Hearing Qing's words, Uchiha Yuan glanced at the terrified civilians from the Land of Bears.
To be honest, Yuan wasn't naive enough to believe in ideals like "I don't kill the innocent, but they die because of me." At this point, he didn't even have the capacity to consider things like that.
The reason he looked at those civilians was because he heard a trace of negotiation in Qing's words.
If Qing truly intended to fight to the death, she wouldn't have said so much. She would've just launched another Water Dragon Bullet + Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals combo to trap all three of them.
While Yuan might have been able to escape, Hyuga Asana and Yamanaka Kagetsu would not.
The outcome would likely be Yuan killing Qing's teammate, but Asana and Kagetsu might have died in the process.
Clearly, Qing didn't want that outcome. She was watching Yuan, obviously waiting for him to make a statement.
"In that case, let's talk," Yuan finally chose to go with the flow.
"Fine," Qing nodded.
"What are your terms?" Yuan asked.
"Release my teammate. We'll leave immediately."
"No way. Your teammate is in our hands. Do you really think the life of a single Chūnin is worth risking the lives of these civilians?" Hyuga Asana rejected her flatly.
"Yeah, that's way too cheap of a deal," Kagetsu echoed.
"If you're trying to get something for nothing, there's no point in negotiating. Oh, and guess what—do you think I can use my Shunshin to escape with others?"
"Escape with people? That's impossible. Unless your Shunshin is space–time nin—" Qing stopped mid-sentence.
Because she suddenly realized—Yuan's Body Flicker really did resemble a space–time technique.
To disappear from within the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals without destroying them… If that wasn't a space–time technique, what was?
And regular Shunshin relies on rapid chakra stimulation of cells to generate movement—it still involves using one's legs.
Yuan's legs had been frozen by her Frozen Snow technique. How could he possibly use Body Flicker?
So the only logical conclusion was: he had used a space–time ninjutsu.
"You know Flying Thunder God?" Qing asked seriously.
"You think I'd tell you?"
At that, Qing immediately began checking her body and surroundings for any unusual seals or markings.
As everyone knows, Flying Thunder God requires a seal to be placed for teleportation.
After checking carefully and finding nothing suspicious nearby, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But she didn't dare let her guard down. She might be facing someone like Namikaze Minato, who also mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"If you release my teammate, I'll tell you our mission plan and objective," Qing said after a brief hesitation.
"Not good enough. You've probably got a Sealing Scroll on you, right? Leave that behind too."
"Don't push it too far!"
"In that case, we're done here. Kagetsu, bring him—we're heading back to camp. As for the mission info, we'll let your Yamanaka seniors extract it directly from his memory."
Yuan placed his hand on both Kagetsu and Asana, pretending to teleport them.
Seeing this, Qing panicked slightly. Biting her lip, she said coldly, "Wait! You win! I agree to your terms!"
"Then let's hear it—your mission and objectives," Yuan said with a smile.
"Our mission is to sabotage Konoha's water supply. Three squads were dispatched. Two are targeting your main water sources. Our squad was assigned to poison the smaller ones."
"Where are the other two squads now?" Kagetsu asked.
"One's gone dark—probably captured by your people. The other is still in hiding, but I don't know where."
"Did you do anything to the other three small water sources?" Asana asked.
"No. We just managed to infiltrate by disguising ourselves as civilians. Before we could act, you found us."
After listening, Kagetsu connected their minds using Mind Transmission and asked in the mental space:
"Yuan, Asana, do you think she's telling the truth?"
"We already inspected those three water sources and found nothing abnormal. Based on that, it sounds believable," Asana replied.
"I agree—it mostly checks out. The only thing that gives me pause is her mention of three squads. If it were me, I wouldn't divulge my entire plan. I'd mix truth with lies to stall the enemy."
"Then could she be lying about other parts?" Asana asked.
"Unlikely. The mission scroll Orochimaru gave us already indicated the enemy's plans—and it aligns with what she said. That means Orochimaru really did capture a Mist squad."
"But Orochimaru didn't tell us how many squads had infiltrated. If the Yamanaka mind-reading couldn't confirm that, there are only two possibilities."
"First: the captured squad was just cannon fodder or decoys. They didn't know the full plan or even the existence of other squads. Orochimaru, out of caution, sent us to investigate anyway."
"Second: the squads were operating independently. Each knew only of the general mission, not each other."
"If it's the first case, then the three squads are real. If it's the second..."
"She's lying," Kagetsu said.
"Exactly. But we've got no way of confirming anything beyond this."
"Yuan, do you really know a space–time technique?" Kagetsu asked.
"If he did, he would've taken the captured Mist ninja and both of us back to camp already," Asana answered.
"Then do the three of us stand a chance of beating that woman? My Mind Body Switch Technique has improved. If I catch her off guard, I might land it," Kagetsu asked again.
"If she were just an ordinary jōnin, maybe. But she has Ice Release. Her chakra reserves and jutsu repertoire far exceed average jōnin. Especially that technique that creates an ice wall without hand signs—it's nearly impossible to deal with. Even if your sneak attack works, we still don't have good odds," Yuan replied.
(To Be Continued...)