Chapter Twenty-Seven: Duel with Sasuke – Twice in One Day, My Head Explodes

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(The next chapter will reveal the protagonist’s bloodline ability for the first time—stay tuned! Thank you for the extra favorite, a small step forward, quite exciting. A colleague left today, which delayed me for an hour, apologies.)

Qi instinctively glanced toward the group of eleven; those eleven were still there, as were Li and Shikamaru. But who was standing opposite them? As he pondered this, Qi realized that Li had already taken up the Peacock stance, while Shikamaru formed a hand seal that was all too familiar—the Shadow Binding technique.

Qi was shocked. If he were bound and struck by Li’s Peacock, he would suffer severe injury once again. There was no time to wonder why Shikamaru rushed forward, given Li’s speed was so slow. Qi dared not take to the skies, for his shadow would be instantly seized by Shikamaru; thus, he chose to retreat. Empowered threefold, he leapt back with all his might.

An explosion thundered as several explosive tags, cleverly hidden and set as traps, detonated in an instant. Unprepared, Qi’s legs were blown off, his body hurled toward the three who had stepped back. Li’s Peacock attack was poised for Qi; in desperation, Qi unleashed sevenfold strength to withstand the blow. Yet Li’s Blue Peacock did not manifest—his fist passed through Qi’s body and vanished.

It was merely a welcome, Qi’s expression changed. The next moment, two palms struck, swift and fierce, landing directly on his forehead and temple. With just two blows, Qi was stunned, his head spinning, the power of his white hair instantly dissipated. Yet the opponent’s attack showed no sign of stopping. “Eight Trigrams Mountain Break.” A massive, laser-like strike hit Qi’s forehead, sending his body flying.

Sliding across the ground, his body finally stopped—transformed into a corpse without a head. Qi had been defeated, inexplicably, at Neji’s hands.

Neji exhaled. The Eight Trigrams Mountain Break was a move at full force; its name alone revealed its intent—a blow capable of shattering a small mountain. After his head was injured and his burst was undone, Qi could not withstand the strike, his entire head cleanly obliterated.

However, things did not end as Neji expected. The headless corpse on the ground moved, then suddenly leapt up, spread its wings, and soared into the sky. Under the stunned gaze of twelve onlookers, a new head began to grow from the neck upward. The sight chilled everyone to their core.

“Luckily, I was prepared—knowing the head is most vital, I extracted a bit of tissue from every part of my brain ahead of time, just in case. But I underestimated the price of regrowing an entire head; it consumes many times more than healing a severe injury or regrowing a limb. If I hadn’t reached the second layer of Qi training, I might have ended up with brain damage.” Qi muttered anxiously to himself.

“That was a close call. That was my last life (just kidding). That Li and Shikamaru were only illusions, right? Truly bizarre techniques.”

“Growing a head is even more bizarre,” the twelve replied in unison, perfectly in sync.

“Again,” Neji demanded. His Byakugan saw the enormous energy Qi expended—likely the cost of regrowing a head. Judging by this, if he killed Qi one more time, Qi would truly dissolve into white light.

“You’re too cunning. I’ll wear you out,” Qi said, displeased.

“This is battlefield wisdom. I didn’t attack you in your weakened state after the fight with Li. I stand upright and proper—are you afraid to face me head-on?” Neji replied, righteous and resolute.

“You make a good point, but I won’t listen,” Qi retorted, unleashing throwing knives like a meteor shower to force Neji to use Rotation, draining his chakra.

...

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Panting and exhausted, Neji was forced back to his original position by the interplay of red light and white glow. Qi chuckled and began meditating to recover.

The wind stirred, fluttering clothes and hair. The figure stood tall, sword held at an angle, the blood moon high above, scarlet eyes with three tomoe spinning slowly.

Bright and handsome, bone blade in hand, long hair flowing, a smile tugging at the lips, yet the gaze was severe. From the outset, both sides collided in spirit, neither daring to be careless.

“I’m definitely going to win,” Sasuke declared confidently. The three tomoe rotated slowly, genjutsu activated, silent and unseen.

Qi raised an eyebrow. “Mental attacks aren’t strong enough to threaten me.”

“Hmph, what a dull fellow.” Sasuke’s blade flashed, his body already advancing, sword descending. Qi’s pupils contracted, empowered to twice the normal strength. “Clang!” The blades collided, Qi retreated three steps.

“Impressive,” Qi exhaled slowly.

“The second-to-last is indeed formidable. I wonder if he’ll reveal his trump card this time—better to settle this quickly. Fourfold strength.” Qi reversed his grip, slashing diagonally upward at Sasuke’s abdomen.

