Chapter 60: Chapter 60: The Kill
Clang! Clang clang clang!
Sparks flew as Qingming swiftly parried several of Nishimura Sekihei's strikes with pinpoint accuracy.
Without giving Nishimura any chance to continue his assault, Qingming thrust his sword forward, aiming directly at a vital point. Nishimura was forced onto the defensive.
Feeling the chilling edge of Qingming's blade, Nishimura knew he couldn't be careless. He quickly reversed his kunai to block the attack.
The sharp sound of metal scraping against metal echoed as their weapons clashed.
With the distance between them closing, Nishimura's eyes flashed with malice. His body shifted slightly, evading Qingming's sword edge, while his kunai slid forward, aiming for Qingming's throat.
Thanks to his larger size, Nishimura saw an opportunity to exploit his physical advantage.
As the kunai drew closer to Qingming, there was no panic on his face.
With a light tap of his toes on the ground, Qingming suddenly withdrew two steps, effortlessly dodging the attack. Before Nishimura could adjust his stance, Qingming launched himself forward like an arrow, closing the gap instantly.
He swung his sword horizontally, aiming for Nishimura's midsection.
Having a smaller frame had its advantages—Qingming's movements were quick and agile.
Just after avoiding Nishimura's strike, he was able to immediately counter. However, Nishimura barely managed to block the attack.
As the saying goes, a small misstep leads to greater ones.
Seeing that his blade was blocked, Qingming swiftly pulled back and adjusted his strike, aiming this time for Nishimura's carotid artery.
Clang!
The sharp ring of metal rang out again as Nishimura just managed to block the deadly strike with his kunai.
But Qingming wasn't done. He immediately launched his third strike—this time aimed directly at Nishimura's heart.
Qingming's swordsmanship was relentless, characterized by its speed, precision, and lethality.
Every move targeted a critical point.
However, Nishimura was a seasoned fighter. Recognizing the danger, he desperately parried Qingming's blade once more, knocking it aside.
But in doing so, he completely lost the initiative.
In the following exchanges, Qingming showcased the full advantage of the "Konoha-style Swordsmanship," attacking with wave after wave of strikes.
Nishimura had no choice but to stay on the defensive.
Time ticked by, and Nishimura's defense became more and more difficult to maintain. Sweat drenched his clothes without him realizing it.
If it were only a matter of defense, Nishimura might not have been overly concerned. While he couldn't kill Qingming, he was confident in protecting his own life.
The real problem was that his opponent didn't seem to be fighting seriously.
Yes, Nishimura had the distinct feeling that Qingming was using him for sword practice and hadn't exerted his full strength yet.
This realization terrified him.
It meant that his life could end at any moment.
The sense of not being in control of one's own fate was unbearable.
What should I do?
Nishimura's mind was in turmoil, and his actions became increasingly frantic, which inevitably led to mistakes.
Mistakes created openings.
Qingming's eyes flashed, and his sword shot out.
A chill surged through Nishimura's heart, snapping him out of his chaotic thoughts.
And then he saw it—the sword tip driving straight toward his chest.
It was too late to block.
With no other choice, Nishimura twisted his body, dodging the sword. But Qingming's speed was too fast, and he had already spotted the flaw in his movement.
As a result, Nishimura barely managed to avoid a fatal blow to his heart, but a deep gash was left along his waist, immediately soaking his clothes with blood.
And it wasn't over yet. After stabbing him, Qingming immediately slashed sideways, trying to widen the wound.
The blade sliced cleanly into Nishimura's body, but Qingming didn't appear pleased.
Why?
Because he had hit an empty target.
Qingming looked up to see a puff of chakra smoke dissipating in the air. Where Nishimura had stood, a human-shaped rock remained, bearing a deep slash mark from Qingming's sword.
"Earth Clone."
Qingming muttered under his breath.
Yes, at the critical moment, Nishimura had managed to execute the Earth Style: Earth Clone technique, narrowly avoiding certain death.
Thinking back, it seemed that when Nishimura had dodged earlier, he had already begun to perform the hand seals for the Earth Clone technique.
Otherwise, there wouldn't have been enough time to pull it off.
"If only I had Sharingan..."
If Qingming had activated his Sharingan, Nishimura's movements would have been impossible to conceal.
The Earth Clone technique wouldn't have succeeded, and Nishimura would have been slain long before this.
However, if Qingming had activated his Sharingan, Nishimura wouldn't have lasted this long in the first place. He would've died much earlier.
Pushing these thoughts aside, Qingming glanced ahead.
Nishimura was standing not far away, clutching his bleeding waist with a tense expression, clearly dreading Qingming's next move.
Unfortunately for him, the thing he feared most was about to happen.
Since Qingming had already chosen to strike, he wasn't about to stop halfway.
He reached into his pouch, producing several shuriken, and without bothering to aim, he flung them toward Nishimura.
Having closely watched Qingming's movements, Nishimura reacted as soon as the shuriken left his hand.
At first, he thought he could easily dodge them.
After all, a person's skills are usually specialized. Considering how skilled Qingming was in swordsmanship, Nishimura doubted that he could be just as adept with throwing weapons.
But Nishimura was wrong.
Compared to Qingming's level 3 "Konoha-style Swordsmanship," his "Projectile Weapons Mastery" was even more advanced—already level 4.
So when Qingming released his shuriken, the unprepared Nishimura barely managed to avoid them.
And at that moment, Qingming used the Body Flicker Technique, rapidly closing the distance between them. His short sword once again swung down, forcing Nishimura into close-quarters combat.
In this tight situation, Nishimura had no chance to use any jutsu.
With his injury, the mounting pressure, and the psychological stress, Nishimura lasted only a few minutes before Qingming found an opening and stabbed him through the heart.
A sharp pain surged through Nishimura's body, and he froze in place. His kunai slipped from his hand.
He glanced down at the sword embedded in his chest, then at Qingming's expressionless face, and a hint of regret flickered in his eyes.
Perhaps he shouldn't have chosen Qingming as his opponent from the very beginning.
Or maybe, his fate had been sealed from the start.
Strangely, his mind wandered back to Qingming's calm eyes—the ones that had shown no emotion when Nishimura first tried to intimidate him.
"He really is a natural-born ninja…"
With that final thought, Nishimura Sekihei closed his eyes for the last time.
Slash!
Qingming pulled out his sword, letting Nishimura's body fall to the ground.
He had noticed Nishimura's final gaze, but Qingming didn't believe he was a "natural-born ninja."
The reason he didn't fear Nishimura's intimidation was simply that he had the strength to back it up.
When you can easily kill an enemy, what is there to be afraid of?
So, the best way to overcome fear is to possess overwhelming power.
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