunder Release: Spiraling Sphere had annihilated them once more.
Two enemy forces—obliterated in mere moments.
Was this even a battle anymore?
Qin Yu smirked as he stepped over the debris, his eyes landing on the still-flickering Kiba blades. The arcs of residual lightning danced between the twin swords, discharging into the ground.
"Raiga, you're the only one left," Qin Yu remarked, his tone mocking. "Why not come out? Where were you hiding just now?"
A pale, trembling hand shot out from beneath the rubble, grasping at one of the fallen Kiba blades.
Within moments, a bloodied and battered Raiga Kurosuki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, emerged from the debris. His clothing was tattered, his body covered in fresh wounds, yet his grip on the lightning-infused blade was unwavering.
With a snarl, Raiga roared, his voice hoarse with desperation. "Brat... I'll take you down with me!"
The remnants of his chakra flared violently as he funneled every last ounce into the Kiba blades. Sparks crackled, and the swords howled as they absorbed his energy, preparing for one final, suicidal strike.
Raiga knew the odds. Against an opponent of Qin Yu's caliber, a direct battle was suicide. His only chance was to carve a bloody path forward—no matter the cost.
Qin Yu's smirk widened. "Not bad. I was just running low on chakra."
With a casual motion, he reached behind him, gripping the hilt of Samehada—the sentient sword once wielded by Kisame Hoshigaki. The blade wriggled hungrily in his grasp, sensing the rich chakra overflowing from Raiga's desperate attack.
**Rip!**
A sharp, wet sound echoed as Samehada's sharkskin scales extended, latching onto the Kiba blades. In an instant, the hungry sword devoured Raiga's remaining chakra, siphoning it away like a bottomless pit.
The once-blazing Kiba blades flickered, their brilliance snuffed out as their chakra-infused lightning vanished into nothingness.
Raiga's eyes widened in horror. "No... impossible!"
Samehada's barbed scales shifted once more—
**Slash!**
Like dozens of serrated daggers, the sword's jagged edges tore through Raiga's torso, rending flesh and breaking bone in a single, merciless stroke.
Blood erupted in the air. Raiga staggered, his breath ragged, his limbs trembling.
For the first time in his life, the once-mighty swordsman felt true fear.
"You... you're no ordinary shinobi..." he rasped, coughing up blood. "Who... who are you?"
Qin Yu's smirk didn't waver.
"Your killer," he replied coldly. "The dead don't need to know my name."
Raiga's body convulsed one last time before he collapsed, his life snuffed out in an instant.
As dust settled over the battlefield, the Konoha shinobi finally snapped out of their shock. A mixture of admiration and unease filled the air as they processed what had just transpired.
Qin Yu wiped the blood off Samehada and casually sheathed it on his back.
"It's all yours," he remarked, turning to the stunned Konoha forces. "Clean up the mess. I'm heading back to rest."
Without another word, he vanished in a flicker of movement, his presence dissipating like an illusion.
Meanwhile, several kilometers away, Minato Namikaze and his squad scoured the coastline, tracking the remnants of the Mist forces.
After relentless searching, they finally encountered a small group of Mist shinobi.
**Swoosh!**
Minato's kunai blurred through the air, slicing through the throat of the last Mist shinobi before he could react. The enemy's body slumped to the ground, lifeless.
Seeing this, Inuzuka Fang furrowed his brows. "Lord Fourth, this guy's just a Chūnin. Judging by the tracks here, there should've been hundreds of them. Why have we only encountered eight?"
Minato's eyes narrowed. "No... this isn't right."
A sudden realization dawned upon him, and his expression darkened. "It's a diversion."
Inuzuka Fang hesitated. "You mean... the Mist forces tricked us into leaving our stronghold unguarded?"
Minato's jaw clenched. "Qin Yu is strong, but he just fought a battle. Even with his abilities, we can't take risks."
With a swift motion, he handed one of his Flying Thunder God kunai to his comrade. "Take this. If anything happens, activate it, and I'll be there instantly."
Minato's golden hair flickered in the wind as he vanished in a blur of speed, teleporting back to the stronghold.
Within seconds, he reappeared amidst the battlefield ruins.
"Be careful! Enemy attack!" Konoha's Moonlight Cangwu shouted, hurling kunai in Minato's direction.
Reacting instantly, Minato teleported away, avoiding the attack. His gaze swept over the battlefield—and then he saw it.
A massive crater. Scorched earth. The remains of the Mist forces scattered like dust.
Cangwu grinned. "Lord Fourth, you're late. Qin Yu already finished the fight."
Minato's eyes widened as the realization hit him.
Three Spiral Spheres.
Three.
And an entire battlefield had been wiped out.