The three tomoe spun as Sasuke’s sword blocked the bone blade. His silhouette leapt through the air, landing lightly. He flexed his tingling hand, then scowled and thrust his sword into the ground, beginning to form seals. “Fire Style: Phoenix Fire.”

Qi was both envious and puzzled, dodging with a flash. “Fivefold strength.” He sighed at his own lack of attack methods—his opponent had mental assaults, ninjutsu, and close combat. Suddenly, the flames curved, closing in; unable to dodge, Qi conjured a bone shield to block.

“First Cursed Seal.” Strange markings crawled over Sasuke, an ominous aura emanating. “Fire Style: Grand Fireball.” A massive fireball surged toward Qi.

Again, Qi used a bone shield, blocking the fireball’s heat and closing in on Sasuke without pause. He felt that against such versatile attacks, close combat was his best chance.

“Tch, Second Cursed Seal.” The markings merged, Sasuke’s skin darkened, a stark black cross forming on his face—strange and sinister. Most strikingly, wings sprouted behind him.

No—those weren’t wings. Qi’s gaze grew grave; they seemed to be giant arms. The fists crashed forward, targeting Qi as if awaiting him to step into their trap.

“Sixfold strength.” Qi had wanted a swift fight, but hadn’t expected to exceed his body’s limits so soon. If sevenfold strength didn’t suffice, then...

Thinking thus, the giant hand was already before him. The palm was larger than Qi’s entire body, seemingly able to crush him outright. Qi merely smirked; at sixfold strength, he was fighting with everything he had.

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“Morning Peacock.” This was a technique he’d just stolen—not enough chakra to unleash the dazzling peacock display, but the attack’s power was undiminished. Though unpracticed, breaking through the giant hand was not difficult; yet, after shattering one, another fist followed, which held up Qi’s advance for a moment.

“Fire Style: Grand Fire Dragon.” Having overcome two obstacles, Qi was prevented from closing in by several high-temperature fire dragons, sealing his escape routes. The heat from these dragons was intense; should they hit, even the bone shield would be reduced to ash, his body not spared.

“Rotation.” At the critical moment, Qi employed the defensive move he’d stolen, though without its usual hazy aura. The fire dragons roared, battering the invisible sphere, enveloping it in searing red. As the dragons vanished, Qi halted; his hands were gone, his wrists reddened. Even with Rotation, he couldn’t fully withstand the fire dragons’ heat.

Yet Sasuke’s killing move did not stop there. Qi now noticed the blue light flickering in Sasuke’s right hand, emitting a piercing noise like a thousand birds crying—the sound of lightning.

Qi’s pupils contracted. High-voltage lightning—his opponent could not only unleash scorching flames, but also wield fierce, destructive lightning with one hand. The destructive power seemed no less than the fire dragons, concentrated in a small palm. The only drawback was it required close contact, but now Sasuke’s right hand was raised high, swinging toward Qi’s face.

“Bone Shield, Rotation.” Compressing the bone shield and using Rotation without hands, Qi met Sasuke’s lightning head-on.

“Chidori!” Sasuke shouted, his right hand piercing through the bone shield, pausing briefly at the Rotation, then striking Qi directly in the face. Twice in one day, Qi’s head exploded again. Knowing Qi had means to recover, Sasuke didn’t relent; his Chidori still active, he pressed down, aiming to destroy Qi’s upper body entirely.

But Qi erupted with sevenfold strength, escaping instantly, before flying into the sky again. Having expended most of his spiritual energy to regrow his head and hands, his expression was grim. His opponent’s strength exceeded expectations—and this was only the second-to-last challenger. The strongest, the blond one, must be even more formidable. It was time to reveal his trump card.

“Divine One, I now have thirteen hundred energy points. What can I buy from you that’s affordable and will help me win this challenge?” This was his ultimate weapon. He’d originally wanted to look for something to increase his power, but it was inconvenient to ask in Ayase’s room, and he forgot the next morning. Only when facing the Twelve Little Giants did it occur to him, but he felt it better to save as a trump card rather than frivolously boost his strength. Now, facing such tough opponents, he finally decided to use it.

“Let me teach you a good method: exchange that Solar Bomb for a thousand energy points, then just ‘boom’—that’s all. Don’t worry, the mountain’s protective shield will block the heat and protect the city.” The Divine One suggested, though the tone sounded as if watching a spectacle.

“I need something to increase my strength or technique—not a one-time item. If the Solar Bomb explodes, won’t I be vaporized too? Please take this seriously; time is tight,” Qi urged, already seeing Sasuke’s two hands slowly regenerating. He had no doubt those hands would be as capable as wings.

“Child, mo—” Suddenly, a gentle yet excited woman’s voice came from Qi’s side. Qi trembled, his gaze flickering with excitement, longing, and resentment—complex emotions. He didn’t know what to say, nor how to express the feelings in his heart.

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